my own top chef adventure

thursday evening i took my practical midterm.  it was very much a top chef type of experience.  we got to the kitchen and were given our ingredients and our menu for the evening.  we had a preview of the menus so we knew the items that we were going to make, but we didn't know what ingredients we would have available to us.  i got raspberries in my bag and we had to make a fruit galette, a creme anglaise sauce, and some kind of garnish for our plate.  all in 3 hours.

i was really worried about the time limit going into it because i hadn't had much time to practice.  however, it ended up not being a big deal at all.  i had my production schedule planned out really well and ended up being ahead of schedule for most of the evening.  i ended up only presenting about 15 minutes earlier than i was supposed to, but only because there were still people in front of me.

in the end i made a raspberry ginger galette with toasted almonds, a ginger creme anglaise, an orange liqeuer chantilly cream, and a caramelized sugar garnish.  i also added a sugared blueberry to the plate when i was finished.  i used writing chocolate, raspberry preserve sauce, and my creme anglaise to decorate my plate and the end result was beautiful.

when we presented our desserts, we took them in to chef amy and chef jerilyn and served them just as you would in a restaurant.  they evaluated the appearance of our plates and then sent us away while they were tasting.  after they tasted our food, they brought us back in for an evaluation of taste.  i got rave reviews on my plating and my flavor elements, so i was quite happy with what i put out.  in the end, it was a fabulous time and i am now much less scared for the final.

the written exam also went really well and i am very pleased with my overall performance so far.  8 more weeks to go and this week is chocolate!

adventures with my momma

saturday, july 10th after class, i got in my car and drove to estes park to meet mom and ron at rocky mountain national park.  the drive into estes park is so beautiful.  you drive northwest out of boulder along the mountains and go through very cute little mountain towns along the way.  it was a truly beautiful drive and getting into estes park is always so pretty.  the sun behind the mountains makes the lake sparkle and it is so amazing.  we camped for two nights at RMNP and had two really great meals in estes park.  sunday we hiked to alberta falls and then took a circle on around the mountain back to bear lake, which is where we started.  it was a very tiring hike, but we got to see some truly beautiful things too.

check out these mountain views!

monday morning we got up and broke camp and headed over trail ridge road.  it is by far the most beautiful drive in the country if not the world.  you get to see amazing mountains and generally some really fun wildlife.  you end up driving over the continental divide, an amazing thing to contemplate if you really think about it and see real life tundra, which is a place that i would never want to stay for very long.  it is only 38 miles long, but with all of the places you stop to enjoy the view and have something warm to drink, it takes several hours to cross.  it is well worth the time and anyone who comes to visit should definitely decide to take the scenic route.  it is SO beautiful!

tuesday we decided to ride our bikes from frisco to breckenridge.  this ends up being a 13 mile ride one way.  it is truly beautiful, but even though it looks flat in most places, you are going uphill the entire way to breckenridge.  by the time we got there, we were sweaty, hot and a little cranky.  we had a great lunch at the columbine cafe and even met up with kristin and jaidyn for a little souvenir shopping before we rode back.  my knee did a pretty good job of keeping up for 26 miles of biking, but the last few hills were too tough and i had to walk my bike up a couple.  since it is a little hard to take pictures and ride a bike, i don't have any photographic evidence of the day, but it ended up being truly fun.  when we got back, we had wendy's baked potatoes and frostys for dinner and then sat outside the laundromat while mom was washing her clothes.  it was actually a really nice evening to just sit and enjoy the mountains. 

on wednesday we got up and drove out to boreas pass and met up with the sowa clan for a hike.  boreas pass is actually a really old railroad station and was home to the highest elevation post office in america.  the railroad was actually dismantled for metal during world war 2.  the army corps of engineers then built the road up to the station in the 1950's.  the road however, does not seem to have been improved since it was built and it was truly bumpy and full of pot-holes.  hiking with 5 kids was actually much easier than i thought.  they did an awesome job and we had a great time.  even ellie, who is only 3, seemed to have a good time and didn't complain.  zac and kristin's friends from colorado springs came with and it was great to get to know them and to have a few more familiar faces here in colorado.  we had lunch at their condo after the hike, which was a great end to my fun in the mountains.  i headed back to the house after we got done with the hike to get ready for midterms so i didn't get to go on their other adventures throughout the week.  it was a really great vacation and i had a blast playing in the mountains with my momma.

it is so pretty here, i am so glad that i get to stay.  anyone who wants to come visit and enjoy the mountains is more than welcome!