The girl can't help it

Lunch: Cold smoked salmon on a bed of frisee and arugula, basil oil and crostini; chicken roulade, broccolirabe and a white sauce similar to beurre blanc. pot au chocolate for dessert. And coffee. Definitely coffee.

I could really go for hanging out with the Madison crew at Echo Tap right about now. And 8 hours of sleep. That would be really nice.

Last week I was sitting at the 3-course lunch served by the banquet and catering class when a "waiter" walked past and said,
"Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude, but are you from Wisconsin?"
"Um...yeah?" staring intently at the suddenly familiar face.
"Did you work at the Strand?"
"KAEL?!?"

Definitely a guy I worked with at a movie theater when I was 16 who goes to the culinary. It's a small small world.

The friends I was eating with spent the rest of the lunch making fun of me for 1. giving my number to someone they considered a random dude 2. that it could be considered rude to ask me if I'm from Wisconsin--
"Are you from Wisconsin?"
"How dare you ask me that!!"

turn yourself about

It has become a running line of mine to say that I wish I could just open up my head and pour in the knowledge that some of my teachers possess. Mainly my gastronomy and product knowledge teacher...and probably food safety as well.

Just watched a great video for gastronomy on a topic that would only be interesting to those people who eat food. I have felt fairly strongly about this subject for years now, but I have a feeling that in the next few years it will only be worse. The video was Deconstructing Supper. Its about genetically modified (GM) food, particularly the company Monsanto.
For those of you who don't have enough ammunition to dislike Fox (or more importantly for those of you that do like its Fair and Balanced coverage):



Now, those against genetically modified food are put in the strange position of having to prove that it is harmful before companies will stop doing it. (You should be wondering why the companies were not put in the position of proving it wasn't harmful before they started doing it) Oh, p.s. genetically modified foods are in approximately 75% of processed foods--although they are not limited to processed food...enjoy that papaya which has a 50% chance of being GM if from Hawaii...

Want additional ranting that could piss you off? Let me know.

The monkey on your back is the latest trend

In Madison, I was always getting distracted from homework. There was no end to the amount of time I could spend doing things other than what I was 'supposed to be doing.' I thought that when I came to the Culinary, it would be different. It's not. Even though my classes are incredibly interesting, getting distracted is still a ridiculously easy feat to accomplish. And the activities that add to my procrastination have not changed since Madison either.

Although I have to say that putting off gastronomy homework because I am busy reading chefs' blogs or checking out the nominees for the James Beard Award or looking at the menus of possible externship sites really doesn't fill me with any guilt whatsoever..it seems almost like I'm doing homework that just wasn't explicitly assigned.

cause I've heard it all before

The division between culinary and baking isn't that huge on campus, but there certainly is one. It's mainly culinary taking little shots at baking, but there is this current of differences. Almost everyone I hang out with is culinary, and I definitely get the occasional ribbing because I'm not...but I get more comments about how pseudo-culinary I am. A culinary student who happens to be studying baking, if you will. The first day I got here, a guy was talking about how all the bakers he ever met were the nicest girls ever, all giggly and smiles, cheerful all the time.

"well...I'm not that kind of baker..."

In culinary, there is a pride in being tough. In being able to work insane hours, withstand kitchen hellfires, burns, cuts, dismembering cows...things like that. Bakers are thought of as girls who "are either vegetarians or like their steaks well-done" according to my food safety professor. Girls who want to make beautiful wedding cakes. Girls who are not offended when they say their profession and people remark, "oh, your husband is going to be a very lucky man!"

Somewhere down this road we will awake

For the long weekend I headed to Maryland where my mom was visiting her sister's family. After a pretty wacky Friday night, I hopped the train after about 2 hours sleep, promptly passed out, got hit on by a greyhound bus driver (riding the train?) when I woke up, and eventually landed in Baltimore to the welcoming hugs of my mom and aunt. A great weekend with good food--ok it's my life, if there's isn't good food, it's not that great of a weekend--a crazy good concert in the middle of nowhere and then a day of hell on wheels. Monday I spent 9am-6pm either in a train or train station. Delays, mechanical problems, something about a square wheel, and missing connections. On my drive back to campus the radio was bragging about how on time the trains were that day...Kicking a girl when she's down...

