Pour Some Sugar on Me

C-Block, Here I Come!

So it’s been a while!  I’ve been on summer break since July 8^th, and boy was it warranted. It felt so nice to go home and absorb myself in the crazy circus that has become of 8 White Birch. I miss my family while I’m at school, and no matter how busy or happy I am here, my family is a huge part of who I am. When I am not with them, I often feel that something is missing. Unfortunately, I feel that I am sacrificing that part of me in order to develop other parts of me. So it was nice to spend time with them after being apart for six weeks.

Oh, by the way, IT’S A GIRL!!!!! Yup, come January, I will have a niece!!!! I can’t wait to hold her and kiss her and snuggle her!!

So after three weeks of Payne filled adventures, it was time to come back to The Culinary. I came back to CIA yesterday afternoon to start the next semester of classes. Today was the first day of the new block (now C block for me) and I was pretty nervous about this new set of classes. Last block was very successful (I ended the block with an A- in all my courses), but I still came back nervous for the real start of my pastry classes. This block I’m enrolled in Baking Ingredients and Equipment Technology as well as Principles of Design. For some reason, I was especially nervous for my Baking Ingredients and Equipment Technology (BIET) class to the point where I made myself sick to my stomach. It was our first day of wearing our chef’s whites and I knew that the instructor would critique us in class. The instructors are more strict about the dress code for whites than they are for business casual, so I made sure my uniform was ironed and I Googled how to tie a neckerchief. I filed my nails down, wiped my chef shoes clean, pulled my hair back and secured it properly with bobby pins and adjusted my toque to fit my pea head. After doing the assigned readings and printing the appropriate course materials, I was still nervous to go to class because I had absolutely no idea what to expect.

But class was great! Chef Migoya is a phenomenal instructor. After lining us up and inspecting dress code, we began the four hour class. We went around the room and introduced ourselves, stated where we were from, why we chose Baking and Pastry and where we’ve been looking at for externship. It was a great was to start the class (I volunteered to go first) because most of the students were very passionate about why they chose Baking and Pastry and where and why they wanted to do externship. It was interesting to hear all the various points of view concerning externship because some I hadn’t considered. One student expressed that her husband was stationed in San Francisco for the army so she was going to go there for externship in order to make her marriage work. I admired her conviction but couldn’t help feeling relieved that I was in no way tied to that type of a responsibility. In fact, hearing from other students just further solidified my decision to pursue an externship away from Jersey.

After introductions wrapped up, we received a tour of the Apple Pie Bakery Café kitchen, which was one of the coolest things I’ve seen so far here at the culinary. The kitchen has big windows for guests and fellow students to look in and observe while students and Chef made dozens and dozens of desserts and breads. I’m the girl that creeps every day, leaning up against the window and watching the same student pipe tray after tray of French Macarons, and never tiring of observing the process. I’m sure the students are sick of me watching them by now, but this time I got to be in the kitchen with them while they did it.

We learned about the various equipment and technology used in the bakery in order to run an efficient and timely production line. We learned that the bakery prepares for 3,000 covers per day and that the blast chiller in the kitchen reaches -38 degrees in five minutes. Blast chillers are extremely expensive but immensely beneficial in the kitchen for various reasons. One, it allows more product to be sent out in less time, and two, it allows frozen desserts to develop less ice crystals, therefore producing a better texture. We saw how induction burners work and learned why they are preferred in a pastry kitchen. Induction burners use magnetic fields in order to create friction, and therefore producing heat. The great thing is that induction burners only heat pots that are magnetic, so it’s difficult to burn your hand. The burner cools down so quickly that thirty seconds after the pot is removed, you can put your hand on the burner and you won’t get burned. Also, a pot of water will boil in sixty seconds on an induction burner because the magnetic fields cause the water molecules to move so quickly that the friction produces a massive amount of heat in little time. Because there is no flame in induction cooking, hoods aren’t needed in the kitchen, therefore reducing cost. 

