February 24, 2005
Voices From The Past
So Tuesday night I'm sitting at my computer working on my term paper for my management class. The TV was on but I wasn't really paying any attention to it, even though its sitting right next to my computer. As I was typing a quote out of the book I heard a voice, you know one of those voices that you never forget.
I knew that I knew that voice from somewhere but without turning to look at the tv I couldn't quite place it. When I finally finished typing that sentence I turned to look, and there she was, my high school Advanced Placement Chemistry II teacher, on my tv! I hadn't seen or heard from her since 1992 but I recognized her voice as someone I knew. Apparently she is now a principal at a catholic high school in Fort Worth. Some armed robber forced his way into the school and robbed the secretary and they were interviewing Mrs. G on the 10pm news.
How weird is that? I called and woke up my mother just to tell her that I was in shock!
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 04:00 PM | Comments (0)
February 22, 2005
Happy 117th Birthday Mamaw.
Happy 117th Birthday Mamaw. I Love You!
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 06:04 PM | Comments (2)
The Illness Continues...
Ok. It all started Sunday morning when I woke up and made scrambled eggs for breakfast. Yesterday I got up with no intention of eating breakfast, went to work, and because of the fact that yesterday was 1) such a beautiful day and 2) a holiday, they were dead slow at work so they sent me home. I didn't argue because I needed to finish reading my book and start working on my paper.
So, I came home, grabbed my book, pillows and a blanket and headed for the couch on the patio. I got quite a few chapters read out there before I succumbed to the fact that I was hungry. And what did I make? Cheese Toast and 3 hard boiled eggs. Oh Lord, here I go again. I then ran a few errands and then came back home and went back to work on the book.
Today I woke up at 8:30 and didn't have to be at work until 11. I was hungry, I think the diet pills I am on are playing tricks with my brain & my taste buds. Because what did I make this morning? Cinnamon Sugar Bread and 3 hard boiled eggs! UGH! Someone help me please!
It's 5:30pm and the paper is due at 1:00pm on Thursday. I was supposed to be off tomorrow and Thursday but today they asked me to come in and work tomorrow from 11 - 2:30. So I will not see either the light of day neither the back of my eyelids until my paper is pretty much done and just waiting to be proofed. That way I can finish it up tomorrow and be done with it before I go to bed tomorrow night and not have to worry about it on Thursday morning.
Thursday morning I have academic advisement before registration later that day. I am double-majoring in Culinary Arts (CA) and Restaurant and Catering Management (RCM)... But the school's computer systems technically wont let you have two majors. They basically have you complete one degree and then finish with the second one.
At the advise of my current chef instructor I am going to switch my beginning major to the RCM because those classes do not become available as often as the CA courses do. That way I can take them as they are offered and wont be stuck the last two quarters I am here begging them to offer the classes I needed in RCM when the majority of the CA courses are offered every quarter. I will probably be taking Food Production I:Regional, Menu Management and Restaurant Law and Ethics next quarter. Mon - Wed 5:30 - 10:30pm and Thurs 6:00 - 8:00pm.
It is so amazingly beautiful outside again today. They say its supposed to get cold and start storming. I wish it would hurry up. The air conditioner in my apartment doesn't work all that great and I sure wouldn't be so jealous about being stuck in the apartment working on a paper if it was cold and rainy and miserable outside.
Oh yeah... And if anyone can figure out a way to stop this egg consumption I am all ears.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 05:29 PM | Comments (1)
February 20, 2005
It's Official. I am Sick.
How do I know this? Because I woke up this morning hungry for breakfast. And what did I have? Scrambled EGGS, Applesauce, Toast and Orange Juice. I hate eggs. I have a rule that I only have to eat eggs once a year and its only been 5 1/2 months. Unfortunately, if I call my doctor and tell them I need some medication because I ate eggs more than once every 12 months they will laugh at me. I don't know how long this illness is going to last but I hope not long.
Anyway, today is for homework, homework, a little more homework, and oh yeah, I forgot, Homework. I have a term paper due Thursday and the plan is to finish reading the book today. Hopefully I can get that plus a few other daily assignments done before its time for bed. Have a great Sunday. Those of you who have tomorrow off, enjoy your holiday.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 11:18 AM | Comments (0)
February 19, 2005
Cheap Drunk
Ok, So I'm A Cheap Drunk. 1 Dose of this stuff and I will be out for the night.
A Dios.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 11:30 PM | Comments (0)
Nothing Much Accomplished.
Well its now 11pm on Saturday and I have succeeded in doing next to nothing today. I was supposed to have gone to Crawford today to attend a wedding shower but I was so exhausted and felt so bad when I woke up this morning that I regretfully knew that it wasn't going to happen.
