Category Archives: Misc.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that all of those early mornings (in the winter, especially!) were worth it. I’ve definitely learned a lot in the two-and-a-half years I’ve been back at school — while everyone else I know is sleeping in, meeting up for breakfast, and generally enjoying their weekends. I thought I might start journaling these things so I remember just why I spent all that time and money.

Tonight, I decided we’d have fish for dinner — it seemed like a good, healthy dinner after a weekend of general debauchery. I stopped at Whole Foods (sigh, I do have an unhealthy love of that store) and got some haddock that was on sale. When I got home, I realized I’d have to take the skin off. I flashed back to my first ever class at Johnson and Wales.

In this first class, I was generally like a deer in headlights. I was thrown into the fire, so to speak, and all of my other classmates had been in at least one other class before this. Everything was new to me! I didn’t realize that we didn’t dry the dishes, we let them air dry for sanitation purposes. I didn’t realize that we put wet paper towels under our cutting boards to keep them from wiggling on the stainless steel work tables. I didn’t know how to put my knives away in the knife kit I was issued. I didn’t even know I was supposed to be wearing white socks rather than the black socks I wore that day (lucky for my, my first chef didn’t give inspections!) So, when the chef put my “team” on the fish station and later said we needed to take the skin off of the fish before cooking it and then walked away, I was very perplexed.

Truth is, I’d never been good at that — I usually just cooked fish with the skin on and ate around it when I cooked at home. It peels off so much better when it’s cooked! I spent the next 15 minutes basically sawing the skin off in little pieces taking a lot of the fish with it. I finally asked the chef for help and, of course, he showed me how it was done…and I still didn’t get it. It was a good thing that fish was battered and fried because I had really made a mess of it.

Over the course of many more classes, I’ve finally figured out the trick. By cutting into the fish and holding a sharp chef’s knife at about a 45 degree angle with the blade up against the skin, you can easily get the skin off by wiggling it at the same time you are moving the knife along the skin.

Tonight I showed that haddock fillet who was boss and that skin came off in just a few seconds. It was a real reminder that I have learned a skill — one skill of many that has helped me become a much better cook. I suppose that was worth waking up at least one cold, snowy, winter morning at 5:30 a.m.

So, I’m getting married on April 28 as most people who actually read this blog know. Along with planning for that and finishing school, yeah, this blog has been a little on the quiet side. The good news is that on Sunday, I finish my cooking classes for the year (taking the rest of the trimester off due to the wedding and the honeymoon.)

I’ve been really happy with this class — Stocks, Sauces, and Soups. At first, I was a little terrified of the chef. I’d heard he was tough and I’m really the type of person to wilt at any sort of screaming or yelling. Funny side story: when I was in high school, I got a call from an army recruiter because I scored really high on this ASVAB test we had to take. I said I was definitely not interested in the army, but thanks. The recruiter didn’t want to take no for an answer and said, “Are you afraid of people yelling at you all the time?” Yes, pretty much, and the fact that I’d never make it through their physical test and well, I don’t like conflict. He goes on to tell me, “Don’t worry, it’s not like that at all.” Ha.

Anyway, the chef is a little in your face…and if I weren’t totally respectful/scared of authority, I’d probably have a hard time. But I just tried to keep quiet and ask good questions and study hard for the quizzes and it paid off. I only almost cried once but I held it together. Phew. Plus, I have a 100% average on my quizzes! Hooray!

But the really wonderful part of the class is that I FINALLY know how to make stock right and without looking at a recipe (it’s a method more than a recipe.) And I also know how to make lots of basic sauces (we call them Mother Sauces in the culinary world) by memory. I had to practice Hollandaise at home, but I think I got it down.

Sunday is my practical exam and my written final. I have my paper written. I’m good to go — and then, hopefully, I can start blogging more. I can’t wait to share with you my recipe for a tortilla casserole (made from homemade tortillas — I got a tortilla press as a wedding gift from the very lovely Armida and I love it so, so, so much!)

I also need to create a potato soup #2 for Lisa with the addition of cheese — I should have known better not to include it the first time.

And, yes, dad, you’re right. The font color should change for comments. I’ll work on that too!