Monday, September 20, 2010

I.C.E.

Sorry it's been so long! I've been busy?  =]   So, I started at the Institute of Culinary Education two weeks ago.  I am taking weekend classes, so I'm working Monday to Friday and in school all day Saturday and Sunday.  It's busy but I love it so far.  We haven't done much baking yet, it's mostly reading and learning our workspaces, etc.   Sanitation is SO much fun to learn about. Especially when it is presented in a 1980's VHS.

My class is pretty small, which is nice. There are 15 of us, most in their mid 20's.  They are all from the tri-state area, so of course they are interested in exotic South Dakota. =]  Most of them asked if Fargo was in SD. There are a couple of people who want to go into cake decorating, but everyone else is pretty mixed as far as what they want to do.  There are a couple who are into artisan bread baking, a few into classic French pastry and a couple who have no idea.

We got our Wusthof knife sets this last weekend and started by learning what each one is used for, how to keep them sharp and clean them. We practiced using them by cutting all different fruits. We had to slice grapes, quarter apples and fan out strawberries, as well as cutting pretty much every other fruit there is. I only cut my finger once. (They are SO sharp!)   So part of my homework this week is slicing fruit, making sure they are sliced evenly at the right width.

We also made Pate de Fruit.  It's almost like a gum drop.  We made them with apricots, but you can use pretty much any fruit.  It was super easy and I am for sure going to try them again at home.  If you want the recipe, just let me know. =]


Well, that's pretty much all I have for now. I will keep you updated on what's going on with school.  Thanks for reading!