I have had a sore throat since I woke up to go to work yesterday morning, I've had a migraine off and on for about 48 hours and the cut from Thursday's class hurts every time I try to use my thumb. I doubt that there is ever a "good" place to cut yourself but I have decided that the side of your thumb isn't it.
So what did I get done today? I actually did get one thing done.. something that I had needed to do since I moved in here. I took all the clothes out of my closet and laid them on my bed and then put everything back in organized. Its amazing how much more you can get in a closet when things are in order.
Most of the day I just played World Class Solitaire, Canasta, Mahjong Garden, Poppit and Aces Up on Pogo for a few hours (or as my mother says "popping balloons.") I made a sandwich for lunch, I combined all the trash cans into a big bag that might make it to the dumpster tomorrow, I loaded the dishwasher, called and had Chinese food delivered for dinner and I also did some laundry, only two loads left and then I will be done. Course I cant go to bed until the laundry is done because, like an idiot, I left the load that has the sheets, pillowcases & comforter for my bed for last.
Tomorrow's plan is to finish reading Joel's book and do all my homework for the week. Then I will have Mon - Thurs morning (only working lunch on Mon & Tues) to get my term paper written.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 11:07 PM | Comments (0)
Pancakes
Pancakes. These ended up being dinner since everything else we cooked last night were egg dishes.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 10:56 PM | Comments (0)
The Survivor
The one omlete that didn't end up on the floor when we were practicing flipping them over in the air.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 10:54 PM | Comments (0)
Garden Frittata.
Garden Frittata. A Chicken and Veggie Omlete recovering from a Pac Man addiction.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 10:52 PM | Comments (1)
February 17, 2005
Tonight's Knife Cut Practical
Tonight's Knife Cut Practical Exam Souvenir ... that I will get to doctor for the next few days, darn slippery carrots.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 11:36 PM | Comments (0)
Long Classes
Well, so much for getting out early. Tonight it was after 11pm before I got home. Class was structured a little differently this evening since we had to complete our midterm practical and it needed to be staggered or else we would run out of space on the stoves. I think this plan would have worked but there were a couple of tables who didn't follow the schedule so every table after them got pushed back. We were finally getting our demo that was scheduled for 9:00 at 10:15 and we were supposed to be out of class at 10:30. So, I don't have any pictures of eggs for you this evening, my table will have to do ours tomorrow.
Tonight we did make country biscuits and they were good, especially with a little sugar and honey. A couple of classmates mentioned that they should have had country gravy on the menu tonight to pour all over those biscuits. Sounded like a plan to me. The rest of the night was kinda boring, the practical exam consisted of making espagnole sauce + demonstrating our knife cutting skills.
Tomorrow is another crazy early morning at Panera ... 6:30. Better head to bed, hopefully tonight I wont watch the clock for the next two hours.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 11:27 PM | Comments (0)
February 16, 2005
Short Classes, Good Grades and Dessert
Thank God for short classes. After a massively long day that started last night when I couldn't sleep, we were released from our lecture classes approximately 90 minutes early this evening. We were even given a 20 minute break this evening between classes. There is one guy that isn't in the first session and we had to wait for him to show up to start our next class. We really would have gotten out early had he been there when we were ready to go on. I left class and decided that I was too tired to cook something for dinner and wasn't really sure what I wanted to eat.
During our break I went up to the computer lab in the back of the library, because I was told that our midterm grades were posted to the website today. I wanted to see what mine was. A, A, A, A. Woo Hoo! That is certainly a good start and not bad for a 30 year old going back to school after being out for 6 1/2 years. This news made my night... especially since I decided that it was a good justification for dessert.
Close to my apartment is a Boston Market Rotisserie Grill. From the menu it looks like this is the only one in the state. I had chipotle meatloaf and mashed potatoes. It was really good but I didn't finish it all, 1) I can eat the rest for lunch tomorrow after I SLEEP LATE, and 2) I wanted my sweet reward.
The thing about being new to Dallas is you can use the .... "yeah, I just moved here, what's good?" excuse and I've gotten a good many suggestions so far. A classmate told me to go get dessert at The Asian Mint, Asian Fusion Cafe and Dessert Bar. I ordered a Tiramisu which was very good, and a Coconut Custard with Sticky Rice, which I got for tomorrow. The sushi looked wonderful and I'm sure there are plenty more things on the menu I am going to try. They are open until 3am on Friday and Saturday evenings... sounds like a great after class spot for some good Thai food.
Good night all. Post more later. Pictures of Eggs and Country Biscuits should be posted tomorrow evening after class.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 10:10 PM | Comments (0)
Obscenely Early Mornings, Bagels Toasted and Loud Machines
Have you ever noticed that the night before you are supposed to be somewhere obscenely early... that you get a good 'ole case of insomnia? My alarm started going off at 3:45 this morning.. after I had tossed and turned, watched the clock, played on the computer until after 1:30am.. completely unable to sleep.
