Yippe, Whaoo & Pork Butt!!

I have survived my first round of "final exams" and "practicals" at Le Cordon Bleu!! Whaoo!! And must say I am VERY pleased with the results and grades posted for my classes. I always knew I would be a better student as an adult!

Following the flood of the century here in Atlanta in the beginning of the week things began to settle down in my world so I could get to the task of studying for the exams.

Wednesday morning my senses were on high alert for the product ID and herb/spice practical. 50 kitchen items were flashed up on the screen and we were to fill in the names of those items. The slides cycled through twice. Then we were sent out of the room, broken into two groups and the "senses" part of the exam began. We had 18 minutes to identify 50 fresh, dried & ground herbs & spices as well as several oils and vinegars. I was comfortable with the differences between ground nutmeg & ground mace, I could finally get the subtleties between dried tarragon & dried savory. And fenugreek... smells a bit like chicken to me! Sherry vinegar and Malt vinegar don't really smell or taste distinctly different to me. I knew that these items would be the toughest for me and I was right!! Even with those darned vinegars I was pleased with my results.

Every now and then we are faced with moral dilemmas in life. Five students were late for class that morning. They missed the product ID portion of the exam but did take the spices section. These students were given a chance to take that first half later in the day. Here's the issue.... once everyone had finished the spices exam, the five students who missed part one were to leave the room. The Chefs wanted all of us to go through the slide show together and they were sharing the answers. One student did not leave. She stood there and watched and listened as the answers were revealed. I noticed she had remained in the room... Do I turn her in or let her slide? I hate cheaters... it really is one of my biggest peeves. However, I don't like tattle-tells either! In undergrad I would never have been so bold as to speak up! I went Chef during clean up & asked for a moment of his time and then shared what I knew. I have no idea what (if anything) happened from there. I simply knew that I could not let that slide.

Seems that morning that we had not only cheaters... but theives. Before class my pal Wayne (sits next to me) had his apron stolen from his gear outside the classroom. He had left his toolkit, backpack and apron near the kitchen lab and was reviewing some spices down the hall within eye-sight and ear-shot of the items. Since he is an Army guy, his stuff is starched and pressed better than any one's! I didn't see anyone in our class with that crisp apron during line-up so can only guess some student from another lab felt the need to borrow that item from my friend. So, he had points docked from line up that day for not having his uniform complete and some joker has a fresh starched and creased apron!

Thursday morning brought the knife skills practical exam. 1 hr 15 minutes to do the following...

2 Carrots

1 Potato

1 Tomato

1/2 Onion

Spinach leaves

Cut:

12 Julieanne Carrots

12 Batonnet Carrots

Small dice Carrots ~ enough to fill 2 Tablespoon cup

Brunoise Carrots ~ enough to fill 2 Tablespoon cup

Chiffonade Spinach ~ enough to fill 2 Tablespoon cup

Concasser Tomato

Ciseler Onion

6 Tourne Potatoes

We were graded on our cuts, the waste & organization of our station area. One by one we presented our trays and cutting boards to Chef and he graded our items and presented the grade. A really groovy thing about this...no waiting! When you leave class you know your score.

The week ended with a written final in both Foundations I & Food Safety. I was thrilled when the tests were over & ready to celebrate a bit! Wine and pizza with some friends that evening was a perfect end to a hectic week!!

Did some cooking on Saturday for the big Purdue v. Notre Dame game. I was thrilled that my meal turned out as my Boilermakers left me sad and frustrated with the loss in the last 2 minutes of the game. So... Pulled Pork! I braised my pork butt because I didn't have grill available to smoke it. The dry rub consisted of some paprika, cayenne pepper, cracked black pepper & Kosher salt. Rub that all over the pork, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2-24 hrs. I then seared it in a bit of canola oil and added some of the "mop", covered it and let it cook for 7 hours at 250 degrees (mopping it every hour). The "mop" was apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, kosher salt & cracked pepper. To add some "smoke" flavor I also dashed it with liquid smoke. Once the meat was cooked (about 6 hrs) I removed it from the pan, pulled the pork apart, discarded the fat & juices in the bottom of the pan. Returned the pulled pork to the pan, added the remaining "mop" and let it cook another hour. Served it on buns (open faced) topped with coleslaw. It was a HIT!

So, Foundations II starts in the morning. We will be cooking everyday for the next 6 weeks. I can tell by the syllabus that this class will not be easy or for any weak hearted, thin skinned folk. We begin with stocks, move into sauces and soups. We have a practical exam on stock preparation on day 6 of class. Oh, and the final on November 3rd... "Limited Mystery Basket" Prepare a plate containing a protein, sauce, vegetable & starch. I think this may be as close as I'll get to Chopped!