Left its seeds while I was sleeping

Just tasted the best olive oil I have ever had in my entire life. The Italian gentleman-farmer kept telling us that we had to drink the olive oil as close to its harvest date as we could...and it actually seemed like a somewhat viable option. The olive oil lecture/tasting/discussion I just went to lasted a bit longer than expected so now I am facing doing laundry until about 1, waking up and getting to the storeroom around 7am, class starts at 7:30 and ends at 11:30, group meeting then heading to our little cigar bar for some hookah.

Have I mentioned laundry is free?

On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow

You line up outside of Farqueson Hall, crowding in the hallways of Roth Hall, watching trays upon trays of food pass you by. Finally you are let in, swiping your meal card, handed some silverware and left to your own gluttonous devices. Before you is first a table of breads...breadsticks, whole wheat slices, pieces of challah, rolls with crisply melted asiago, strips of bread covered in cheese and pepperoni, home-made pretzels, many items you can't identify, mostly because you are too overwhelmed, it is a carbohydrate castle. And then you take the rest of the room in. Stained glass windows lining the towering ceiling, the remainder of the Jesuit monastery the campus once was. The rest of the room has tables upon tables, terrines, foie gras, cheeses, figs, roasted vegetables of multiple varieties, an Asian table with spicy sauteed calamari, lobster spring rolls (I literally almost started crying when I found that treasure), egg rolls, moving into hispanic influence with curry empanadas, tamales, guacamole, sauces and sauces, salsas of tomato and mango and beans oh my, moving to lamb and salads and...I have not even gotten to desserts. Truffles, hard candies, gummies, chocolate covered strawberries, petite cakes of all varieties of chocolate and mousse and mango and pear and fruit tarts, frozen chocolate souffle (this was another tear-jerker) and granitas, gelatos, ice creams insanity. Gluttony gluttony gluttony.

Every 3 weeks a group of students graduates. Every 3 weeks for graduation there is a Grand Buffet. Every 3 weeks the hall fills with food and students with plates upon plates of food that will be smuggled back to the dorms if it's not stuffed into the hollows of their cheeks. Every 3 weeks I will eat enough for a small city. Every 3 weeks.

I wanna make you mine

I got my chef's gear today. You could feel everyone buzzing with anticipation, can't wait to get that jacket with your name stitched on your chest. Your unflattering-on-everyone checked pants, side towels, neckerchiefs, etc. But then you put this stuff on. Or rather, I put mine on and went for a swim in fabric. They don't make women's x-small. So I have this square men's x-small. I am not an x-small, except in the food industry apparently. Everyone remembers the sample sizes fitting better. It's a pretty disappointing experience actually.

But lunch of mussels with beurre blanc and pomme frittes, and salad of mixed greens, pears and gorgonzola was pretty consoling. And my test scores so far have been pretty baller so, whatever...maybe I'll find a tailor.

You can get along if you try to be strong

My first week of classes was finished off with the only Saturday all year that we have Saturday classes. Of course, I forgot that my great new alarm clock has some great new settings, like you can set it to just go off weekdays, weekends, 7 days a week. Whatever. I made a point of turning my alarm on before going to bed Friday night. It will go off promptly at 6am Monday morning. I instead woke up at 8:45am...So I missed my first class, which does not start out a day well (missing 3 classes equals failing the class so, it is a fairly bigger deal than missing class in Madison).

All week, Danny, Hannah and I had been looking for a place that allows hookah. On campus you have to smoke in gazebos and apparently hookahs are considered drug paraphernalia so they aren't allowed altogether. We thought we secured a middle-eastern restaurant in Poughkeepsie that purports some hookah usage on their website buuuuut, after calling that was a no go. Great great great. Danny was apparently working overtime though and found a cigar bar in Kingston that said we could bring ours in, no problem.

After a confusing half hour drive across the Hudson, we found the place. Leather couches, coffee bar, humidors a-plenty and best of all, a big tv showing the Packer game. Doesn't get much better than that. Plus fantastic people that worked there who want us to get a hookah night going sometime. Definitely be seeing them again.

Hurry hurry hurry, before I go insane.

me: how are you?
Adam: good
you?
me: good...exhausted
Adam: from eating?

