New Shirt!

I had an appointment today at my sliding scale acupuncture clinic that is two blocks away and fabulous. When I left, it was drizzling slightly. When I got to the light at Airport and 38 1/2 street, I was in a deluge. Tony and Paul were sooooooo nice and loaned me a pair of pants and donated a shirt to my drenched self. I was amused at the state of my own pitifulness. But such is the hazard of taking chances with the weather and not wanting to drive around in a self-enclosed box - especially for TWO BLOCKS. So the rain -- not my fault. Not thinking to take an umbrella or wear a rain coat -- yeah. I gave them a bigger donation than I usually would. They were really nice.

Even if you don't live in Austin, you should check out a community acupuncture clinic. Seriously.

No love for laminated doughs

This is another whiny-whine-whine post. Seems to be that kind of day. I don't know why, but I just don't care about this block at all. It could be that I really don't like mediocre danishes, croissants and puff pastries, or that the class is just too scattered and I don't feel we're getting enough actual feedback on how to make good product. Actually, I have a huge problem with that but I'm not going to be the one that whines about it, because in this case, sousveillance really doesn't matter. It's a certificate. I'm paying out the ass, but the more I talk to people in the community, the more I'm getting that the general student that comes out of the program is mediocre at best. And today I saw the infomercial. OMG. I could have produced better as a sophomore. In fact, I think I did. Plus, I really believe there could be more of an effort on what to look for to keep things from going wrong, more assistance with making superior product, less general -- I don't even know what it is. I know I'm more sensitive to this than a lot of people, but it's like there's a really bad feeling coming off of the instructors. There's too much -- hate isn't the word, but its not a good thing. Apathy? Ennui? It's hard to tell. And honestly, I really don't care. Maybe having culinary people teach baking isn't such a good idea, as they seem to think they're all rockstars. Hah! I've never seen someone burn so much stuff. At least three times a week. What are we supposed to be using as a gauge? And the lessons make as much sense as a crack addict. They're all over the friggin' place. My notes are toast, and I don't bother taking them anymore. If they meshed with the book or with a product that actually looked good, I might care more, but they don't. There's not even the knowledge that the convection oven and the convention oven are two totally separate things with a 25 degree difference in temperature. Okay. You're right. Ad hominem. Maybe I really just need a vacation. One more week and three days. I'm looking forward to it. I just hope I don't carry the disdain into the next block. Cuz that would suck. Balls.

Purging the evilness of US Bank

So I've got to purge the evilness of my last post, and I just happen to have some lovely mushrooms. They are currently whispering, "we want to be made into a sauce chasseur, and served with fresh homemade pasta!" How could I not oblige such a request? I don't have any demi glace, so it won't be as nice as it could be, but I don't think it will be difficult to enjoy. And it will give me practice on making sauces. Darn.

I'll recommend this recipe with the modification of using a whole, peeled, deseeded tomato instead of the sauce, and only use 2 tsp of butter at the beginning to soften the mushrooms and shallots, and use the rest of it at the end ("monte au beurre"). Also, don't forget to add salt and pepper with the mushrooms, after the liquid reduction, and before serving (to taste, of course). The brandy can probably get left out, too.

I read at one source that the sauce is meant for poorly shot game. It's still quite tasty.

US Bank SUxOR!

Just sent this to US Bank. It took seven days for a check to get from my house to their business; oddly, in just enough time so they could charge me a late fee (it usually takes four days). Then, gloriously, another six days and they still hadn't run it through through my bank account. So, of course, I called them to see if it was lost, if I needed to send another check. They were quite horrid. I was upset. The woman "service" rep couldn't manage to answer my simple question. What a dog.

I just had the worst possible experience from your phone customer service. I was transferred three times, with a long wait in between each because the person couldn't assist me with a simple question; when I finally reached someone, she was horribly rude. All I wanted to know was my current balance. She couldn't have been more rude unless she started to curse me out. I am horrified, and am quite glad I am able to close my account completely. Won't be doing business with US Bank; won't be recommending it; will be actively telling people how horrid it is. Thanks! Have a great day.

I don't feel better; I've written better stuff. But still. They suck. And I hate them.

Bake Shop Love

Last night I presented my petit four platter. YAY! It's done! I got some good critiques on what I was doing, and I learned a lesson: don't try things that you're not so good at. Concentrate on the things you can do, and make them absolutely fabulous. Yeah. I still made an "a" on the project, but it could have done better. The only thing that saved my butt was the fresh raspberries. Without those, my platter would have sucked balls.

Soapy macaroons

So I've decided on the flavor of the macaroon, but now I'm having problems getting the taste exactly perfect. I've settled for a french buttercream with creme de cassis, blackcurrant jam and violet syrup. However, after messing with the proportions, I discovered (nastily) that just a quarter of a teaspoon too much of violet syrup makes the whole thing taste like soap. And although these look quite nice, they are just a minute undercooked, or maybe it is just too humid today to make macaroons (and I'm also worried that the filling color isn't going to match the color of the macaroon, a requirement for the presentation, but instead of fretting, I am instead going to turn to my trusty vial of gel coloring. It's a resource and I've got it). I acknowledge that I'm still learning the craft of the macaroon, but the filling - there's the art, and there's where I'm having the most fun. Especially when I'm fatally determined to work with an idea that smells of soap. If I try lavender, there's a chance it will end up smelling like old ladies. My stubborn determination to make a purple-colored, flower-scented macaroon has put me in a lose-lose situation. But at least I'm realizing just how much I love creating flavors. I might scratch the whole buttercream thing and make a blackcurrant curd instead. Mmm. That might actually be quite good. And with a little Pimm's on hand ... Even better, since I doubt I'll be able to get any ube halaya, I think I'm just going to pipe some royal plum jam that's been slightly flavored with lemon and orange juice on them.