back in october, if you recall, i posted some photos of what i had been doing in culinary school so far, and i never posted the pictures from the second half of the semester.  tomorrow, i begin fundamentals of baking, my second in-the-kitchen course [sanitation & safety was a lecture class], and i have a sneaking suspicion that i’m going to love it.  if my carb addiction doesn’t give it away, then surely my sweet tooth does.  i see either a LOT of exercise or some extra lbs. in my future, and only time will tell which of those will prevail.  [i have high hopes and determination that it will be the EXERCISE!]

anyway, i decided that today was the perfect day to post the rest of basic food prep.  i learned so much in that class and can’t wait to continue with advanced food prep in a semester or two.

{my midterm: cream of mushroom soup}

{potato chowder}

{chicken consumme… so much work for a clear broth!}

{finally moved on to something other than soups – macaroni and cheese!}

{practicing those knife skills}

{treats from the baking class… croissants and palmiers}

{ratatouille}

{grilled kebobs}

{green curry stir-fry}

{acorn squash with butter and brown sugar}

{more treats from the baking class… swan-shaped pastries and some kind of peanut-butter-creme-goodness of a cake roll}

{eggplant parmigiana}

{gratin of fennel… got a little toasty on top but still soo tasty!}

{green beans with roasted peppers and bacon}

{onion rings with a beer batter!  they were so rich that you literally couldn’t eat more than one.}

{MORE treats from the baking class… cinnamon apple danish and another apple danish}

{rustic french fries}

{twice-baked potato, all dressed up!}

{green lentils with celery root and carrot… they look gross but they tasted great!  good for you too}

{risotto with mushrooms}

{gratin dauphinoise}

{turkey BLT wrap}

{chicken caesar salad}

{grilled chicken aioli sandwich}

{i messed up my hollandaise sauce on the final, hence the thick, weird-looking texture.  it was so disappointing, since i had made it perfectly the weekend before, but my chef gave me some extra points for saving it…}

{…and luckily, my ratatouille – the second part of the final – was exceptional.  whew!}

so i got out of there with an A in the class.  and that concludes basic food prep [minus one little tutorial, coming soon, that you should definitely stay tuned for!].

i hope that those of you who had the day off enjoyed it as much as i did!  happy MLK day.