The Day We

Shout Out to the Best Ricky B., Ricky Bibby, Ricky Bobby, Dinosaur, Grizzly Bear....

HAPPY BIRFDAYY!!

So glad and thankful to have a friend like you. You are one of the strongest men i know (physically and emotionally lol) You tend to make sure im happy, even if your going through your own issues. i know that you are going to do big things in life because you dont give up even though life keeps puttin you through obstacles. Stay focused and Thank God for another year! Make the Next even better!!

Love you more than you know,

Happy Birthday Ricky.

Deuce.
<3

What a morning!
So today i made Poulet Saute Chasseur, and Grilled Chicken Breast with Riz Pilaf  and Legume Glacee. Such a busy morning but i love it. im really learning how to make a whole meal while being pressured to do it in a certain time. i feel like my nerves are bad because of how fast we all had to move. its good tho.

Top left corner is the chicken i had simmering in a white wine and veal stock reduction, i later mixed it with the mixture in the top right corner,muchrooms tomato and shallots. bottom left is the Rice Pilaf and bottom right is the Legumes Glacee ( glazed vegetables) that went along with the grilled chicken.

Poulet Saute Chasseur, on top of Riz Pilaf. The Sauce is made with the veal stock, white wine, tomato paste, touch of flour, bouqet garni(parsley, thyme, pepper corns tied in a leek) cooked it all while the chicken was in there and let it reduce down until it turned into the Nappe (silky) consistancy.  This was tooo good, tasted fancy. lol

This is the grilled chicken that was marinated in oil, a lil vinegar, thyme, parsley, bay leaf a lil salt and pepper. also topped it on Riz Pilaf, and granished it with the Legume Glacee (Tournie [football shaped] Carrots, Turnips, and some of them small onions lol) This was really good too.



Im happy with the outcome. Oh, and the chicken started out whole too. i had to cut it up into what you see above. it was pretty easy, but Practice makes perfect!! =]

Deuce.

<3

A New Start

So I am now in Foundations III !! YAYY!!! Time is moving by so fast. It seems like just yesterday I was starting Foundations I. Well, now that i am in a higher class we are getting into the good stuff. MEAT. today i learned how to Truss (tie up) a chicken. then i dressed it, baked it, made mash potatoes, reduced  the sauce from the chicken sucs (brown stuff at bottom of pan) and made a sauce out of it. Im happy i now know how to roast a whole chicken and cut it up. I still need to work on my cutting tho.

 Got to make TWO chickens so im taking it home! Now me and my roommates gon have a good dinner. lol =]

Deuce.
<3

Desire for it..

"I think what is really paramount to becoming a top chef is desire. People talk about passion as being something that’s overriding. Passion comes and goes. It ebbs and flows. We can be passionate one day about something and not the next day. A top chef must have that strong everlasting burning desire inside to continue to pursue long-term goals. Another essential quality that a top chef must have is the ambition to achieve greatness."

                                                                                --Thomas Keller.

salad.

So yesterday we made a few salads. Not your ordinary salad though. They came out pretty good.

                                                   This salad above is: Salade Nicoise
It has a lot going on, but is a good salad for you. on top of the lettuce is sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, boiled egg. I seared some tuna and layed anchovies on top. Then drizzled it with a Garlic Vinaigrette i hade made.
                                          
                                                This next one is called: Salade d' Epinards
It is a spinach salad that i tossed with a mustard vinaigrette. sprinkled with croutons (i made) and lardons (crisped salt pork strips) topped with a poached egg and there are also some fried chicken livers on top too. Very interesting salad but im not going to knock it because it is actually good.

This salad was my favorit: Panzanella

All it basically is, is cubes of bread toasted (like making big croutons) with Red chili peppers, salt and pepper sprinkled on top. Also, chopped cherry tomatoes, red onion, all tossed in a basic vinaigrette with basil. Very Good!! Seems great to serve in the summer time hosting a lil dinner party in your backyard...like Giada =] lol

you know, life is like a salad. There are so many different componants to add to a salad that makes a salad.It could be simple like the Panzanella or Caesar. Or could have many different things added like the Salade Nicoise. I feel like right now my life is similar to the Salade Nicoise. So many different things, people, personalities, trials, knowledge is just being thrown into my life. im the lettuce and everything else is the garnish. but thats what is making me to be the best, and the more things added to this salad bowl of mine, the more different i become. i become wiser, stronger, patient, loving, and more.

thats whats making MY salad.............Tasty.  

Deuce.