First of all, 6:30 is way too early for a restaurant to open, and knowing I had already been there an hour when we opened the doors to a non-stop drilling... I knew it was going to be a long day. Before we were even open this morning there was a group of about 10 men wanting to have a Wednesday morning bible study, complete with toasted bagels and coffee. They all showed up a good 10 minutes before we were supposed to open and started banging on the doors and waving their arms, making motions like "let us in its cold outside." All the while I'm thinking... get back in your car if your so cold. They were not in a good mood when we finally opened the door at 6:30 like we were supposed to ... I hope that bible study helped their mood because if not, I feel sorry for the people they had to work with all day.
We probably had over $1000 worth of catering and lunch boxes called in and they all wanted it ready at 11am. We were running around like chickens with no heads. Then you get the crabby professional who doesn't think they should ever have to repeat themselves. They tell you they want a bagel pack (2 things of cream cheese, and 13 bagels). You lean down to get the bagel box while they are already rattling off what kind of bagels they want. Then you have to stop them mid-sentence because the computer makes you put in the cream cheese selections first, and you have to know, of course, before you get started if they want them sliced and/or toasted. Then they tell you sliced so you turn on this 3 foot tall slicer contraption that makes more noise than my clothes dryer. As you are slicing the first 2 or 3 bagels of their selection, with this slicer humming in your ear... this impatient professional finds it necessary to rattle off all the other bagels they want... not that anyone could hear them. I finish slicing the first few bagels turn around to find out which kind they want next and then they get pissy... "I SAID" ... excuse me ma'am, if you said it while I was slicing these I couldn't hear you over the machine. Whatever happened to common sense?
Ok, lunch is over. Going to take a nap until about 4:45. Class at 5:30 .... this is gonna be a long day.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 02:35 PM | Comments (0)
Half Birthdays and Homework
Birthdays are supposed to be fun. Does that mean Half-Birthdays are supposed to be work? I guess so because that is all I am going to get to do today... homework and class.
I am 30 1/2, as of this minute (12:03). God that sounds old. At least its just half way to 31 and not 60.
Ok. Back to Homework, just had to post this nonsense.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 12:03 PM | Comments (1)
February 15, 2005
Jeanne Marie Pollan
Happy Birthday Jeanne!
I still miss you!
February 15, 1974 - October 10, 1990.
Best Friends Forever.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 06:47 PM | Comments (0)
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Today consisted of going to work at the obscene hour of 7:00am. Tomorrow is going to be even worse, its hard to even bring myself to even think 5:30am much less go to work at that time.
I came home from work, ate lunch and quickly took a nap. I'm planning on straightening up the apartment a little, do a little bit of homework, a restful bubble bath and then heading to bed for the evening.
Hope you all had a great day. Post more later.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 06:44 PM | Comments (0)
February 14, 2005
Zane, My High-Maintenance Lhasa,
Zane, my High-Maintenance Lhasa, wondering why I'm hugging him.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 04:44 PM | Comments (0)
Zack... My Sweet As A Lamb... Oops Lhasa
Getting a hug from Zack before I left "TheArmpitOfHell" today.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 04:44 PM | Comments (0)
Idiot Drivers
What is it about South Oklahoma that makes people the worst drivers on the face of the planet? I cant tell you how many Dallas-ites I saw almost have a car-cruncher just driving to my apartment from "TheArmpitOfHell" today.
These people have no concept of space or distance... and I guarantee you half of them were trying to cut across 4 lanes of traffic to an exit that they use EVERY FREAKING DAY. I mean please, how many days in a row do you have to take an exit before you learn which lane you are supposed to be in and When?
And since when does a blinker mean automatic permission? Oh ok, if you turn on your blinker you can just change lanes without even looking? I think not! I'm glad that my car has good brakes and I just hope that the white in my knuckles goes away before I go to work at 5, it would look pretty dumb.
I slept late this morning, played with my puppies and then finally decided to get dressed about 11am. Took a shower and then headed off to go get measured for the bridesmaid dress I am wearing in Barbara's wedding in April. Filled up with gas at my dad's store so I could tell him bye and then headed to my grandparents for a few minutes. Afterwards, I ate lunch at Chili's with my mother and then headed back to Dallas.
Well, its 4:20 and my work clothes are in the dewrinkle cycle and I'll be headed to work soon. This will probably be an early to bed night, supposed to work at 8am tomorrow also. So I will post more tomorrow.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 04:14 PM | Comments (0)
February 13, 2005
Baby Doe's Matchless Mine and Crazy Schedules
10:30 Sunday morning I met my parents for Brunch at Baby Doe's. It had been nearly 6 years since I had been there but my tastebud's memories didn't let me down.
