Week One: Mise en Place

What a week!  After months of anticipation, the first day of pastry school finally arrived.

The nerves did not set-in until Sunday night.  I was packing my bags, trying to make sure I had everything for both a workout at lunch and class later that evening.  My bags were quadruple checked just to be sure nothing had been overlooked.

I tried not to think about it too much at work during the day, but this proved to be a little difficult with nothing to keep my mind busy.  I was not nervous about not doing well or not being able to handle the schedule.  I knew the nerves were only due to beginning something new, something unknown.

As registration began at 5:15 PM, my boss had given me permission to leave work about twenty minutes early, so that I wouldn't be late.  When I arrived at the registrar's office, before I had time to remove my soaked winter coat, I was plopped on a chair, my ID photo was snapped, I was handed a bag containing all my books and I was assigned to a locker.  "Go get dressed and be in room 502 by 6 PM," the woman said hurriedly, but with a welcoming smile.

The week was filled with orientation, introductions to classmates, terminology, equipment and ingredients.  The class size is small, only eight people, which will not only allow for greater attention from the chef-instructors, but also allowed us to become comfortable with each other by the end of the week.  The mix of people in the class is extraordinary: another girl in finance, a lawyer, a court reporter getting ready to retire and I am by far the youngest of the group.  Our chef-instructor, Kathryn Gordon, earned her MBA from NYU Stern and worked in finance before working at some very notable restaurants in NYC.

We had a dairy tasting Tuesday night.  And if that sounds delicious, I would encourage you to open your refridgerator and try butter milk, half-and-half, heavy cream, margarine, unsalted butters, salted butters, ricotta cheese, mascorpone cheese and cream cheese.  Then, open your cupboards and try eating shortening, lard, evaporated milk and sweet and condensed milk.  Still sound appetizing?  

The importance of the tasting was not lost on anyone - we all appreciated we need to understand the tastes of our ingredients and how one brand may be more desirable than another.  But I don't think anyone was in the mood for a milkshake after class.

The new schedule finally caught-up with me Wednesday morning.  Up at 6 AM, work until 5 PM, class until 10 PM, study until 12 AM.  And, one of those strange coincidences of life, I was actually busy and stressed at work, covering my supervisor's work while she was on jury duty.

On Thursday, we got to bake for the first time: gingersnaps.  The chef-instructor made it clear that she was there just to observe the process.  We paired-up and got to work.  Setting up the KitchenAid mixer, I realized I had never been so nervous to bake before.  It's always such a relaxing activity for me, whether I'm by myself or lucky enough to be in the kitchen with my Mum.

But, my runner's mind took over and calmed me down.  "Relax, it's the first effort.  Just focus on the process."  Working myself into a nervous ball of energy certainly was not going to help anything.

The results were varied between every group.  One group placed all 40 cookies on the bake sheet and wound up with one large, square cookie.  Our cookies would have benefited from an extra minute or so in the oven.  But all-in-all, everyone worked well together.

One new term we learned this week, of which I took a particular liking to, was mise en place.  It is the french phrase for "(to put) everything in it's place."  In the kitchen, this means having your ingredients, equipment and work area ready before beginning the recipe.  At work on Thursday, as I sat exhausted from the week, the word popped into my head.  

I began to consider mise en place as more of a state of being than just a phrase.  Although I was exhausted from the week, I woke up each morning wishing I could just head straight to class; I am truly interested in the readings and the lessons.  Suddenly, with the pursuit of something I truly have a passion for, everything seems to be falling into place.  I am again back at a state of mise en place in my life.

Lemon Cheesecake Cookies

Last Saturday was Mike's mother's birthday.  It also happened to be one of the first true spring days in the city.

As she is quite such a sweet supporter of my baking, I wanted to make something special and unique for her birthday.

With the weather warming, the lighter tastes of citrus combined with just the right amount of sugar suddenly seemed like a perfect combination for a spring birthday treat.

The cookie part was very much like a shortbread, except with more lemon than usual.  In the future I think I will add a bit more lemon to the dough, to try to achieve a greater balance between the tartness of the lemon and sweetness of the sugar.

The filling was, obviously, cream cheese based with a bit of lemon juice, zest and sugar.  Besides the recipe listing the incorrect amount of cream cheese (tsk, tsk Martha), it was also a bit runny.  Next time, I will play with the proportions a bit more so the same taste is achieved in a thicker consistency.  But when refrigerated, the cookies were quite scrumptious - especially wonderful paired with a hot cup of coffee or tea.

I received a lovely thank you note for the treats and, just as I suspected, they were enjoyed immensely.

Technical Difficulties

Just FYI - my laptop recently crashed, so I have been unable to update you with new posts and photos.  I am actively researching new laptops and hope to have a replacement in the next few days.

Hang in there - I'll be back up ASAP!!!