<3

You say puh-tay-toe, I say puh-tah-toe.

so this past week, (that i have been missing) we've been making everything out of potatoes lol basically. i never thought i would say this but after this, week or two, im actually sick of potatoes (for the time being) just ate so much so now i need to fast from potatoes lol but, the dishes that we have made were good. we made a few vegetable dishes also which came out goood =]

 Top Left Corner: just mashed potatoes, basically. lol just made really good=]
The above dish is called, Gratin Dauphinois. Very easy to make and reallygood. Layers of potato, seasoned with garlic, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and thyme, with heavy cream and gruyere cheese on top. yumm!!

  Top Right Corner: This Vegetable Dish is called Broccoli and Cauliflower Polonaise. Blanched broccoli and cauliflower with bread crumbs i toasted in butter, with salt, pepper, parsely, and boiled crumbled eggs. Actually really good.
Bottom Left Corner: Roasted Winter Vegetables. I chopped up some celery root, carrots, parsnips, butternut squash, turnips, tossed them with some olive oil, shallots and garlic salt and pepper then roasted them on a sheet pan in the oven. After they got their golden brown color i tossed it with some parsely & thyme. VERY GOOD!
Bottom Right Corner: I had made some Pommes Duchess, which is basically baked potatoes, sifted them through a tamie, mixed in egg yolks, salt, pepper, and butter then had made shapes and baked them. i didnt take a picture of that but i aint really like it. haha. but out of that left over mixture i added grated gruyere and parmesean cheese, some minced shallots and parsely, bredded them with flour, egg, then bread crumbs, then deep fried them and thats what i got, potato croquettes. (reminded me of when Tia made her potato croquettes =] )

Still enjoying everyday of class. Learning so much and wanting to learn even more. Time is going by fast because after next week im moving on to Foundations III !! Yeee!!

Deuce.
<3

he a foo tho, lol

Ricky said i looked like martin's face at the end. LMBO!!!!! he so mean lol

gotta love him.

Deuce.
<3

ignore ignorance.

So much has been going on.
i just been trying to keep on.

"i just cant give up now, came to far from where i started from."

one of the things i have realized this past, week or two, is that you cant let life get to you. you cant let people get to you. throughout our whole life we are going to have people try to come and break us down, physically, emotionally, spiritually, but its up to us to not let them get to us. why should we be depressed or mad bout what someone said?? its not worth my time or energy. ive come to far to stop and let others STUPIDITY get to me. yes, life is a.........it sucks sometimes haha. but i know its building my character and making me even stronger. as long as i stay strong in prayer, in my word, and stand strong in the Lord i know ill be just fine.


Deuce.
<3

Beans give me gas.

made some bean thangs today.
came out pretty good.
beans give  me gas tho.
=p

(from top left to right, to bottom left, to right) Everything before i cooked&put it all together; White Beans Bretonne; Pasta e Fagiole; and Salade Lentilles (a bean "salad")

Deuce.
<3

your're my...

Deuce.
<3

lets catch up.

ive been gone for a minute but im back again. we had a three day weekend that, i guess i enjoyed. didnt really do too much. worked.
here are some things that ive made. we started on vegetable cookery, today we talked about BEANS. now i want to make chili (w/beans). ima come up with a recipe, Chef Mike didnt want to share his with me haha. *tear*

CELERI REMOULADE this is just celery root with a mayonnaise i made, mixed with capers and, DARN i for got the name of the lil pickles again. lol well thats whats mixed in.

this is nasty lol but called MACEDOINE DE LEGUMES. its basically vegetables cut up in macedoines ( small cubes) i cut up carrots, green beans, and turnips. boiled them then shocked them to bring the color out. then mixed it up with the mayonnaise that i made. aaannddd it basically taste like what you would think it would. mayonnaise and vegetables. -__-

Asperges Froids, Sauce Hollandaise. this is good. basically cooked (boiled) aspereges with a hollandaise sauce. simple but tasty.

Poireax Vinaigrette. all this is, is boiled leeks until soft, then shocked in ice water, then i made a vinagrette ( w/dijon mustard) and boiled eggs sprinkled on top. that sounds like a crazyy combo but it was actually really good. my vinaigrette didnt come out right tho i added too much oil so my plate wasnt really good, but now i know how to make a vinaigrette better.

THIS right chere!! is GOOOD!! it is Laitue Braisee. basically braised lettuce. its basically stuffing wrapped in lettuce, over carrots,celery, and onion (mirepoix) i made the stuffing, blanched then shocked the lettuce, rolled the stuffing with the lettuve. then cooked the carrots, celery, onion, garlic with salt pork. then i added some chicken stock. after i put the wraps on top of the mirepoix mixture with stock in the pan. then put the whole pan and err thang into the oven at about 300degrees and let it cook slowly. after about 20-30minutes i took the wraps out and the vegetables and left the juices in the pan. i cooked down the juices so it can turn into a lil bit of a sauce, then plated the vegetables and wrap (as seen above) then poured the sauce over. it was too good, and im happy that Chef was very please with it.



Deuce.

<3.