1 down, 14 to go

well, i made it through my first week of pastry school.  i have learned a great deal about food science, and many different aspects of being in the kitchen, all while having a really good time.  i'm going to have to do some serious studying to make sure that all of the information sticks in my brain, but it is so much easier to keep it all straight when i can walk right into the kitchen and use what i just learned to bake something really tasty.

the biggest down side to school is that you have to taste your product to know whether you were successful and we ended up tasting a lot of pastry in our sensory analysis today.  i'm going to have to do some serious cardio to not gain a ton of weight through all of it.  we made some really awesome food though.

today we put together all of the components that we worked on all week.  i made a fresh berry pie with struesel topping, a fresh fruit tart, lemon curd tartlets with chantilly cream, frangipane tartlets with dried fruits and toasted almonds, a pear and blueberry galette, and a mushroom and spinach galette with sundried tomatoes and feta cheese.  and then we had to taste everything.  the whole process of sensory analysis is really fun, but by the end of the day my belly hurt. 

it was very cool to get to play dessert fairy though after class.  we had so many leftovers that i took some to pretty much everyone i know here in colorado.  the greatest thing about baking is that you get to make someone's day with your end result.  no matter how long a day in the kitchen seems, it is always worth it when you see someone enjoy your product. 

next week we get to do creme anglaise, which conveniently enough is the base for ice cream!  however before that, i have to make a bunch of pie dough because i have to be able to do it in 25 minutes for my quiz next week including prep work and clean up!  yikes!

first and foremost, it a serious need for sleep.  good night everyone!