Shopping for Free

So the furniture hunt has been on, and it's pretty exciting to picture the furniture we are collecting and how it will fit into and create our home. Our first piece of furniture that we bought together was a game table. We were in the salvation army, and happened upon this mini foosball table. I didn't even have to think about it twice, I was sold. After I called out for Chris and he rushed around the corner in alarm, he discovered that not only was this a foosball table, but a multi gaming table! Which includes: a bowling lane, a pool table, backgammon,  table hockey, ping pong, and many more. It was super exciting when we packed it away and then unloaded it into my room at home. This was months ago, we did not have a place to  put it, but we had a gaming table.

So as I am quite a list person, I recently started making a list of everything we had for our apartment, and everything we needed. The list began with the foosball table on the have side, and everything else on the need side. At first this was very overwhelming, what was I going to eat and sleep on the foosball table? Plus furniture is so expensive, how the heck are Chris and I supposed to come up with all of that money in order to build our home!? Well. First my mom made sure that I had a bed, she offered the bed in my sisters room up to me (Because of course...as soon as I move out, my sister is moving right into my room.) Then she said "Ohh I have a table and chairs for you!" And the next list began. The funny thing is, that my parents have owned the King Ferry Hotel for many many years, and they have always had an abundance of properties, but I never thought any of that would do me any good. (Look where I ended up---Culinary school..huh.)

The Studio

Well yesterday my mom needed help moving furniture out of one of the biggest rooms in the hotel because an artist by the name of Alice Dalton Brown, has rented the room to use as her studio over the summer months. Before moving all of the furniture to storage, we first started a pile for all of the items on my "shopping" list. I asked my mom about a kitchen table that we had when I was a girl, a metal enamel table top, with wings. We walked around the bend in the porch and there was that table which held so many childhood memories. As my sister and I carried it to our designated area, I thought of all the memories that I could build on top of already fond memories because my mom was allowing me to have the table. We then lugged a mattress and bed frame down the stairs for Christopher. There really is a surplus of furniture. Then after that my mom gave me a choice of two dressers that were not in use, and mentioned I might need an end table. I was just so happily surprised by all of this shopping that I was able to do, and for free! After digging out two chairs that were hand painted and used to live in our kitchen nook when I was eight, and setting aside a few items I was not sure Chris would approve of, I was very content.

new to us kitchen table

It astonishes me how many pieces of furniture my parents actually have gathered through the years. Each piece has a story or a garage sale steal that each treasure was found at. It was quite fun to shop around for all of the furniture that will make me feel more at home. The list has become quite smaller, I think we only need a book shelf and maybe a couch, but that we may have covered as well. I am such a family girl, so it doesn't surprise me that the furniture my family has used will comfort me when I move away from what I know now as home. And the best part is that I am not the type of person who wants brand new everything, I am a unique antique gal, and all of the old cute furniture we acquired is just that.

ABC 123 Baby you and me

I know I have really neglected my writing post lately, and I appreciate all of my supporters out there, I am sorry if the last few weeks have been disappointing.

Long story short:

1) Our background check went through, and we were approved for the apartment that we applied for, we are moving in June 1st- that's four days!

2) We graduated. Holy cow. It was surreal, and still is that we graduated and are no longer college students. It hit me hard the day after graduation at 3pm. I found myself super hungry, and realized that I had to make my own sandwich. Because of the meal plan at school, I have not had to make my lunch in a very long time and so when I finally realized that I hadn't eaten because it wasn't as easy as swiping my meal card and downing my usual tuna sandwich, it was nearly time for dinner! I miss a lot of friends already. Some of them will be returning to the school to continue on to the bachelor's program, so maybe Chris and I will head downstate in the future to visit them. We also survived the weekend. It's a little crazy that we were in class until midnight the night before we graduated (at 9:30am). But everything aside, I made it through the weekend, and even more impressive-Chris did. He had family hailing from Michigan and Florida and they all made it to dinner where we were able to serve his mother's family, his father's family, and my own (which was a treat). I left soon after the graduation and Chris stayed to be ping pong-ed between his families, and I am happy to say, that even though he wore his graduation outfit for over 24 hours, he made it out alive.

3) Did I mention four days?! Yeah Insane. I'm sure many of you have moved in your lifetime so you know where I am coming from but this is my first real move. We moved from Newark, NJ to Upstate New York when I was very young so I don't exactly remember that. We have since moved to three different houses in the area, all of which I was not responsible enough to have to pack more than two boxes. Well let me tell you, this is hard work. I first had to pack up all of my belongings from my dorm room and combine them with all the packing that is going on here in my room at home. I have to give myself a little credit, I have a ton packed. I worked really hard in order to throw out unneeded items, and of course give away clothes that no longer fit me. (I would "hand them down" to my sister, but it doesn't really work when you have to hand them up because she is taller than you.) Anyway, so I have been packing items, labeling them and stacking those items that are ready to load into the car in my mother's living room. Now she has not made any comment about how our living room is overflowing yet, but it might be coming soon. It's a bit crazy going through all of my things from my childhood that I felt important to save. I think for my parents it's a little saddening. Their little girl is moving up and out. While they find it exciting as well, I catch a tone in my dad's voice when he questions "you're going to be here for your birthday, where else would you be?" "Well Dad, I am moving before my birthday" (which is in one week by the way). "Ohhh" he sighs, like he forgot. Anyway, the plan is to have 98% of everything packed by Wednesday when Chris returns from Michigan with his "new to him" car. Then we will sign the lease Thursday, work Friday, and Move in Saturday. Phew. It's going to be a lot in not so lot of time. Keep us in your prayers!


I will give you a sneak peak title of tomorrow's blog post "Shopping for Free". Stay tuned

High Hopes

9:28- Late start, we wanted to be on the road by ten...

9:34- Tricia in shower.

9:45- Tricia out of the shower.

9:49- Chris in the shower.

10:08- Call from unknown number. Turns out it was the New York Wine and Culinary Center who received my resume a month ago, and want an impromptu interview while I am conveniently in Rochester. 

10:10- Change of outfits begins. Urging Christopher to get out of the shower so that he can shave. No response. 

10:35- Finally out of the driveway, Christopher in passengers seat making call to Wegman's Next Door Bar and Grill, left message. Set up appointment to view second apartment.

10:57- Incoming call from Wegman's. Officially offered Chris the job. Our day is off to a good start. 

11:00- Stop for gas. We paid $3.36 per gallon. The perks of living near an Indian reservation. Chinese fire drill. 

11:45- Call to K2 catering company. Will meet up around 12:15pm at property. 

12:08- Pull into K2 catering, knock on back door alone. Lovely young woman answers. Invites Chris to come in as well.  Meet with Chef and tour the newly remodeled catering headquarters. Start up business. Smells of fresh paint. Enthusiastic about farm to table. New and exciting. Exchanged dates of big events. No constant work, sporadic. 

12:45- Left K2, pulled onto Cedarwood Terrace for our first appointment. Unsure from the outside. Spoke excitedly about the day and our hopes.

