Remember Who sits at the head of The Table.

First of all, have you seen these super awesome soda dispensers? Andrew and I went to Firehouse Subs the other day, I was amazed by this. The choices were endless.....

Alright, now for the nitty gritty. This week has been so amazing, I just have to share. I might type your.. eyes off? But, you can close at anytime of course.

Monday was the first day of Baking and Pastry class. I'm loving it!. It's always the best chefs that are the quirkiest I think.This chef is no different. She's a fun teacher, I'm glad I ended up with her. This class is so completely different from Culinary Foundations 3. It's laid back,as opposed to.. "You have 1 1/2 hours to make *rambles 8 french dishes off*.. GO!". It's more like... We watch, we do.. we bake, and we eat. We can take it all home, and it's all been so delicious. Here's some things we made this week..

Biscuits!


The most perfect chocolate chip cookies.

Oh right! And these are my two favorite classmates, Al & Thelmarys. We're always working together to make deliciousness :D



This is Thel and I's bread making station. Just a basic soft dough recipe. We made some rolls which are next.

Our 3-braid loafs baking.




Yumola!


These are our banana bread muffins... AKA, my breakfast for the past two days.


Then Willy Wonka attacked. Brownies, topped with a chocolate ganache.

So, that's a run down of the school aspect of this week... which is pretty awesome just by it's lonesome. That's not it though! Tuesday I was able to get out and play volleyball with friends I met a few weeks ago at the UCF beach courts. Turns out we play really well together, so we're going to do a tournament this upcoming weekend! I haven't played much over the past year and half, it felt so good to get back out there. I'm so incredibly sore though, it reminds me of three-a-day practices from my first weeks at LSCC playing ball.

THEN. I e-mailed my chef from CF 3 a few weeks ago to see if I could observe at the new restaurant they just opened. I had been putting off e-mailing her for a few weeks, even though I had that "nagging" God feeling that I should do it. I finally did, and I'm so glad for it. She's a Christian, which I kind of picked up on while I was in her class. I went to the restaurant on Saturday. It's more fancy than anything I've ever eaten at, but I learned so much. The concept of this restaurant is so very unique. It's a small place in Dr. Phillips area. It's called...


This is what you see when you come in. First thought "Oh my goodness, I love that Ikea painting!!".. Then you see that it's one room, with just one very large (but gorgeous) table. It seats about 24 max I believe. There is a small wine bar to the right (no picture, sorry), then the kitchen is in the back right corner. The idea is to join people together, to enjoy great food.. and just have a great night! Here's the website to check out... The Table Orlando.


I really didn't know what to expect going into this. Having only worked at Chick-fil-A, I knew this would be all so new to me. As soon as I get there, I get greeted and introduced to everyone. They were all very nice, it's a relatively small crew.. I'd say about 9 or ten total, including bartender & server. It was like a family, and they just welcomed me right in. I was expecting to just kinda be in a corner observing the whole night, but that definitely didn't happen! As soon as I got there, chef had me make a mayo for the lobster fritters. I was SO nervous, I'm sure I was shaking. I know, it was just mayo.. I've made it multiple times now, but it was for people to actually eat! They were discussing who all was eating there.. One of them was an investor of the restaurant.. Adorable older gentleman with a bow-tie. Then another was the owner of the penthouse of The Vue in Orlando... Hence more nervousness. I made the mayo, and I made it good! She had me do some other tasks and help the other interns with their tasks. It was about 4 hours of prep work, but it went by so fast.. Either because I was going so slow to make sure I didn't mess something up.. or just because it was such a new experience for me. Showtime came quick.. It was so much fun to me. Chef Brassil has us all come out after the salad is served, introduces us all to the customers.. then we get back to work. I have never eaten anywhere this fancy, so I was in awe. They have wine with every meal, different kinds.. amazing kinds really. We all had a champagne toast in the kitchen at one point.. It felt like a reality show to me, and I was in it. Oh! The best part, while in a very intense period of the evening.. for the like main, favorite dish.. Chef was like, I have a task for you. She gets out a black truffle.. and tells me to slice this razor thin. And not to screw up, because it costs $500 dollars a pound. I was like.. O_O... SO NERVOUS NOW. I did good though, I was pleased with my work.. and so was she. This is the menu from the evening. They make a new menu every night based on what they purchased during the week from local farmers, fish markets, etc... They research menus, then print these out an hour or so before showtime. They seal them with wax and everything. =)


The only dish I got a picture of was dessert... but it was delicious.. like everything else.


