So, I did promise a couple of things in my last post didn't I? I think I will address the "Chef Uniform Secrets" as I wait for my hard boiled eggs to cook for my son's Easter Egg project in school tomorrow. So, I don't know if I really should be writing about this, but I figure that my 2 faithful readers may actually find it interesting, if they don't know this already. I hope that I am not breaking some chef code of honor by divulging this information!!! If I'm not in class on Thursday, you'll know why!!! I was taken by the Chef Uniform Police! =) Okay, so a few posts back, I was saying how I liked my uniform sans the checkered pants... Well, it turns out that this particular pattern on the pants hides stains very well. Basically the way the uniform was designed was to hide stains since as we all know (or may not know), things can get quite messy in the kitchen. The goal is always to keep it clean, but if you happen to get swiped by someone carrying a bowl of chocolate ganache, it won't be easy to take that off without throwing it in the washing machine!
As for the double breasted chef coats, well, it turns out that they are double breasted for a reason! If you happen to get a stain on your coat and then a customer wants to meet you to pay you their compliments, of course you don't want to go out to the dining room with a dirty chef coat! You just switch over to the "clean" side and voila, nice and clean!
And so, there it is my friends... chef uniform secrets revealed! =)
Now, for some "yummy" business!
First up - the Blueberry Clafoutis (I think it is pronounced KLA-FOO-TI). Traditionally, it is made with black cherries, but here we used blueberries. My son LOVED it because he absolutely LOVES blueberries! It is basically blueberries in a baked custard.
Here are some cookies we worked on. In the front we have fig newtons. No, not like the ones you can buy mass-produced. The shell is more "pastry-like" and well, the figs we cooked up ourselves. My husband usually doesn't go for fig newtons, but after he tried these, he changed his mind! Well, I still don't think he will eat the ones from the grocery, but if I make these again, I'm sure there is a good chance he will eat it! =)
In the back are the Spritskakor (Scandinavian Butter Cookies or they are also know as Thumb Print Cookies) with some raspberry jam. I personally liked these a lot! Maybe because I love almond paste and there was lots of almond paste in this recipe! I was thinking about making these for the bakery also, but haven't decided on what jam to put in the middle. We'll see... I guess that may just be another "Coming soon" product.
Here is a French Nut Tart or the name in our text book is "Tarte Aux Noix". Don't ask me how to pronounce this one! I know a little French, but truthfully, I'm extremely rusty. I tend to blend Spanish, Italian and French altogether... *sigh* Anyway, I also found this one to be quite tasty, though I think I put too much raspberry jam in mine. This was made with the Raspberry jam on the bottom with a thin layer of Almond. On top of that was a batter made with almond cream mixed with almond and hazelnut flours. A definite must for nut lovers!
The next 2 pictures are the little Lemon Tarts we made! We even made the lemon curd ourselves! Yes, that was our first "stirred" custard. We also learned how to make Swiss Meringue to finish them off and how to torch them. Yes, you read that correctly - TORCH them! I used a blow torch for the first time! I was quite nervous about it, especially when I started a small fire on one of my tarts, but I got over it once I saw that the mini-flame burned itself out rather quickly and you can't even tell that this happened. Apparently, the blow torch is a something we will be using a lot, so I really do have to get over it!
Okay dear readers, the eggs are finally ready and I'm thinking I'm going to make me some deviled eggs with the extras! 'til next time (hopefully this weekend)!
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