So I've been saying for quite some time how I regret letting so many of my professional baking skills go to pot. I've had the intention of pulling out my baking book from culinary school and re-learning all I've forgotten. I don't care so much (well, a little) about my lost cooking skills, but I completely regret my lost baking and pastry skills.
As a background I had every intention of attending a pastry program in NYC. I flew out and interviewed at a school on 9/10/01. The interview went great and I left the interview feeling so excited about the school and moving to the city. Well, as you know the next day was the fateful 9/11 and I was trapped on the east coast for awhile. So long story short I ended up not moving to the city for various reasons, stayed here and attended a well respected local program. Each semester was split between cooking and baking, so I did not get the amount pastry experience I was seeking, and I wasn't much interested in the cooking portion of school, but it was mandatory. Chef Di and Chef Greg always had a feud going. Chef Di always said that "Those who can't bake, cook." Used to make Chef Greg so mad. Anyway shortly after I began the program, I met John and the rest is history. I do still wonder if I'd be living in NYC working in a bakery if my original plans had worked out.
Anyway for the Christmas party I was going to make Baklava...I LOVE Baklava (the recipe comes out of my Professional Baking book) Well, I decided to make a change and do Eclairs instead. I have had the best time looking through my book this morning, reading my notes and going over old tests and quizzes-it is incredible the stuff I used to know. For example at the drop of a hat I had to explain/answer these questions for Chef Di:
-Give a definition of a Common Meringue, Swiss Meringue, and an Italian Meringue
-Explain the effects of fat, sugar, and temperature on the whipping of egg whites into a foam.
-Explain the steps in making pastry cream and all important factors to make a successful product.
-The ingredients needed to make Creme Anglaise are...
-Creme Anglaise should be cooked until...
-Vanilla Bavarian Cream is made by adding what two ingredients to vanilla custard sauce...
And these are just a few of the hundreds of questions!
Crazy. I also have menus of what I had to make each day, what my written and hands on finals entailed and it's pretty crazy.
This is the schedule I received one morning, I had two days to complete the following, which each class was 5 hours, but after lecture, prep, clean up and eating what the student in the cooking class had made, I had maybe a total of 7 hours to do this.
1. French Bread, Sponge Method
2. Cakes:
Yellow Butter Cake (creaming method)
Devils Food Cake (two-stage method)
Chocolate Chiffon Cake
Chocolate Sponge Roll (separated eggs)
Genoise (almond)
Angel Food Cake
3. Italian Butter Cream
Rose Paste
Thinking back I spent a lot of time studying. Those were the good old days. It was tough but I loved it!
So to get to my point I'm ridiculously excited to make these silly eclairs. I made eclairs for my three boys about a year or so ago, but I think the last time I made eclairs for anyone else was while I was still in school. Crazy. Guess I have to get my time consuming baking in now since it's near impossible with a baby or toddler. So strange how life is going to take such a dramatic turn this summer. Wow, now I want an Eclair NOW and the only Eclairs I like in the valley (that I've tasted) are from Schmidt's Bakery and I have no intention of driving out there for an Eclair. Bummer. Saturday can't come fast enough.
You know my favorite part about professional books? Everything is done by weight. Sooooo much easier and more exact than measuring cups. I don't typically tell people I went to culinary school, especially since I've forgotten so much, but John tells everyone. No joke. Drives me nuts. It makes people think I'm a picky eater, which I'm probably one of the un-pickiest eaters ever. However, at times, I can be extremely picky about my desserts. Embarrassingly so. And we'll leave it at that so I won't say too much.
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