Country Captain Chicken: My Last Final, Ever (With Recipe for Blanch, Shock and Awe Asparagus)

With some degree of anticlimactic huzzah, I recently made this, my last dish at Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School.

The humor was not lost on me that it was Country Captain Chicken, a sort of earthy, southern meal, to end two and a half years of mostly fine-dining training. I imagine this was because chicken is easily purchased and quickly used, things critical to a college kitchen trying to close up shop for the summer.

My last class just happened to be American Regional Cuisine, which I have really enjoyed this semester. The class was supposed to be taught by my PITA Food 4 instructor (who, incidentally, I now adore). But, due to a scheduling issue, the class was taught by a new instructor, Matthew Cooper of Lulav. No, not that guy, a new one. I imagine this one knows how to make sushi. 

We did our written and practical final on the same day, which doesn’t always happen. The test had 70 questions. I was the first to turn it in, which always makes me a little nervous… overconfident much? Not really. I only missed three.

We didn’t know what we’d be making for our practical final until just before entering the kitchen. The class was divided and assigned one of two dishes, the Country Captain and a clam chowder. I was glad I got the chicken.

I really relished my last time in the kitchen as a student. For this final, we worked individually, which I enjoy, although I’m also known for often forceful leadership of a group activity. (That’s a phlegmatic/choleric personality mix, for those who are into that sort of thing.)

I finished. It was awesome. Then I realized I forgot to add the raisins, so I scraped off the sauce, fixed the error, and re-finished. Even more awesome.

Not ever being one to leave well enough alone, I asked Chef Cooper if he would mind a bit of liberty taken with the sides. He said that would be fine, with the sides only. So, rather than sautéing the recommended side of asparagus, I broke protocol and used my favorite technique: blanch, shock and awe. (I’m seriously going to make that into a T-shirt.) See recipe below.

The chef dug the food. I got an A.

I had a moment as I walked out the back door, toward the loading dock and trash area that was near my car. Never again will I have the opportunity to learn, play, experiment and grow that I’ve had here. Never again will I be surrounded by such culinary genius, all the time. Never again will I be with this particular group of students, of all ages and talents, who have become some of my best friends.

Here’s to whatever comes next.

____________________________________________________

Blanch, Shock and Awe Asparagus 
4 servings

  • 20 stalks asparagus, woody ends trimmed/snapped off
  • Olive oil
  • 1 Lemon, zested, halved
  • Kosher salt
  • Black pepper, fresh ground

Prepare a bowl of ice water while you bring a pot of salted water to boil. Heat a grill or grill pan to high heat.

Blanch the asparagus in salted water for 10-15 seconds, or just until the color becomes a bright green. Immediately plunge asparagus in the ice water for a few seconds to stop the cooking process. Don’t leave it there too long, but remove and dry thoroughly on paper towels.

Drizzle olive oil lightly over the asparagus and rub with your hands to thoroughly coat. Season with salt and pepper, then grill for 5-10 minutes or until the asparagus acquires grill marks and the desired level of charring, if you like.

Remove asparagus from the grill and place in a shallow container. Squeeze one half of the lemon over the asparagus, then sprinkle with the zest. Serve to astounded and awed guests.

 

 

May 15, 2012. Tags: , , , , , . learning, Main Course, PTC_ACS, Side Dishes. Leave a comment.

The End (of School) is Near!

For real, folks.

I’ve been so busy with the Food Blogger Bake Sale that it hasn’t really sunk in. Tomorrow, I’ll take my last final in culinary school, for American Regional Cuisine, and then I’m done.

Last night, I stayed up late writing out the last of the recipe cards that I’ve managed to lose over the course of the semester — why, oh why did I not use a bound deck of cards?!? — as we’ll need them for our practical exam. The chef will assign us each one entree from the semester to prepare, and boy howdy, we’d better have that card with us. We’re also supposed to make sides that go appropriately with the dish.

I still need to study for the written exam. Yes, it’s tomorrow, as well. I study best at the last minute. Get off me.

The last few weeks, lots of great opportunities have cropped up, mostly short-term projects. I like those. In fact, I’m thinking of putting on my business card, “Culinary Mercenary.” Need help developing a menu item? Some extra hands in the kitchen for a couple days? Covering for your line cook who needs a vacay? Give me a call.

I have no illusions that I know it all. In fact, Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School was just the beginning of my education. I have some plans for a project that will give me some hands-on experience at a variety of places.

Stay tuned, because you’ll be invited along for the ride.