1:03- Agent arrived and we were escorted into the downstairs apartment. Bigger than we expected. Sun room, living room, dining room. Lots of natural lighting. Hard wood floors. Old house. Wonderful window treatments. Freshly painted. Large kitchen. Gas stove. Old fashioned sink. Two same sized bedrooms. Washer and Dryer in closet. Large claw foot bath tub. Internet and Cable included. So. Exciting. 

1:34- Shook hands and took an application. Excitedly hopped in the car. Chatted about how much we love the place.

1:46- Found a neat pizza place. Gorged on unique slices before our next meeting. 

2:00- Parked for our apartment showing. Apartment complex. Flight of Stairs. Hard wood floors. Small bedrooms. Large open kitchen. Attic space. Almost "too big" in Chris's words. We mentioned we would get back to the owner. 

2:25- Walked to car, discussing how much we loved the first apartment. 

2:35- Pulled into the Pittsford Wegman's parking lot. Huge store. Lots of Chef's coats. Bought an artsy DIY magazine.

3:00- Departed Pittsford, headed towards Canandaigua. 

3:35- Entered New York Wine and Culinary Center Parking lot. Watched eight people in Chef's coats exit building. Sat and looked at the outside of the center. 

3:50- Entered building, sat and waited for the Food & Beverage Director. 

4:05- Started interview. Position available assisting Chef with teaching classes. Exciting Opportunities. Took the tour. Beautiful center. Should hear back within the week. 

4:45- Met up with Chris at the car. He explained that he read everything in the car with words on it, including but not limited to; DIY magazine, Finger lakes brochures, lyrics to 2 Mumford and Son's cds, the nutrition facts on a Subway napkin. 

4:50- Headed East. 

6:12- Arrived in the 607 safe and sound. 

Overall we had a really successful day. Lots of steps in the right direction. Many opportunities. Sending in the housing application. It's the right place for us, and we are so excited. When you know, you know...right? Lots of smiles here. Keep us in your thoughts. Night for now. 

Cross Your Fingers.

Home Again. Happy mother's day. The green is back. In just one short week, the leaves bursted into emeralds. But the temperatures are down. Chris and I are worried about the vintage. We have already mentioned the damage the weather will have on the foliage, but what about the apples? Last year, after debating over which state produces more apples, (it turns out New York, home of the BIG APPLE, has about 5,000 more acres of apple orchards than Michigan) we ended up paying about ten bucks for one gallon of apple cider. Hopefully this "May frost" will not hurt our apples this year.

Chris is in the middle of plating dinner for my family. What a good guy. He came home and wanted to cook. We have been out of the kitchen for over a week, so I don't blame him. While he cleaned the artichokes, fabricated the broccoflower, and cut the asparagus, I made us a fruity shake. I used strawberries, kiwi, peaches, orange juice, lemonade, and a few scoops of Ben and Jerry's mint and cookies ice cream. It tastes quite good. Little bits of chocolate and hints of mint where you do not expect them. The salmon was lovely- nice crispy layer, cooked perfectly, moist and well seasoned. It was nice to sit back, I didn't touch any ingredients- only the smoothie girl. We ate as a family, and then gave mom our gifts. Margot and Lansing presented her with chocolates. When Dad and Lans picked up the card and some flowers, apparently there was no envelope. My father asked Lansing where the envelope was and my brother exclaimed, "You have to pay extra for the envelopes Dad!" We all laughed as Lansing tried to dispute the fact that the card always comes with the envelope. Mom started unwrapping our gift next. It was Chris' bright idea to put the outfit we got her in a cereal box because we were out of clothing boxes. Everyone laughed. Yesterday Chris and I found our way to TJMaxx looking for a mother's day gift. We found her a cute tennis skirt and nice bright top. I tried it on to make sure that it would fit, as well as look good- my mom and I not only look alike but are about the same stature. She has lost a lot of weight in the past few months and so I think she deserves a new wardrobe- she also looks stunning. I found myself looking in the bathing suit section. With summer on my mind it's hard not to think of sun bathing and swimming. Chris granted me the bathing suit approval, and as I have lost 10 pounds I figured a bikini would not hurt anything. I hit the jack pot. A three in one bathing suit. The top changes into three different looking tops, and it is stellar.

Tomorrow is our big adventure. Chris and I are off to Rochester to look at a few apartments. I am very excited. As well as the apartments, we are hoping to stop by Wegman's to see the store, and maybe have lunch at the Next Door Bar and Grill. Chris is supposed to hear from them tomorrow with good news (cross your fingers for us). I have also connected with a private caterer in the area and will get to stop by there. If we find our selves with time on our hands, we might visit the zoo. Although that is weather dependent, I am not digging these snow flurries I am hearing about.

Our Wrapping Box 

Besides hunting for furniture and preparing for graduation, there is not much else. Last night, Chris got to serve Bryan Miller, who was a critique of the New York Times between the eighties and the nineties. He dined out 5,124 times when he was in the critique position. That is insane. I was very excited that he had the opportunity to meet and talk with Mr. Miller. Others were not as excited. But if Grant Achatz walked through the door everyone else would go CooCoo for cocopuffs. Still, it's really cool, and he is a very accomplished writer. As I mentioned before, I am in the middle of Ruth Riechl's book: "Garlic and Sapphires", which is extraordinary. She followed him as the restaurant critique for the Times, and mentions in her book what a struggle it was.

We are getting down to the wire here with graduation, apartment hunting, job securing etc. Stay tuned for tomorrow's story. It ought to be great. :)

Song of the Day: You & I

Welcome Home

I was lucky enough to be able to come home this weekend and spend some time with my family. It had been too long since I had been home last, and I was happy to get up early and make the voyage North. We discussed the foliage and how incredible that in May, the majority of the trees were not yet green. It is sad actually, how the seasonality cycle of the trees has been set off track because of the cold weather we have been having up until the past couple of weeks. Shouldn't all of the trees be green by early April? Once Chris and I got off the highway, we rolled down the windows and opened the sunroof. "Do you smell the grass?" Chris asked, as I took a deep breath in. Boy did it smell good. And the view was gorgeous. Lush, green fields dotted with cows grazing on the hills. I think that everyone gets a little touch of seasonal depression by turn of winter. How could you not? And our moods have been lightened by finally being able to enjoy the shining sun.

"On a Bench" @ the Culinary Institute of America

My family was traveling back from Florida when we arrived. They were on the annual vacation for my father's business trip. I always enjoyed traveling with my family, especially because we were fortunate that the convention my father has attended for twenty years, has been located in a different city each year. Although I am not a world traveler, I have been able to visit many places around the country thanks to my father's work. Some of my favorites include; Seattle- Washington. Albuquerque- New Mexico, Tybee Island- Georgia, and the Grand Canyon-Arizona. I'm lucky that I was able to take part in those trips, but this time unhappy that I had to miss the sunny beach in Florida. Apparently the sun stayed here in New York though, because it was cloudy the whole time they were in St. Pete's Beach. 

