Sourdough...Boy!

It is hard to believe that my Baking and Pastry rotation has already ended because in many ways it seems as if it only just began! Yesterday we completed our written exam and gave the kitchen a good cleaning to prepare it for the next new group of young bakers! But before I get too far ahead of myself and look to the future (and my final class at Le Cordon Bleu) I need to share a few more stories!

We had a project assigned in this class that accounted for 20% of our grade. This Dessert Project was designed to get us thinking about all aspects of dessert design. We were to create 7 individual plates, they were to consist of 4 flavors each, no flavor repeats so basically 28 different flavors! We needed to consider all aspects and balance the desserts with taste, texture and appearance. My Papa's favorite piece of apple pie with vanilla ice cream wouldn't cut it! Oh, and then we had to draw each plate! Give Chef an idea of what the plate would look like when we set it before a customer. Those of you who know me and know why 25 years ago I changed my major from Fashion Design to Home Economics know that I am "drawing challenged"! I did manage to put a few circles, squares and squiggly lines on the page and add a dash of color with my colored pencils to complete the assignment. Whew! Here are my personal favorites....

1) Blackberry Tart in a hazelnut crust. Served with a hazelnut cookie, apricot sorbet and a warm Brandy sauce.

2) Fig & Mascarpone cannoli with a Walnut tuile, Cranberry sorbet and Cranberry sauce.

3) Pear cobbler with Ginger snaps & Coconut ice-cream with candied Mint leaves and dried pear crisp.

I am taking on the personal challenge now that the class it over ... to actually MAKE each of these desserts. To work them until they are what I imagine them in my head... flavorful and appealing to the eye. I'll have to keep you posted on that part of the process!

I LOVE Creme Brulee!!! In my years of travel with Whirlpool Corporation I used to measure a restaurant by the quality of it's Creme Brulee. If the Brulee was good, that restaurant remained on my list as one I would return to the next trip. I also used this measure as a suggestion to people who would ask me about restaurant options. My favorite still is Metropolitan Grill in Seattle! It's been years since I have been there so if you happen to be in Seattle, give it a try and let me know!!!

SO, Creme Brulee and Creme Caramel. The difference between the two... Brulee has caramelized sugar on top and remains in the dish it was baked in for service. Caramel has caramelized sugar on the bottom and is turned out of the dish for service (think flan). Caramel is sweeter and Brulee is heavier due to the Heavy cream. Honestly, you can't go wrong with either!!!

Our final exam included Creme Brulee. But as with most days in school there is always more to this story.... wait for it!

We worked with Tuile batter this week. It is a batter that typically is used to fill a template/stencil and produces a light, delicate crispy cookie. It is great for adding texture to a dessert or for making a base for an individual cheesecake or creme caramel to rest in. It requires that you spread the batter evenly with your spatula over the template then carefully remove the template and move on to the next one. Doughboy worked on the same flower shaped template for 20 minutes! He had batter ALL OVER the bench, the slop all over the outside of the batter container. It was a MESS! In order for Opie (new name for All American) and I to work the process we had to scoop up batter from the table and scrape if off the outside of the container. Honest to God it was like a 3 year old had just stuck his hand in a bowl of very sticky play dough and smeared it all over! One really cool thing about this dough is that when it comes out of the oven and is still hot, it can be molded to form a cup of sorts. You have to work quickly and carefully because they are very fragile but it can be done. Mine and Opie's turned out OK. Doughboy had some issues with his ONE cookie and "shit, shit, shit" spewed out during his Tourette Syndrome filled rant.

I am organized and move toward task completion. I don't stand around waiting to be told what to do. I like the bench wiped clean as we move through our tasks. Some of the dishes can wait as there is room below our bench for a sheet tray to contain the dirty items. Timing during the process is often more critical. As with hot food production, mis en place is essential in the bakers kitchen. When melted sugar is ready to go in with the air wiped egg yolks for French Buttercream you need to be ready to do it! When the milk & heavy cream are at a boil for the Creme Brulee you need the egg yolks ready to go! My team has struggled with this concept since day one! You also have to anticipate the steps in the process and that often requires READING the instructions and referring to notes taken during Chef's Demo. Oh!That means you had to TAKE notes!!

My friend Bride2B is on the bench across from me. She too has had a challenging six week adventure in class. Like me she is organized and methodical about the process. Ever ready to learn and asking questions to understand the techniques and how to recognize when the product is ready for the next phase of production. Chef makes both she and I nervous but in a good way, we are wanting to please and receive praise for a job well done. These traits are not always appreciated by our team mates. Her group especially! She has "Pat" and "Drive-by" as her partners and I believe that they may in fact be brother and sister separated at birth!! Now I call Pat "Pat" because from day one in class (she joined us this rotation) I was not sure of her gender? So, pulling from my memory banks of Saturday Night Live skits, Pat became her name. She has the menopause haircut, you know the one.... the underneath layer & nape of your neck hair is shaved up the head about 2 inches & then the long hair from above covers it when your hair is down. Rosie O'Donnell calls it the menopause cut because it keeps the neck cool when the hot-flashes start! Problem with Pat's... she wears her hair up in the beanie and it really just looks like she went to the nearest Army Base for a fresh shave! Drive-by is named for the felony he committed and served time for! He has been rehabilitated and now wants to be a chef.... Humh!

