My CIA Culinary Experience: My First Kitchen Class!!

So yesterday was my first kitchen class; Culinary Fundamentals. I have this class for 15 weeks. (15 weeks equals a semester, my other classes are for 3 weeks.) And Culinary Fundamentals is, just like my other classes, pretty self explanatory. It is a class, for us all, to learn about the fundamentals of cooking. Such as knife skills, the basics in cooking and the fundamentals in culinary arts.

On Day One, we learned about stocks and different cuts. Now, I don't know if you're reading this to see what I am eating or what.. But I will be explaining what I learn and my WHOLE experience. I will teach you all, exactly what I am learning.

So, stock.

Do you know what a stock is?

A stock is a flavorful liquid prepared by simmering bones (whether it be beef, chicken, veal, fish or even just vegetables) with aromatics. And stock is used as a base for soups, sauces or anything really.

Now you may be asking, "What are aromatics?"

Well aromatics are also known as mirepoix (Pronounced: Mir-pwah) and sachet d'epices (Pronounced: Sa-shay Day-pees)

Mirepoix is a combination of 2 parts onions and 1 part carrots and celery. (Usually 1/2 lb of onions and 1/4 lb of, each, carrots and celery.) And sachet d'epices is very similar to a tea bag of spices. For a stock it is made up of 1 bay leaf, parsley stems, dried thyme, cracked peppercorns and a crushed clove of garlic. All those ingredients are wrapped in a cheese cloth and tied shut, so it literally looks like a tea bag.

TAKEN RIGHT FROM MY TEXTBOOK. Chicken bones, mirepoix and sachet d'epices.

And the mirepoix and sachet d'epices are put into the stock the last hour or so of the simmering time. Depending on the bones, the simmer time will be different.

Chicken bones: 3-4 hours.

Beef bones: 8-10 hours.

Veal bones: 6-8 hours.

Fish bones: 35-45 minutes.

Vegetables: 45 minutes-1 hour.

So now you all know all about stocks! Be prepared for much much more!

Almost forgot.. My lunch and dinner!

For lunch we were only given like 30 minutes.. So I ate from the Salad Bar and had a few desserts and some fresh bread. The desserts were a Mango/Pineapple Cake thing with a Mango Sauce with Strawberries and the other was an Orange Sponge Cake thing with a sweet Fruit and Nut filling?

Mango Dessert.

Orange Cake.

And for dinner I had Jamaican Jerk Ribs with a Cilantro Rice and another kind of Rice and Fried Plantain with a Pineapple Red Pepper Salsa. And a Seafood Rice Soup. And a Vegetable Fritter with a Spicy Mayo Sauce. And for dessert I had Lemon Sponge Cake with a Raspberry Sauce. And Chocolate Mousse. And a Smore's Dessert. And a Vanilla Sponge Cake with a Strawberry in the center and a Light Strawberry Topping and a mini Macaroon.