Mmmm. Do you smell it?

I do! The glorious smells of fall: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice. Basically my favorite smells ever (I also love the smell of mens cologne and Bounce sheets, but this is a cooking blog and not a smells blog).

Sidenote: a few weeks ago, my sister & I were at Safeway in the plant section. We smelled something really nice in the general vicinity, and started sniffing the foliage around us. Turns out it was these broomsticks. They smelled like CINNAMON. Cinnamon-scented broomsticks. Fuh-an-cy! How awesome would it be if Harry Potter’s broomstick smelled like cinnamon? I bet Hermione’s smells like library books. And Ron’s probably smells like The Burrow. Second Sidenote: A special shoutout to my sister, aka Lady GaGa. Here are the whoopie pies!

Anyway. These smells. They make me smile. They warm my soul. And you too can experiences these glorious smells if you decide to make some Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. They are so good. Oh so good. If you are one of those pumpkin haterz, you can make the chocolate whoopie pies. But come on now. Savor the flavors of fall!

I got the recipe from Serious Eats and it is fantastic. Instead of using the cream cheese filling in the recipe, I used a marshmallow cream filling, which is what’s used in the original chocolate whoopie pies (recipe is below).

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

- makes 24 whoopie hamburgers or about 40 sliders -

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cloves
2 cups packed dark-brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups chilled pumpkin purée
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves together and set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the brown sugar and oil together until combined. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.

4. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.

5. Use a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism to drop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto prepared baking sheets, about one inch apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cookie comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on the pan while you make the filling.

(This is how I normally bake. Laptop with recipe out on the screen, sweets to the side, singing and dancing along with the bangin’ tunes. Click on each of those links. You will not regret any of them.)

Cream Cheese Filling

Ingredients

3 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Procedure

1. Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a medium bowl and set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter until it’s completely smooth, with no visible lumps. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined.

3. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Be careful not to overbeat the filling, or it will lose structure. (The filling can be made one day ahead. Cover the bowl tightly and put it in the refrigerator. Let the filling soften at room temperature before using.)

Marshmallow Cream Filling (via Epicurious)

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
2 cups marshmallow cream such as Marshmallow Fluff
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat together butter, confectioners sugar, marshmallow, and vanilla in a bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Assembling the Whoopie Pies

1. Turn half of the cooled cookies upside down (flat side facing up).

2. Use an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon to drop a large dollop of filling onto the flat side of the cookie. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are used. Put the whooopie pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm up before serving.

3. The whoopie pies will keep for up to 3 days, on a parchment-lined baking sheet covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator.

A sidenote about whoopie pies and how they got their name: According to food historians (& Wikipedia), Amish women would bake these and put them in farmers’ lunchboxes. When farmers would find these treats in their lunch, they would shout “Whoopie!” SO CUTE.

Life has been a crazy whirlwind for the past few months, and with Thanksgiving right around the corner, I think I should simma down now and do a bit ‘o’ reflecting. Cuz life is definitely grand and my Pal Jesus has blessed me with lots. Ready? Go.

1. The best family in life. Kind-hearted beautiful Mama, hilarious & sweet Big Poppa, and the two greatest most beautiful sisters & BFFFs any gal could ever ask for. Lady GaGa, MYA, you are my most favorites in the entire Milky Way.
2. Pals. Yes, you commenters of this blog. Thank you for making my life so bright. And for making me laugh until I cannot breathe.
3. My pup. Sweet baby Bear who kisses my nose then lets me try to stick my fingers up her nose. (For the record, it never works, cuz her nostrils are too tiny even to fit my pinky. But she still lets me attempt the impossible. Cuz she so sweet like candy.)
4. The Shoppe. I talk too much about it, but it really is good. Example. I was supposed to work Wednesday, but strained my wrist on the job the previous day, so I texted my boss to apologize for the inconvenience. This is what she texted back: “No prob. We want you to be a pastry queen for a long time!” Warms the heart. And, eating spoonfuls of ice cream is the only way to start the day.
5. Good health. Swine flu, regular flu, salmonella poisonings, etc etc etc. My sister had the swine flu and miraculously I did not catch it. Why? I’m strong. Like ox. She is even stronger cuz she kicked H1N1 in its butt.
6. Live music. It’s good for the soul.
7. Socks. Cuz there is a chill in the air and the only way to cure it is with socks on the feet.
8. Obama. Change is good. Aaaand that is all I know about politics.
9. The Lonely Island. Give me that Chronic-what!-cles of Narniaaa!
10. Glittery nailpolish. Obviously.

And now, I am off to Hawaii for some glorious sisterly bonding, delicious eatings, and a nice book on the beach with an alcoholic beverage to my right.

Have a very wonderful Thanksgiving, sweet sugarpies. Safe travels. Eat lots. Be thankful for everything. And cook something nice for someone you love. It will touch their soul. And they will definitely be thankful to have you in their lives ;]

Alas, we meet again!

Hello my sweet sugarpies,

I always start each post with an apology for never posting, but it’s true. To my faithful readers who check this more than once a week  (whoever and wherever you are), I thank you for your diligence. You all rock. And now, your dedication has paid off. Cuz here I am, suckas! And I come bearing news AND goods.

First, a little bit ‘o’ news. I started writing Oh Sugar Pie! as a way of documenting the beginnings of my life as a pastry chef. Since I started working in this industry a year ago, I have been ridiculously blessed every single step of the way. Doors that I didn’t even know existed have opened up for me left and right. Pretty amazing stuff. And the last time we met, I shared with you all about my burnt ice cream and eventual burnout from life and work. When that all happened, I knew I had to make a change.

