Week Two Begins

Hello all!

I *would* have updated last week, but it was a bit of a CR-A-ZY week, thanks to the wonderful world of SafeServ. 

So glad THAT’S over.

Now just the wait. 

A LONG week of waiting for the results. 

It’s kind of like the ACT or SAT.  It has to be sent to the National Restaurant Association to be graded then the results mailed back in the normal ‘we’ll get it to you when we get it to you’ 7-10 business days.

Did I mention it’s gonna be a looooong week?

In the meantime, Intro to Kitchen and Basic Skills will keep me occupied.  BIG TIME!  Mainly knife skills, which is WAY more difficult then I expected.  We’ll learn 14 basic knife cuts,  the in’s and out’s of a basic kitchen, herb and spice notification, measurement, and to end: Chicken Stock. 

It will also be a first practical exam, which is WEDNESDAY.  Yea—like day after tomorrow.  ACKKKK. 

Anyway, we’ll have to show that we are proficient in the 14 basic knife cuts:

*Tournet      *Large Dice     *Medium Dice    *Small Dice    *Oblique       *Brunoise        *Fine Brunoise    *Rondelle   *Paysanne    *Julienne     *Fine Julienne      *Batonnet   *Minced

And two other’s we haven’t been introduced to as of yet.  I’m gonna guess slicing of some sort maybe. 

Let me just say, these are TOUGH.  Like tough tough!  Most of them start with having to square either a carrot or a potato. 

Yea---it’s not easy.  Go on.  Try.

I can’t even BEGIN to count the number of carrots that were slaughtered in the attempt to cut a perfect Brunoise. 

But at least the carrots are being saved for the chicken stock, the poor potatoes………….

Not so much. 

Talk about WASTE.   Let’s just say it’s I lost count after about 10. 

And that was just in the morning! 

And there are something like 20 in the class.

All I could think about were those ‘poor starving children in Ethiopia.’

200 mph sneezes

Day two is in the books! 

And it wasn’t too bad at all. 

Information on the different types of chefs; professionalism in the field; ACF accreditation steps; and Safety and Sanitation.

I now know the proper way to sneeze (hands behind your back, bend down at your knees, and sneeze towards the floor/your feet).  And that your sneezes come out at about 200 miles per hour! Yea—gross!!  (I have yet to check the validity of this statement, but I will!)

It was also the first day to wear the uniform, so we had ‘inspection.’  No worries there, although my shoes are HIDEIOUS!  I’ve GOT to order some these super snazzy ones.  Not the lame-o black work wear Sketchers I have now. 

We did however finally crack open our text books and start on our ServSafe information.  ServSafe is essential food safety training.  “ServSafe Food Safety Programs combine critical information, exclusive tools, and real world resources to transform knowledge into action.”  In the industry every establishment is required to have at least one certified food manager to be on premises. 

Upon completion of this 101 course, I will have obtained one of these certifications. 

Whhoooaaaaa me!

The thing with this information, it makes you a bit leery of going OUT to eat.  You’ve all heard the horror stories of the nasty things that could or DO go on where you, the guest , can’t see.  Anyone that has ever worked in a restaurant can attest to these going-ons.  Then seeing it in official form, with numbers and statistics and graphic pictures, and ‘real life’ stories……….*cringe*

There are some DISGUSTING things going on out there!

And that’s about all I have to say on day two. 

Not to mention I’m zonked and it’s WAY late. 

Until later……..

And so it starts…….

I have ALWAYS had a passion for food, and it actually goes beyond just eating.

No really…..it does.

Anyway, I am embarking on a new adventure:  Culinary Arts. 

It’s something that I’ve wanted to do, I’ve looked at a few times here and there, but the timing was never right. 

It couldn’t get any more right then NOW. 

It really all came to head after seeing Julie&Julia (yea—don’t laugh!).  I had been to see the first showing at AMC Quail Springs theater and was gonna hit Barnes and Nobles after, and drove right passed The Institute of Culinary Arts School.  I literally pulled into the parking lot, signed in at the front desk, and met with a councilor ---all within the matter of an hour.

It was exhilarating. 

I walked out the doors, a to-be Culinary Student, and in a little over a year, I’d be Chef. 

Here’s the lowdown:

After 12 months, 1680 clock hours, and 105.45 credit hours, I will have an Associate of Science in Culinary Arts (yes—ANOTHER Associates degree).   The program consists of a broad curriculum including theory and practical instruction,  and many activities in a state-of-the-art laboratory (that means KICK ASS KITCHENS!).

The Institute offers the only ACF (American Culinary Federation) Accredited program in Oklahoma, and the only approved Certification Evaluator in the state of Oklahoma.

And there you have it.  The nitty gritty of it all.  It’s extremely fast paced, but I’m going to attempt to blog my entire experience.

That’s the plan at least. 

