Graduation Day Eve

Before graduation, we had dinner together -- the five of us who have completed the program, out of the original sixteen. I got home after a morning interview (preceded by a sweat-inducing Bay Bridge backup that threatened, but did not succeed, in making me late) and a quick grocery store stop (for fresh rolls, french and sprouted wheat; fresh basil, which I forgot during Thursday's Big Shopping; a six-pack of Schweppes tonic water, just in case; and two bunches of barely-opened irises.) The mail waiting in my box included a confetti-filled Congratulations card -- thank you, Evelyn and David, and yes, we should definitely go out and celebrate! When??

After I changed into "home" clothes, with a school chef coat instead of an apron, I turned up the stereo and began knocking out the evening's dishes, one at a time. I made the chicken salad, shredding the chicken thighs I'd poached in the morning, sauteing sliced shiitake mushrooms, green onions, and garlic, and mixing it all together in a soy/sesame oil/chili sauce. I made the cole slaw, which includes diced kalamatas and celery seed, and a vinegar and oil dressing. I shredded the pork roast that I'd cooked on Thursday afternoon, and combined the drippings with ketchup ("robust," from the Farmer's Market a couple of months back) and Worchestershire sauce, then added the pork and popped the whole thing into a low oven. I made German potato salad, but overcooked the Yukon Gold potatoes while I was talking to Madeline on the phone, so it ended up being more of a highly seasoned mashed potato mixture, which I warmed up before dinner, then garnished with hard-boiled egg quarters.

After I cleaned the arugula and added mint and basil, for the third salad (later to be garnished with provolone cheese and sliced pears, with a champagne vinaigrette), I began my final task: making the icing for the cassata (ricotta-filled genoise, flavored with orange and chocolate). The icing recipe is somewhat unique, in my experience: you melt chocolate and strong coffee, remove from the heat, and add softened butter and creme de cacao. When the mixture has cooled, you whip it at high speed until the icing expands and thickens. I was examining the results when Andy and his mother arrived, somewhat unexpectedly. I hadn't even cleaned out the first load of dishes from the dishwasher, nor set the table, and I wasn't very happy with the consistency of the icing, either. It was grainier than I'd expected, not with crunchy sugar, but as though the emulsion had broken. Though I'd learned how to fix a broken hollandaise, I was unsure with how to proceed with the icing, but Andy tasted it, pronounced it delicious, and so I spread it on the unmolded cake.

Andy and Gail, his mom, were followed shortly by David, so we had the basis of a party and reason enough to open the first bottle of sparkling wine. Andy reported on his progress at Figlio, the restaurant in Minneapolis where he did his internship. He's now Sous Chef (which means he has several peers, and only two executive chefs above him), but he's getting the typical "newbie" treatment, rotating stations and working like a dog. Just the way he likes it.

Andrea and her husband Rowan arrived after a suitable interval, which we filled with kitchen stories and cheese and olive tastings. Andrea is setting up a catering business in Reno ("Feast and Merriment") and working on the development of a line of women-oriented chef's coats. The need for such specialization was clear at graduation on Saturday, when she donned her size S coat (suitably embroidered with her name), which reached her mid-thigh and enveloped her hands.

We were surprised by Derrick's arrival, as he'd RSVP'd "maybe" (and we all know that "maybe pretty much always means no"), but there he was. He brought stories of life on Maui ("they don't even have a Best Buy!"), and said that the best thing he did during his internship was decorate the huge "gingerbread" houses (made out of plywood) which were placed in the hotel lobby. "Eight hours a day for a week," he said. "It was crazy."

While David picked up Silvia and her boyfriend Chris from the BART station, we set the table, somewhat more haphazardly than I like: it's something I enjoy doing before the guests arrived, plus we were seating nine at a table that's tight for even six, what with leg placement and all.

David was meeting my school friends for the first time, and afterwards he remarked at Silvia's seriousness. You know how your initial impressions of somebody always form the foundation of your feelings towards them? When I think of Silvia, I think of her naiveté and sweet nature, remembering the girl who asked in Basic Skills, "What animal does lamb come from?" And yet, she showed us all up in Chef Glenn's class, where her plated three course meal received almost perfect marks. Now, she's working at The Addison at the Grand Del Mar in Southern California, where the menu includes "foie gras de canard with le puy lentils, port wine, and smoked bacon mousse," and where the Valentine's Day menu was $150 per person ("$225 with wine"). She's working at a far more sophisticated level than the rest of us, with a self-trained Executive Chef who told her on the first day, "This is the start of your real education!" "Have you ever seen 'Hell's Kitchen?'" she asked us. "He's ten times worse." Both of her forearms are covered with burn scars, and when she talks about working there, her face glows. She loves it.

We finished off a couple more bottles of sparkling wine with dinner, and some reds and whites as well, and after coffee and dessert, everybody headed out. We needed to arrive at the Hilton at 9am on Saturday morning for "rehearsal." After everybody loaded into two cars, I set about cleaning up. With the stereo volume turned up a bit, it's all part of the fun. An hour later, I was in bed.