While waiting for the troops to arrive, Chris and I strolled outside to pick some flowers and explore the hay field. Pheobe joined us, wagging along and stopping every few yards to make sure we were still behind her. We urged her to cool off in the pond, although she could only make the skirts of it, as she was not able to wade through the cattails blocking her from open water. We laughed and hand and hand strayed from the path to trudge through the long hay. I fashioned a crown out of dandelions and Chris' food-tuition (:An INtuition you get from paying TUITION to attend culinary school that intrigues you anywhere at anytime to think like a foodie) led him to reach down for the greens and to pick some of the hay. He asked me to taste each green he plucked with his knife. He found something in the mint family, I could tell not only by the smell but the sweet touch to my tongue. Then the car pulled in and we made our way towards the house, Pheobe now panting behind us. 

"Home, Home on the Range" @ Lansing, NY

Mom greeted me with open arms. They all had uneven tan lines from bathing suits and were wearing plane clothes. After showing me the newest bathing suit in her collection, Margot hurried down to the barn to check on her horses, and minutes later she was riding out in the field. She is preparing for her international competition in August, and is very committed to her riding responsibilities. 

Lansing was fashioning a goofy hat with sunglasses on top, and he seemed uninterested in my arrival. Everyone is growing up, he is now a teenage boy. It seems like just the other day that I took him to the movies to see "Meet the Robinsons" and had to carry him out because he had growing pains in his legs. He is now anti social and a teenager-not the brother I remember. But is right into baseball season, and almost an "upperclassmen" in middle school so, it's gotta be a rough life. 

My dad was so happy to see us. He always gets teary and hugs me with a "how are you my girl?". It's amazing how many small actions add up to the comfort of home. Surprisingly he did not make it onto the lawn mower at all when they returned, even though I bet Chris it would only take forty five minutes for that to happen; he saved the lawn for another days project.

I was able to have a little stress release session with my mom, which was much needed. I explained that I was worried that my future is to start in just three weeks and there are so many variables that have not been solidified yet. She told me not to worry, that everything would fall into place and work out. She told me that she was not worried that I have not found a place to live yet, or a job which reassured me that I was not letting the family down by not having my plan set out for me. She told me not to put so much pressure on myself, and I relaxed a little. It's nice how the comforting sound of my mother's voice is able to soothe me and recycle my unproductive feelings. 

"Love @ Sunset" @ Myers Park on Cayuga Lake

After we gorged around the dinner table, the younger crew went to the park to bike/blade around a bit before the sun set. We arrived just as the sun hit the horizon of the sparkling lake, and it was a wonderful sight. Lansing biked ahead, racing after Chris (on his rollerblades), while Margot and I were able to do a tad bit of long needed sister bonding. My sister is six years younger than me, and often is too hard headed to ask for my advice, although I really wish she did more often. My mother assures me that as we both mature, we will grow into great friends. As we finished the loop, Margot mentioned something about ice cream and we all jumped in the car. We decided that if you didn't make the trip, you missed the ice cream, and we all enjoyed our first cone of the season, only to find that mom had rushed out to get us all Ben & Jerry's. She was happy however that we were all able to enjoy one another's company without any sibling bickering. As everyone peeled off to their beds, Mom and I continued to reassure Chris about his interview the following day, and then we all said our goodnights.

It's very comforting to wake up in your own bed. Not that I have ever woken up in someone else's bed, but I mean your own bed, where you have slept the majority of your nights. I slept like a rock- do rocks sleep? I know babies don't so I am not sure why people say that they enjoy "sleeping like a baby". Anyway, I ironed Chris' jacket, and laid out his clothes while he hopped in the shower. My dad made us pancakes and then we headed towards the hotel so that Chris could drop me off and he could go off to his interview in Rochester. I pointed him in the right direction and he was off. I decided I might go visit my cousins and helped my mom with lunch. She got hit pretty hard for a Monday, and ended up preparing 44 lunches. I made two sleeves of burgers and one tray of cookies, and was able to help her out through the rush. I then traveled to visit my cousins. 

Sarah is about to turn three, and she is the energizer bunny. She is up and ready to go go go! My aunt goes through a lot in order to keep her in line. I'm not sure how she handles it, but she does a great job. Claire is my god daughter, and she has been through quite a lot in the short time of one year. Claire was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder when she was about six months old. Luckily she only had the temporary form of the disorder and grew out of it and is now, healthy as ever. She is going to turn into a bright young lady. Although she is not walking quite yet, she is the happiest baby I have ever seen. It seems like she may turn into somewhat of a tomboy, which I'm not upset about at all. Quietly proud I guess you could say, I was not the girliest of girls and although my current pair of slippers are pink, and I enjoy sun dresses, I am still not afraid to get my hands dirty. So it was nice to visit with the girls. It's difficult now that I have to work on Saturdays, because I missed Claire's birthday party, and will miss Sarah's as well, but it was nice to catch up with them on a sunny day. 

My mom and I were on our way to my sister's softball game and I made a few calls, lining up appointments for Chris and I to look at apartments in the Rochester area for the following weekend. I then started a list of items we would need to gather for the apartment, and those furniture items that we had already. My mom and I talked through the list, and she mentioned a few things that she had that would work well in the apartment. She also mentioned she would keep her eye out at the "re-use" center for other listed items. She is very good at hunting down "like-new" furniture for a bargain of a price. We sat next to the field in the sun, enjoying the conversation and the game. At home I gave Margot a few pointers on her batting, but she rejected the advice. Turns out at her next game, she changed her mind, and decided she had nothing to lose- next thing you know she is hitting a home run. 

Dad grilled some chicken for dinner, and I made a fruit salad. The five of us sat around the island. "it's just like old times," Dad exclaimed. And it was. I felt very much at home, and as if nothing had changed. I helped Mom with the horses, it felt good to be romping around in boots again. After dinner, Mom and I patiently waited for Chris to arrive home. 

His interview went well. He also had to stage at the restaurant, which means that he had to work there for a day, so that management could observe his habits and skills and also so he could get a feel for working in their kitchen. He explained that the interview was different than any he had been in before. There were many culinary knowledge questions; they quizzed him on his knowledge of the products and basic culinary terms. He assured us he knew every answer except for one, which I feel is great. As he sat there, describing every detail of the restaurant, I could almost picture it in my mind and instantly wanted to go check it out. They told Chris that they would make a decision within a week or so- now it's just the waiting game. 

We have a three day weekend coming up at the end of this week. Although it really spans from Sunday- Wednesday, we have adjusted to that weekend schedule. As I mentioned we will be going to look at some apartments during that time. And in between we will be able to spend time at the local zoo and around the area of where we will possibly be living. It's very exciting. Also the fact that we will not only be looking for our new home, but be able to spend time with my family again. Family is what makes home so special. It was tough leaving. I am excited to start building my own home with Christopher. But I will always celebrate those members of my family who have been able to give home such a wonderful meaning to me. This chapter of my life is coming to a close, and I am preparing myself to turn the page. This is the end of my time as a student, but I cannot wait to step into a new way of learning, through the new experiences I am about to face. When God closes a door, we all know He opens a window. Cheers!