So if you are reading this (be it family or friend) encouragement and a little prodding, I’ll keep ya’ll in the loop of my going’s on. 

How’s that sound? 

And while you wait…

 

For those of us that are OBSESSED with all things Lord of the Rings (LotR) and are very impatiently waiting for The Hobbit movies to come out, here’s a little something to wet your appetite. 

The Hunt for Gollum

 

Just watching the trailer, I get all goose bumping. 

This  is a forty-something minute short film made ‘for fans by fans’, and it really is something else.   This is a non-profit independent film based off the appendices of the trilogy. In the production team’s disclaimer they state “This work is produced solely for the personal, uncompensated enjoyment of ourselves and other Tolkien fans. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.”   They did all this for under $5000. 

Watch it.  You won’t believe it either.

In an interview with BBC News the director, Chris Bouchard, claims that fan films aren’t new, “there are loads of Star Wars fan films” but felt that LotR fans weren’t given their due. 

We got it now.

What stopped me in my tracks watching the trailer was the beautiful score (I’m a SUCKER for a good score/soundtrack.  Have you ever HEARD Last of the Mohicans?  Yea, it’s THAT good!).  Did they just borrow from the movie, ask for the left overs?

Nope.  It’s all original, boys and girls.  Three composers crafted the beautiful score from scratch.  It does sound a bit reminiscent of the trilogy, just enough to remind you that, yes, this indeed is a piece of the LotR epic.

Now off with ya.  Go blow an hour and WATCH THE THING!

Can’t wait to hear what ya’ll think.

The Art of Time Suckage….

I don’t blog as much as I imagined I would when I started, but I do READ blogs more than I probably should.

Here are four blogs that I read religiously:

1. Neil Gaiman:  I love his works, and his blog is very entertaining, informative, and varied.
2. The Pioneer Woman:  Great recipes, great photos, great giveaways, and even GREATER humor.
3. Alie Edwards:  She’s scrapping royalty, plain and simple.  And she’s a Mom!!
4. Redblog:  AHHHH—the magic of Redbox!!!  $1 rentals!!  Easy access!  Return where you want, when you want, for only $1 a day!!  The blog has a wealth of entertainment info.

“Can I have a minute to be human?”

I have to admit, I’m a GINORMOUS Twilight fan.

Of the books that is. 

 

No, I did NOT go see the movie.

No I’m not excited about the DVD release. 

Call me crazy, but I’m not jumping up and down over the casting picks.

Oh, Cedric Diggory, yes, he’s JUST about perfect as Edward. 

But Kristen Stewart? 

Really? 

Nope, I do not get it.  She’s most certainly NOT who I would have chosen.  Nope, not at all.  And the previews with her aren’t selling me on her either.  It’s not that I DON’T like her, she was GREAT in Into the Wild.  I just don’t SEE her as Bella. 

Now this gal, yes.

 

This is Emily Browning.  She’s the gal the Stephenie Meyers ACTUAL wanted.  I think I would have much preferred her.

Here is the rest of the cast that Stephenie had thought of (taken from IMDB.com).

“Stephenie Meyer had her own personal cast before all the roles were officially casted. They including Emily Browning as Bella Swan, Henry Cavill as Edward Cullen, Charlie Hunnam as Carlisle Cullen, Mary-Louise Parker as Esme Cullen, Rachael Leigh Cook as Alice Cullen, Trent Ford as Jasper Hale, Tom Welling as Emmett Cullen and Olivia Wilde as Rosalie Hale.”

Now I’m SUPER excited about THIS movie!!! 

OMG---it’s gonna be SWEET!!

WAY more than ‘just’ a phone…..

So I GOT IT—yuppers. I am the PROUD owner of an iPhone!

I know---DROOL AWAY!!!

It’s THAT awesome.

Here are the top five things I LURVE about my iPhone:

1. FULL TEXTING KEYBOARD, or Qwerty (which I NEVER could figure out WHY it had such a wacky name, and then DUH—it’s the first 6 letters from left to right on the top row! Who knew?)
2. It’s an iPod TOO—which is SWEEET!!!
3. I can TOTALLY check my email ON THE GO!! And it’s fast and easy. Oh and BONUS when I email people back it has this little saying at the bottom of the email “emailed from my iPhone” No gloating or anything!!
4. Apps!! ‘WE’VE GOT APPS!!!!” And BOY are they COOOOOOL!!!! My ABSOLUTE favorite has GOT to be Shazam. Ok—so say your riding in the car, listening to the radio and you hear a song you don’t know. You grab your iPhone, scroll to Shazam, tag the song (it records a bit and sends it over the net) and SHAZAM---it tells you title, artist, link to iTunes, You Tube Videos, and lyrics! HOW FREAKIN SWEAT IS THAT???
5. Maps---lost? NO problem. You’ve got an INSTANT map with a little dot for ‘you are here’. LOVE THAT!!