Week 29 and Graduation!!!

Week 29 was techniques of healthy cooking. It was a fun class, which was co-taught by the creator of the Sonoma Diet, which is based on the traditional Mediterranean diet. The class was fun, we played with different grains and cooking techniques. We all learned a ton.

The weekend between weeks 29 and 30 we went to Alcatraz with Jason and Kaitlin, which David will post about soon.

Week 30 was Advanced culinary techniques. It was a tough week, our Chef, Chef Almir, was not about to let us slide to graduation. We had lectures on caviar, foie gras, sous vide cooking, and wild mushrooms. The lectures were all done by suppliers/producers of these specialty products, except for the sous vide lecture. (Sous Vide is a method of cooking where food is vacuum sealed in a bad and then poached really slowly for 4-48 hours at around 148 degrees. The food comes out insanely tender) By Wednesday we were in full production mode to make our 50 canapes each. My canape was a coconut curry poached salmon on an asian pear, with kumquats, cilantro oil, toasted coconut, and kaffir lime salt. (what a mouthful!) Here is the photo!!


Now, I don't want to toot my own horn, but mine was totally the most delicious. Chef Almir made yummy noises when he would walk past me working on them, and snitched them off my trays when I wasn't looking. The family, Malders and Zanders alike, loved them as well. I was really happy they turned out. I loved them so much that I'm making them again for dinner at our friends Marcus and Denise's house on Thursday!!

We had a blast with the Zander clan this weekend. Lots of eating and drinking.

Now were working a few days and then packing up. We have a day in SFon the 24th and then we are hoping to be on the road by Thursday of next week.

We'll keep you posted from Route 66 on the way home.

Love to all,

Abby