I might be giving the wrong impression of the Culinary. So let's take another look...
Last night after writing my previous blog, I stayed up until about 11 reading, taking notes, and overall getting my act together for the next day. Fell into a deep sleep which was unceremoniously disturbed when my roomie came back and began printing things off her computer at around 12:30. The noise continued on and off until about 1:30 when she headed off to class. Yes 1:30am. So then I got back to sleep until my alarm went off at 5:30, leaving me enough time to shower, throw on a sweet business cas outfit, grab a little breakfast and run up to the 4th floor of Roth Hall for my 2 hour food safety class. Then break, then 2 hours of Intro to Gastronomy. Then break, then 1.5 hours of writing. Then lunch (blackened tuna with wasabi aioli, mixed greens with a soy vinaigrette), a run to the copy center to order powerpoint print-outs and other packets. Then to the storeroom to study up for Product Knowledge, which landed me in the library around 2:30. Study study study, break to write a blog, study, dinner at 5:30 and hope to be back at the library by 7 so I can study until at least 9, workout for an hour, shower, study some more and be in bed by 11. Hopefully.

I cannot really believe that this is only the 4th day of classes...

you sure look that way to me

Lunch: Risotto with oyster and crimini mushrooms, crumbled sausage and shaved parmesean; Salmon with horseradish potatoes; cheesecake with wild turkey and raspberry reduction...I think
Dinner: Proscuitto crostinis, sauteed calamari, (as tapas) and paella...obviously I ate from the kitchen doing Spanish cuisine.

I really need a salad at some point.

I gotta say, at least once a day I am laughing so hard my stomach hurts. I am in a constant state of "what am I forgetting to do?" Tonight I decided to change up my workout to include some swimming. Does pacing oneself in swimming come easily to anyone? Somehow I can jog at a pretty good pace for half an hour at least but after four laps in the pool I'm winded. I must not be doing something right...although after the first two laps I did realize that when I put my face back in the water, I was just holding my breath, not blowing out...which could maybe have something to do with being winded. ANYWAY...so that's my babble for the day.

and they ain't leaving till six in the morning

After my classes from 7am-1:15pm and lunch (which I won't describe out of respect for Adam) I watched 3 hours of videos on various aspects of the food industry, from what it's like to be a wholesaler of produce to food safety and sanitation, then went to the first floor of the library, sat next to the fire and did my assignment of writing about food I love, food I hate and food I find exotic for my Gastronomy class. I practically skipped to meet up with people for dinner, which is more and more filled with laughter in place of awkward silences.

I know I'm bragging and I shouldn't...but also know that in reality, most of you would hate this after a few days. Even those of you that love food. There are definitely people here that are jaded, are real food snobs (no matter how many people call me a food snob, I don't think I come close to these gems), are cynical and negative and critical. Right now I am still on the high of newness and loving school...I don't remember ever saying that before and meaning actual school. Not the people, although some are really great, but the classes, the books, the teachers...the SCHOOL. Loving the fact that every subject is about food or the food industry. Writing...for the food industry. We'll see how long it takes for me to come down from this. I feel insanely overwhelmed, already behind, disorganized, in need of doing laundry, missing people like crazy and incredibly happy.

Bad enough to strut our stuff

Today's lunch: Squash soup with toasted pecans, osso bucco with the trimmings, and an apple tart finished with a creme anglaise sauce.

After my Product Knowledge class that scared and intrigued the crap out of me and a culinary math class which...did not, I am pretty much drowning in a way I enjoy (?) in food information, meetings (baker's meeting tonight, gourmet meeting tomorrow night, women chef and restaurateurs meeting wednesday, career fair prep, comedians, basketball games, fitness classes...and that's just this week), readings, dinners, movies, practice problems etc. etc. etc....

It's pretty awesome.

I want to make you move

Going from a school of almost 30,000 undergrad to a school of not-even-close to 3000...it's weird. There is the potential to recognize nearly everyone. Even though newbies are rolling in every 3 weeks, people know that they have not seen you before when you are new.

People so far are friendly, although I don't know if it's because they can tell who's new or people are just friendly.

Have I mentioned that we have to wear business casual in all academic buildings at all times? This means that yesterday after I got done working out and before I ventured off campus, I wanted to check my mail. My mailbox is in an academic building. So, nice khakis and a dress shirt were put on instead of jeans and t-shirt. At least it's too cold to want to wear flip-flops.

