In the (Holiday) Pink

OK, remember how I said yesterday that I was past the grade thing? I spent the fifteen minutes before class started calculating what score I'd need to get on today's dishes in order to get an A in kitchen skills. The answer is 90.2.

Chef lifted a pan of croissants from a pastry classroom, which we warmed up and ate with grape jelly and butter (from the little institutional packets he picked up in the cafeteria). I brought in some biscotti, and Chef announced, "If you haven't eaten freshly made biscotti, try these. Julia brought them in. If you don't finish them, I will eat them all. Don't say I didn't warn you." The plate was soon empty. We took our nutrition exam, discussed today's kitchen plan of attack, then watched an outtake from "Super Size Me", in which an order of McDonald's french fries, left at room temperature, shows no noticeable change WHATSOEVER after 10 weeks. "Imagine what that is doing to the insides of your stomach!" Chef said. "They taste so good because they're designed that way." Our kitchen was available 30 minutes early, so we headed up and began preparing our mis en place for our final final.

There was a high level of restlessness in the classroom which translated to immediate activity in the kitchen. The atmosphere was a combination of "I can do this, let me at it" (especially after yesterday's "I'm disappointed" lecture) and "When this is over, I am so out of here." Aaron and I totally nailed our first dish, the veal scallopini (with roesti potatoes and sautéed carrots and green beans), which was exactly what I "practiced" last Monday night for David's birthday. Perfect score. And our pork chop (with Sauce Robert, pommes Duchesse and steamed broccoli) was marred only by a slightly thin sauce. Minus two. Imagine me dancing like the happy Snoopy in "A Charlie Brown Christmas". It happened, my friends. And I'll do it again.

PLUS, there was freshly made rocky road ice cream.

Before we left the kitchen, we received our final words from Chef Joseph. He advised us to maintain high standards of both food quality ("If it's not good, THROW IT OUT.") and appearance ("I see those slobs walking around the hall. I don't want that to be you. DRESS THE PART.") He talked about personal responsibility and attendance. He said we were an awesome class, "and I don't say that to every class, believe me." He said once he has taught us, he will always be our teacher, and to count on him for that. After he excused us, the class filed out quickly. I found it necessary to shake hands and say thank you. An age/experience thing?

So now I've completed my holiday grocery shopping. I registered for The Fancy Food Show and now I'm finished with school for the year, except for the highly recommended "Cook every day". Which definitely won't be a problem. I'm heading to clean some crab right this minute.


Dried Cranberry and White Chocolate Biscotti
The original recipe actually calls for melting the chocolate and drizzling it over the cooled biscotti with it. My melted chocolate always misbehaves, so I just started throwing it in the dough.

2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1-1/2 cups dried cranberries (about 6 ounces)
6 ounces good quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Baker’s) or white chocolate chips, chopped
1 egg white

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl; whisk to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, 2 eggs and almond extract in large bowl until well blended. Mix in flour mixture, then dried cranberries and white chocolate.

Divide dough in half. Using floured hands, shape each piece into 2-1/2-inch-wide, 9-1/2-inch-long log. Transfer both logs to prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly. Whisk egg white in small bowl until foamy; brush egg white glaze on top and sides of each log.

Bake logs until golden brown (logs will spread), about 35 minutes. Cool on sheet on rack for about 10 minutes. Maintain oven temperature. Transfer logs to work surface. Using serrated knife, cut logs on diagonal into 1/2-inch-wide slices. Arrange slices, cut side down, on same sheet. Bake 10 minutes; turn biscotti over. Bake about 10 minutes more. Transfer biscotti to rack. Cool completely.

Store in airtight container.

Makes about 28.
From Bon Appetit magazine.