Update, Update, Update!

Hey Everyone!

If my current L-Block Academics couldn't get any busier! Project over project over project.

I decided to take some time on this gloomy September day in Hyde Park to write up a blog post.

So, fall in the Hudson Valley is right around the corner which means:
A) My favorite time of year
B) Some amazing produce in my opinion (APPLES! and much more!)
C) Some prime time to go mushroom foraging
     *Round Two of the Year for Morels (Maybe I'll Get Lucky!)
D) When the trees change its absolutely beautiful

So, I'm stoked for the change in season and the fall activities that occur.

But, I'll talk alittle bit about school at the current moment. So its about two weeks and I'm done with academics and then I move into my rounds of cooking classes and 1st up is Baking Fundamentals for Culinary Arts. I am indeed excited because though I find baking bread to be very stress relieving, I'd like to learn more about that side of things and baking is a interest of mine. Beyond that I want to talk about a current project I'm working on for my Menus Development class. We had to present a a restaurant concept, put it down on paper and write out a fact sheet (researching demographics of an area we knew well, I choose the Short North Arts District of Columbus, Ohio) and present it in a fashion as we would going to investors or a bank. Then we had to create a functioning menu for the restaurant. I though this project was very cool because it gave me a chance to really explore into the restaurant I would like to open down the road in my career. So I went with a simple bar/bistro concept. Focusing more on seasonality of products and menus, also being able to use a very local forward approach to ingredients. Also bundled in was the idea of doing inhouse smoking, curing of meats, making pickled items and doing canning/preserving. The type of food was very simple French and American cuisine. I'm real excited about this project, it got me thinking and starting to explore more concepts and ideas of mine for the future.

Another awesome project I'm doing at the moment is for my Intro to Management Class. We had to go to a restaurant and observe the staff and management. We choose a very, very, very, good restaurant called the Artist's Palate in downtown Poughkeepsie, New York. They stick to very simple food with a focus on seasonality. If your ever up here it is so worth it to go eat there. You'll spend about 40 to 50 dollars maybe on just yourself (if you get all three courses) but it is so worth it. These are photos I took of every one's food during the meal.

This was an Amuse Bouche presented by the Chef. The purpose of an Amuse is to wow your customers essentially at the beginning of the a meal or to amuse the mouth so to speak. Our amuse was smoked, grilled Pacific Salmon with chive creme friache, lightly oiled tomatoes and cucumbers on a toast round.



They presented also a basket of grilled bread with sundried, tomato pesto.

Someone had gotten a arugula salad, with local red bartlett pears, in house made duck breast prosciutto, light oil and cider vinaigrette and ricotta salada 

This was a soy-citrus marinaded, grilled swordfish with sticky rice, ginger scallion butter and stir fried snap peas

This was grilled salmon with Maryland Jumbo Lump Blue Crab with pommes puree, asparagus and  smoked tomato hollandaise

Grilled Hertiage Breed Porkchop with pommes puree, sauteed vegetables and a chimi churri sauce

This photo is in two parts because the plate was so big. This is moules (Prince Edward Island Blue Mussels) Sauteed with garlic, tomato, bell peppers, and white wine with frites (french fries) and a saffron mayo

The interior of The Artist's Palate

This was the dessert sampler, Peach Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream, Molten Chocolate Cake and Creme Brulee

This was the sorbet sampler: Strawberry, Peach, and Golden Beet with Ginger, served with a almond biscotti

This was a cranberry and peach bread pudding made with brioche bread and vanilla creme anglaise



Our meal was fantastic and if your ever in the area of Poughkeepise/Hyde Park it is so worth it once again.

The last piece I want to add to this blog post is the other day on Eater (a very awesome food blog) Dan Barber and other great chefs from around the world were at the Mistura Grastronimic Festival in Lima, Peru and helped draft up a letter to young chef's and I think it is a great piece. Here's the link:

http://eater.com/archives/2011/09/12/dan-barber.php#more

But thats it for now!

-Garrett

Back in Business

Well....Hello Everyone!

I'm back and hopefully staying to write for awhile, I've missed it alot and things have been crazy busy lately but let me fill you in on the little details from the past almost to months.

Extern ended: July 15th
Left Colorado: July 19th

Arrived in Ohio: July 20th

Left Ohio for New York: August 20th
Moved into the dorms at the CIA: August 21st

Started Classes for a new year at The Culinary Institute of America: August 23rd

Crazy, crazy, crazy stuff. But that leaves you questioning....what did you do between leaving Colorado and moving back into school. That I will tell you.

I honestly spent alot of time relaxing, enjoying my family, just getting to enjoy somewhat of a break before school started back up. Though about three weeks in I was ready to be back at school and in a routine. I did do alot of projects, worked at the butcher market I worked at last summer before I left for school and made some pocket change. Got to do alittle photography and eat some great food around the local Columbus area.

Jeni's Newest Location in German Village and my sister holding up a waffle cone scooped up with the Buckeye State (chocolate and peanut butter, after a signature candy based off of Buckeyes)

Now, the 1st photo on the left was a project I did, I was making sweet pickle chips (or bread and butter pickles). To the center is one of the last meals I made at home, Pan seared scallops, roasted fingerling potatoes, and a salad of arugula, roasted red peppers, strawberries, balsamic, olive oil and buttermilk blue cheese. The last photo to the right is something I had at Jeni's one day, it was a float they had made up. It was a scoop of their vanilla ice cream with passion fruit yogurt and dry vanilla soda. Let me say, it was very, very tasty, I could have had like three of those it was so good.

Now that I've been back at school I've been busy with my classes. Currently I'm taking what is called L Block and is 6 weeks of academics. So I'm taking:

Intro to Management

Nutrition

Menu Development

Costing or as our professor thinks we should call it, Money

Restaurant Law

Its been busy the past few weeks and I've just started! But yesterday I did a catering gig for a local catering company/restaurant for a wedding. Last Saturday I went out mushroom foraging (more like mushroom picture taking to identify), survived when hurricane Irene passed through the week before. It's been all fun lately, like honestly it has!

Pictures of some mushrooms me and my friend Amanda found on our trip to forage! Now the one to the right I'm still trying to identify but to the left, I've got a feeling its a chicken mushroom but I could be wrong.

Well, that's it for this post. I'll update more and have some more school related stuff (like photos of our campus!) Theres also many more adventures to come!

-Garrett