Neverland.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

 I remember browsing through many professions when I was young, and often being asked this question. I always wanted to be a teacher. I admired each teacher's different techniques and envied their personal libraries. Then I saw Legally Blonde and of course wanted to be a lawyer. Then I wanted to be a writer. And I still have a strong desire to write. I love the feeling of the pen in my hand, the way I can make the blank page, full.  Poems were a certain interest of mine. I never was much of a haiku writer, more of a rhymer. I could rhyme for days, making silly little sayings that had the same end sound. I recently found a book of food poems. Entirely related to ingredients and some of composed dishes. That's a thing, someone seriously  wrote that. Maybe I could write that. Would anyone buy a copy of my witty foodie poetry? Hmm. I remember my little sister always used to tell us that she wanted to be a "face-painter" when she grew up. You know, those who paint characters on children's faces at the fair, or birthday parties. She did not want to be an artist. But a face-painter specifically.

My mom and I used to cater together. We would do a funeral reception, or a few baby showers. I would clear the tables and she would make the food. I did not mind peeling a potato or two, but stayed mainly in the dining room. One day she wanted to switch places, and well that's how I ended up in the kitchen. I still like the dining room, I actually enjoy the customer interaction. But whenever I order lunch at my family's restaurant, I still always retreat back to the kitchen and stand munching on my sandwich, chatting with who ever is behind the line. I grew up in the kitchen; I played with serving utensils instead of toys made by FisherPrice. I guess it came as second nature to me, being in the kitchen, living in the kitchen. Family always congregates in the kitchen, and family is very important to me.

So where is all of this going? What do I want to be when I grow up? Well you thought you knew already. I guess the only definitive profession that encompasses all of the above is a Mom. I want to be a mom when I grow up. I will get a chance to be a teacher when I am a mom. I will get a chance to be a lawyer and represent my children. I will get a chance to write cute little poems in their lunch boxes. I will be able to create dinner for them every night and be their personal chef. And maybe I can even take them to their Aunt Margot's house so that they can get their face painted.

My mom has always been the best example. She has encouraged me to strive for my dreams and thanks to her in 21 days I will be graduating from the best culinary school in the nation. And the question of the hour is what are you going to do when you graduate? Some people may find me crazy. When I look ten years down the road, I would rather be a mom and have a happy family than be the executive chef of a five star restaurant. That's what is important to me. I will graduate three weeks from today, and Chris and I will be moving to Rochester to start our next adventure together. I hope to maybe find a job writing a food column for the paper or maybe even a magazine. I have to start off slow, and build my "portfolio" at Chris' recommendation. Maybe I will even find a butcher shop that has a hiring sign out front, and I can do that for fun.

Everyone rushes through life, hoping to beat each other to the next best thing. Why don't we take a moment and slow down. Enjoy the life we have, who knows what will happen tomorrow? I recently attended a talk by Anthony Rudolf, who is a graduate from my school. When he gave the talk, he was the director of operations of Thomas Keller's restaurant group in NYC. He is 33. Now before hearing him speak, I assumed that he was going to talk about how important education is and how it gave him tremendous success at such a young age. Instead, he discussed 11 values that you need to have in order to be successful, including: Patience, the power of awareness, sacrifice, skyscraper attitude, hospitality is a team sport, talent is overrated, a positive frame of mind, seek first to understand, know who your guests are, in order to be a general you need an army, and last but not least- change is inevitable. It would be a moo point for me to try and explain his entire lecture because I cannot capture his life as well as he did. But a few points that really hit me were theses:

Positive Frame of Mind: Other people throw barriers at us, why should we have to bound over those barriers and also deal with barriers that we put up ourselves. Do not create your own road blocks. Positive actions leader to positive results.

Seek first to understand: The window in which each individual sees the world is different. This is called a paradigm. Here he referred to "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" (of which Chris has a copy). He spoke of how we seek to impress upon others instead of trying to understand them, and this is where misunderstandings occur, thus putting up those barriers which are unnecessary.

Sacrifice:  He explained that when you decide to work on Christmas, you are not sacraficing, because you are doing what you love, you are having fun. The people who are making the sacrafice, are those that you are not able to spend the holiday with. They are unhappy that you are not there. While you may feel bad and wish that you were there, you are the only one who could make that possible, your loved ones could not. So understand that they are the people who suffer.

Then he released that in three weeks he would be leaving the restaurant group. And so the question came; "What is next for you?" Well he told us the honest truth, he would be taking some time off in order to "be that guy at the coffee shop in the middle of the afternoon." He wanted to know how it felt to just do nothing. He said that he was going to "get to know his wife better," something I assume should of and could have been done earlier but hadn't. He forewarned us not to dive in, but to build ourselves up. He was forced to slow his career down in order to redistribute balance in his life, he told us this should happen from the get go. Why rush to get somewhere when you can just enjoy the ride. We only live one life right?

I guess that although there is a lot of pressure with graduation and the ultimate job search, the best thing I can do is establish myself. Define my values, put some balance in my boots. But I am going to take it slow, going to make decisions everyday, and going to face challenges as they meet me. I don't need to put ads out saying "looking for a Mom position". I will be a mom one day, in good time. But for now; happiness is the journey, not the destination. And in the words of Peter Pan “To live will be an awfully big adventure.” 

Let It Be.

A cup of joe.

I am LONG over due for a post, and each morning I wake up at 10:30, I am discouraged that I will not have time to write. Here are a few things that I may note if you were to have a quick phone conversation with me, or a cup of joe and a muffin. Now I want a muffin.

Lately I have been getting out of class after midnight. It pretty much drains me. Being in class for ten hours is a lot, but I am really happy with what I am doing. Fabricating meat and fish everyday has increased my speed and made me more familiar with the products. Although I am not a station who takes part in service, it's really cool to hear them call out the orders and think about how I took part in the making of each plate. The cleaning was horrible at first, and now it is just second nature. Because the kitchen is brand new, it has such high standards. We clean for at least three hours every night in order to keep it spic and span.

I am graduating in less than a month, and it is a little scary. Chris has an interview lined up for next weekend. I have not heard back from the place I sent my resume out to. A few things could happen that would decide where I am going to be moving my things in the next few weeks. But it is all a little stressful. The one big thing I am worried about however, is that where ever I end up, I am not going to be able to jump in the lake when it gets hot. There is no place like home.

I am a little home sick. It may be because my family is vacationing in Florida next week and I wish that I was going with them. But it has been about 6 weeks since I was last home. My dad has already started to mow lawns, and baseball season has started for my brother. Meanwhile my sister is a horse superstar and is training for the International Games competition which will take place this summer. My mother tells me that she wakes up at six every morning to ride her horse before school. I know I never had such motivation. I'm pretty proud of her. And of course, I miss my mom, but let's not make this a tear fest.

The weather is making me very happy.  Although apparently the sun keeps waking me earlier each morning, which I guess is a good thing. I love being outdoors and luckily the warmest days this week are supposed to be Sunday and Monday (the two days I have off). It's very difficult to be indoors cooking and see the sun shining through the windows begging me to come outside. But this is life.

