Wednesday, 8/25/10 – Level 5 Day 15 (Entremetier)

Do you remember when you were a kid and you thought it was HILARIOUS to say something bizarre, and then go, "Just kidding, it's opposite day!" I love a good switcheroo, but it seems that we've entered an entirely different dimension at school. Remember the chef that was demeaning, rude and anti-encouraging? Gone. I don't know what happened (perhaps it was the comment made by my classmate) but something has changed and we're practically his golden group now. The funny thing is that the nicer he gets, the better we perform! What a novel idea…when someone's not stalking behind me looking for something wrong, I'm able to better relax and concentrate on my tasks, therefore fulfilling his expectations. Needless to say, it was a remarkably better night than some of our past classes; chef actually called us "born again Christians." (Translation issues??)

As previously mentioned I often find myself in the leadership position, regardless of whether or not I was "elected" to be the "leader." It bugs me endlessly when my group members aren't prepared for class with recipes, notes and ideas (aren't we paying a lot of money for this education??), so every single time we've been asked to make a creative dish, both a dessert and a vegetarian plate, we've used my ideas. Don't get me wrong – this isn't because mine are better or more delicious; I'm just the only one to ever bring any ideas. Due to my charmingly authoritative (bossy) and confident (obnoxious) nature, I always take charge and am the one to plan, cook and complete the specials of the night. I finally had my breaking point prior to our last day in Entremetier, and as we were asked to place an order and plan for Wednesday's vegetarian special I made it very clear that I would not be the one to come up with a recipe this time. I told them (perhaps too enthusiastically) that I would not be the only one bringing ideas to the table, and that they were on their own this time. They placed orders for fresh corn, avocados, heirloom tomatoes and other various goodies while I sat back and listened.

As Wednesday came and the ingredients arrived, there were still a lot of details up in the air. Chef swung by to help us finalize the dish, and we ended up with: Crispy Corn Fritters with Marinated Heirloom Tomato Slices and an Avocado Cream Sauce. It sounded good on paper, so I got started roasting the corn and preparing the dough for the fritters. One of my classmates, who has worked a lot with heirloom tomatoes in the past, sliced and marinated them and got started on the avocado cream. We had everything ready in time for service, and made chef a sample plate of our beautiful concoction. And beautiful it was – both in taste and sight; we decided to start the plate with a pool of the avocado cream sauce, then alternate layers of colored tomatoes (the heirlooms come in purple, yellow, green, orange and red) with corn fritters. The top got a pile of micro-basil (tiny little basil leaves…very cute) and garnished with a few heirloom cherry tomatoes and some spots of reduced balsamic vinegar. Very colorful, very seasonal and very creative. Chef took one bite…and to our surprise declared it the best vegetarian plate of the level. Success! In two days, we had gone from "disasters who weren't going to pass the final" to having one of the best tasting and most creative dishes. With all of the specials we've created in the past (gnocchi, grilled tofu steaks, plum crumble, caramelized nectarines, etc.) my classmates knew it was my idea and, considering I was the one cooking it, most of the chefs knew as well. As this wasn't the case with the corn fritter dish, I wasn't expecting any personal recognition and was prepared to give credit where credit was due. One of my group members started off by saying, "Great idea, Jackie, this is an amazing dish." "Dude…were you not here? It was everyone's idea." "Oh…I know, but good job." Um, ok? Then, the pastry chef (who is a vegetarian and to whom we always feed dinner) stopped by, thanking me for the amazing dish and congratulating me. "Thank you chef, but it was a group effort," I responded but she just smiled and walked away. As more people swung by to congratulate me, it became harder and harder to explain that it wasn't a solo effort – we all collaborated and came up with the night's idea…so I just ran with it and accepted the gratitude. I guess I should have been offended, considering none of my creations have been crowned "best ever," but hey, this one was good. It took us five weeks, but we finally pulled together as a group and made chef proud.

I have to apologize profusely for not updating you sooner, my dear and faithful readers, and for missing a vital mid-week post. There's a certain birthday boy in my life who had one wish: he wanted to go to Six Flags. So we took the day off of work, rented a car and drove to Nowhere, New Jersey on the only cold, rainy day in August (EVER) to run around the park with the other six visitors. Upside: No lines! Downside: Wet socks. We had a blast, and I even rode some big, scary rides…with some emotional support of course. The best part of the day was when I begged Steve to ride the kiddie coaster, and he barely fit in the seat and had to practically duck the whole time. Regardless, we laughed out of joy, screamed out of terror and celebrated 25 like we were celebrating 11. It was a Tuesday to remember, yet we might want to forget that time we waited for a ride to re-open, only to see it close five minutes later due to the weather. Amongst the stuffed animals, Looney Tunes and metal tracks, we found ourselves on the perfect "stay-cation" to kick off a new season. Until that heat wave rolls back in…

My Superman getting ready to ride Superman

For ages 12 and under...