So, the evening went great. We were there until about 1:30 AM... I had no idea people ate so late! They ate from 7-10 I think.. which much wine in between and after. :) She really liked me being there and said I'm welcome anytime I wanted to come help out again. She's an amazing chef, along with her sous chef & husband.. You can read more about them on their website if you're that interested.

Okay, I'm sure your eyes are burning, but bear with me.. a few more blessings to go here. Today is Sunday! Day of rest, yes! Church this AM at Summit was great as usual, then I enjoyed a lovely Sunday nap. This evening we went this new-to-us church, Antioch21. Here's how we ended up there...

Andrew has been working on his football kicking & exercising again.. which he does at the park by his house. He was out kicking one day, and a young football team came out to play. He offered to help them with kicking, found a boy with some good potential, met his father.. who happens to be the pastor at this church, and boom, we're there! I was a little leery going into it tonight, because.. I'm a dedicated person, I love Summit.. It's a great church, I didn't want to feel like I was cheating on my church, haha. But, it was in all honesty a great night. This church is obviously founded on Christ, but they really focus on the community aspect of church. They meet on Sunday nights, and always eat before hand together at the church.. Then in the service, you sit around tables, and discuss at certain points of the service. Andrew especially liked this, because he's all into group discussions.. I'm a little more reserved, but I still enjoyed it. The people their were so welcoming, it's a relatively small church. We're having dinner with a young married couple (and their three kids) on Tuesday, and probably going to the church's back to school party on Saturday. There is another newly engaged couple as well there, so we're going to hopefully get together for some marriage counseling/mentoring.

I'm just so excited about life in this moment. I was in tears last night driving home, because for the first time since I started this culinary journey.. I felt like I was on the right track, and that I was sure of it. I've been so unsure if this is the right path.. I mean, the doors were open, but my mind was so against it at first, it wasn't MY plan. Ending up with this particular chef, who is a Christian, who owns an amazing restaurant, and better yet, told me that all of the employees are Christians... which is just so great. She has such a passion for what she does, and it was really inspiring to me. I'm still not sure what exactly I'll be doing in the future, but in this moment.. I'm absolutely content in living in the moment for God.. because He's who has planned my life, not me. It's not by coincidence that circumstances led me to my best friend 11 years ago, who led me to Andrew, who pushed me to pursue culinary when my heart was set elsewhere, where I found a professional I can learn from and respect at the same time. Chef Brassil told me when we were talking last night, that when she first opened the restaurant.. someone told her "Always remember who sits at the head of the table...".... and it's so true. The table is life and God is sitting at the head of it... That's just how it should be.

I'm looking forward to another amazing week. =)

Down here the fish are always happy....

Today was... more fun for me to make than to eat (which I did very little of anyway)... Please enjoy my favorite movie's soundtrack while you read. =D

Moules Mariniere - This dish I thought was surprisingly easy. Just heat up the live mussels in a little white wine & minced shallots.. Once opened, just strain liquid into a sauce pan.. Plate mussels & keep warm. Reduce the sauce pan to about a tablespoon & slowly add in butter until thick enough to coat the spoon.. Add your parsley, tomato, and a little lemon juice. Boom, done. I didn't eat this one.. I tried the sauce (what's scary about a butter sauce...yum!)... but the mussels, uh.. Not quite ready to stomach that yet. =)

Next dish was Calamari with a basic Tomato Sauce & Aioli... Pretty simple dish as well, and I did eat those... Even though cutting up the tentacles & squids was kinda nasty.


We then did a Flounder Papillote, which is similar to this video here.. If you're interested.

Last was Oysters Casino, which is raw in this picture.. since I didn't get them in the oven before time was up (it's seriously like Iron Chef in there.. Hands up!)... All the ingredients are there, but not cooked... My friend Al ate it raw right off the shell though, brave man indeed (he took if off the plate before I could snap a picture, hence the messy plate..). I had never even touched an oyster before today, it was pretty cool.. I didn't realize how hard they were to crack open though! Also, this sparked an interest in oysters & pearls.. because I didn't know what kind of oysters make pearls and how. Thank you wikipedia, now I know! I love wearing them (well, the fake ones.. heh...) and now, I want real ones even more! Cool stuff.

Anyway, that was today. I snagged enough pictures to post I thought. =) Oh and those Ice Cream Sandwiches... Apparently, our freezer is not quite cold enough to freeze them back fast enough, so they sorta kinda... completely melted all over. But! it saturated the cookie/cakes with ice cream.. which was kinda amazing in and of itself... new invention? ;)

I believe tomorrow is bacon (it's been curing for about a week, yummmo!) and we're butchering lamb leg. Lambchop is sad.

Scuttle: I haven't seen this in years, this is *wonderful*!
Ariel: What is it?
Scuttle: A banded, bulbous snarfblatt.
Ariel, Flounder: Ohhh.