The most exciting part of the bakery tour was learning about all the equipment used to make hearth breads and rolls. Hearth breads and rolls are baked directly on the oven stone in a hearth oven. The breads are not formed into loaf pans and placed on a rack. The breads are proofed and formed without the support of a pan and baked directly on the stone. Special tools are needed in order to do this, such as a banneton, loader/setter, couche, flipping board, lame and scoring knife. Now I’m hooked and can’t wait to learn so much more about bread baking!!

So, I guess there was no reason to be so incredibly nervous for class today!! Tomorrow I have Principles of Design from 2pm-8:45pm. Insane, right?

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and being safe!!!!

Thanks for reading!!

-Court

Baby, You’re a Firework!

Great news all around this week! I am proud to say that Samantha Ceponis became a real life person this week! She was hired at Princeton Hospital in the residency program as an RN!!! She worked incredibly hard for this position, interviewed way too many times and stressed out enormously, but earned her well deserved position in the end! I am incredibly proud of her! When she called to tell me, I held my composure while on the phone because I was in the dining hall, but after I hung up, I burst into tears and was stared at like I had three heads. I am so happy for her!!

I am also proud to say that I can officially announce to the world that I AM GOING TO BE AN AUNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Heather and Timmy are expecting their first child in January, and I am so happy for them. Mom and Dad will be grandparents and I will be AUNT CHEF! Life as the Payne clan knows it will be forever changed, and I welcome that change with open arms and a sappy heart. As I hear, the Payne household at 8 White Birch Ave. is like a circus, with Heather and Timmy moved in while building the addition and two large dogs ruling the yard and my bedroom serving as a storage room. I can’t wait to come home to the madness! Just like old times!! I feel so far removed from the happenings at home while I’m here, so I’m looking forward to joining the circus for a couple weeks. I’d just like to congratulate Heather, Timmy and our family for a beautiful new addition to the most loving and happy family that anyone could wish for. This kid is going be great, surrounded by hopes, dreams, love, encouragement, support and good food! I’m excited for this new development in my life journey!

Well, now that I just shared that news, the rest of my culinary journey this past week seems trivial, but I’ll share anyway. We had another Product Knowledge practical exam that I think I did pretty well on. I was disappointed that tomatoes and cucumbers weren’t on it even though we covered them in class. I guess Chef figured they were pretty easy, so no need to test us on them. The herb on the practical was a bit confusing. There have been a couple disagreements concerning it: some students thought it was parsley, some thought it was cilantro. Now we’re just all confused! I guess we’ll find out tomorrow when we get them back. It was nice on Friday to study outside with Sammy and Nora. We basked in the sun in our business casual and played “story time” with our Product Knowledge notes in order to study. I hope it paid off!

We also had a gastro exam on Thursday that tested us on all the big name chefs that we’ve learned this semester. It was the most difficult exam I’ve taken so far (I had trouble remembering dates), but I got a 93!!! Yay!! The highest grade in the class was a 100 and the lowest was a 50, so I feel pretty proud of myself!

Friday we had Panera on the dock for dinner, took a nice relaxing break, laying on the dock and talking, and then watched Sex and the City. It was actually pretty nice because we pushed my air mattress up against the dressers, lined the dressers with big pillows, gathered on the mattress and cuddled under my comforter. We all fell asleep before the movie was even halfway through.

Saturday we slept in a bit, which was nice because during the week we hardly get to. We then got ready for the start of our weekend adventures. We’ve been dying to go to this local winery called Millbrook Winery for a cheap tasting and tour, so we made that our destination for the day. We gathered in my car and stopped for gas on the way. As I pulled up to the gas station I realized quickly that I wasn’t in the Dirty Jerz anymore… I had to pump my own gas. Luckily Sammy and Nora knew how, so Sammy taught me as Nora took pictures of me awkwardly learning. It was definitely an experience.