The good news is, there are more new people my age or older than I found at first glance. It just seems they are mostly male and in other res halls. Whatever. There are people to go to the campus pub with legally. Coincidentally, the campus pub is also the campus gym/cafe/student hangout, so on Friday night when I needed to use the restroom at the pub, I had to pass by people who were working off their calories instead of having them in a pint glass...just kind of depressing.

We all had a thing or two to learn

I get fed 2 meals a day during weekdays at school, the past two days may or may not have been filled with: lamb, duck, beef, fresh figs, prosciutto, ratatouille, spinach salad with warm bacon dressing candied walnuts, creme brulee, incredibly good tapioca pudding with strawberries, not very good white chocolate mousse with apricot glaze, apple and cherry tart, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, green pea soup, this awesome mushroom something in a puff pastry with beurre rouge sauce, and various vegies...needless to say I have been working out. Also, obviously weekends are no longer times to take a break from eating healthy. So I went shopping, passed by a cute little natural food store, came home and realized that I have no utensils. None. Not a spoon, fork, knife (except for the ones currently in my knife case...but I can't exactly eat pasta easily with a pairing knife), not even a single chopstick. I used to find chopsticks in the most random places so how I could have come to school without a single one finding it's way into a box, drawer or bag is beyond my comprehension. Being the industrious girl I am I began looking for substitutes...pencils? it might be hard to decide whether I want graphite or eraser to touch my food...plus how do you wash that? pens? all mine seemed to have caps at the end which seemed unsanitary. markers? too fat. screwdrivers? ridiculous. just borrowing my roomies? she's sick and not in the room for me to ask or for me to be sure I won't get caught mid-bite...finally I found it...knitting needles. Why in the world did I pack knitting needles and not a simple spoon? who knows.

The people on the edge of the night

Hi, my name is Jenna, and I am in culinary school.

Officially.

I have an ID...in which I am wearing a chef's jacket...knives and chef's jacket (with my name on it) on their way. Booyah. Talking with another newbie today I said, "I just can't wait to get my knives!!" and then realized that under any other circumstances that would sound super creepy.

I'm back in the dorms. Some notes on the dorms here at the CIA. Mine is huge. At least compared to UW, I have ample room to do yoga in this monstrosity and then head into my roomie's and my personal bathroom to shower. The security in this place is hardcore too. You need to swipe your ID to get into your building, your visitors need all sorts of permission, (parking, being in the dorms, etc). So far I have met one new student my age. Coincidentally he went to college in Wisconsin even though he's from Rhode Island. Not Madison though which would have been awesome. Everyone else I have met is fresh out of high school. Or fresh out of dropping out of high school and getting their GED. Or fresh out of spending the last two years of high school at a tech school? These are things that 1. I had not even known were actual options at their age 2. I never would have done. So I continue to feel old. Actually I do a nice pendulum swing of feeling like 5 years old and having absolutely no idea what is going on to feeling really old while listening to certain conversations being had around me...Strange that at Madison I was always confused for being 25 when I was 20 and now people here think I'm 19. I will definitely get over this age thing soon.

My dorm also looks out onto snow-covered tennis courts and the Hudson River. And, of the two meals a day that I get during the week, at least one of them MUST be a 3-course meal from a production kitchen. Oh shucks.

Actually it's a really good thing that next to those tennis courts right outside my window is the gym...

Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway

We left Wisconsin early on our caravan tour to NY so we would miss bad weather. Which means we were at my mom's sister's house by the evening of the 31st. Being so close to the city, you may be wondering if I said adios to the fam and went to see the ball drop in Times Square.
The truth is I was fast asleep far before any ball began to drop and wide awake before any ball was being punted or thrown.

My New Year's Eve was lame.

And absolutely perfect in its lameness.
There was something very fitting about waking up refreshed and well-rested to discover the new year had arrived without me toasting to it, kissing to it, dancing to it, pretending to not be exhausted for it...it had arrived and it smelled like freshly made guacamole. Spending the entirety of the day with family watching football and eating good food, drinking beer and wine, playing with cousins and a new puppy...preferable to a hangover and remnants of makeup still on my face at this point. I feel old writing this.

I move into the dorms tomorrow...that sentence makes me feel even older. Aged in fact.

I am really looking forward to not living out of a suitcase for the first time since May-- I just realized that since then, I have been in a constant state of preparation: to move, to travel, to have surgery, to come home...