<3

Rach

You know life's busy when there is no time to blog..

Well, you know... I won't make more excuses. Nonetheless, here I am - at the demand of my best friend Kristin. It's easier to blog when it's a day to day thing, because I'm not overloaded with information to share.... But since I haven't been blogging at all, I have SO MUCH TO SAY. I'll spare you all the details and provide you a rundown, similar ESPN's.. but probably not as entertaining.

Foodz. I'm in my third term now at Le Cordon Bleu - Culinary Foundations 3, with the "tough" chef. I will admit, he was pretty intimidating on the first day as he lectured while playing with a rather large butcher knife. He's an ex-marine, so it's pretty strict. Although, since it is now the 5th week with him, I think he's a little softer than he initially lets on. I think all the "big & tough" men as the softest overall... and the wimpiest. Just my opinion, we love 'em anyway! =D I haven't been able to take many photos, due to time constraints - and the teacher having that no cell phone policy.. but I snuck a few in.

This is Carnita's with black bean cakes, guacamole, corn & poblano salad, and a tomato salsa. This was my favorite meat dish so far.. and trust me, we've been cooking lots of meat... and watching butchering videos of it. O_O Yum?

This is just a pork chop with mashed potatoes (which I have officially mastered, and my belly is pleased) with a roasted vegetable medley.



I made this dish for Andrew and I last "Taco Tuesday". Fish tacos with a mango salsa and rice pilaf.
I made dinner tonight too, but it was just a simple pork, potatoes, and broccoli night.. However, it's also National Ice Cream Sandwich day... and in honor, I am making my first homemade ones! They're in the freezer now.. I'll have to post another picture (probably to Facebook, so look out!)... as soon as I eat them.. which will be very soon.

This week is a very nauseating week.... Lots of fish filet-ing..... Today we killed lobsters, tomorrow is calamari & mussels. I won't be eating much classwork this week that's for sure. =) Next class is baking and pastry, and I'm pretty excited!!

Love. The wedding plans are coming along swimmingly. The only big tasks are photographer & honeymoon plans. The rest is just the detail stuff that makes it personal. I'm excited, I've got all sorts of DIY projects going on... I want to share them, but then I don't want those attending the wedding to have seen all the personal touches already! We'll see.. I might just break down and share anyway.

Andrew and I are hitting our one year dating anniversary next Monday! I can't believe how time has flown. It's been such a roller coaster of a year... I'm so glad God brought me him when He did, I don't know where I'd be emotionally without him here holding me up sometimes. =)

Exercise. So, I have a problem with exercise... in that I love doing it, but I have trouble sticking to one particular routine. I see one ad for Yoga, and I'm like oh I should do that. Then I see a 1/2 marathon ad, and I'm like.. doing it! Then I see Zumba class and Bridal Boot Camp and I'm like.. can I fit that in my schedule? Then I found this, www.bodyrock.tv - The homework out movement, which I love the concept (and envy that chicks body...)... but she uses some equipment that I'm just not sure I can justify spending the money on right now. So, I've been sticking with jogging - even though I've been wanting to do so much else. I'm going to splurge and sign up for a race in Sept or October... There is a 15 in Sept, the Miracle Miles.. which will be a stretch for me to train enough for... then there is a 5 mile race in October.. which is definitely do-able.... Which one do I do!?

Ok, that's all folks... Time for me to go enjoy my ice cream sandwiches (I hope). <3

Peace love and ice cream!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rach

Big world, little Rachel

Greetings from Miami Beach!



Andrew and I are in Miami visiting his family from Brazil. We drove in yesterday AM. It didn't feel as long as a drive as I expected, but the company in the car makes time go fast. :) We're still in Florida, but this feels like another country for sure! It has made me very aware of my need to become bilingual. Very pretty people here, just as I had heard. It's a bigger city than I knew, but it is pretty neat honestly. I just keep waiting for Horatio Caine from CSI to be walking down the street.

Yesterday we went to the beach. Andrew has never seen the ocean be so blue, he loved it - as did I. It's a lot like Ft. Lauderdale beach, but the sand wasn't as dark and the shore is smaller here.. Or atleast where we were. Andrew's uncle wanted to go Jetskiing with his son, John Paul (who is going to be our ring bearer). So, him, JP, Andrew and his mom went out on the ocean to jetski. I stayed to photograph :) His mom had never done anything like that. Pretty brave of her, as the waves were pretty big at the time.






They fell off once, but got up like champs and kept on chugging along!