We stopped at Wild Hive for lunch… our home away from home. I love this place for the atmosphere, the ambiance, the quaintness, the food, the location and the people. I got the grilled cheese again, Sammy got a roasted turkey sandwich and Nora got a wild mushroom omelet. We then shared a fresh strawberry and black currant cake. With our bellies full of food and happiness, we set off up the road for the winery. This place was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. The driveway to the building runs straight through the vineyard. It was so beautiful that I couldn’t even take it anymore. I slammed on the brakes, threw the car in park, smacked my hazards on and jumped out to take pictures—definitely an experience I will never forget. We then did a tasting of six wines, and a tour of the winery. I learned a lot about wine and wine making, down to where they get the corks from. Did you know that white wine isn’t necessarily made from green grapes? White wine can be made from either green, purple or black grapes!

After leaving the winery, we still didn’t want to head back to campus, so I ventured out to find a castle that I had seen around there before but Sammy had never seen. Thanks to my keen sense of direction, I found it and once again threw the car into park, jumped out and took pictures. Driving around that area really is incredibly scenic, calming and beautiful. Farms upon farms, estates upon estates, picket white fences, horses, donkeys, ponds and fruit stands. We drove around the area just to take in the serenity. Later that night we went out to Bull and Buddha, a bar in Poughkeepsie that has an outdoor lounge and then a club inside. It was a pretty swanky place, although I think we all know I’m a local pub kind of girl. I’d rather be in my Uggs, jeans and a sweatshirt drinking a Sam Summer at the pub than be in skinny jeans, high heels and a “party” shirt at a hip club dealing with nasty and unnecessary men looking at you. It was fun to be with my friends, but not my scene.

Sunday was a “brave-the-farmers’-market-in-the-pouring-rain” kind of day followed by a nap, homemade spring onion and mushroom quiche and chick flick marathon. 

Monday, July 4^th, was a great day. I took my culinary friends to West Point Military Academy to experience the Independence Day Celebration that my family has taken part in for many years now. We spent the morning making snacks to bring, packed them in a cooler with some beer and headed out by 1 to get a good spot. I think everyone thought I was crazy when I told them we needed to be there by 2 or 3 to get a good spot for the show that started at 8, but once we got there and they saw how many people were there already, they understood.  We made mango guacamole with blue corn chips, bruchetta on sourdough crostini, vegetable platter and brought Bud Light Lime and Shocktop.

The whole day was amazing. The band was the best yet and the fireworks were of course incredible. I don’t know what it was this year, but it was the first year that I ever felt a real emotional connection to July 4^th and what it represents. I don’t know if it was seeing my friends’ reactions that are from all over the country and the world, and realizing I’ve taken it for granted, or truly understanding the pride you experience when you put on a uniform that represents a bigger picture, but whatever it was, it was a new feeling. Usually I’ve just gone because there’s food, music and fireworks, but I’ve never truly felt blessed and honored to be apart of the celebration. I felt it this year, and it was incredible to see that pride in other people. Our group from school included students from New York, New Jersey, Indiana, Michigan, Connecticut and Mexico and it was awesome to be able to share this tradition and celebration with them. CIA’s traditions and standards are deep rooted in military standards, seeing as the school began as a trade school for returning veterans during World War II. We receive demerits for being out of line and we receive grades based on professionalism and dress code. We still live by military standards here, and our uniforms represent ideas that are important in the culinary field. Our toques represent rank in the kitchen. The color of the thread that our names are embroidered in on our coats represent either Culinary or Baking. The ribbons that chefs wear on their collar represent their level of expertise (Certified Master Chef, Certified Master Pastry Chef). Your status as a student or alumni is symbolized through which side your name is embroidered on (right or left). I know how proud I feel every time I put my chef whites on because I represent a culture and a tradition that is deep rooted in our history and our lives. I am living up to extremely high standards and I am apart of a bigger picture. I can only imagine how these cadets felt marching into the celebration in their whites, having only sworn their allegiance a week ago. I was proud to be an American on Monday, and thankful that there are men and women in our country that fight everyday for my freedom to be a Pastry Chef and risk their lives every second of every day so that we can live freely and happily like we do.

So all in all, it was a very successful, emotional, and profound weekend. I hope you all enjoyed your Fourth of July! I sure did!

Home in three days!

-Court