January 20th, 2010 – Preservation Methods

Good news! Remember that test that I killed myself studying for? Permanently engraving the French names for all of the kitchen gadgets and the basic processes onto the inner folds of my brain, spending hours memorizing tedious recipes and cooking them mentally over and over? Well………..the test is on Friday. Oops! Guess I was a little ahead of myself.

In class, we learned the basic processes of preservation, such as dehydration, curing and brining, pasteurization and pickling, among many many others. We prepared a duck confit, which we’ll begin to cook on Friday, and also dry cured a huge salmon (called Gravlax) and cooked several vegetables a la Grecque, which is basically the stereotypical way of saying that it’s cooked with olive oil, an acid (wine and/or lemon juice) and several herbs, served hot or cold. The vegetables can last a good amount of time in the refrigerator because the acid inhibits bacterial growth and the olive oil prevents oxidation. Our cauliflower (or choux-fleur) were inedible. Literally inedible. The look on Assistant Chef Ryan’s face as he tasted them was priceless. We were very time crunched, running around the kitchen trying to plate our vegetables, that we forgot Rule #1 in Chef Club: Don’t talk about Chef Club. Oh wait. Rule #2: Always taste your food first before presenting. I don’t think he’ll ever eat another choux-fleur ever again. You’re welcome broccoli industry.

I’ve been very fortunate to have had some crazy and amazing experiences since moving to New York City two years ago. I also get myself into some unbelievable situations, but that's mainly due to my awkwardness and complete ignorance of what is appropriate in social situations. It’s hard not to experience ridiculous things every day in this city, where screaming homeless men, racing sirens and dog excrement on the sidewalk don’t even make me turn my head anymore. I’ve worked on Madison Avenue, loitered at the famous Tiffany & Co., lived next door to the projects, sighted celebrities and movies being filmed in my neighborhood and have even been thisclose to being invited to lunch at SoHo House. And now, I can add a short career on Wall Street to my resume! Starting next week, I will be temping at a large banking institution, doing what I assume will be some sort of data management and/or executive assisting. They are willing to work around my school schedule, and the project only lasts until March 30^th so I’ll be able to decide if I want to continue temping or focus more on school. I had to venture downtown today to start the process, since I can’t work in the building until I have been screened. Apparently they have their own branch of security, and boy did they swarm on me when I strolled in there, oblivious to the big armed men blocking the door because I was busy admiring the beautiful cast iron work in the lobby. Luckily I don’t look very threatening so I was escorted through the building, and should be able to start work soon! I’m excited to start earning money again, because Lord knows we need it, but I’m nervous about the work-school-life balance. I’m going to be EXTREMELY busy over the next few months! Good busy, though, and busy equals money. I’ve been busy before, but I have a feeling this will be ten times more fun.