Today was a great day, looking back :). I woke up bright and early in time to RUN!!! WOOHOO!! I was worried at first because there were 30 mph gusts, but I figured there weren't too many trees on my run. I really enjoyed it! The day went by in a blur after that with all of the things we had to pack in.
First off we learned all about Christmas baking! We walked in to a transformed demo room! All of the instructors had dressed up to get us into the Christmas spirit :). I can't wait to get home and start the baking. I think the highlight of the morning was the chocolate Christmas tree! So cool! We learned how to make mulled wine, biscotti, trifles, chocolate logs (which are naturally gluten free because it's just egg and sugar), mincemeat, and Christmas cake. YUMMMmmmmmmmm. We also learned about an interesting holiday cheese called "Tête de Moine," which means monk head in French because the way you eat it makes it look like a monk head I think. There's even a special cutter for it!
First off we learned all about Christmas baking! We walked in to a transformed demo room! All of the instructors had dressed up to get us into the Christmas spirit :). I can't wait to get home and start the baking. I think the highlight of the morning was the chocolate Christmas tree! So cool! We learned how to make mulled wine, biscotti, trifles, chocolate logs (which are naturally gluten free because it's just egg and sugar), mincemeat, and Christmas cake. YUMMMmmmmmmmm. We also learned about an interesting holiday cheese called "Tête de Moine," which means monk head in French because the way you eat it makes it look like a monk head I think. There's even a special cutter for it!
After a scrumptious lunch, we moved on to Spain and learned all about TAPAS!! Tasty tasty. I think a highlight that I would love to make again was the blanched, toasted almonds with paprika and salt. They're a great snack to have at a gathering or something I bet. Apparently tapas go really well with sherry, which is a type of wine (as many don't know). There's just a different way to ferment it and various ways to produce it to yield very light to dark and syrupy sherries. I don't love it though... It's quite alcoholic. They also cut into an entire Pata Negra (a type of Spanish "jamón," similar to prosciutto). One of those things will cost around €300. It's like pure gold! It sure makes One thing I learned from this demo was that to make a successful Spanish tortilla (or omelette), you need a lot of oil in the pan! That's the secret!
Lastly I went straight from tapas and sherry to lamb butchery. I've never had the opportunity to butcher the entire side of an animal before. Thank you, lovely lambs, for giving your lives for the sake of our learning! (We are going to use the meat, by the way!) I also made a time lapse of me doing it, which I'll upload soon! I also found this experience really helpful in learning the different cuts of meat as well.
Wow what a busy day! I also had to prep my menu selection for my final practical exam, where I have to create a 3 course meal and bake a loaf of bread in 3 hours... It's gonna be tough, now that I think about it.... I've decided to do a jerusalem artichoke soup with hazelnut topping, gratin of haddock, cheddar, and mustard with creamy beets, and a bakewell tart. How on earth am I going to finish that in 3 hours PLUS make a bread!?!!? Oh well.
Life is going by crazy fast right now! Sorry I haven't updated the blog in awhile! At least I've been able to get a decent amount of sleep lately, so that's a plus. I will catch up, have no fear!!
Love,
Livvy
Life is going by crazy fast right now! Sorry I haven't updated the blog in awhile! At least I've been able to get a decent amount of sleep lately, so that's a plus. I will catch up, have no fear!!
Love,
Livvy