They have a huge buffet with just about anything you can think of. First course was the Beer Cheese Soup, which I had been craving since I set up the reservations a week ago. Then I had wild rice, cold salmon and cream cheese, and a little cucumber salad. YUM! Seafood was on the next trip to the buffet, peel and eat shrimp, mussels, oysters, crawfish and crab legs. Pork tenderloin, chicken florentine and country potatoes were next, then came the banana, raspberry and walnut crepes with a cappucino. I just couldn't leave without another bowl of the Beer Cheese soup. This wonderful meal was perfectly completed with a chocolate eclair and half of a slice of coconut cake and a cold glass of milk.
We then drove back to my apartment and after a quick trip to Home Depot, my dad helped me hang up some of the pictures that had been neatly stored under my bed for the past month. About 4:20 we left and drove to "TheArmpitOfHell". Two hours and 30 minutes later, yes my mother was driving, we had picked up Zack and Zane from the pet condos where they had spent the weekend and arrived home. We then, for some reason I have not yet figured out, decided we needed to go eat dinner. Heck, I was still full from brunch.. But since it was 7pm and brunch was at 10:30 am... I guess the plan did make a little sense.
After deciding the wait was too long at Cheddars, Casa Ole', and El Chico, we ended up at On The Border. Dinner was great but I brought more than half of it home in a box. Now all comfy in my pajamas, I'm updating my blog while my mother studies for an online test she needs to take before midnight. I'm going to go back to reading my book from yesterday as soon as I post this.
I am not going to have much time to read this week and next weekend I will be at Barbara's lingerie shower, so tonight - Tuesday is just about it. I will be sleeping as much as possible Wed - Fri. Since I asked off from work today and next Saturday, my manager, being the considerate person he is, knowing that I needed the hours, scheduled me to be at work at 5:30am-2pm on Wednesday and Friday.
The fun thing about that is that I am in class both of those days from 5:30pm - 10:30pm, and Thursday I have class from 1:00pm-4:00pm & 5:30pm - 10:30pm. Saturday morning I will head to Crawford for the shower and then I plan on returning to my parents house that evening and passing out until sometime on Monday. hehe.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 09:28 PM | Comments (1)
February 12, 2005
Restful Saturday
A week full of work and midterms and it was time for some R&R. I worked this morning and when I came home I decided to start reading the book "Your Best Life Now" I have to write a paper over by Feb 24th.
A Big Latte Cup full of Godiva Hot Chocolate, three pillows, a quilt and my book out on the couch on the patio. Its a little chilly and raining, but, it's peaceful and I'm not falling asleep.
Tomorrow will be filled with homework and maybe a trip to "TheArmpitOfHell", so I gotta get a good chunk of this book read today. I'm sure my nose will surface out of the book sometime this evening.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 05:34 PM | Comments (0)
A Busy Birthday
Happy Birthday Jack, Tammy, Christy, Becky & Samantha! Hope you all have a good one.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 04:33 PM | Comments (0)
February 11, 2005
The End Of Life As A Vegetarian Cook..
Ok. It's 10:20 and I'm already home. We've been done early every night for two weeks. Its sure gonna be a long night when we get to the point that we have to start staying the whole time.
Tonight we made Brussel Sprouts with Pecan Butter, Baked Butternut Squash which we then turned into a Butternut Squash Soup, Ratatouille, Braised Red Cabbage with Apples, Creamed Corn with Basil, Sauteed Spinach, Glazed Beets and Beer Battered Onion Rings.
The Ratatouille (Hey! SillyNessa!.. that's eggplant, zucchini, onion, garlic, red bell peppers and
green bell peppers cooked down to a veggie stew) was good, I'm not going to buy Creamed Corn in a can anymore now that I know how to make it, the Beer Battered Onion Rings were great (our table had the best ones), and OMG I am going to go buy some Butternut Squash tomorrow because that soup was amazing!
I've never been a fan of Cabbage so I was glad when the Chef said "table 6, yall are going to mess your cabbage up on purpose as an experiment to show the class what not to do." Did you know that if you put baking soda in with a red vegetable such as Red Cabbage... it turns BLUE? Weird! But at least that meant we didn't have to eat ours.. hehe.
Well. I'm gonna stay up until my parents get back to their hotel. They are much too old to be out and about in a big city like Dallas by themselves. HeHeHe SHHHH!!! Dont tell them I said that. Hopefully it will be an early night, I have to be at work at 8am in the morning, you'd be surprised how many weird people there are in Dallas who actually wake up before noon on a Saturday and want Bagels for breakfast.
