follow the yellow brick road....

Here's another image as part of the Yellow Brick Road series.

Ain't no stopping us now.

Look how far we’ve come! We are now seven weeks into my culinary conception and level one is nearly complete. I’ve been so wrapped up in the day to day that I haven’t made time to share what I’ve learned so far. This Thursday will be my first final, and in order to move on to the next level we will be given a written and practical exam. The practical consisting of some basic taillage (that’s “cuts” for you non-French culinary speaking folk) along with the task of butchering a chicken into quarters and filleting a fish.

I feel pretty good about the final with the exception of the filleting of fish. I mean I’ve really only filleted two fish in my life EVER, so it’s a little tough to feel confident about that one. I may just have to go out and pick up a whole fish, so I can cut it up at home. Can you image that visual though? Fish guts all over my kitchen counter… eww. Trust me, when you have to remove gills and entrails it’s not pretty. This is the reason why you pay so much more for fresh fish from the market. They basically mark up the cost, to cover the expense of paying someone else to do it for you. If you bought your fish whole, you really would save so much money in the long run. It’s just a matter of knowing what to do with every scrap of meat, once it’s cut up. Seven weeks ago I would not have known the answer to that question, but now the possibilities are endless!

Once I get past this level we move on to level two, and cover the fun stuff like PASTRY! I promise I will make a better effort to take pictures. It’s really starting to feel more natural as time goes on AND I haven’t cut or burned myself in ONE WHOLE WEEK!

As the great man (Jacques Pépin) who I wish would one day become my adopted grand-father would say… Happy Cooking!

a little toilet humor...

I came across this funny Japanese cartoon series for kids on YouTube this morning. Apparently they take their toilet habits very seriously. If I was three years old again and going through potty training.... Pants Pankuro would be my hero.