I am currently hooked on the show Lost. Many people have different views on the show, but Chris has got me hooked. I just finished the first season on netflix and I am eager to continue. When do I find the time to watch tv with all of this life going on? Well when I come home at night and need to wind down and fall asleep, I try to by watching Lost. Which is the worst idea ever because the show is such a mystery, that I end up going to bed with a million and two thoughts running through my head.

Recently I have fallen to the Cheez-its trend. Never before have I understood why people eat these small cheese crackers. But the trick is to find which flavor suits you. Seriously, when you go to the grocery store, there is a section solely dedicated to Cheez-its because there are so many flavors. My favorite obsession is the "Du-oz" box. "two flavors-one box" Brilliant as far as I am concerned. The smoked cheddar and the monterey jack complement each other just enough that the contrast works. I am sure that each time I pop one color into my mouth, the other shade is right beside it. The only concern that I have is that the ratio is completely skewed. Unless Chris is secretly chomping down on all of the smoked cheddar crackers, when I get to the bottom of the box, there are at least thirty monterey jack squares without the smoked cheddar cracker to go along with it. Now I make it sound like I eat box after box (which is far from the truth), but over the past month and two boxes, I have taken note of this. I am about to write a complaint to the company, telling them that people really do notice- or at least I do.

The rollerblading thing is going so well. Last weekend, Chris did a little research and round the "rail trail" or that they had paved over where the railroad used to be. They are still working on the construction, but we bladed over both parts that have been paved, resulting in eight miles over a span of two days. We can feel our legs strengthening. It's a great way to get some fresh air and exercise at the same time.

Everyone always asks what the plans are for the weekend. Not many plans these days, relax mainly. The drive in movie theater opened yesterday so a few of us were talking about going. Luckily I have been multi taking this morning and have four loads of laundry in. This way tomorrow morning Chris and I will not have trouble finding something to wear, and we will not have to spend our weekend doing laundry. (It's a pretty big deal when you do not have the luxury of your own washer, and have to wait on other people's laundry to finish in order to rush to the laundry room in hopes that someone else has not stolen your spot.) We will definitely however, spend a lot of time outside that's for sure.

Well, it looks as though my cup is empty. And one and a half blueberry muffins later...

Precipitation Station

This past weekend was a three day weekend. Normally Chris and I head Upstate on such weekends but because we just started a new class we were a little overwhelmed. After tripping to New York City we were quite tired, but we could not stop adventuring with another day to spend together. We got rollerblades. I was a little weary about the rollerblade situation until Chris assured me that we would use them more than we thought we would. He told me that last year when he was living in the city he thought about buying rollerblades in order to get where he needed to go at a faster pace. He wanted to get the rollerblades for us. And so we found them. 

 

When I was a young girl, my parents got me rollerblades for Christmas. I ended up rollerblading all over the house; climbing up the stairs and back down in my blades, leaving wheel trails on the carpet because it was not warm enough to go outside. But once it was, I remember rolling along side my brother and sister on their bikes right down the road to the park where we would spend hours outside wheeling about.

Our first rollerblading adventure was across the walking bridge. Now I have been across this bridge a handful of times before and each time the weather has been quite bright. But today our fate did not look so luminous. The clouds were gathering and the other side of the river looked rough. But we bladed on. Across the river, joyful as could be. We watched as people turned back, worried that they would get stuck on the other side once the storm hit. But we pressed on. We felt droplets hit our cheeks, but it was not until we were close to the other side that we turned around. It was invigorating. Flying between the rain drops, surpassing all of those walkers who had turned around before us. The rain was almost unnoticeable because of the speed we were traveling. I slowed down to take in the moments we were on the bridge. Chris complained that I was wearing denim and he had on a synthetic fabric so the rain was effecting him more. I hushed him. Those gradual uphills that are disguised as a flat, are unveiled when on rollerblades. You can really feel the hill when you are pushing against the wind. By the time the roads of Poughkeepsie were below the bridge, the rain has ceased. We reached dry land. We swiveled to a stop by the car and removed our blades. 

The rain always refreshes me. I liked to stop and smell the air after it rains. The dampness around me and the freshness of the vegetation. Last summer Chris wrote to me a passage I would like to share, "It's raining, it has been for a couple of days. Yesterday someone asked me, "Did you ever notice how clean the air feels after it rains?" and I told them I love that feeling. They said, "It's like every once in a while God gives the Earth a shower." It seemed really insightful at the time, and its dramatically ironic I think- like in the movies, the storms always coincide with something turbulent happening. With us, the rain seems to come when we need to clear out our unproductive thoughts." 

CIty Slickers

Yesterday Christopher and I decided to venture into the city. It is an hour and forty minute train ride from Poughkeepsie into Grand Central Station and we caught the train just before ten am. It was exciting, I have only been from school to the city one other time, although Chris has traveled to the city many times from school, and even took an interest in living there- which did not turn out so well. But I was enthusiastic to ride the train and see the sights. I mentioned to Chris that I felt like I was on the polar express, to which he replied "did you ever see that movie? the train was way better than this." It made me start to think about the different perspectives people have based on their own experiences. I took a moment to glance around me. To my left, was a man and wife both asleep on the train- just passing the minutes by, so familiar and comfortable with the train they must have been in order to just start snoozing. In front of me was a young girl, just learning to spell because she sounded out each word she took on reading and spelled it. She was interested in everything, "Grandma, do you ever take your earrings out?" "Grandpa, you were sleeping!" I wondered if it would be her first trip into the city. And then there was Chris next to me, staring out the window, counting the minutes of the ride. That train ride just gave me a moment to step back and wonder at how miraculous each person's different experience may be.

Once the train began to enter the tunnel, people packed up their temporary "train" lives and started hustling to the front. Some even passed through the car and beyond the door that was signed with a warning to not stand between the cars while the train was still in motion. Where were all those people going? Why did they have to get there so fast? Well, when the caboose squeaked to a stop, every one of those people flooded through the doors in the same direction. I felt like a guppy in a school of fish, following the current. After climbing a few sets of stairs, all of the people who had been striding towards the same exit, broke off in millions of different directions. I marveled at the ceiling as everyone does, and insisted on wearing my camera around my neck. Chris seemed embarrassed, he didn't want to look like tourists. But we rushed out onto the street and he knew exactly what direction we were headed in. I walked swiftly, a step ahead of him, and he reminded me that I had nothing to do until Wednesday when we had to be back in class. I relaxed, I guess I was just trying to fit in with all of the fast paced New Yorkers who knew where they were going- of which I had no idea.

Chris pulled a quick right, and I followed behind him, wondering what we were going to do on the carpet warehouse street. He stepped inside a building and headed for the elevator. Behind door number one, on the eleventh floor, was JB Prince; a culinarians haven. There were a number of shiny knives laid underneath polished glass, many different sharpening stones, a variety of top notch books, and modern equipment all around. I marveled at the knives while Chris went for the stones. He mentioned that he had browsed the internet and found the same stone for twice as much, and he asked my opinion. Luckily we left the books and the stones and only went for a couple pairs of tweezers, for fear that by the end of the day we would break our back with the weight of a stone.