Speaking of breakfast... next week we are cooking eggs, Eggs and more EGGS. EWWW! Someone remind me to eat dinner before I go to class.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 10:20 PM | Comments (1)
No Pictures Tonight
Well, My parents made it to Dallas and I met them for lunch at Panera Bread. They wanted to use my digital camera to take pictures at the concert tonight and tomorrow night so I wont have any good pictures of the weird veggies we are cooking tonight. My parents really enjoyed their lunch at Panera Bread and are excited that one is opening in "TheArmpitOfHell" in April.
It's 4:21 and "all I wanna do" is take a nap. Hmmm, that's not how that song goes is it? I have class at 5:30 and if I take a nap now I'll be miserable in 30 minutes when I wake up for class. Oh well, I guess I'll come home and pass out on the couch when class is over. Hopefully we will get out early this evening like we did last night.
I'm still waiting for more friends to set up blogs and post pictures... Newhouse, you know I'm talking to you! Hurry up!
Ok. Gonna go play Mahjong Garden until time to go to class... that'll maybe keep me awake for the next 35 minutes.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 04:20 PM | Comments (0)
Fancy Names
Ok SillyNessa. Here you go. Vichyssoise is Cold Potato Leek Soup. Mirepoix is Onions, Carrots and Celery in a 2:1:1 ratio added to stocks and soups. I'll try to remember to include definitions from now on.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 01:14 PM | Comments (0)
Cleaning and Gaithers
Friday morning. I dont have class until 5:30 and I'm off from work today. So what is on my agenda? Cleaning! My parents are coming to Dallas today, and even though my apartment isn't messy, they would find something to complain about.
They are coming to attend the Gaither Homecoming concerts here in Dallas that will thankfully keep them busy until Sunday morning.
Sunday morning we have brunch reserverations at one of my favorite restaurants, Baby Doe's Matchless Mine. My parents took me there for my 4th birthday and I've been hooked ever since. JACK FM 100.3 is blaring and I'm ready to clean. Anyone wanna help?
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 10:10 AM | Comments (0)
February 10, 2005
Fried Green Tomatoes
Fried Green Tomatoes. Even Jessica Tandy and Kathy Bates would be proud.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 10:34 PM | Comments (0)
Broccoli Almandine
Broccoli Almandine. I think even my mother would eat broccoli like this.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 10:34 PM | Comments (0)
Grilled Vegetables
Zucchini, Squash, Califlower, Broccoli, Onion, Red Bell Pepper and Mushrooms. Marinated for an hour and then grilled on skewers.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 10:32 PM | Comments (0)
Mushroom Duxelles
Mushroom Duxelles. Just garlic, shallots, butter and mushrooms. What could be bad about that? We added this to a Veloute sauce later and made Mushroom soup. Yum.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 10:31 PM | Comments (0)
Broiled Tomatoes
Broiled Tomatoes. These were great! Sprinkled with Salt, Pepper and Sugar and put under a broiler until they were soft. Drizzle with butter and top with a little parsley. They didn't last long after this picture was taken.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 10:30 PM | Comments (0)
Veggie Night
Well it was vegetarian night in the kitchen-lab. We made a mushroom soup, broiled tomatoes, vegetable skewers, green beans, broccoli almandine, glazed pearl onions, glazed carrots, and fried green tomatoes. My vegetarian friends would have enjoyed being taste-testers this evening. Tomorrow night is more veggies. I will post some pictures of our final results in a few minutes.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 10:28 PM | Comments (1)
Ah, The Joys Of Apartment Living
It's 8:55am on Thursday. I actually went to bed early last night, well, 12:30am, but that's early for me. About 1:45 this morning the car alarm went off on one of the thug mobiles that was parked not too far from my bedroom window. Woke me up and then I had a heck of a time getting back to sleep.
I have not gotten used to the old joys of apartment living. When I moved in here the place was less than what I would call clean. I had a list of things to get fixed, including the fun and safe fact that the sliding glass door didn't lock, and that both the heater and air conditioner didn't work. Last week the garbage disposal quit working and this week the sliding mirror door in front of the washer and dryer fell of the track.
None of these compare to Friday January 21st. I was sitting in my living room, working on homework on my computer and my chef's uniform was sitting in bleach in the washing machine. At 12:06 my electricity flashed off. Oh great. I went to the breaker box, everything was fine. So I stepped outside to see if the power outage had effected the entire building or just my apartment. I saw a maintenance man and called over to him. He went to the main breaker boxes outside and said that my electricity had been cut off by TXU, he said that usually meant for non-payment.
Well the fun thing about this is... All of my utilities are paid thru my school, so I don't even know the account numbers to be able to call TXU to find out what is going on. I called the school and the RAs that live in the apartments and no one could seem to find the director of housing. It took my mother calling the President of the School before they got him on the phone.