They both smoke and have to take numerous breaks to sneak out for a fix during class. They both KNOW everything and refuse to follow the instructions given by Chef. This causes stress and product "misses" throughout production. Bride2B has hung in there but it's been rough! They give her a hard time for bossing them, think she is just trying to be Chef's pet and even choose not to participate if things are not done the way they THINK they should be! Definitely separated at birth.... aside from Drive-by's facial hair they even LOOK alike!

We have been each others saving grace as bench mates across from each other the past six weeks! Her kinship was never more needed than Thursday of this week (during our practical!)when Doughboy went SOUR! I will never again make Creme Brulee without this event coming to mind. Doughboy is boiling the milk, heavy cream, sugar & vanilla. He had not prepared the other needed items & tools back at the bench. Opie & I were completing the other tasks of the morning. Upon realizing that he was boiling milk and the station was not ready to accommodate the completion of the Brulee we kick into action! I get the yolks and sugar blended, Opie has the strainer & pitcher ready to receive the mixture once blended. Doughboy pours in the hot liquids, I stir them together and strain.

What happens next will likely go down in the history books as one of the most disruptive events to occur in a classroom during a practical!!!! The three of us head to the front to pour our mixture into the ramekins. We have three cups to fill, they are to be filled 1/8" from the top. I am pouring in the mixture, half way for each and planning to then go back and top them off so we have an even amount by dish. Doughboy begins ranting (loudly) that I am doing it wrong, that they need to be 1/8" from the top and I need to fill them more. I stop and ask if he would like to do it?

He explodes!! His face becomes beet RED, he screams that YES I would! YOU have done everything and are such a Bitch and YOU don't know what the f**k YOU are am doing! I know the f-bomb was dropped three to four more times during the tirade but I was in such shock I don't recall the exact words surrounding it!

I believe the whole classroom froze. Refusing to engage (what I really wanted was to give him the quietus with my fist, knocking the crap out of him!!!!) I quickly turned around IN TEARS, nearly plowing over Chef who was on his way over to see what all the ruckus was about. Three Chefs observed the outburst as well as 36 of my fellow classmates. My swollen eyes were full proof of the humiliation I felt. This guy is certifiably nuts! He has gone off on someone in EVERY rotation and for some reason is still allowed to return. I filed a formal complaint with the school on Friday. This isn't Gordon Ramsey's Hell's Kitchen for crying out loud.... it's a learning environment! I don't care how DoughBALL acts when he is in a kitchen working , but here, the nonsense has got to stop!

We had to return to our bench and complete the remaining items for the practical. He started up again while back a the bench and I simply suggested he consider medication. He flew into another rage and this time Chef tossed him out until he could get a hold of himself. It was a rough and uncomfortable situation. Not that I am a profiler, he just fits the shoot-em up type if pushed too far! Oh the Drama!!

As I mentioned I have only one class to complete and then I am off to my externship! Cuisine Across Cultures begins on Monday and is designed to give us an overview of the many different types of food techniques and different types of ingredients that are used throughout the world. I'll have an opportunity to be totally immersed in a new culture in April when I begin my externship as I have decided to go to ITALY for 8 weeks!!! I will be in Sorrento at a place called Mami Camilla's. Check out the website http://www.mamicamillas.com/ to learn all about it. It is a bed and breakfast & cooking school. I'll work & live on site for 8 weeks. I'll take Italian classes and work in the kitchens there with the Master Chef. I have heard nothing but wonderful things about the experience from other students who have gone. It will be difficult to be so far away from home for so long and I'll miss George & Olive. Those nutty cats will likely not miss me at all as they will be on a vacation at Grandma Mimi's house!!

Sourdough Bread Starter

75 Grams Water

50 Grams All Purpose Flour

50 Grams Whole Wheat Flour

Combine the first three ingredients

Leave at room temperature overnight

Feed/Refresh the starter daily if left at room temperature or Feed/Refresh once a week in left in refrigerator.

To feed use the % of each ingredient as the sour grows. 12% water, 19% AP flour, 2% whole wheat flour.

When ready to bake bread use 225 Grams (or 1 cup) of starter and mix in with other bread dough ingredients.

Keep in mind that the "sour" is environmental. So, sour dough from San Francisco will taste different from that in Indiana & that from Georgia. It takes on the properties of the growing yeast around it. The Boudin Bakery in San Francisco keeps the bread consistent by flying the starter in daily to the locations outside of San Francisco because the flavor will change slightly depending on where the sour is grown. This is the only way they can remain true to the flavor of San Francisco Sourdough. That means that the Michigan Ave. location in Chicago uses the starter (that incidentally first started fermenting in the early 1900's) flown to them from California everyday to bake the bread for that $14 sandwich!!

Creme Brulee

255 grams Heavy Cream

170 grams Whole milk

35 grams Sugar

6 grams Vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla bean, sliced with beans extracted

136 grams Egg Yolks

34 grams Granulated Sugar

Yield 3 ~ 7oz brulees

Prepare half sheet pan with brulee dishes

Bring heavy cream, milk, sugar & vanilla bean to boil

Mix together the egg yolk & granulated sugar ("Blanchir")

Temper the hot milk mixture slowly into the egg yolk mixture (you don't want to cook the eggs)

Strain the mixture to remove the bean and bubbles

Fill each dish 1/8" from the top

Bake at 325 degree oven with a water bath (half way up side of brulee dishes) until the brulees don't jiggle when pushed.

Enjoy!! And be sure to get those ramekins 1/8" from the top!!! :)