P.S. We raised $979 for Share Our Strength on Saturday! But, it’s just short of last year’s total of $1040, and I wanna beat it. So, please (pretty please?) click here and donate $5 or $10 to help us out. It’s for the kids, y’all!

May 1, 2012. Tags: , , , . PTC_ACS. 2 comments.

Diamond Chef Preliminaries 2012 Play-By-Play

March 6, 2012

Preliminary competition has begun for the 2012 title of Diamond Chef (see previous post for background details).

Chef Matt Cooper and Sous Chef Mario Flores of Lulav collaborate on their dish in heat #1.

Heat #1 – 1 p.m.
Chef Cynthia Malik and Sous Chef Richard Goetz (Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School) vs. Chef Matt Cooper and Sous Chef Mario Flores (Lulav)

Mystery Basket ingredients: Whole chicken, flat iron beef, buttermilk, trail mix, blood oranges, fennel, Tanqueray.

Winner: Chef Malik and Sous Chef Goetz with 39.56 points, vs. Chef Cooper’s 38.19 points.

Winning dish for heat #1 by Chef Malik and sous chef Goetz. Pistachio encrusted flatiron steak and trail mix stuffed chicken, buttermilk potato pancakes, fennel & blood orange salad with gin vinaigrette.

Heat #2 – 2 p.m.
Chef Donnie Ferneau and Sous Chef Michael Miller of Ferneau Restaurant vs. Chef Jason Knapp and Sous Chef Coby Smith of UCA/Aramark.

Chef Knapp seriously contemplates his sauce during heat #2.

Mystery Basket ingredients: Sole, teres major beef (shoulder tender), sour cream, nacho cheese Doritos, mixed berries, bok choy, Patron Silver

Winner: Chef Knapp and Sous Chef Smith with 41.82 points, vs. Ferneau’s 37.57.

Winning dish for heat #2 by Chef Knapp and Sous Chef Smith.

Heat #3 – 3 p.m.
Chef Bonner Cameron (Ya Ya’s Euro Bistro) and Sous Chef Nathan Miller vs. Chef Stephen Burrow (Clinton Presidential Center) and Sous Chef Casey Copeland

Chef Stephen Burrow plates his final dish for heat #3. I got to eat this dish, and although it wasn't the winner, it was phenomenal!

Mystery Basket ingredients: Turkey fries, top butt beef, cottage cheese, Funions, cantelope, leeks, Bacardi rum.

Winner: Chef Cameron and Sous Chef Miller of YaYa’s with 36.84 pts vs. Chef Burrow’s 33.75.

Winning dish for heat #3 by YaYa's chef Bonner Cameron and sous Nathan Miller: Cantelope and cottage cheese crepe stuffed with Funyon-encrusted turkey fries and beef roulade with goat cheese, mushrooms, spinach, and dark rum butter sauce.

Heat #4 – 4 p.m. 
Chef Jeffrey Ferrell and Sous Chef Jeff Owen (Capital Hotel) vs. Chef Diana Bratton and Sous Chef Ivon Nunez (Taco Mama and Café 1217)

Chef Diana Bratton (right) of Taco Mama and sous Ivon Nunez prepare their dishes for heat #4.

Mystery Basket Ingredients: Chicken livers, bone-in ribeye, heavy cream, powdered sugar doughnuts, seedless watermelon, Napa cabbage, cognac.

Winner: Chef Ferrell with Capital Hotel.

Winning dish for round #4 by Chef Jeffrey Ferrell and Sous Chef Jeff Owen of the Capital Hotel. Ribeye cap, herb gnocchi with shiitake mushrooms, napa cabbage chouxcroute, powdered donut liver mousse, brandied veal glacé, watermelon-cognac cocktail.

Heat #5 – 5 p.m. Semi-finals
Chef Bonner Cameron and Sous Chef Nathan Miller of Ya Ya’s Euro Bistro and Chef Cynthia Malik and Sous Chef Richard Goetz of Pulaski Tech.

Mystery Basket ingredients: 
Whole steelhead trout, strip loin beef, chocolate milk, avocado, pink snoballs, arugula, Gentleman Jack bourbon.

Winner:
Chef Cameron and Sous Chef Miller of YaYa’s with 41.83 points, vs. 38.25 by Malik.

Winning dish for heat #5, semifinal, by Chef Bonner Cameron and Sous Chef Nathan Miller of Ya Ya’s Euro Bistro: Pan-seared New York strip with a chocolate milk demiglace with caramelized onions and fresh thyme and garlic. Fingerling potato salad with gorgonzola, and pan-seared trout with avocado mousse and fish fumé.

