more chocolate, you say?

ask and ye shall receive... here are a few shots of things I've made in class...

PAIN AU CHOCOLAT

LAYERS of SYMPHONIE CAKE

(from bottom: hazelnut cake, rich ganache, praline buttercream, bisquit joconde, praline buttercream, hazelnut cake, rich ganache, ordinary ganache)

A SELECTION OF CHOCOLATE GENOISE BAKED & DECORATED BY ME & MY CLASSMATES... mine is on the upper right corner - a chocolate, coconut version

GRENOBLOIS - lots of chocolate and walnuts

PETIT FOURS

decorated to look like little hostess cupcakes, but under the ganache is almond frangipane with a layer of raspberry jam

ALMOND HAZELNUT TART

so you think you work with idiots?

I'm not going to lie, I thought it would be different, you know, working with people who made a conscious choice to go to culinary school... a decision to (presumably) do something they love... but that isn't always the case.

At my previous job, there were idiots everywhere. Luckily I had some good friends who helped me find the humor everyday... we'd say (something like) "is that person serious?!?!?" Thank God he made enough normal people to scatter them among all the crazies and hope we all found each other.

Anyway, in the past 5 days I learned an important lesson: There are people who just have no clue what the HELL they are doing in every job, in every school (company, etc.), in every position imaginable and you just have to deal! What prompted this was working with one particular girl in my class who is what I'll call (and I totally poached this saying from Diddy) "a hot mess." She can't read a recipe, can't follow a recipe, can't hold a bowl without some how getting whatever is in the bowl all over her hands and the outside of the bowl, can't use a piping bag, and various other quibbles... and also lies to the director of student affairs and our chef...

So my point is, that via the input from a few valuable friends and family, after conveying this story, I realized that not everyone is meant to be doing what they are doing. If that makes any sense at all. They may not have any other place to turn, may be just following a hope and a prayer, or may not fit in anywhere because they aren't competent to deal with life on a real level.

So enough bitching and complaining from me. Finally, something "scandalous" up on this blog!!! I should do this more often...

Old Time Stories

One of the best things about the holidays is that you get to hear interesting and new things from your family...

The other night I was having dinner with some "in-laws" and they were telling me that back in the day when they were married - I think well over 50 years ago - if one of the spouses was a school teacher it was best to get married during one of the school breaks, but not over the summer because the spouse who was the teacher usually had another job during those three or four months. This is the reason they were married on December 26 and why my Grandma and Grandpa were married on St. Patrick's Day - March 17th - because it was spring break. By the way, both the men in these couples were the teachers! Is it still the same for teachers now?

On New Year's Eve at midnight, my Grandma told me it was good luck to eat pickled herring and sour cream. I was curious about this, so I looked it up, and sure enough this tradition is passed down through people of Lithuanian, German and Polish descent. I unfortunately didn't eat any - or maybe that is fortunate, I'm not sure I'd like pickled fish - so I guess I'm not a shoe-in for good luck and good health in the new year... we'll see what happens...

catching up, part 2

A while ago I went to a chocolate party at Vosges Haut Chocolat, a boutique chocolate shop in SoHo. It was a launch party for their new line of chocolates - the Groove Collection. "The Vosges Haut-Chocolat mission is to create a luxury chocolate experience rooted in a sensory journey of bringing about awareness to indigenous cultures through the exploration of spices, herbs, roots, flowers, fruits, nuts, chocolate and the obscure." The creator draws inspiration from her travels, interests in art and music. I think it is a brilliant idea! She uses high quality chocolate, as well as organic and high quality other ingredients.

The Groove Collection is a "study of the African-American influence on America's musical history through chocolate, story and song." At the party they offered truffles, toffee and cocktails. They had a dj spinning and a book signing from the Sistahs of Harlem. That evening I tried all the truffles, met a few nice people and had a yummy Pimm's cocktail. I also decided to buy the Groove Collection box of truffles so I could enjoy them again... and to share them with you.

Here are a few of my favorites...
bebop: middle eastern sumac + fresh mint + sumac powder + dark chocolate (65% cacao)
Sumac is a tart, red berry. The truffle had a fresh minty, lemony flavor.

New Orleans jazz: cafe du monde chicory coffee + dark chocolate (66% cacao)
Chicory is the root of a wild flower, Cichorium Intybu. "During the Civil War just south of the Mason-Dixon Line, a new breed of coffee emerged. This dark, thick brew was punctuated by bitter and tannic undertones..." I think that one of the best pairings is coffee and chocolate, this truffle didn't disappoint!

rock 'n' roll: south american tobacco smoked milk chocolate (41% cacao) + clove powder
The chocolate was actually smoked to give it the essence of tobacco and the clove powder added that extra little punch!
rap: horseradish + lemon zest + praline + cocoa nibs + dark chocolate (65% cacao)
And unusual combination, but not overpowering... spicy, fresh and sweet.
I finished most of them... here's what was left over...