Hollandaise Sauce

                                (Eggs Benedict)                               

Upon my dad's request, for his new found liking of Eggs Benedict, I tried making Hollandaise Sauce for the first time today. The first batch scrambled on me. Too high of heat maybe, and I stopped stirring for a second to check the temperature of the egg yokes. Oops! It was a good thing that only that part messed up, because I had just enough clarified butter for one more batch. The second batch worked. After having successfully completing the Hollandaise, I tasted it, and it was a bit on the tart side. Hollandaise should taste buttery, but not so much that it covers the light lemony taste. So, I added some salt, white pepper, a little cayenne, and a little more clarified butter. It tasted much better. Then my dad poached the eggs, and heated the ham. We put it all together on a English muffin. Yum! I have never eaten eggs Benedict before today. I wouldn't say it is my favorite, but I have never tried it before. My mom and dad liked it a lot. Even though by the time dad got his eggs poached, muffins toasted and assemble the Hollandaise sauce was broken from the temperature changing. I felt bad, because he was the one that wanted it. Oh well. He says he can't wait for me to try it again next weekend. Nothing but trial and error to make you better.

Welcome Back!!!

Sorry, It has been so long since I have written anything. I was taking a three week vacation from the world. I'm back home in Georgia and boy am I happy to be home. Since I have been home I have been doing more cooking, mostly dinners, but I can use the practice. One of the things I made for the first time was gumbo. I even made the stock from scratch. It came out pretty good, but it was missing something and I couldn't put my finger on it. But if anything I'm sure of, it was lacking a little flavor. And next time I might try and get the roux even darker than I did. I have baked two kinds of muffins from scratch as well, Cherry Chocolate and Cinnamon Raisin. They were pretty good! Yum! :)
I also made Ricotta Gnudi, a recipe from a cookbook by Giada De Laurentiis. It is kind of like a gnocchi with cheese instead of potato. It needed more flavor in the chicken stock, and the prosciutto could have been sliced a hair thicker. But the important thing is that I tried something new. To go along with the Ricotta Gnudi, I tried frying ravioli, which was breaded. It was the first time I made this and boy was that good! Maybe next time I will make the ravioli from scratch.

I started school at Gwinnett Technical College last Wednesday. I'm working on an Associates Degree in Culinary Arts. This is a two year program. My first class was Fundamentals of Culinary Arts. The rest of my classes will start this coming Monday. In all I'm taking Principles of Cooking, Safety and Sanitation (Servsafe), Event planning, Food and Beverage Management, and Fundamentals of Culinary Arts. I feel a little overwhelmed by my first class, so I'm a little afraid of what the rest will look like. I have taken/read the Servsafe and passed two times already. So, hopefully that class won't be too stressful. Well, more to come soon.

Last Day at Sucre

Chef Tariq Hanna and me in the Sucré kitchen.

Well, my last day at Sucre was a bit sad, but I managed not to cry. It was a fun and good experience for me in New Orleans for the past 11 1/2 months. I have learned a lot about myself. Maybe not as much about my field as I would have liked, but I did learn. I'm on to a new adventure now. Yay! Thank you Sucre for everything you taught me!

Good News and Sad News

Last week I went home to go to orientation for school. I am now registered for classes, have ordered my uniforms, and have all my knives for school. I'm so excited! :)

Well, today I was asked that next week be my last week at Sucre. Business is slow and since I had already told them I was leaving at the beginning of August, they asked if I would go ahead and make next week my last week. That I was leaving to go to school, saves someone else's job. I am kinda sad about it, but I would have been sad when I left in a few weeks as well. I have enjoyed my time at Sucre and will miss my co-workers dearly.

Argyle Birthday Cake

I was asked to submit a potential cake design for use in the stores. The goal was to make a birthday (or any-occasion) cake for any gender. They already have several cake designs that can be changed in color. I chose to do an argyle design after seeing a sweater vest in a store. I thought the design was different and could be done in any color combination. I didn't do a full pattern all around the cake and left negative space. I utilized bright colors to draw attention, as a birthday is a joyful celebration. After doing this cake I realized that I needed to listen to my dad and practice pipping often. The lack of quality was evident in my yellow piping on the cake. And no, I'm not to proud of it. I wish that I could do the cake over again. To make it look better. But you know what, I learned from making the cake. I made the Gerber daisies that are on the cake. Most likely, you would not find the flowers on the cake in the catalogue or on the display in the store as they are cost prohibitive for most people. The cake could have been executed better, but I'll get better with each cake.