Sessions 7 - 13

It has been awhile, hasn't it? I've been working and going to school back-to-back for two weeks and have not had the time nor the energy to make an entry. Since there is wayyy too much that has gone on in the 30 or so class hours since I last wrote, I'll just make this brief and let the pictures speak for themselves.
I will leave you with a few cool tidbits I learned, though:

• Add a couple of drops of olive oil to goat cheese to make it more spreadable
  
• The magic number for deep frying is 350ºF
  
• There are only 2 species of oysters. The varieties taste different depending on the water they grow in
  
• When whipping cream, place your bowl atop another with ice to make the process much easier and quicker
  
• Rubbing the little hairs between a lobster's eyes puts them to sleep
  
• When making French Fries, blanch them in unsalted, boiling water first. Salt destroys the potatoes surface.
  
• If you want to save money on lobsters, ask for the "culls" or the ones with a missing pincher. They're almost 40% cheaper.
  

Mayonnaise


Bearnaise


Orange Supremes topped with a sweet Saboyon

A salad of macedoine/cubed vegetables dressed in mayonnaise and topped with goat cheese, and smoked salmon



Salade Nicoise




An example of Tournage/Footbally Vegetables

Potato Souffle Before:


After:


Potato Pancake! (It was Potato Day)







Chocolatey Goodness by those darn Pastry students



Flounder


Up close and ugly


Decapitated





Fried Flounder prep, and a pretty little potato basket


A red bell pepper dipping sauce


Fried parsley for garnish


Yummy Aftermath


Braised Flounder


What's left of a perfect plate of scallops


I tried to sneak this photo without getting a yelling: Chef Phil demonstrating how to kill the "Evil Lobster." "Think of them as cockroaches. They're evil. I once saw a lobster kill a guy on Fifth Avenue," he said


My poor one-armed lobster breathing his last breaths.


Killing him was seriously one of the hardest things for me. My annoyed partner insisted on doing it. I eventually did it, looking away. A knife right between the eyes.


Nothing but butter and a hint of vanilla, lemon, salt, and pepper. Mmm.


Freshly shucked oysters


Chef Wall of Fame