We proceeded to the street and avoided the oversized pigeons, marveling at the trees that were blossoming. The pace you walk in the city is very important. The locals must get it down to a science, but unless you continue the same steady pace for blocks, it is possible that you may catch every single stop light in the entire city. I noted that some people looked timid at a curb, and looked both ways even if the walking light was green. Others glanced from side to side and walked across even when they did not have the right of way. I found that one way streets are convenient, because you only have to look one way, and if there is not any traffic then you can make it. I often found myself bounding across the street only to realize that there were four people halfway across by the time I made it to the other side. I was an obvious tourist, but it did not really bother me. I remember back when my family travelled to New Mexico for one of my fathers business trips. I was probably fourteen, and my mom bought me a cow girl hat. I distinctly remember talking in a (horrible) southern accent and pretending that I was from New Mexico visiting with my family from New York. I think back and laugh about it. Any of those who have seen my mom, know that I must've been crazy because I am unmistakably her child.

The second stop was Eataly. Of all the times I have visited NYC, I have never really visited the food part of the city, which is odd. But Luckily Chris was there to tour me around. It was incredible to walk around and see all of the fresh meats and fish, watch them make the pasta, etc. We found ourselves in the middle of a restaurant and had to find our way out of the maze in order to continue throughout the market. Having been through the Italian restaurant on campus, we were happy to recognize some of the terms not so familiar to other tourists. We also found some interesting honey. There were nuts dispersed throughout the jar of honey. Chris asked me if I thought that the nuts tasted like honey, or the honey had the flavor of the nuts. I guessed the latter, but I would suppose that it really is both. If you ate the nut, it would be coated in honey and therefore taste like honey. Again we looked at a couple of books, but decided to save our backs- or rather, Chris' back.

We decided to skip China town and maybe circle back to it. I am not all that interested in Asian flavors and although Christopher insisted that it was the central point of food in New York City, I decided we would catch it later. We strode on towards Chelsea Market, which I had the wrong idea about. I assumed it would be a mix of the market I saw in Seattle and Eataly, but it was very different. Inside was a variety of stores from clothing stores to bakeries, butcher shops and ingredient based shops. We walked into the fish market where they were just cutting some salmon. Four guys manned the cutting boards; one took off the sides and passed it to the next man who took out the bones and cut off the belly fat, the fish was then thrown to a gentleman who pinboned the fish and the last man skinned the fish. They were not as gentle as my fish instructor insisted we be, and it left an impression on me. But those guys glanced at me thinking, who is she? She has probably never even seen a whole fish in her life. The really neat thing about the fish market was that the lobsters were in cages but there was a waterfall running over them so that they would continue to stay fresh.

As Chris and I continued to stroll through the market, we gazed fondly upon all of the cute pictures of food art which was created by Bill Wurtzel. Some people just zoomed on by through the market with their own agendas, but we side stepped those people and just laughed at all of the funny food art. I got a little irritated in the kitchen store when I was interested in buying a knife and no one paid any attention to me. "That girl cannot possibly want to buy a knife from behind our counter." But I finally was able to grab someone's attention and I purchased a sharp boning knife with enough flex to help me through whatever I have to face in Bocuse on Wednesday.

Chris surprised me with an interest in rollerblades. He had mentioned it a couple of days before, and we had stopped at a few shops, but I thought maybe he was thinking ahead to when we move after school. Instead he had hoped the day before to rollerblade across the bridge over the Hudson with me, and now he had wanted to go rollerblading in Central Park. We rushed around to a few sports themed stores, but none had a wide selection of blades. When traveling to the city, I had a couple of things in my mind besides the knife as far as purchases were concerned. At Grand Central, Chris had pulled me into the Swatch store so I might find a collection I liked but it was too early in the trip for me to buy anything. And we stopped in a few places where I was hoping to find a denim vest, but the few I found were extremely out of my price range- well, what was I expecting. After grabbing a piece of pizza as a snack, I looked up to see the biggest TJMaxx ever, and I insisted that we rush in. I was overwhelmed by how many things were in the store. It was not however, a good overwhelming feeling, more of a "howtheheckamIsupposedtofindonethingthatmatchesmewhentherearesomanyotherthingstryingtohidethatonethingfromme?!" feeling. I did however, find one of my favorite Life is Good shirts yet, too bad it was not in my size.

As we headed towards Broadway and 42nd street, hoping to get lucky and score tickets to an evening show, my mom's name came up on Chris' phone. Immediate panic crossed over both of our faces. I answered and told my mom my coordinates in the city as she asked. She told me not to get excited but that there had been a bombing in Boston and that she thought it would be a good idea to get out of the city. I grabbed Chris' hand and we headed towards the station. We had no clue when the next train was leaving or what had happened in Boston and we were both nervous and frustrated. On one hand, I wanted to get the heck out of the city; I was scared and did not want anything to happen to Chris or I. I was worried but relieved that nothing had happened to my family. On the other hand, no one else seemed to know that anything was going on. Everyone seemed oblivious. It upset me that our day of fun had to come to an end. I felt out of my element and uncomfortable in the terminal and luckily the train was ten minutes from leaving. The train was packed and I wondered if others were headed home due to the high alert warnings in New York. I asked Chris what high alert meant, and he explained that they bring in more forces. I thought about how there is no real preventative action that can be taken. I was happy that we got out of there. But I was disappointed about our day.  I drifted off to sleep with Chris' arm on one side of me and the passing scenery on the other.

Our day in the city made me think about how everyone's lives are touched differently by their experiences. I don't think it's possible for any two people to experience the same things. I have been a New Yorker for the majority of my life, but I have never been a NYCer. When ever someone asks me where I am from out of state and I say New York, they automatically assume that I am from the city. Not everyone knows that New York is not just a city. But the city is a big part of it. Half of those residents of New York State live in New York City. That's crazy. So many lives in such a small little area. Those that live there are very brave. Which train would they rush to if their mom was worried about them? Do you know I saw three blind people in my five hours in the city. Of all the places I would want to live if I were blind, the city would not be on my top one hundred list. I am definately not a city girl. No way, no how. I would rather stack 450 bales in a barn than be able to touch my neighbor through my window. Brave people. They really are.

"Mama Butcher"

Recently I have been quite busy. I finished my time in the Catarina Restaurant on campus and the six week mark has passed. I am now a member of the Bocuse restaurant kitchen crew. 

There are four restaurants on the Hyde Park CIA campus; two contemporary and two fancypants formal restaurants. As part of the curriculum, we must work in two of the restaurants, first the contemporary and then a formal restaurant to finish our schooling here at the CIA. The formal restaurants are Bocuse and the American Bounty restaurants. Bocuse is brand new, and was just opened in February, when Paul Bocuse himself visited the restaurant for the grand opening and to celebrate his 87th birthday. The restaurant was transformed from the Escoffier into Bocuse between the time we left for externship last May and January of this year. It has been a pretty big deal for our school, and Chris and I have seen publicity everywhere from the Wall Street Journal to Food Arts Magazine. Christopher was interested in the Bocuse restaurant because he is enthusiastic about the modern approach to food, and this kitchen has them all. Chef Remolina explained to us yesterday all of the costs that went in to opening the restaurant. The kitchen is equipt with an Irinox: a combi oven/ blast chiller. Which can freeze anything within 20 minutes and cook them with a push of a button the next. A pressure cooker tilt skillet: which "seals things in, cooks them at a higher pressure, at a lower boiling point, yadayadayada...yada.yada." in Chris' words. Two rational ovens, which are top notch combination ovens. We use sous vide cookery on all of the vegetables made in the kitchen and  liquid nitrogen is used in the dining room to create ice cream to order at each table. This new and exciting stuff has attracted many customers and the restaurant is booked for months. 