He told me that TXU said they didn't cut it off and for me to call maintenance. I guess he didn't get the part of the message that I had already called maintenance. So after about three more calls they determined that they "accidentally" turned off my electricity instead of my next door neighbors. This determination was finally made about 1pm. I was then informed that TXU has some stupid "24 hour window" policy where they can take an entire day to turn your electricity back on. So I immediately called my chef instructor and told him I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it to class in uniform.
Now, I've been better about doing laundry long before the time I need to wear something, but keep in mind that this was the first day I actually could use my washer and dryer. Sears had just come out the day before (right before my 1pm - 10:30pm class) and changed the plugs on my washer and dryer so that the previously 4 prong plugs would fit into the 3 prong outlets on the wall.
I decided I wasn't going to sit in my apartment with no electricity all day, especially since Dallas broke a record for highest temperature that day. I drove all the way to Plano, went to Saturn to see if they could complete the voluntary recall repairs on my VUE and then drove home. The electricity was still not on. It's now 3:45pm, I have class at 5:30 and my chef's uniform is still in the bleach. Then I decided to go eat dinner at Cheddars, I hadn't eaten all day long and I didn't want to open the refrigerator and let the cold air out since the electricity had now been off for over 3 hours. Not that I could cook anything when I got it out anyway.
When I arrived back from dinner, the electricity was still off. I made one more phone call to the housing director and he called back and said they were on their way. I decided to take a nap on the couch, not much else I could do. About 4:55 someone knocks on my door, tells me my electricity hadn't been shut off. I look around and give him a "how stupid do I look" glance. I walk with him over to the main breaker boxes and he shows me how the redtag was on my neighbor's box not mine. Apparently trying to cover their rears... Guess they didn't know that I could tell that he had moved the redtag to the correct box before he came to my apartment.
I then called the apartment manager and the maintenance man who I had been dealing with most of the day. They came over and watched the TXU technician attempt to blame my 5 hour ordeal on a faulty main breaker that "they could have fixed hours ago." I mean please. I may have been born in the afternoon but it wasn't That afternoon.
As soon as the electricity came back on I ran back to my apartment and moved the washer immediately to a rinse cycle and then threw my uniform in the dryer while I took a shower. And what do you ask was I awarded after my fun day with TXU? A Migraine that's what. After changing clothes into still mostly wet clothes, I put a migraine patch on my forehead and drove as fast as I could to class.
I was pretty proud of myself that I was only 15 minutes late. With my migraine medicine (may cause dizziness) and patches on my face, I received permission to actually use a stool to sit down during class. We had a huge amount of preparation to be done that day and I sat down while I cut up about 7 pounds of onions. Luckily by the time came to start cooking my headache was better and I put the chair away. After class I came home and fell asleep on the couch watching a movie.
Ah, The Joys of Apartment Living.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 09:21 AM | Comments (1)
February 09, 2005
Midterms are half OVER
Ok. It's 9:21 and I'm already home and blogging. Class is scheduled from 5:30 - 10:30 pm but we were allowed to leave as soon as we finished the second exam.
The Sanitation exam took about 45 minutes, not too bad for 100 questions. Mostly multiple choice with a few matching and true/false and oh heck, why not, 8 short answer at the end. I probably would have been done earlier but we had to transpose all our answers onto an answer sheet which always makes me nervous... like I'm gonna put down the wrong answer on the wrong line.
The Concepts exam only took about 10 minutes. I think the Chef was a little perplexed and he gave me a very weird look when I turned in my test so fast, but hey, what can I say? When you know the answers it shouldn't take that long to write them down. It was only about 30 questions, mostly short answer.
Now I am contemplating what big pot of something I'm going to cook for dinner, so that I will have leftovers for the next two days. Thursday and Friday are usually my busiest and having something ready makes life a little easier. Hmmm... Spaghetti or Chicken Broccoli Rice Cassarole?
My parents will be in town this weekend and we have Sunday morning Brunch reservations at Baby Doe's Matchless Mine. I can't wait, I can already taste the beer cheese soup. Then I am planning on heading to "TheArmpitOfHell" Sunday afternoon to see my babies Zack and Zane and to get fitted for the bridesmaids dress I am going to wear in Barbara's wedding on April 2nd.
Gonna get cooking.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 09:21 PM | Comments (0)
Midterms
Ah, now there is a term I never wanted to hear again. Midterms. Its hard to believe I have only been in Dallas for one month (as of yesterday) and its already time for midterms. Its 8:45am and I am going to start studying until I have to go to work at PaneraBread from 11-2.
I've been working there since the first week I moved here and I am really enjoying it. Just wish I could work a few more hours and they could pay me about double what they are paying me per hour. The food is great and the coworkers are interesting characters. The best part about it is that the company is nearly OCD when it comes to organization and documentation and community involvement. Imagine working for a company that cares and takes care of things the way they are supposed to be. I'm still in shock.
