Last Days in Viennoiserie

Beehive

Marzipan Bees

Apricot Tart on brioche (before baking it)

Stollen

Tete a Brioche

Kugelhopf

Brioche Loaf

Unbaked Savoy Scones

Pan au Chocolat, or Chocolate Croissants


Croissants

We've come to the end of our bread unit, to be completed later in Pastry 2. Speaking of Pastry 2 - we move on to this in 9 class days! I can't believe that I'm already a third of the way through this program. Katy and I take pastries to her sister's office a couple times a week, and when people stop by the kitchen to collect, they are always amazed that we've only been doing this for a couple months. It's so affirming to have people compliment your work, especially after having a rough day in class, where you feel like nothing you make comes out right. Being out in the real world reminds you that most people are happy with anything, and that it's just us culinary snobs that critique food so much. We are our own worst critics, right?

This coming week we start cakes, learning the basics so that we can eventually move on to wedding cakes in our final level. Pastry 2 students develop the wedding project for the Pastry 3 students to interpret and reproduce in their wedding cake designs, but right now there is a bit of a war going on between the current two upper levels. It's a bit tense in the locker rooms, and all of Pastry 1 tends to rush through changing and then hightail it out of there.

The weather in NYC feels like winter again - we had a couple days last week where it was 55-60...felt like being back in Texas. Tonight it will get down to about 12 degrees, and it's quite windy and chilly outside right now. I looked at the forecast for next weekend in Texas - I need to pull out my spring wear and leave the down coat at home.

Gotta make a third trip to the grocery store to try and find tomatillos for enchiladas tonight. Can't wait to get back to Texas and have some good Mexican food! I think I might eat it for lunch and dinner everyday that I'm there.