The Purpose of Double-Breasted Coats

After class today, I drove over to the North Campus to take care of a bunch of North Campus errands. Though I removed my dirty apron and my damp side towel, the front of my coat was messy with the results of "ecumer" and "degraisser" — we made fish and chicken stock. A quick un- and re-button, though, and I was presentable, more or less.

I almost boycotted class this morning, because Anthony Bourdain was the guest host on the KFOG Morning Show, and I'm sure he had some sort of outrageous food-related stories to tell. The ride home was radio-rich, as well: Terry Gross interviewed Kiran Desai, whose book The Inheritance of Loss just won the Man Booker Prize. The book takes place partly in India, and partly in "grimy Manhattan restaurants" and sounds perfect for my book group. We bring potluck dishes that reflect the setting of the books we read. I might be able to whip up something in the "grimy Manhattan" vein, after a couple more weeks of culinary school...

We spent most of our classroom time reviewing the preparation of stocks. We're wrapping up the food safety book, and we'll be tested next Tuesday. Chef Joseph went into another fervent digression on the importance of actually studying. He described the habits of A students. ("They don't go home and put on a special helmet with blinking lights. They go to Borders and sit on the floor in the back and study, if the dorm is too noisy.") "Excuses are unacceptable. They should be to you, also, when you are running your own kitchen. Is that clear?" and the class responded with a rousing, "Yes Sir/Chef". Then we had to go upstairs to the kitchen and take a practice knife skills test.

We had 30 minutes to prepare 4 potato batonnets and 4 julienned carrots. And 3 tournéd potatoes. And 2 tablespoons each of: small diced potatoes, carrot brunoise, onion brunoise, minced parsley and garlic, cabbage chiffonade, and tomato concasse. I scored an 88 out of a possible 100. I left the tomato in the boiling water for too long (it loosens the skin) and got marked down to a 6 for "way overcooked". But I got 10s on the batonnets, carrot brunoise, minced parsley, and the cabbage, which I couldn't get thin enough for the life of me, last week. We'll have our actual test in two weeks.

Turns out our stock-making (using 5 chicken bodies in one pot, 5 pounds of fish bones in the other) will be the first and last time we do that, at least in such small proportions. The kitchen stock team will now take over and prepare gallons and gallons of fish, chicken and veal stock at a time, and we'll use that when making sauces, our next challenge.

After a week of using super-sharp knives in class, I had to take my best home knives to the sharpener, which is right across the street from the North Campus. (My school tools are for school use only, that's what I've decided — until I'm finished with the program. We'll see how long that lasts.) Then I had to exchange one of my coats — it had an "Atlanta" logo instead of a California one. Then I got a flu shot — $10 for students ("many of you don't have health insurance, and you're working in close proximity with people"). I also made a quick trip to the library. I'm thinking that a part time library job might be a great way to stay in the food writing loop. Beth, the librarian, gave me the contact info of the head of on-campus career services, and she said, "Anecdotally, I understand the best thing to do if you want to write, is to write every chance you get."

So, here I am.

PS. My favorite Thanksgiving movie is Pieces of April. Patricia Clarkson is phenomenal as the Mother from Hell who breaks your heart. And Katie: well, congratulations, Katie.