Heat #6 – 6 p.m. Semi-finals
Chef Jason Knapp and Sous Chef Coby Smith of UCA/Aramark vs. Chef Jeffrey Ferrell and Sous Chef Jeff Owen of the Capital Hotel.

Chef Jeffrey Ferrell of the Capital Hotel puts a finishing foam on his dish in the 6th and final heat, while a television camera looks on.

Mystery Basket ingredients: 
Opakapaka, beef tenderloin, strawberry milk, banana Moon Pie, kiwi, jicama, and amaretto.

Winner:
Chef Jason Knapp and Sous Chef Coby Smith of UCA/Aramark. Chef Knapp will compete against Chef Cameron of YaYa’s at the ticketed final event on June 5.

Winning dish for heat 6 semifinal by Chef Jason Knapp and Sous Chef Coby Smith: Pan-seared filet with amaretto and strawberry demiglace, roasted potatoes, and pistachio and Moonpie-encrusted fish served with kiwi and jicama slaw, and Moonpie butter brussel sprouts.

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March 6, 2012. Foodie News, PTC_ACS. 3 comments.

Diamond Chef 2012 Preliminaries Today

March 6, 2012

Note: See real-time updates here.

Can you get away from the office or the house this afternoon? Some super-talented chefs, converging upon the lobby of the Peabody Hotel in downtown Little Rock, will make it worth your foodie while. And, while the finale event will cost you $150, today’s drop-by-when-you-can style event is free.

From 1 – 7 p.m. today, the Diamond Chef Arkansas preliminary competition will take place amid a blur of proteins and pantry products, many of which will be revealed to the competitors in the form of a mystery basket, as on the popular television show “Chopped.”

The chefs, with the help of one sous chef, will have 40 minutes to prepare a dish using all the ingredients in the basket. Judges will score the dishes based on taste and creativity, as well as technical proficiency and sanitation.

On June 5, Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School will hold the Diamond Chef finale, a ticketed event showdown between today’s two top contenders. At that event, guests will enjoy a fine dining menu while the chefs compete on stage, creating a three-course meal using a protein that will be announced just moments before the competition begins.

Tickets to the finale event cost $150 per person and can be purchased by calling Yvette Parker at (501) 812-2271 or e-mailing yparker@pulaskitech.edu

Continue to watch for additional posts here at Fancy Pants Foodie or on Twitter at @ARFoodie for real-time updates.

Preliminary competition schedule for today:

Heat #1 – 1 p.m.- Chef Cynthia Malik and sous Richard Goetz (Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School) vs. Chef Matt Cooper and sous Mario Flores (Lulav)

Heat #2 – 2 p.m. – Chef Donnie Ferneau (Ferneau Restaurant) vs. Chef Jason Knapp (UCA/Aramark)

Heat #3 – 3 p.m. – Chef Bonner Cameron (Ya Ya’s Euro Bistro) vs. Chef Stephen Burrow (Clinton Presidential Center)

Heat #4 – 4 p.m. – Chef Jeffrey Ferrell (Capital Hotel) vs. Chef Diana Bratton (Taco Mama and Café 1217)

Heat #5 – 5 p.m.: Semi-finals

Heat #6 – 6 p.m.: Semi-finals


March 6, 2012. Tags: , , , , . Foodie News, PTC_ACS. 1 comment.

Chef Ball 2012 Menu and Photos

Tonight’s Chef Ball was a whirlwind, both for the attendees and behind the scenes. This will be my third time participating, and I’ve yet to hear much of anything from the event room itself.

My place, my passion, at least for now, is in the back, making plates. I had the privilege of helping several extraordinary chefs put together amazing dishes tonight. For those who couldn’t join us tonight, or even for those who were there, I want to share some photos from behind the scenes.

Since tonight was also the night of the Oscars, each course had a movie theme.

Next year, I won’t be a student anymore, and I’m not sure what my role will be for this event. Maybe I’ll have a seat in the dining room. But tonight, I gained knowledge and insight from chefs behind the scenes, and I’ll be a better cook for it.

Hors D’Oeuvres

Presented by Chef Cynthia Malik
Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School

"Mudbug" salad in endive

Associated Southern-Style Fish and Seafood Display (The Help)
- Included peeled shrimp, oysters with greens and cornbread, and (above) “Mudbug” salad on endive leaves.

Plantain chips with black beans, roasted pork and mango salsa.

