Sweets and the City

Monday, April 5, 2010

My list of books

So I am in the process of moving, yet again. I forgot how much I despise moving. I am once again downsizing and tossing the things I really don't need. One thing that constantly seems to accumulate every place that I go is my cookbook collection and my Martha Magazines. Yes, I collect Martha Stewart Magazines. Don't judge, she is a genius. As I am packing up my boxes of cookbooks I noticed a few big gaps in my collection.

The Cookbooks that I want… and So should you!
-Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Vol 1 &2. Julia Child
-Momofuku. David Chang
-Ad Hoc at Home. Thomas Keller
-Crust & Crumb. Peter Reinhart
-The Flavor Bible. Karen Page…
-The Craft of Baking. Karen Demasco
-Dessert Fourplay. Johnny Iuzzini
-Desserts. Pierre Herme
-Amy’s Bread. Amy Scherber
-How Baking Works. Paula Figoni

And the Book of my Dreams!
-LA PATISSERIE DE PIERRE HERME (The Patisserie of Pierre Herme). Pierre Herme

These are just a few on my list. I don't think there is a blog long enough to contain my entire list.

Monday, March 29, 2010

I'm officially a Pastry Chef!

The last six months in pastry school have been an utter whirlwind. Nothing is quite as dramatic as 21 angsty women (and one guy) with knives, boiling pots of sugar and hot trays. People cheated (yes cheated! In pastry school!), stole things and were injured, but all in all, it was an incredibly memorable experience.

This last week was insane. Over the course of our 4 day final exam, we had 2 false fire alarms which caused us to lose about an hour+ of time plus more to regain our mental composure. For our final we had to make 1 cake/tart, 1 viennoiserie, 1 petit four and one chocolate. We also had to create a showpiece to hold these items that followed the theme of “My Favorite City.” During the final lottery I drew, an Apple Tart, Eclairs, Palmiers and Orange truffles. My favorite city, none other than my hometown of Seattle.

It was amazing to have my Mom, Tom and my friends at my graduation. I was so thankful to have people there to celebrate this experience with me. Graduation was unexpected to say the least. I knew that I would win the perfect attendance award, but was totally shocked when my name was called for top of the class and the creative pastry award. I was really happy to have my family and friends there to share that with me.

Wedding cake project: nautical themed (i didnt choose it)

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Its already February?!?

I apologize for the extremely sparse/ non existent blog entries
lately. Things have been crazy lately. The holidays were a whirlwind.
I had class on Wed 12/23, flew home directly after class. Work for the
parentals X-mas eve, spent Christmas baking, worked the 26th, hung out
with some good friends, then flew back home first thing Sun morning
the 28th. Then it was back to school on Mon the 29th.

Here are some cakes I made before I left for break from school.

( my first really bad attempt at a basket weave)

Tom got into town just as we were starting the chocolate section. It
was an amazingly delicious mess. I've never been so covered in
chocolate in my entire life. We even made chocolate from scratch (from
the nibs of the beans). Here are some picture from the chocolate
section.

Cocoa Pod with beans

Cocoa beans

Choc Box I made for Tom the Geographer

My choc stand. Ski lift made entirely of choc. ( i even did a wood paneling design for the chair)

Next section was Individual Desserts. Honestly not too exciting. But
here are some picture for y'all to enjoy.

My favorite section thus far has to be the Sugar section. It was also
our last section in level 2. We played with marzipan, made pastillage
(paas-tea-ahge) which is a sugar dough that dries like clay. Then came
the most excited days when Chef Ron Ben Israel came in and taught us
how to make life like sugar flowers. He is a genius. I did so well
that the Chef thought I had made them before. The most daunting part
of this section was making a pastillage stand that could hold the
weight of a 6" cake. So in 2 days we created a stand, baked and
decorated the cake. I finished as my name was being called for
grading. Just in the nick of time.

I am now in my 3rd and last level of school. Only 2 months left! Time
has gone by so fast. We are back to doing more chocolate. Its bonbon
time :) I love bonbons

my newly invented recipe: Berry Nutty for You- Raspberry, Strawberry and Nutella

A bunch of Bonbons and caramels

Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake. (hand painted with colored cocoa butter, with modeling choc roses) the picture quality is so wonderful because my awesome roommate Hannah took them

In the midst of all this schooling, i managed to get an internship at my #1 choice restaurant Jean Georges. Its a great opportunity and will look amazing on my resume. I'm not sure if the restaurant line productions is my thing, but it is definitely a good experince. So now that I have condensed almost 2 months into a few short paragraphs. I'll try to be better at updating. Sorry

Friday, November 27, 2009

cakes and breads and rolls... oh my!

I know I have been severely slacking on the blog front. Sorry, I really shouldn't have an excuse considering I am still unemployed. Since the last time I wrote, we finished up the Puff Pastry, Viennsoire and cakes sections. I am officially done with level 1 of school! Moving on up to level 2 and breads! Enjoy the pics.