Don't be Jalousie!

I couldn't resist...Today was again, miserable weather-no surprise there, we started sweating the moment we walked in! Evidently, due to the building structure in order to keep all kitchens cool a multi-hundred thousand dollar upgrade would required. So, essentially we get to "tough it out." And it is tough! Trying to make inverse puff pastry (butter on the OUTSIDE as opposed to inside) in this weather is one of the most frustrating endeavors. Between feeling like your about to faint, the chef yelling at you to hurry up, and patience growing ever slimmer, we all hit a saturation point. Around 1:00pm, it hit, we all lost it. It became so absurd, it was absolutely hilarious. Everything was funny. Furiously trying to trim my pithiviers I hear banging, and then laughter. I look up and a girl at the front is smacking her dough with her rolling pin. This isn't so strange, after a long rest dough gets so hard, it's sometimes necessary, BUT, in this heat? not likely...The chef walks over, eyeing her frozen dough he says "what happened?" She blushes, and says, "oh, lots of things." After a few minutes of unsuccessfully trying to avoid the topic she pauses (I had thrown my dough back into the fridge at this point, too interested to trim efficiently) and then says, "I'm not going to lie, I froze it." We aren't supposed to freeze things since opening the freezer would result in massive melting eventually. We all wait, the room thick with anticipation of what was about to go down. Is he going to yell at her? The sheer terror in her eyes suggested she was preparing for the worst. However, the chef, realizing this has resulted in a class disturbance, simple says "I know." And walks away. It took every ounce of my (and most everyone's) will power not to burst out laughing. Why was this funny? What was happening to all of us? Conflict avoided, we should all go back to work. And yet, it wasn't so easy. The next hour and a half went as follows-we bake our pithiviers (I'm quite proud of mine), and fall into a chaotic non-productive mode. Nothing could be done. We were done. The chef, surprisingly let it happen, having us wrap up our prepped jalousie's for tomorrow's baking. During the discussion we were asked that if due to the heat, for the plating activity tomorrow if we would rather not use ice-cream. An uproar ensued. Of course everyone wanted ice-cream, what sort of absurd thought was this. One girl shouts "I don't care, I'll eat it out of the ice-cream maker if I have to, I WANT ice-cream." You wouldn't recognize our class as generally sensible adults, we were so tired, so worn to our last nerves many had regressed to a child-like delirium. The chef stands there looking nervous, says, OK! And before a potential mob-like scene took over, he dismissed up early (that NEVER happens). A loud cheer goes up as we spill into the hallways to go home. In the locker room someone says "I need a drink." And who didn't? Even normally reserved and exceptionally responsible students agreed. We all needed a drink. The insanity of the day, the stress of it all easily slipped away as the fourteen of us shared cold drinks at a local bar. The lost energy returned in full force, laughing hysterically recalling the day, I realize just how lucky we are to have each other. I laughed so much my face hurt. It was just what we needed, and decided it ought to be a weekly ritual. I had heard students in the program often became very close, and minus a few who don't seem interested in spending time with us, we've all bonded quite a bit. No wonder. And for me, thats what makes the program worth it. Yes, I'm learning a lot, and throughly enjoying doing what I love, but the relationships have become such an integral part of it all, I now can't imagine class without these people. While none of us are looking forward to the next exam (Tuesday), at least we feel a bit better about it. Knowing you aren't the only one whose dough won't cooperate helps quite a bit!
Despite the epic-ness of the day, the products came out well:
p.s. sorry for the terrible image quality, I keep forgetting my camera, the blackberry is a poor substitute.

My Pithivier!

And, what I consider my favorite recipe to date: Apple Tarte Tatin!