After that, we went to the Dolphin Mall. It was crazy pretty and packed! I would have loved to stay longer if we had more time (and money). Although, there were times that I wasn't sure if I was in a club or a mall.. With all the fancy lights and people.. Oh! And all the mirrors! There are mirrors between every store, I swear that place promotes vanity.

Then we went to Texas de Brazil! I've been wanting to try it for years, I was excited when his uncle said we were going there. Very cool place, pricey but delicious. The salad bar was like heaven and I really enjoyed the meat surprisingly. The only negative was that some of the table speaks Portuguese, some both, and me - who can say two words Portuguese.. And our waiter spoke Spanish. Boy was I confused! Delicious though :)


Now it's Sunday - we slept in, it was lovely. Andrew is talking business with his Uncle, I'm just lounging on the couch enjoying the feeling of boredom for once. :) We're in an apartment his uncle rented, but it's in a sky rise type... The picture up top is from the window looking onto the bay. I wouldn't want to live here - but visiting once a month would be awesome.


That's all from my remote blog! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Bay Rd,Miami Beach,United States

Pasta and planning!

Ello readers! Here I am, updating you again!

Yesterday was salad day! I thought it was going to be pretty easy going.. boy was I wrong! The amount of prep was INSANE. I think it took me about 1 hour to cut everything, 30 minutes to go through lettuce leaves, and about 5 to assemble the salads. Crazy! We made Salade Nicoise, a yummy chef salad, a potato salad, and a white bean salad. I liked all of them, except the Nicoise - but that had anchovies, tuna, and olives... none of which I love. The potato one we did was... divine. I wanted to take a picture, but by the time I remembered, I had eat all but two of the potatoes left on the plate. I told you I love potatoes!

Do you say potato or potatoes? I'm pretty sure I spell it both ways - I never decided which way....

Then today was pasta day! I loved it. I really wouldn't mind being one of the pasta makers in Italy... as long as I got a higher counter to work on. I see back problems in the future. Anyway, pasta was fun.. and relatively easy I thought. We made fettuccine Alfredo, ravioli with fresh pesto sauce, and tortellini with a brown butter sauce. All were delightful and full of calories. But there aren't calories when you're in the cooking school... right? I think I read that somewhere in the application.

Fun fact! Do you know the difference between pasta-inis and pasta-onis? i.e. tortellini vs. tortelloni

Eh? Any idea?

-ini's are the teeny's of the -oni's! Get it? =D

Tomorrow is egg day... We're making an herb omelet, eggs overeasy, and eggs Benedict.

Now! For wedding stuff! Good news! We have a venue! Andrew and I toured the Lake Mary Event Center today, we loved it! We will be getting married on Sunday, February 26th, 2012! That is approximately (or.. exactly) 8 months and 17 days away!

Also, we got our engagement photos taken by the most-best-awesome-est-maidofhonor-Kristin! =D We took them at Celebration and at Old Town. She did a great job! Here's a few for your viewing pleasure!

More will be posted to Facebook! =D

Umm... Day.....Can I restart? I forgot.

Wow, I've been a total blogging failure. Good thing I didn't choose journalism as a profession huh? Here's a quick rundown... it will have to do for now.

I'm in my fourth week of Culinary Foundations 2. It's gone by fast; there is learning happening all over the place! It was pretty intimidating inititally, I felt like I'd never cooked a day in my life. Chef's like, "Make Roux!"...I'm like, "Uhhhhh... right, ok... I know how to this.. easy... Why am I so nervous!.. and go". A few of my original classmates and I got switched to a different class when we started CF2. So, we were at square one with these other students... and it was a little rough figuring out who is who, and who to avoid. We got it all figured out now. This curiculum started stocks, sauces, soups, and now we've been doing vegetables, grains, and potatoes. Oh boy, I loved potato day. I will try to update more, so I don't have to leave a ton of fun information out. But! The most important thing I've learned is.. More salt!

As far as wedding prep goes, we're working on finding a venue that we like... We were going with the Chapel & Tavern in Port Orange, but decided against it after the pre-contract. We looked at Lake Lucerne Inn, but just didn't feel like it was a great fit for us. Next up is the apparently popular Lake Mary Event Center, we're visiting it on Wednesday afternoon. We're also considering Leu Gardens, since we do/will have lots of fun memories there. (I love Date Night there!)... So, haven't gotten a lot of definitive plans yet. However! I did find the shoes I want to wear and we got our engagement photos yesterday! Courtesy of best friend Kristin. I can't wait to see!

This is all for now. Peace, love, and fancy foodz. ++ +Salt

Day 18 & 19... Eh, forget those two days, we're getting married!

That's right folks! We're gettin' hitched!

Everyone is begging for the details, so I am posting finally.