The kitchen is divided into many different stations in order to accommodate all of the needs and act as a realistic kitchen environment. There are specific people who create family meal for the "staff" each day, there is a saute station, a soup, roast, garde manger, fish, hot appetizers, canape, entremetier, and butcher station. When I was deciding on which station would suite me, I tried to picture myself in each position. Luckily the odds were in my favor because I found the perfect fit for me. I am the butcher. When you first think of a butcher, what pops into your head? blood, cows, smelly, fishy, beards, yuck. Well it's not all false, but it's actually really fun. 

The first day I arrived with lots on my plate. It was fish day. Whole lemon sole, skate wings, and real live lobsters had come in on the fish order, and Chef was adamant that it all be cut that day. I had my work cut out for me, and I started with the skate. Not sure if I mentioned this before, but when I was in fish fabrication class I enjoyed it so much and I would stay after class to help cut the extra fish for practice. One day while cutting skate, Chris decided to stay and help. This was before our relationship kicked off, and I taught him how to cut the skate which was pretty cool on my part. Anyway, skate is a ray from the shark family, and is a dangerous fish. It has spikes on its skin in order to ward off predators, and so when fileting the fish and removing it's skin, your hands tend to get a little beat up. After cutting around 40 pounds of skate, my fingertips were cut up and I had tape wrapped around four of my fingers. The skate had poked through my skin like thorns and released inconvenient trickles of blood which I had to cease with masking tape. Also I should mention that when cutting skate your hands may start to itch. Because the skate is so fresh, the uric acid is still present on the surface of the skin, which may cause a reaction with your skin. After cutting all of the skate, I then had to skin it and portion it. The really cool thing about this modern kitchen is that it enables us to be very efficient and use new tools. I am issued this ingredient called activa which is meat glue. Those filets of fish that are not the correct weight can be glued together with another under sized fish in order to make the right portion. Another example is that all of the edible waste that is trimmed from a tenderloin can be glued together to form a new tenderloin which we can cut filets from. This enables us to create portions that would have gone to waste. Utilization is key in the kitchen. 

Cutting the sole was quite easy, also I was expecting a small fish and instead was a ginormous flat fish probably two feet in length and one foot in width. It was near ten o'clock when I had finished the first two fish, and Chef said we would leave the lobster for the next day. Luckily the Manager In Training had helped me all day with the fish and it was impossible to get it all done even with the two of us. After cutting fish from 2:30 until ten o'clock, we were then told to clean for a couple of hours and were released to go home at 12:15am. Long day, and Chris and I were both exhausted. I think I slept eleven hours that night, got up and went to class the next day right away. My body was just physically drained. So. Many. Hours.

 The fun thing about these last six weeks of school is that we have class on Saturdays. So when we arrived to class on our normal weekend, we got right to work. Luckily there is no order that can come in on Saturday so I knew what I had to do already. The lobsters had been fabricated in the morning, so I will have to defeat my first live lobster another day. But I got to clean the lamb racks, and cut tenderloin, and cure some duck breasts. When all that was finished I started to clean and clean and clean and clean. So the first day was more exciting than the second, but I will say that I am happy to be cutting meat and fish for hours while service is going on. I'm not on the line, not in the heat, not being screamed at, or burning anything, not doing the same task every minute of every day, and not under too much pressure. Although, one thing I do like about my job, is that I contribute to all of the stations. If I wasn't there, a lot of people would be in trouble and I think I play a crucial role in the kitchen. I wish that other people saw it this way, but unfortunately some think that my job is unimportant, and they treat me as such. Everyone needs to be appreciated in a kitchen; if the man who washes the pots you use to cook in was not there, then everyone would have to wash their own pots, and if the family meal station was sick, then none of us would eat. I hope that as the block rolls on, people begin to understand that all the cogs in a wheel are important for the wheel to work to its full potential. 

Lunch Date

Today Chris and I decided to run out for a lunch date at a local deli which is said to be great.

We enjoyed this nice weather that Mother Nature has finally decided to give us as we munched on our more than filling lunches.

Chris ventured for the daily special, a panini with Prosciutto Cotta, roasted red peppers, arugula, and mozzarella, balsamic and olive oil. 

He only got halfway although he insisted the sandwich really did fill his belly. 

As you can see above, I ordered the Rossi's salad with grilled chicken. It had artichokes, marinated mushrooms, roasted peppers, olives (which Chris indulged on), rounds of mozzarella, and a house made dressing. 

There was no way that I could finish my salad, look at the size of it, HUGE. 

And because Chris and I have been avoiding soda with 2013, we have been able to discover some new drinks on the market. I am enjoying the new array of beverages, and together- Christopher and I have lost nineteen pounds since January, one!

It was nice to share some seconds with my favorite person under the sun on a fine Saturday afternoon. 

Practically Perfect

I mentioned earlier this week that I was busy studying for my cooking practical. There are two cooking practicals you must pass in order to graduate from the CIA; one is a second term practical which is comprised of six possible menus that are all dishes that you are taught to make in the class prior to the practical. Both practicals allot 2.5 hours to complete a first course, main course, vegetable, and starch. Last year, Chris and I spent the thirteen hours before our practical detailing every timeline we would need in order to be the most successful. Chris and I both passed the practical last year with a 74- "twinning". It was not our best, but we both found that working under the pressure and to the preferences of the Chef you are assigned is very difficult.

This year, our practical was composed of two parts; an oral section composed of ten questions out of a possible 300+ (all of the knowledge that we have learned in the past 15 months of school). While for people like Christopher, this is easy because of a photographic memory, I am more of a hands on learner, and unless I made a consomme last week, I probably could not repeat the ratio of the ingredients without much studying. The other part was again a possibility of six different menus, ranging from Pan Fried pork Cutlet, Shallow Poach Salmon with Sauce Vin Blanc, Chicken Fricasee, and the "normal" "traditional" sort. Now as I stated, last year, we took a whole class that helped us prepare and practice for the dishes that we may "pull" on the practical, but this year- no such luck. The only time I have ever poached a chicken breast was to make chicken salad, I have never before made ratatouille, and sauce piquante is foreign to me. Luckily, Chris and I came up with the plan to practice for our practical over Easter in my mom's kitchen. She was generous enough to provide us with the ingredients we would need (of course we promised to work it off), and we took a couple hours away from the family and started Cheffing. I insisted that we pretend that I was taking a first time class, and Chris teach me like he was my instructor, in order for me to pick up all of the tips and assumptions that I had forgotten. It was pretty fun. We broke down two chickens, made three different hollandaise sauces, and experimented with three different ways to sear a steak. It was much more effective than listening to a chef lecture on about the eight pieces you cut a chicken into because Chris was able to hold his hand over my hand and control the knife so that I could feel the cuts that needed to be made. I think my dad walked into the kitchen when Chris was explaining that I was whisking wrong, and stood behind me using my arm to whisk in order to show me the correct technique. Pretty comical. I'm not really afraid to admit that I could not make a hollandaise by myself, it's tough stuff. And while most people have mastered it, I find there are more important things in life. But luckily I made two batches that came out alright after Christopher demoed the first. We tested out three ways to sear a steak; 1) salt and pepper sear 2)floured 3)smothered in beef base. After tasting each steak, I decided that I enjoyed the taste of the floured steak best, and we moved on.

