School and Such

Everyone keeps asking me how I like Dallas, and what I do here for fun.  Fun? When am I supposed to do that? I have to say, I'm kind of tired of getting the same blank stare when I respond, "I haven't been out.  I go to school, come home, do homework and sleep." Honestly that is all I have time for. Luckily, I have a week break coming up. I'm suppose to take my Exit Practical for graduation (EEK!) that week, but I'm taking it a week early so I can go home on my break. Even though it consumes my whole life, I still completely love school and will actually be sad when it is over.

Blah, blah, blah

This week I made my very first stacked cake, and covered it in fondant (only my second time using the stuff). It turned out alright I thought.  Our kitchens are so dang humid and we don't have the proper amount of time to fully assemble a cake so our cakes tend to sweat a lot.  This is a problem when piping buttercream because it just slides down the side of the cake.  Also, we have a fairly large class, so you only get so much time with certain products, such as the airbrush machine.  Which is why my bow and border were different shades of orange.  Which most people haven't seemed to notice but it drives me insane.  All in all, I think it turned out pretty well for my first legit cake.  Next week is another stacked cake, then plated desserts, then a three tiered partner project, a two tier final and I do a two tier for my exit practical! Lots of cakes, yay!! 

See how the fondant is shiny, it isn't supposed to be.  It's all the condensation building up. Oh well!

 

As much as I HATE making bread, I have to say it makes me appreciate the finished product so much more.  In my opinion though, bread is bread is bread.  It's the exact same thing, just certain breads require certain ingredients.  It's like making a cake, but without all the fun decorating at the end. However, every time I cut into one of my breads I can appreciate how soft and airy it looks and the crunch of the nice crust. This week was my favorite week in Artisan Breads by far.  Even more so than the Pesto Sourdough.  It was gluten free week which meant lots of yummy whole grain breads. My favorites, even though I liked them all, were the Multigrain Extraordinaire and the Nine Grain.  Which after multiple taste-tastings I decided were practically the same bread but one was a "breakfast bread" that would making yummy toast with a nice fried egg and the other a good soft sandwich bread. The Extraordinaire would be the breakfast one, it was made with honey and brown sugar, and I actually had a piece of it this morning from the loaf I smuggled out of class last night. :)

 Multigrain Extraordinaire

Nine Grain

On another note, look at this fabulous mixer I found!! I mean sure, it's a regular Kitchen Aid, but look at it's fun retro color. First gift to myself, post graduation and post job obtainment! :)

 

That is all! Have a fabulous Sunday and last week of August, yippee!!

Oh. My. Yum.

I'm officially half way through my third quarter, woohoo!! This quarter is keeping me busy though.  If I'm not at school or doing something school related, I am sleeping.  I slept 13 hours today, and I could probably sleep some more if I had the time. But it's almost the weekend, as of 10:30pm and then I can sleep for 2 days straight. Haven't made anything too terribly fantastic in the last week but there were a few highlights.

 This was a German Wine from the "Old World" section in my Bev ID class.  It's a Riesling and I loved it! Which was pretty surprising because I don't really like white wines at all.  I have found some that I can tolerate, but I could sit down and drink this whole bottle haha. It is a dry, "fruit forward" wine.  So you get the fruity flavors without all the sweetness. Pretty dang good!

 This was my first attempt at fondant, and I wasn't very impressed with my skills.  Obviously I have time to get better, but I expect more from myself.  There are some cracks that you can't see but I promise they are there.  I also got to make gumpaste flowers (calla lillies) and that was fun.  I really like doing all that stuff.  We have convinced Chef Hunter to have a gumpaste flower day on a saturday in semptember so that will be a lot of fun! This cake was ok but kind of bland.  It is probably the last one I will bring home, because I'd rather make the cakes than eat them haha.

 Bread, however, is a different story.  I can't stop eating it! This was the bread I made this week and it was. so. good! It is a Rosemary Pesto Sourdough. I smuggled a big loaf of it home and I'm sure it will be gone by tomorrow.  This was super easy to make and turned out wonderful.  I will be making this again at home for sure!

This was just a marble rye bread that my friend Emily made.  It was very moist and airy but I think it needed a little more salt. If it was fixed, I think it'd be great when it's still hot with butter all over it!

Today we are making Pumpernickel, NY Deli Rye, Traditional Sourdough, and Sesame Semolina. I liked most of the breads from last night so hopefully tonight goes just as well!

In the next couple of weeks I have a lot of projects coming up, two wedding cakes and a dead dough sculpture! And I'm also redoing my restaurant which is now a bistro. Hopefully everything turns out well enough that I don't mind sharing more pictures! :)

I've Got Questions, Who Has Answers?

Ok so. I found this site called, www.expatexchange.com where you can put in the country you are planning to move to and there are all these threads and posts from people doing the same thing or that have done the same thing.  Pretty nifty, eh? I thought so. However, I have come to the conclusion that Ireland most likely will not be permanent. From what I have gathered, rent is extra cheap and housing comes furnished so that is a major plus.  Actually, it is the only plus.  A driver's license is required after 3 months of residency, but is incredibly hard to obtain if you are not from an EU country.  You can only get a learners license and most insurance companies will not insure those, and if they do it is crazy expensive. Also, I have to get Monster micro-chipped, rabies shots, rabies tests, a passport, and he has to be quarantined for up to 6 months after the move. Also, there aren't really any grocery chains over there, everything (for the most part) is pretty independent and therefore, extra expensive.  There is no health insurance to be offered, although health care is cheap, it is out of pocket. The job market is basically dead.  If you don't have a corporate job lined up, which I don't, it's suggested to not even bother. Sad face.

