Shenanigans

I finally have time to catch up on my blog, the advantages of a Hurricane I suppose. To start I'm Fine. I had rain and wind, but not enough to do any real damage. I had power all night and the only things I saw blowing around were leaves. But with the MTA down I can't go anywhere even if I want to. I just found out that there isn't school tomorrow. But that's not really what this post is about. Its about all my crazy fun adventures.

Starting with Michelle and I on our Brooklyn escapade. We had such a fun day. We stopped by Wall Street, on our way to the Ikea ferry. The Brooklyn Ikea runs a free ferry from Manhattan to Brooklyn on the weekends. After a short ride and a good look at the Statue of Liberty, we had reached Brooklyn. We caught a bus to Michelle's favorite bakery "Baked", and I now know why they were voted best brownie in the US last year. My Grasshopper brownie was delicious! Once we had sufiently stuffed ourselves with brownies, pound cake, and hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows. We headed back to the city.

Michelle and I on our adventure. :) 

I love this shot. The old yellow taxis are so cool.

New York Stock Exchange

Wall Street was full

 of men in suits and

 people taking pictures.

 It's an old part of town,

 the architecture is

 beautiful.

 
  

At the ferry.



 

Sally Lunn Rolls

Viennoiserie, or sweet breads...Amazing! My friend

Liz and I were finally partners. But nothing in the kitchen ever gose as planed.

 Liz and the team acrossed



Challah!
Our first breaded bread

from me all got sick. So I was by myself in the back corner. It turned out to be one of the best things for me. I learned SO much, because I had to do everything myself. It also meant I was bringing home double the bread...Not so great. Everyone told me that you gain weight in Viennoiserie. When you make Croissants that are that good, how could you not.


They made a great dinner

Which isn't complete without pasta. ;P



Chocolate Croissants



Croissants!



My first Cake



Angel Food Cake



Ruche/ Beehive
I love to use the torch, and the bees are so cute. <3





Puff Pastry...A Little Piece of Heaven On Earth

 So many things have happened since I wrote last. I survived my first two tests. Ya! Tarts and Pâte á Choux (Cream Puff Dough). Now we’re making Puff Pastry. It might be one of my favorite sections.  

Mille-Feuilles (Napoleon)
We used red hot skewers to burn the lines in the powdered sugar.
It tasted like toasted marshmallows. <3

Tarte Feuilletee (Fruit Strip or Bar Tart)

Bande De Tarte aux Fruits (Fresh Fruit Strip)

Swans

They are so pretty, and much easier than they look.

Creme Peris-Brest

 



Profiteroles
One of the best things ever created! Cream Puff Dough filled with homemade
ice-cream, and fudge sauce. Yum! I devoured all three.



 


 



Cookies Now...Gym Later?

Yes! I did it...I made it to the gym...now that I feel accomplished I think I'll eat more cookies! Sence I can't make them for you, here is one of my favorit cookie recipes so far.

Bourbon-Pecan Cookies

Ingredients (for fifty to sixty 2½ inch cookies)

1¼ cups pecans (170 grams/6 oz)

¾  cup butter (170 grams)

1  cup sugar (200 grams)

1  egg yolk

¾ teaspoon salt

2  teaspoons vanilla (½ vanilla bean, split & scraped)

2  Tablespoons bourbon

2  cup all-purpose flour (230 grams) 

Pecans for finish

Directions

1.       Toast the pecans until lightly browned, watching them closely since they burn easily. Cool the nuts completely before grinding them.

2.       Pulse the nuts in a food processor until they are the size of a coarse cornmeal.

3.       In the mixer cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

4.       Add the ground nuts, egg yolk, salt, vanilla, and bourbon. Making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined.

5.       Add the flour, and mix until just incorporated.

6.       Shape the dough into a log approximately 2½ inches thick. Roll the log up in a sheet of parchment paper and chill in the refrigerator.

7.       When the log is chilled, slice into ¼-inch-thick slices.

8.       When rolling the log roll it slightly after each cut to keep all the cookies round.

9.       Place the cookies on a cookie sheet.

10.   Lightly brush the tops of the cookies with egg wash.

11.   Place a piece of pecan in the center of each cookie.

12.   Back the cookies at 350°F for 7 to 10 minutes, or until brown on the edges.

I know that there are a lot of directions, and it looks complicated but it’s really not. Toasting the nuts is optional, or you can buy nuts that are already toasted. I’m sure if you wanted to do a drop cookie it would be fine. Just make sure to refrigerate the dough.  To shape the dough into a log, put the soft dough on a piece of parchment paper and roughly mold into a log shape. Fold the paper over the dough and tighten the log by pushing the edge with the side of a sheet pan. I did the conversions myself so it might need some adjusting. I hope you try it out, and let me know how it works, so that I can make any necessary adjustments.

Bourbon-Pecan Cookies
Enjoy!

The City



The view from my balcony.

 



            Last Saturday my roommates and I went shopping. We went to a Target in Queens, and a candy store at Lexington & 3^rd called Dylan’s Candy Bar. It was such a fun day, Dylan’s is amazing! Before I left I joked about the “freshmen 50 lb” for pastry students…it’s not as funny now. J If I don’t make it to the gym soon it could be bad. But I think I’m walking about two miles a day, plus all the stairs in and out of the subway. If you don’t know where I’m living, it’s called Roosevelt Island, a little island in the East River. So the subway is at least four stories underground. I share an apartment with two other pastry students. Michelle and Laura. They just moved to level two, so they’ve been here about two months. They’re showing me all the shortcuts, and ins and outs of the city. Other than the fact that the city really doesn’t sleep, meaning all the lights and sounds in the middle of the night, it’s been treating me well.



Skyline



            I know everyone is wondering if I’ve found a church. God really is great! I found a church (the first one I tried) with a young adults bible study called Cross Roads. I went last Sunday and loved it! It’s at the Calvary  Baptist church @ 57^th and 6^th. I’m looking forward to getting to know all of them there. I’ll try to keep you posted. <3

All the pieces of my uniform.

My Chef's coat!

My First Post: Tarts and Cookies

            Welcome to my first post! I’m not sure where to start. I’ve been at school for about two weeks now, and we’ve already covered so much. Some of my favorites include Tarte aux Pommes (Apple Tart), Pots De Crème Au Chocolat (Chocolate Custard), Tarte aux Fruits Frais (Fresh Fruit Tart), Vanille-Kipferl (Viennese Vanilla Crescents), Gingersnaps, and Fig Newtons.



Apple Tart
This was my first tart. The apple compote in the center is still
 one of my favorite things we've made.



Chocolate Custard



My container of cookies :)



 

Tarte Bourdaloue
We poached the pears in white wine, they were fantastic!
The almond cream in the middle was a little strong for my taste, but
if you love almonds like my dad then this tart would have been great.



Gingersnaps
My little slice of Christmas in July



Cookies :)
Fig newtons, Spritskakor, Chocolate Heaven, and Vanilla Crescents

My partner, Wai, Filling the Spritskakor cookies with jam.
The bottom three rows are my rosettes, which Chef Jean
complemented me on.