Plantain Chips, Cuban-Style Roasted Pork with Black Bean and Mango Salsa (Chico and Rita)

Pissaladiere — Onion Confit, Anchovies, Olives and Thyme on Puff Pastry (Hugo)

Millas (Polenta) Topped with Roquefort and Figs (Hugo)

Herbed Goat Cheese and Roasted Beets on Irish Soda Bread with Hazelnut Vinaigrette (Albert Nobbs)

Assorted Guo Tie (Potstickers) with Dipping Sauces (Kung Fu Panda 2)

Appetizer
Presented by Chefs Terri Johnson, CC and Brandon Douglas, CEC
Big Rock Bistro

“Best Foreign Flavor”
Mediterranean-Style Kibbeh Kabob, Deconstructed Blood Orange Tzatziki

Soup & Salad
Presented by Chef Brian Kearns
Country Club of Little Rock

“The Ensemble Cast”
Roasted Apple and Turnip Soup; Duck Confit and Rye; Smoked Trout with Baby Greens, Dried Cherries, Bacon and Truffle

Fish
Presented by Chef Dan Capello, CEC
Chenal Country Club

“Red Carpet Redux”
Citrus Poached Arkansas Catfish with Aromatic Topping, Truffle Polenta, Haricot Verts and Pistachio

Entree
Presented by Chefs Jamie McAfee, CEC and Jay McAfee, CEC
Pine Bluff Country Club

“Beef Oscar”
Whole Beef Tenderloin Medallions, with Asparagus Spears and Lump Crab, topped with Hollandaise Sauce and served with Purple Potatoes

Dessert
Presented by Chef Jan Lewandowski, CEPC
Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School

“Concession Stand Connoisseur”
Chocolate and Caramel Bouchon with Candied Popcorn

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February 27, 2012. Tags: , , . Foodie News, Main Course, Menus, PTC_ACS. Leave a comment.

Rawking Out Chef Ball Tonight

Forget the other award shows — the place to be tonight is Pulaski Technical College for the 2012 Chef Ball. This event, hosted by the Arkansas Chapter of the American Culinary Federation, celebrates the state’s practicing and training culinarians.

The event features several expertly-prepared courses, each prepared by a different chef (most of whom are instructors at PTC’s Arkansas Culinary School) and a team of student assistants.

Follow me tonight on Twitter (@ARFoodie) for live photos and updates. For now, salivate over this incredible artisan bread (pugliese, sesame crackers and focaccia) made by instructor Chef Billy Ginocchio.

February 26, 2012. Tags: , , , , , , . Foodie News, Menus, PTC_ACS. Leave a comment.

The Marzipan Taunts Me (Dumb Luck at Making Roses)

It is seriously all I can do to not eat the entire bag of marzipan (a sugar-and-almond dough-like substance, used for modeling edible forms and flowers) I brought home from Cakes & Cake Decorating class.

We are supposed to practice making roses out of it, using the technique outlined in a video we watched in class. Although I can’t say my form is completely perfect, my second attempt (the first being at school) today was pretty darn okay.

Does that mean I can eat it? I. Love. Marzipan.

Here’s how I did it:

First, I rolled the marzipan into a 1″-thick or so log. I cut the following pieces with a sharp paring knife:

  • One 1.5″ piece
  • Two 1″ pieces
  • Eight 3/4″ pieces

Each of these is rolled into a sphere, then into a cone shape. The first piece will be more conical than the others.

Using a plastic dough scraper/bench knife, you gently squash the cone into a flat, large oval, which will be thicker and wider on the fat end of the cone. Hopefully.

The guy in the video did this in two strokes, both at the same 45 degree or so angle across the cone. The first time, you leave some of the fat end untouched, and the second time you get the whole thing.

Okay, so my "bench knife" was a cheesy pasta measure thing that came in the mail. My real one is...somewhere.

Still a little lumpy. I later switched to a sturdier bench knife that left fewer ridges.

 

Next, I rolled the center of the rose with this largest piece, using the thick end toward the bottom. I used the extra at the bottom to squish out a base.

 

 

 

Next, I flattened the next two petals in similar fashion, gave them a little pleat in the side (see below) and stuck them tightly around the base.

My problem with my earlier attempt at school is that I let these drape widely, making the flower look too much like a pansy or something. Roses are more tightly wound in the middle.

Now I spread, pleated and placed the next three petals, from the remaining eight pieces.

 

Pleat all one layer's petals at once and lay them face down on the work surface until you're ready.