Because Buzzelli is close to the top of the alphabet, Christopher's practical was scheduled for the first day, which was Wednesday and he stayed up late Tuesday night preparing his mise en place. Early the next morning he set out to defeat the practical. Wednesday was pretty tough for me. Usually I am in the kitchen with him, and I get to see his reactions to situations. From 6:30-11:30 I heard nothing. I had no idea what menu he pulled, if he had cut his finger off, whether or not his expression told everyone he could handle his dish, or if he was running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. (For those of you who do not know Chris, he is a very calm individual, who has never been caught running around like a chicken with it's head cut off, and can handle any situation, but still how was I to know what was going on?) I received a text message that said 72, and immediately I let out a breath. He then sent me a message explaining that he had pulled the Shallow poach sole with sauce vin blanc, and Roast Beef Jus Lie with potatoes au gratin, broccoli rabe, and grilled vegetables. This was a pretty difficult menu that we had both hoped to avoid. In order to make the sauce for the fish, you had to take the bones from the fish and create a fish fumet, which needs to cook around 40 minutes, from that you were required to make a veloute, which is the fumet mixed with cream to make a sauce, which needs to cook around 40 minutes as well. Then you must shallow poach the fish in some of the fumet, add the veloute and continue to make the vin blanc sauce. Very labor intensive, and plus that is not all you have to complete within the two hour time period. When he returned I welcomed him with open arms. Chris is the best cook I know, and he was exhausted. He told the whole tale as I eagerly hung on each of his words, flooding him with questions. I felt a little better knowing some of the parameters of the kitchen, and ingredients available etc. I started adjusting my timelines and recipes to fit the updated information I had received from Chris. Still I was nervous.

Friday morning I woke up at five fifteen and leapt out of bed, only to cover back up because I still had an hour to rest. Later, I jumped in the shower and dressed quickly. Chris had allowed me to borrow his knife kit, and as I slung the over sized heavy over my shoulder. He sent me off with well wishes and with a hop in my step I started out for the practical kitchen. I wasn't the first to start, and I helped others get set up before I was called over to complete my questions. I struggled through the first few, but once I got rolling I was golden. I ended up completing all of the questions and ending up with the correct answer for each; my day was off to a good start. I pulled the card for station two which was the Sauteed strip steak with ratatouille, string beans, french fries and marchand de vin sauce. For the first course, I would have to prepare a deep poach salmon with hollandaise sauce- gulp. I set up my station before my start time and got all of the equipment I would need. My entire stove top was filled and I was minutes away from starting.

I started out skinning a salmon side and cutting what I needed for my deep poach. I then got my court bouillon (a stock of vegetables that I would use for poaching) on the stove and started my reduction of shallots, wine, and vinegar for my hollandaise. I cut all of my vegetables for my ratatouille and trimmed spinach, green beans, and potatoes. I found out that two and a half hours is a lot of time. The first hour I just took deep breaths, and made my way through the prep making sure to stay clean. I made my ratatouille and put it on the back burner, being sure to remember what an instructor told me once-that ratatouille is all about eggplant and not so much about the tomato. When I had one hour left, I kicked it into high gear and strained my stock as well as my reduction. I seasoned my steak and then floured it just as I had practiced. The chef immediately turned to me and chanted "You NEVER flour a steak, NEVER. NEVER." I was shocked, because of course I didn't just decide to flour it on a whim, I had practiced and tasted the floured steak. I removed the other two steaks that were reserved in the fridge and seasoned them. That threw me for a little loop but then I got back on track, started my deep poach and then started to sear my steak. After about six minutes I removed the salmon and was unhappy to see that a corner flaked off. Over-poached: darn. Oh well I kept moving. I rested my meat and got my ingredients ready to make my hollandaise. I threw some garlic in a pan for my spinach, and finished my sauce for the steak. After two batches of burnt garlic, I got the spinach down and started with the hollandaise. In my head Chris was saying, don't slap the whisk down on the bowl, use the shape of the bowl to your advantage." I just kept hearing his voice in my ear telling me that I could do it, and encouraging me to whisk a little longer. Then I started to add the butter and it came out great. I was beaming with pride. Even if I failed my entire practical, I made a hollandaise by myself, and it tasted good too. I plated my bed of spinach in a ring mold, topped with the tranche of salmon and yellow hollandaise cascading down the fish. I rushed up to the judging table and scurried back to my station to finish my steak. I dropped my fries into the oil, having already blanched them once. The oil was obviously too hot because I immediately heard the bubble when the potatoes hit the surface. I hurried to remove them and they had just achieved a good golden color. I tasted one, but they were not cooked through, so I dropped them again finally achieving the golden brown and delicious that I had been looking for. I heated my steak and green beans and started to plate. I looked around to see what I was missing. I had placed a pan on top of my ratatouille pot and almost forgot about it. Luckily it was still hot and I spooned it onto my plate arriving at the table two minutes after my expected time.

 I sat with the Chef and listened as he critiqued my food. He loved the french fries right off the bat and said that they were perfect crispness. He then started over with the first course. He asked me what I thought and I admitted that the fish was over cooked. He and I agreed that we could see the albumin remnants. He awarded me with a 4.5/5 for my hollandaise which made me so happy, and docked some points for my spinach being grainy from lack of proper cleaning. I got a perfect score on my ratatouille, and french fries. My steak was unevenly cooked and I had garnished my steak with the sauce on top when it should have been beneath the steak. My sauce had too much butter in it and therefore did not stay emulsified so I got some points off there, but it tasted good. The string beans were seasoned well and cooked satisfactory. I held my breath as he added up the points. "station was pretty clean, you worked well, and were about four minutes late all together. Six here, a few points off here, point five because you floured the first steaks and.....Eighty two." I let out the same breath I had been holding since Chris had told me his score. I happily cleaned up and rushed off to send Chris the message. He responded with, "excellent, so proud, you're a super star!" I was very proud, and I rushed to cleanup and get back to him. It was a glorious day outside and we went for a walk as I told him the story of the day.

Luck was definitely on my side that day. If I had been the one out of the two of us to take my practical first, the nerves probably would have gotten to me. And if I did not have Chris's voice in the background easing me through my test, I am not sure that I would have made it. Out of the two of us, Chris is a way better cook than I am. Luckily, I did not receive the same menu that he did, and I pulled an easier one. The prayers my friends and family were sending my way helped, and with Christopher's help, I was happy to pull away with a win.