Get this, they actually donate all the leftover breads and pastries at the end of the night to local food banks, shelters and missions. That other place in Baylor-land ought to learn from this... instead of throwing perfectly fine baked potatoes in the trash right in front of the homeless people sleeping on the patio.
I'll finish studying and send out some more resumes on my break between work and class. Midterms start at 5:30 so say a prayer! Tonight I have a midterm in Sanitation and Safety at 5:30 and Concepts and Theory at 7:30. Tomorrow I have my last midterm written exam in Management and Supervision at 1:00. So far I have made A's on all my tests and quizzes, an A on a midterm sure would be nice in my pursuit of scholarships.
Our actual midterm practical for Skills isn't until next week. Gives me one more week to practice cutting vegetables into perfectly shaped Julienne, Brunoise, Small/Medium/Large Dice, Paysanne, Batonnet, Tourner and Parisiennes. Gonna practice on potatoes this weekend... anyone wanna help me eat all the mashed potatoes when I'm done?
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 08:42 AM | Comments (0)
My Baby Boys
My baby boys. Zack and Zane. My 16 month old Lhasa Apso-Poodle puppies. They are staying with their grandparents until I get out of Culinary School.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 12:18 AM | Comments (0)
Chef's Hat
The hat that I get to attempt to shove all my hair up in every Thursday and Friday night. Doesn't that look cute?
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 12:14 AM | Comments (0)
Risotto Milanese.
Risotto Milanese. A Week Four Creation.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 12:10 AM | Comments (0)
Vichyssoise.
Vichyssoise. One of the first things we made that we got to put in a plate and dress up.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 12:07 AM | Comments (1)
Mirepoix for Chicken Stock.
Mirepoix for Chicken Stock. 3 pounds of Onions, 1 1/2 pounds of Carrots, and 1 1/2 pounds of Celery. Now that's a lot of practice on our knife cuts.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 12:05 AM | Comments (0)
Ok, So I Skipped The First 4 Weeks
Skipping the first four weeks of this blog was due to many reasons.
1. The first two weeks I was still trying to get organized and settled into a schedule. This was especially hard since I had not been working since the first part of November.
2. Until Thursday of this week I had a blog on another website and although I am a computer geek, that website wasn't as user-friendly and since my schedule is already pretty crazy I needed the simpler the better.
3. The first three weeks were BORING, food wise. It wasn't until week four that our resulting dishes became dinner for most of us, instead of a wrinkled nose and setting it aside.
The first week we learned knife cuts and how to make stock. Stock is nothing but bones and mirepoix that has simmered for hours on end. Not much taste to the stuff at all, but it ends up being an essential part of just about everything.
To keep us a little bit entertained, the first week we made French Onion Soup on Thursday night and Friday night we made a Tomato Basil Relish that we used as a topping for some Foccacia bread.
Week Two was Soups. Of course, it was.. The hottest week since I moved to Dallas and we spend the entire week making SOUP. Beef Consomme, Puree of Split Pea, Minestrone, Vichyssoise and Cream of Broccoli were the end results of our soup lesson.
Week Three was probably the most boring of them all. We made sauces. Mother Sauces to be exact. Don't get me wrong, sauces are great to pour over something, or to dunk something in, or to add stuff to to make a soup or another sauce... But just to eat, sauce? nah, I don't think so. We made an Espagnole (Brown Sauce), a Bechamel (cream sauce), Veloute (thickened stock), Tomato Sauce, Hollandaise and Mayonnaise.
I guess they know they have to give us something to munch on every night... So that Thursday we made a Beef Barley soup from the Beef Stock that was already there as an ingredient for the Espagnole... And Friday night we made Macaroni and Cheese. We took two different bowls with a Bechamel sauce, one had cheese melted in it, the other had sauteed onions in it. Once they were done both were poured over elbow macaroni and that was baked in the oven until golden brown on the top. It was pretty good... not that $0.39 box stuff for sure.
And finally that brings us to Week Four. This was a fun week and our kitchen assignments started turning into a whole new aspect... DINNER. This was also the week that the entire class started finishing our assignments, washing the dishes & cleaning the kitchen and getting done anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour early. Its amazing the change in how we work when we are interested in what we are doing.
Thursday night we made potatoes, potatoes and more potatoes. Starting out with Steak Fries and Roesti Potatoes (basically potato pancakes), Scalloped Potatoes, Lyonnaise Potatoes (my mom's been making Fried Potatoes and Onions all my life, just didn't know they were called that), Duchesse Potatoes(potato mush piped thru a pastry bag into little pyramids and baked) and finally Potato Croquettes (the Duchesse potatoes, breaded and fried). As you can see, none of these lasted long enough to pose for a portrait for this website.