Now, just the remaining five pieces await. These will stick on a little differently, so stay frosty.

Since these final petals will be visible from the outside, you’ll want to make sure each one tucks underneath the one before it. You know, to look all natural and junk. So before you completely press down one side, hold it open and position the next petal.

Aaaaand….voila. The finished rose. Like I said, I had some dumb luck this time, and it took a little pre-fiddling at class to get the idea. It’s worth giving it a try. You can purchase marzipan by the bucket at cake supply stores and online.

Besides, they’re delicious, whether they turn out pretty or not. So are the scraps.

I’m just saying.

February 8, 2012. Tags: , , , , , , , . Desserts, learning, PTC_ACS. Leave a comment.

Cakes and Cake Decorating Class at Pulaski Tech (with recipe for Swiss Buttercream)

Delish, no?

Too bad I can’t eat it. Oh well. The hubs and kids will feast after dinner tonight.

Last night was our second lab in Cakes and Cake Decorating Class, and the first time we really got to go at it on a cake. So incredibly fun!

I didn’t get as much time as I would have liked to decorate, since we took so long learning the ropes of splitting and filling cakes and making Swiss buttercream frosting. It is a little wonky in places, and I had to use someone else’s vivid green rather than my own pastel just because I ran out of time to bag it up. But not too shabby for a first try.

Swiss buttercream, by the way, is so incredibly delicious, I think I’ll never make the regular kind again. It’s shiny and not too sweet. You get…well…heck. I’ll just show you the ingredient list that Chef J wrote on the board:

__________________________

Swiss Buttercream 

Ingredients for Swiss buttercream

Place the egg whites and sugar in the mixer bowl over a pan of simmering water, and stir until the sugar is melted and the whole thing is just a little gooey, about 140 degrees. Then place this into your mixer with the whip attachment and kick it up to high for a while.

Conveniently, you don’t have to worry about overbeating, because the sugar acts as a stabilizer.

Once the mixture is well beaten, shiny and fluffy, check the temperature, which needs to come down closer to room temp before adding the butter. Usually the action of the mixer will do this, but some mixers add heat. If this happens, just place the mixer bowl into a bowl of ice for a minute or two and return your goo to the machine.

Now turn the mixer back on and add the butter, a room-temp chunk at a time (no need to be too pretty about cutting it up), while the mixer whips it together. Add the vanilla.

If you want to add chocolate, melt about 8 ounces of white chocolate or 12 ounces of semi-sweet, and let it cool slightly, then add. If you want to have some colors as well as chocolate, you can split up the batch and mix in the chocolate and the color bases separately, by hand.

__________________________

I want to walk you through everything else we did recipe-style, but it will take for-eh-vah. I’ll just regale you with photos of each step so you can be jealous that I actually get a grade for this sort of activity.

Meanwhile, I’ve found a recipe for a gluten-free poundcake, which I think I’ll use for our next project.

Stay tuned.

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January 31, 2012. Tags: , , , , , , , , . Desserts, learning, PTC_ACS. Leave a comment.

Say Cheese (Recipe for Bocconcini Mozzarella Balls)

I just got around to finishing this post about making cheese last semester in Garde Manger class. In fact, I was supposed to post this as part of a make-up cook-at-home assignment. (I thought she had said my product was sufficient, but later mentioned she never saw the story. Oopsie! I still made an A despite the missed points, though.) A promise is a promise, albeit a late one. Here you go, Chef C.

__________________________

Awfully pretty, isn't it? Too bad it had some fatal errors...

Making cheese, I don’t think it too scandalous to say, is a bit of a glimpse into the mind of God. Or witchcraft, I guess, depending on whose side you take. (Vegans, make your joke here.)

You start with such a completely plain, innocuous substance as milk, throw some other stuff at it, wave your hands in a prescribed motion, and, poof, you have cheese.

Okay, so it’s not quite that simplistic. But it is quite amazing.

In Garde Manger class, we’ve spent a handful of weeks on fresh (unaged) cheeses, because they’re quick, useful, and a good starting point for learning the ropes.

I showed you earlier our fresh lemon cheese, which is somewhere between ricotta and cream cheese in consistency. It was amazingly delicious and made a lovely filling for the sweet applications we used that day.

The next week, I was awfully sick with one of those might-as-well-be-the-flu-but-it’s-not sort of things. I went to class and powered through the lecture, but the chef knew better than to put my snotty, contagious self in the kitchen. I guess since I bothered to show up, she felt sorry for me and let me take some lab work home.