So now I'm not sure what to do.  I am going to Ireland for sure, but maybe just for a teeny tiny vacation.  Perhaps a pit stop to my new permanent location? I have no idea where that will be though.  Any suggestions? Heavy research is in need here.

I am going to be in Italy next summer anyways for an 11 day cooking class and I'm planning to do some WWOOF trips surrounding that.  So, if I were closer to Italy that would be ideal as it would cut back my travel expenses.  However, New Zealand and Australia are fabulous as well.  Maybe.....

 Spain

 London

 Ireland

 Greece

 New Zealand

Tuscany/Italy

Comfort Carbs!

Usually Artisan Breads tends to drag by as there are only 7 of us in the class and a maximum of 5 of us show up on a regular basis.  Also, it is a Thursday/Friday class from 5:30pm to 10:30pm which is not an ideal way to end every week.  This week was still a little slow but I really liked what I made and picked up a couple of good recipes that I would actually use at home.

 

I made Brioche this week.  It can be made into loaves but we had an Open House this weekend at the school so we opted to make individual portions.  As far as I know, I have never had Brioche before, and if I have then it obviously wasn't very memorable.  To me, it is a little similar to a croissant but not as flaky or buttery. Personally, I like it better than croissants.  I ate about 4 of these little portions when they were still nice and warm.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to try the first type which was covered in a streusel topping and then filled with a Creme Chiboust.  Chiboust is a pastry cream that has been lightened with an Italian meringue, which I have never actually made before so that was nice to master something new.  There are 2 hot kitchen classes that are going on at the same time as ours and we usually are swapping sweets for savories as the evening drags on.  One of my favorite Chefs, Chef K, asked for a sticky bun when they were ready so I added on one of my rolls to his plate.  Later on he came in and asked who made the Brioche.  At first I didn't want to answer because Chef K will come right out and tell you something is terrible.  I have seen him spit out plenty of food that was not to his standards in class.  Anyways, I told him I did and he said it was the best Brioche he had tasted from the school in the last 4 years. Woohoo!! That made me feel pretty good and it was nice to know that it actually tasted good, instead of me thinking it did because I was so ravenous.

 

These were the pecan sticky buns that we made and they were SO GOOD! I will be using the recipe a lot at home.  Maybe it will become a Christmas time goody. Or maybe I will just make them as often as I can afford. :)

Also, earlier in the week in Advanced Patisserie we started working on flowers.  I have never attempted any form of edible flowers and buttercream roses are not to be brushed aside.  I always associate these cakes with grocery stores and being simple and generic.  Man was I wrong.  I suppose once you master it, it is a much more efficient tool, however, I am no where near mastering it.  For being my first time though I wasn't too terribly disappointed in myself. The cake itself was iced and bordered with Swiss Meringue Buttercream and it is definitely not my favorite to work with.  It melts very quickly in my hot hands and tastes like plain butter to me after it is chilled.  Hopefully, this coming week we will get to keep working on flowers.

Executive Decision

The Adventure: Move to Ireland

So, I have emailed a realtor company and a bake shop over in Ireland, both without response.  I half expected that to happen, them assuming I am some crazy person or they just received the most sincerest spam mail. After hitting a wall with my means of communication, I started to wonder how I was going to make this move work from so far away.  The answer I came up with (that I actually accept) is that I won't.  I will make it work when I get there.

Ireland does not require a Visa to live in the country, only that a "Permission to Remain" document be filed after living in the country for 3 months.  So, if I am in Ireland for 3 months with no job prospects then I will leave and head off in a new direction.  I am going to try and find housing that I can rent monthly as opposed to yearly or bi-yearly, so that if I have to leave it won't be a problem. If it turns out I can't find work and therefore I can't stay then at least I had three whole months in Ireland that I will always treasure.

Until then, I plan to try as hard as I possibly can to line up a job or at least some kind of possibility to be waiting for me when I arrive.  Six months is a long time to wait for a move and so much can happen between now and then.  However, the next 4.5 months are strictly dedicated to school and graduating on time in December!

I wish I could write everything that I want to do on little slips of paper, shake them up in a hat, pick one out and say, "this is my next adventure, let's go!"

Beginnings are hard...

My first post! And I have nothing to post about. I have so many things going on in my head these days it is hard to keep them all straight.  Maybe sharing them with random people who do not get the opportunity to tell me how they feel will help me out, haha! I am graduating in December and then off on a new life adventure! What that adventure is going to be, nobody truly knows.  I have a few plans/ideas in the works, but it is hard to plan something six months in advance, especially during a full quarter of school. Until further developments take place, I'm sure I will mostly be rambling about cakes, breads and the fabulous Latin foods that I can't stop eating.

 

Southern Italian Cream Cake

I was wary about this cake because it contains coconut (gross!!), but surprisingly it was absolutely delicious.  I gave about half of it away to a friend and have spent the last week alternating between this and a giant loaf of yummy ciabatta bread I made in Artisan Breads.  Such is the life of a baker ;)