Practical #1

My oh my, what a day in the kitchen. I'm proud to say I've survived our first practical exam and by the skin of my teeth, no less. To explain, our exams in the kitchen consist of theory and practical tests. The theory portion is on the food itself - history, mechanics, origin, reactions of ingredients - all the things we study in our textbook and through powerpoints, etc. The practical exam is the actual cooking that we're tested on and holy crapola, it is intense.

In the days leading up to it, we were prepared as much as possible for how things would go. We were told that we'd come in that morning and wait to have the recipes (between 3 and 5 of them) revealed all at the same time. We were allowed to bring our textbook that day and would have 15 minutes to write down recipes, notes, whatever would help us get organized and then we'd have 45 minutes for the knife skills portion. From then on, we'd have time slots to produce our dishes - not a minute early, not a minute late - and that would be that. As a lover of all the food challenge shows like Chopped and Iron Chef, I seriously felt like I'd stepped into that arena and became a contestant for the day.

I was really nervous when I got into the kitchen that morning, I'm not gonna lie. Timed tests or exercises haven't always been my strong suit and it brought me back to being in high school where I just had heavy anxiety each time I had a test. All I could do was think positively and try not to worry so much. Um, that doesn't come easily for me. The three recipes we'd be doing were caponata, ravioli with ricotta and swiss chard in sage butter and risotto parmigiana. I just KNEW caponata would be one of the things we'd do because it has so many ingredients and steps to it. It's "easy" enough, but time consuming, so I knew for sure somehow that we'd be doing that. The thing is, being timed adds a huge element of anxiety because you're having to produce amazing results in a very short time frame which is what's preparing us for life in a professional kitchen. I really do thrive on that adrenaline but it comes with a large amount of stress until you start getting a bit more used to it.

Having to produce homemade ravioli as the second dish just about killed me. I was organized in making my pasta dough first thing once the clock starting ticking but man, putting it all together when the time came was really stressful. I felt myself losing it a little and I had to give myself a pep talk halfway through, no joke. Oh, just a side note...picture the chefs walking around with clipboards taking notes, standing over your shoulder, watching all you do...um, hello nerve-wracking! I now have a giant appreciation for those food shows I mentioned above.

The risotto was sort of a welcomed dish by the time I got to it. It's methodical and a little calming but guess what? I completely undershot the timing and my risotto was ready ten minutes before it was my turn to present it. That means it had to sit in a hot pan getting cooked more than it should while waiting to plate it. Yep, my beautiful risotto became nice and mushy. Arrrrrrgh!

All I know is that the day completely flew by but I made it through. I did get each plate in on time, which is really the most important thing, and I didn't lose my mind. Yay, positivity! We all knew that our first practical would be quite an experience and I know that I'll get better with time. It was just a really intense experience and I haven't felt pressure like that probably ever in my life. I guess that's what happens when you really care deeply about what it is you're doing! I never had that in a school environment before so this really was new for me. I loved the experience though, even feeling the anxiety, nerves and stress. It sharpened and pushed me which is what I need and ultimately want. I learned very quickly what things will be like going forward, that's for sure! What a day, what a day...

Carb Overload Continues

Annnnnd, we're on to risotto! Yet another first in the Chef Valerie portfolio.

Throughout school, I've discovered that I've stayed away from trying to cook certain things in the past due to fear. I know. That sounds absurd, right? I think I feel that way because of the perfectionist in me. Those who know me well know that I'm extremely competitive with myself. From running to cycling to cooking, I could care less what the person next to me is trying to accomplish. I'm in competition with nobody but me and that's how I've always been. It's a good and bad thing, all at once. I think at a young age, I learned to take care of myself in certain ways and that's yielded quite an independent outcome as I've grown up. Though I certainly feel at times that it's a character flaw, I normally think nobody can challenge or push me except for, well, me. I'm working on that. (Insert embarrassed face.) 

Anyway, I've never tried risotto because I didn't think I'd make it well and that it'd be a flop. My evil twin, Perfectionist Valerie, takes over in these moments and puts thoughts in my head much like I had in high school: "it's better to not try at something than it would be to fail at it". I mean, honestly. How dumb is that? I think about how, if I had kids and my daughter was me, I'd either smack her or cry because she felt that way. Allison, I'm sure you're shaking your head as you read this...

Back to the food. Cooking risotto, I've since found, is actually one of the most therapeutic things I've done in a while. I realize that sounds totally weird, but it might be the perfect dish for a perfectionist to cook. It takes time and some TLC, but it's methodical and precise, much like how I can be sometimes. Chef Jessica started the morning by showing us a silly little video of these animated rice kernels who rapped a song - in Italian - about the greatness of rice. Haha, I just giggled out loud to myself thinking about it, actually. Italians use many different kinds of rice to make risotto, but three in particular are the most common: arborio, vialone nano and carnaroli. Specific rices are naturally coated with amylopectin which is a soluble starch that slowly dissolves, creating a thickening agent in liquid. Arborio, for example, has a really high percentage of amylopectin so risotto dishes made with it are usually rich and substantial.

As you cook risotto, the starch gradually releases into the liquid and, slowly, the characteristic creamy texture begins to come together. Whatever you're using for the liquid, be it stock, wine, water - whatever - the rice begins to absorb the flavor and it's actually really cool just how much it does. That's due to the liquid concentrating as it cooks down so risotto is almost like a vehicle for any flavors and ingredients you can think of! You commonly see risotto made with farro these days, as well. Farro is a grain that's basically an ancestor of modern wheat. It's extremely healthful (as much protein as in quinoa, most notably!) and I like it because I feel like I'm eating something kinda bad for me but it's not.

We made the classic risotto alla parmigiana, risotto con fungi (mushrooms) and farrotto alla primavera (spring veggies). All three dishes were dynamite, seriously. After taking a photo of the risotto alla parmigiana, I realized how totally boring it looks. I think you'll agree:

It's sad that I can't share the amazing aroma and taste of this dish with you. It's even sadder that its awesomeness doesn't translate in a photo. I didn't take photos of the other dishes for this reason but holy crap, that farrotto was BOMB. So so good, fresh and delicious.

At any rate, it was really great getting into the diversity of risotto. I enjoyed this day, fully! What's even better is I realized that being afraid to do anything in the kitchen is totally and completely stupid. I'm no longer operating with that mentality, from this day forward.