Au Revoir Feuillete

Apple-Fig Brandy Dartois


Classic Napoleon

The end of Puff Pastry. Despite the anguish it inflicted upon us all, I will in fact, miss it. Puff pastry to me, is one of the highlights of baking. I feel as though with practice, most anyone can make a decent tart. But a perfect puff pastry takes time, skill, and a lot of patience. I would have said, prior to this lesson I was alright at puff pastry. I could get it done, and it would taste pretty good. But now, knowing the subtle importance of a squared edge when rolling, or how a perfect lamination is not only essential, but very difficult to attain. I'm beginning to feel like a professional. Tomorrow we will be tested on our abilities, regardless of weather. I am of course a bit nervous, but confident I'll be fine.

Today was "such a Monday." As I walked to the subway, I realized I've forgotten my ID, not tragic, but annoying since I'll have to wait to gain entry to the locker rooms and hallway, since everything is card accessed. There's enough people usually around, so its not a big deal. As I'm about to change, I remember I've also forgotten pants! I can't very well do without those can I? I could, go upstairs and buy another pair, but I have two perfectly good pairs at home! After asking around, I was lucky to find out Sabrina had an extra pair, thank goodness! Off to a bit of a rocky start, but I quickly recovered. Good thing too, since today's theme was evidently speed. We were asked to complete in three hours what normally took at least 4. I think I'm pretty fast, but asking us to shave an hour off was asking a lot! I felt like for three hours I was flying around the room, barely getting a chance to breath. I made it, in fact, I actually got a bit ahead. Though not unscathed. I burnt myself, again! This time on a bain-marie melting chocolate! Stupid mistake, I knew that bowl was hot. Oh well, lesson learned. Again.

We again got to make an apple compote however we wanted. My brilliant partner Jen suggested adding figs. So we made an apple-fig (and brandy) compote with a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg. It was great! And since Chef. Tom is back, we were not hesitant to introduce such a dominant flavor profile. He applauded us on our compote, leaving us feeling finally vindicated after last week's disappointment. The Napoleon is as always, difficult to decorate properly, but I feel like I did fine. A good end to the unit.

Bring on exam #3!