And the semester is over....with straight A's!!!

Okay, so it has been a couple of weeks since I have updated my blog. Things have been a bit hectic with school since Thanksgiving passed. I will give a quick update on what has happened between then and finals.

After Thanksgiving we had a lab where we learned cream/custard sauces. We did creme anglaise which is also referred to as vanilla sauce. This wasn't too difficult but there is a short window of time between it being ready and burning it! Basically it is milk and cream with eggs, sugar and vanilla. It is a thin sauce and most likely you have seen it drizzled on desserts when you order at a restaurant. You cook it on the stove and strain it to get the lumps out. My favorite was pastry cream. This is actually more like a custard or pudding that is used to fill cakes, pastries and sometimes donuts. It is also good on top of things like pound cake. It is made similar to creme anglaise but it cooks to a thicker consistancy before cooling it down. It is also done on the stove and requires a talented eye to know as soon as it is done without burning it. I did a pretty good job with it and wow was it yummy! Thing vanilla pudding. Yum! That same lab we also did stovetop brulee. I let my team partner take them home as most of my family is either allergic to milk, lactose intolerant, or both. haha But we learned how to torch the top which was pretty cool.

Since then I skipped a lab to study. I had a certification test for my food cost analysis class which I am still waiting for the grade on. I am pretty sure I got the certification, but just have to wait. As for my regular finals I did pretty decent. I got an 86% on my written baking final and an 84% on my food cost analysis final. Not as good as I would have liked on either but I was happy with them. Then, last night, was my baking practical (hands on) final. We were going to either end up making apple pie and creme anglaise or pound cake and pastry cream. I have been wishing for pound cake and pastry cream for weeks now. HAHA! I am happy to say that I DID end up with pound cake and pastry cream! And, I rocked the final. No crazy stories to tell, nothing went badly, I just rocked. And I got a 199/200. I was so excited! So, in the end I have ended up with A's in both classes!

Now I have a break until February when Spring semester starts. I will be taking Baking 2 and Art. The art class is a 2D design class. It should be fun. I was hoping to take another drawing class but it just didn't fit into my schedule.

As for updates on here, there won't be much to update unless I am baking at home, which I intend to do. With Christmas right around the corner, I am going to make sugar cookies and make use of my Cookie Craft books. (I just bought Cookie Craft Christmas today!!!!).

So, Happy Holidays to you all and I hope to have fun updates during my winter break.