Friday night we turned our attention to rice and pasta. We had a classic rice pilaf, a brown rice pilaf with spiced pecans, spaetzle (weird dumpling things), risotto milanese (rice cooked by slowly adding liquid until its gone then adding more until its plump and done.. see picture), and lastly we made Buttered Pasta.
Ok, so now you are all caught up on the first four weeks of culinary school. Did you learn anything?
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
February 08, 2005
Explanation
So that was the essay I turned in with my application to the Art Institute of Dallas. I have been accepted to the Culinary program and my first quarter starts on January 10th. Currently I am busy packing, being a bum, seeing friends before I leave and getting ready to move to Dallas on January 8th. My plan is to keep this site updated, whats going on with me, how school is going, recipes and tricks that I have learned, etc. I will be in class on Wednesdays and Fridays from 5:30pm - 10:30pm and Thursdays from 1:00pm - 4:00pm and 5:30pm - 10:30pm. And I will also be looking for employment once I arrive in Dallas to keep me busy the other 4 days of the week.
Friends and Family please keep in touch.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 11:58 PM | Comments (0)
Why I Want To Go To Culinary School
Summer of 1977: a three year old little girl answers the front door and tells the neighborhood kids that she can't go outside and play because Julia Child is going to be on TV in a few minutes. They look at her with part confusion, part bewilderment as they wonder who Julia Child is and why she wanted to watch her. The little girl asked daily after Julia's show "can we have that for dinner"? The answer was always the same, as soon as you learn how to cook. That little girl was me.
Flash forward a few years, mother and daughter head to the neighborhood grocery store, a chore most mothers hate and children despise even more. But my dad was the General Manager and at five years old I had the coolest job in the world, using the price gun to put little price stickers on each individual half-moon block of cheddar cheese. My mother had to drag me out of there.
I started making desserts when I was still in elementary school. Spending a holiday with family in New Orleans, I wanted to make a banana split dessert pizza, one of my favorite desserts; my uncle, however, wanted bread pudding and my aunt only had enough ingredients for one of them. I, of course, won and we caught my uncle eating over half of the dessert he didn't want in the first place.
When I hit junior high school, most kids looked forward to summers so they could play outside or watch cartoons. I would spend part of every summer with my Great Aunt in a small town in Central Texas working and cooking at the Senior Citizens Project. One summer she bought a new refrigerator and with it received a cookbook. I immediately had to try an ice cream recipe that looked like a whole watermelon when finished. My aunt told my mom that there was no recipe in the world that had too many ingredients for me. The ice cream was really good and looked even prettier.
One summer my parents took me to Dallas to a Food Show my father was attending for work. While walking around attempting to sample every morsel, I looked up and saw Paul Prudhomme sitting at one of the booths. My father introduced me to him and told him that I wanted to be a chef. He told me, "Get in the kitchen".
Throughout high school, college and the three years that I taught public high school in Texas, I cooked at every opportunity. At every potluck supper, every birthday, or candle party, I would show up with some new recipe for everyone to try. I even baked a cake for my students on their birthdays.
In June 2002 I sold my home in Sealy Texas, quit teaching and moved home to Central Texas. I had finally figured out after seven years of college and three years of teaching that I needed to go back to my first love, cooking. I worked part-time at a deli near my home while working full time as a software support specialist at a manufacturing company nearby. The excitement I had the first time I got to bake cookies at the deli made my parents realize that culinary school is where I was supposed to be.
Here it is November 2004, I'm 30 years old and I finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up. The sad thing is I knew all along, I just wasn't listening to my heart. After nearly a year of restaurant management, I am ready to move on with my dream of attending Culinary School and becoming the chef that Julia Child brought out in me over the television airwaves so long ago.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 11:45 PM | Comments (0)
We'll miss you RB
Well right now my mother is in Houston at a funeral. I wish I could have gone with her but it was just too much with work and school and midterms.
The youngest member of my mother's UHaudit crew died Friday from a heart attack. He was only 4 years and 8 months older than me. Its so hard to believe. From my visits to her office I remember RB being an extremely nice and funny guy.
Somehow I was put on the emailing list of this group after they all left UH and went their separate ways. Actually, I think it was because they knew I would tell my mother to go check her email if they sent out anything important, she has gotten better about checking her email lately. You really wanted to be sitting at your computer when that group got started, someone would send out a message and the responses would come for hours on end, each new one funnier than the next.
Please put RB's wife and 3-month old twins J & C in your prayers. RB will certainly be missed by many.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)
My New Blog
FutureFoodTVStar is now online. I guess I'll start my path to celebrity on this mere little blog. Just wanted to get a post up. Write more later.
Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at 09:30 AM | Comments (0)