Discouraged

My past two runs have been tough and a little discouraging.

Last Thursday, an eight mile tempo run was on the schedule. I was anxious to break-in my new running shoes and excited that I would be able to run outside. Dark, heavy clouds hung over the skyline all day and the rain started just as I was leaving work. It was really more of a drizzle, so I decided to brave the elements and complete my run outside as I had planned.

In the time I took me to change into my running gear (ten minutes), the drizzle had become a steady rain shower. As I was still recovering from a second ankle problem, I promised I would constantly check-in with my body during the run. During the first mile, my legs didn't know how to react to the new shoes. At first, they seemed pleased with the new cushioning and support. But my knees weren't used to it yet and the cold, wet weather wasn't helping. My ankle started twinging with pain.

The runner's loop was completely empty. At first, I enjoyed the quiet; just the steady sound of raindrops and my feet striking the pavement. But soon I was lonely - I missed the usual after-work crowd along the loop, which, if nothing else, provided me targets to focus on passing. I also missed the unappreciated security that comes from running with such a crowd.

After about the third mile, my stomach started cramping. The only relief seemed to be when the pain in my ankle became more intense, shifting my focus to my right foot instead. I cut the run short by one mile - I decided it would be more beneficial for me to get home and dry than trying to force myself through an additional mile.

I completed 7 miles in 59 minutes; certainly not the tempo pace I was hoping for, but not bad given the conditions. I trudged into the apartment; my beautiful new shoes were completely soaked through, as was the rest of my body. My stomach was still one big knot, but I forced down part of a Clif bar to help my muscles recover. But my stomach did not appreciate the effort and responded by tying even tighter.

I stood under the hot water for five minutes before I could feel my body again. My knees took an extra few minutes to recover.

I figured my long run would go better on Sunday morning. Rain was again in the forecast, but the morning only saw a few raindrops. I headed out for an eight miler a little after nine o'clock. Just a mile and a half in, my stomach again tied in one big knot; I felt nauseous. The delicious spicy salsa and burger with chipoltle ketchup from the night before suddenly seemed like an awful idea. Luckily, my ankle had recovered from whatever it's problem was on Thursday and only presented a very minor pain.

For the first time in a long time, I was not enjoying my long run in the least. At no point could my mind wander off; the entirety of my run was spent trying to coax my stomach to staying down where it belonged. After the first three miles, I my body was ready to call it quits.

I'm getting anxious about the half marathon. I lost some crucial training while nursing some injuries and, suddenly, 13.1 miles seems a lot more daunting than it did just a few weeks ago. I needed to finish my long run today. Eight miles certainly didn't equal 13.1, but I needed to finish to boost my waining confidence.

Just keep going...just keep going...just keep going," I kept repeating to myself. It may not have been the most creative or inspirational mantra, but it was all my brain could provide at the moment. And it worked - I did complete all eight miles. It wasn't a pretty eight miles; I finished in a depressing 1 hour 10 minutes 57 seconds - but I did finish.

After a hot shower, I climbed back into my sweats and (slowly) ate my breakfast. I tried not to think too much of how slow my pace had been that morning or to let my mind wander with "what ifs?" about the half marathon.

And I promised myself - no more spicy foods before long runs.

Ruby Red Grapefruit Sorbet

Sorbet is one of my favorite desserts: light, sweet, and satisfying. It adds a nice end to any meal, without being as heavy as it's other counterparts.

My favorite Thai restaurant serves a delicious blood orange sorbet, which I wanted to replicate with my tiny ice cream maker at home. Unfortunately, I have encountered many freezer burn issues in the past.

I thawed the bowl on Saturday, wrapped it in a plastic bag and froze again overnight. According to the maker's instructions, this was the trick to freezer burn-free delights.

But because I wasn't quite positive the mixture wouldn't end up as another frozen block, I decided against the expensive blood oranges or juice. Instead, I opted for grapefruit (my favorite citrus fruit).

The result was phenomenal. Light, airy, sweet, fresh. Before I finished my first helping, my mind was already turning with ideas for the warmer days ahead: blood orange, lemon, lime and, the one I am particularly excited about, Mojito-tea.

The recipe I used is below, in case anyone would like to join my club of sorbet lovers. I will probably use less sugar in future versions, as I love the natural tartness of grapefruit.

RUBY RED GRAPEFRUIT SORBET
NOTE: You could substitute the juice of your choice. The juice should be fresh-squeezed, either by hand or store-bought. If choosing the store-bought route, just be sure no extra sugar has been added, as the end result may be too sweet.

16 ounces ruby red grapefruit juice
1/2 cup white sugar

(1) Place sugar in small pot; pour in just enough juice to saturate the sugar.
(2) Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves completely.
(3) Pour sugar mixture into remaining grapefruit juice; stir to combine; chill.
(4) Freeze according to ice cream maker's instructions.