Saturday, Kristin and I were planning to go to the beach for a girl's day. Little did I know (but suspected maybe a little =P ) that Andrew was going to wake me up before my alarm that day. He told me when we had just started dated that I'd know as soon as I woke up that he would propose that day. And I did. I said "Yay! Today's the day!"

*9 Months prior*

We met on July 25, 2010, a day that I was not particularly looking forward to... My best Kristin, was meeting this guy from their soon-to-be-graduate school for the first time. I requested to him on Facebook chat the night before, that he stand on the coffee bar at church and ask if anyone would like to go to Disney with us that next afternoon. That way, I wasn't a third wheel. He simply stated, that it wasn't like that. The next morning, Kristin and I drove to pick him up on the way to church. I don't necessarily believe in love at first sight... but there was something about this boy, the moment I saw him. Maybe it was God, giving me my prayed for "sign".. Or maybe it was just the super awesome Florida lighting... I like to think it was the first. We all went to Summit Church, then to Panera. It was at Panera, that I realized I was uber attracted to this stranger... which is so NOT allowed. Kristin, has been my friend for 11 years now. We're polar opposites, but as close as could be. That said, it is NOT allowed for me to be attracted to said Possibles, since they are "talking". However, knowing her as well as I do, I shortly realized he is soooo not her type. (And they realized that shortly after too).......We went to Disney. I was quieter than normal, because all I could think was "He's so perfect for me!!"..... all day. Talk about a horribly awkward feeling! Kristin ended up getting a stomach ache and sat out on Splash Mountain... leaving me alone with him. O_O <---Me. He asked me if I talked, I said yes... but that's all. (For those who may not know me well, I am a horrible liar. I can't hide my feelings for anything).... We headed home shortly after since Kristin wasn't feeling well.

Then next morning, Kristin asked what I thought of him...

*Rachel's Brain*.... "I don't like him, I don't know him, I can't like him..... but I do. Oh no"
*Rachel's mouth*.... "He's nice"

Kristin: "That's all?.. He's nice?"

Anyone with a close best-girlfriend, knows we share WAY more details than a simple "He's nice".... but what could I do! I couldn't start raving about this guy that she might potentially date! Luckily, I suppose, Kristin noticed the odd response.. and caught me.. somehow.

Kristin: "You like him!"

Me: "No"

Kristin: "You like him!"

Me: "Nooo, I don't even know him"

Kristin: "But you like him"

Me: "I'M SORRY!" *Runs to room*... It was rather dramatic of me, but whatdoyado.

She said, it was alright.. They weren't dating anyways and she didn't feel anything....The next day, I went to Lowe's to give him a coupon I had, since he was renovating his new home... and since I'm a complete dork. Coupon sharing, the new way to flirt!!! I ended up going over to his house to paint that day too.. because "I love painting!"..... and I do... but I especially love painting around a boy I'm crushing on.

I continued to apologize for a few days, to make sure there were no hard feelings.. Kristin assured me it was alright, if not better. Andrew asked me out two weeks later... I guess I wasn't just a third wheel to him... =)

*April 30th, 2011*

We headed out, he had me guess where we were going, stating this day was about us. I said, Panera! Point for me, I was right. Panera was, afterall, where we ate that first day... We enjoyed our breakfast together. After that, he drove me to Summit Church. We parked out front and got out. He gave me a marriage Bible with "The Gassen Family" engraved on the front. We share the same faith and the same belief that God must be the center of a relationship. I thought this was super sweet of him..... <3<3 Then, he said we had a few hours to just have fun, so we went to Fun Spot on I-Drive.. and we played in the Arcade for a few hours... Super fun. I owned him at air hockey & basketball... but he is pretty dang good at Ski ball. Fun times. From there we went to Pao Gostoso, our favorite Brazilian bakery. We order some numz to go, then we're on the road again... but where to? He planned on going to Leu Gardens, but they have a different policy for picnics when it's not "Date Night"... So, I says, "Lake Eola!"... It was a beautiful day Saturday, we could sat in a dog park and I'd be happy. =) We found a perfect spot along the edge of the lake under a few palm trees... threw down our blanket and enjoyed our food... Then Andrew reached over the cooler and pulled out my mom's engagement ring, got on one knee (as I squealed, "I think I'm supposed to stand up for this"), and asked me to marry him. I said "Of course!!! Yes!!" *Hugs* *Smiles* *Happy Dance*

And there we laid in the shade, enjoying our newly engaged-ness. <3

This will now become a culinary school & wedding planning blog..... and go! Watch out world! The Gassen's are coming soon!

Photos are on my Facebook page if you'd like to see. <3 Love love!