The project: Mozzarella.

I remember passing through the kitchen once last year when this class was doing this same project. Nibbly bliss!

Here’s the process, for those wishing to try at home. It’s awfully fun:

Bocconcini (Mozzarella balls)
(Adapted from Garde Manger: The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen by Culinary Institute of America)

  • 5 1/2 oz. salt
  • 1 gallon water
  • 2 lbs. cheese curd, cut into 1/2″ cubes

Right off the bat, I know you’re asking yourself, where in the world do I buy cheese curd?

Cheese curds courtesy of Ben E. Keith and Pulaski Tech.

Honestly, we were just given the curds, purchased from Ben E. Keith (a restaurant/foodservice supplier), to save time. But the awesome folks over at Fermentables, who offer supplies to make beer, wine and cheese at home, sell an inexpensive cheesemaking kit with the goods (rennet, for example) to make your own. Easy peasy.

But I’m leaving it to you to read those instructions on the package.

Properly diced cheese curds.

Add salt to your water, and bring it to 160 degrees. Then take the pot off the heat.

And here’s where I made a BIG ol’ mess.

The instructions in our book say to put the curds in a colander and lower it into the water so the cheese is covered. Thinking myself clever, I used a wire colander. Not so smart. Let’s just say that half the cheese stayed with the device, which had to go in the trash.

See that wire colander? I miss it.

Then I dumped the curds directly in the water. We were instructed to use chopsticks to pull the cheese into the smooth strings that make this cheese what it is. Turns out I overcooked my curds, and I ended up with something more like rubber bands than delicious cheese.

I carried on anyway, laying the stretched curds out into a long log atop some plastic wrap. This is supposed to be only 1 inch in diameter, but since they were so rubbery, mine were about 1 1/2″ or 2″. Oh well.

Twist the ends of the plastic wrap so the entire log is wrapped well, then get out some thin twine or, as I used, dental floss. You’d probably be better off to not use mint flavored, though. Cut 5″ pieces and tie off the log into uniform spheres. The curd strands will have enough pressure now to form solid balls.

Put your strand of cheesy pearl goodness into a large bowl and place it in the fridge for a few hours, or overnight. Unwrap, cut between the balls if necessary, and enjoy.

Honesty time: Mine wasn’t that great. It was a little too much the consistency of one of those hi-bounce balls you get in a grocery store vending machine. But other than that, it was fantastic. :/

If they’d turned out better, they would have done well in my marinade, the juices from some spicy roasted grapes (you read that right) I made the same evening. That would have all come together into something fab, even if I don’t know just what.

Despite my difficulties, the process was actually pretty fun. As with most cooking experiences, you may have to screw it up at least once before you can make it really fantastic. I’ll definitely do it again.

 

January 26, 2012. Tags: , , , , . Appetizer, PTC_ACS. 2 comments.

Back in the Saddle Again…One Last Time

Today, I start my last semester as a student at Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School.

I specify “as a student,” because I would love to come back as a graduate assistant, or whatever iteration that becomes in the new facility. This school has become a part of me, both reflecting my passions and giving me the means to carry them to others.

I only needed two more classes to graduate: American Regional Cuisine and an elective of my choosing (I chose Cakes and Cake Decorating, mainly because I didn’t get to take as many baking courses as I would have liked). Also, these classes are both at night, which is gonna save me bazillions in childcare this semester.

I’m still not entirely sure what I’m gonna do when I “grow up,” but writing, teaching and cooking will always be a part of it. Some opportunities have drifted up here and there. This is just as I un-planned it; the more I tried to make concrete plans, the more it looked like what other folks would want/expect me to do with a degree in culinary arts. Those plans were expensive, too, usually involving some sort of storefront, staff and other junk I don’t really don’t want to deal with, at least not right now.

So.

For one last semester, I put on the white jacket and black pants, PTC/ACS black baseball cap (yecch) and skid-proof black shoes.

I feel just a little like I did at the end of high school or college (the first time). The future is bright, full of opportunity. And this time, I’m just old enough, just young enough, just experienced-in-life enough to make something really cool happen.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Okay, already…I know good and well that several email subscribers to this blog are instructors and students. So why didn’t anyone tell me that I had the start date wrong? HA! I must have written the late registration date down. Or something.

I seriously ironed my coat, got a sitter, and went to school today, only to find that it doesn’t start until NEXT WEEK. Geesh. I started to delete this, but no. Go ahead and laugh at with me. 

January 9, 2012. learning, PTC_ACS. 2 comments.

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