So…

With a heavy heart, I quit my part-time job at The Glorious Restaurant two weeks ago and am now only working part-time at the Shoppe. The Shoppe offered me a full-time gig, so come January, I will have regular hours with two days in a row off each week (Truly a rarity!). In the meantime, I am laying low, making ice cream a few days a week and spending the rest of my time baking, reading about baking, chillin’ out, maxin’, relaxin’ all cool, aaand spending extra time with the ones that matter. It was pretty sad to leave TGR, but if I’m gonna be somebody, I have to do whatever it takes to reach my Goals (see previous post), and this was one of those things that just had to be done.

And now that I’m working solely at The Shoppe, my finished products have improved, my brain is more organized, and I’m growing ballsier when it comes to unfamiliar sugary territory. When I used to make candy that involved caramelizing sugar on the stovetop, I’d have crazy visions of the boiling sugar splattering all over my arms and giving me massive third degree burns. Those visions still appear everytime I make candy, but I’ve gotten pretty good at suppressing them.

And now, some goods.

So Captain Obvious is here to let you know that it is fall. Beautiful, crisp morning air, leaves changing autumn. Here are my favorite things about fall, in list form:

1. Making Thanksgiving dinner
2. The weather is colder
3. CANDY CORN
4. That means winter is right around the corner. Whoopie!

To say that candy corn is fantastic is a huge understatement. Usually I stock up on candy corn on November 1 during the day-after-Halloween sales. Then I stumbled upon this gem of a gem and decided to give it a shot. So here’s the recipe, cut & pasted from Serious Eats with a few notes from yours truly.

Homemade Candy Corn
(via Cakespy & Serious Eats)

- makes about one pound of candy corn -

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup salted butter
2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/3 cup powdered milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
red and yellow food coloring

Procedure

1. In a medium sized bowl, combine the sifted confectioners’ sugar and powdered milk. Set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the granulated sugar, corn syrup and butter. Bring to a boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Once it reaches the boiling point, reduce heat to medium and continue stirring for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the vanilla extract and remove from heat.

3. Add the confectioners’ sugar and powdered milk mixture to the wet ingredients; stir well until the mixture is thoroughly incorporated and smooth.

4. Let the dough cool until it is firm enough to handle, about 30 minutes to an hour (I just let it cool in the saucepan).

5. Divide the dough into three equal parts and set each third into a separate bowl. Add 2 to 3 drops of yellow food coloring to one dish, one drop of red and two drops of yellow to another dish, and leave the remaining dish uncolored. Knead the dough to which you have added food coloring until the color is even (you may want to use gloves to ensure that you don’t stain yourself). If the dough is feeling very soft or sticky, you may want to chill the dough for about 20 minutes in the refrigerator before proceeding with the next steps.

6. On top of a sheet of waxed paper or parchment paper, use your hands to roll each color of dough into a long, slender rope. You can roll it out to your desired thickness: for larger candies, make each rope thicker; for smaller candies, make each rope thinner.

7. Line the three ropes of dough together: white, orange, and yellow. To ensure that they will stick together, lay a piece of waxed paper on top and give them a very gentle rolling with a rolling pin. You just want to adhere them, not to flatten them.

(I was tired of the standard white/orange/yellow candy corns and decided to spice it up with some Univision colors.)
*Note: the easiest way to get things done is to do all of one step before moving onto the next step. Example: get all your ropes together before starting to cut them into individual candies.

8. Using a very sharp knife, cut the dough into triangles. Keep a damp cloth nearby so that you can wipe off the knife if it begins to get a candy residue. This method will result in half a batch of traditionally colored candy corn and half a batch with yellow tips (it’s OK—they taste the same). Let the finished kernels sit for an hour or two (do not stack them on top of one another as they will stick together!) to become firm. *Note: I let them sit out for 24 hours so they could dry completely.

The verdict: SO delicious. Way way better than the storebought stuff. Once you go homemade, you can never go back to the factory-made treats fasho.

Au revoir, friends! Thanks for reading. We will meet again soon.

Ready, Set, Go.

Hello Friends.

Many apologies for never updating this. I’ve got things to say, so here we go.

Work has been insane for the past three months. I do a total of seven shifts in six days, with one precious day off a week. Working two jobs is no easy feat. I have a new respect for all the hardworking people of America who do this day in and day out. There are so many things to remember with each job and sometimes my tiny brain cannot handle the information overload. I’m not a big baby when it comes to getting down and dirty, but after three months of this crazy schedule, I think it’s safe to say I am burnt out.

How did I come to this realization? Simple. I burnt my malted vanilla ice cream base. (Haha! Burning my ice cream base helped me realize I am burnt out. Funny.)

It started off as a seemingly regular day. Except for the fact that my to-do list was twice as long as it normally was and each task had like, 500 mini tasks before it. I tried to get my things done as quick as possible, and when I got to my ice cream base, my mind was spinning. Then, I discovered the burnt. And pretty much things went downhill exponentially. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, basically, to make ice cream, you need to first start with the base. You put your milk product [half & half or cream, depends], sugar, & whatever flavorings together in a pot on the stove. You warm up your ingredients to the point where the liquid begins to steam, but not simmer and definitely not boil. In my case, I had cream, sugar, vanilla beans, & malt powder [malt = the stuff in Whoppers, the candy, or Horlicks or Ovaltine, if yadadadimean.] steeping on the stove. Obviously you need to stir it all so nothing burns. That was my crucial error. I thought I had stirred it enough, but there was SO much malt powder in the pot that it sank to the bottom and that’s when the burning began.

Thankfully the toasted malt flavor worked out, my boss is amazing & kind, and I didn’t have to dump the entire thing down the sink. It actually tasted really really good and I can’t wait to try the finished product. But that whole incident threw me off for the rest of the day [I had to work the night shift at TGR right after. I don't remember anything about that night.] It was the first time I had ever burnt anything at any job I’ve had [burning things at home don't count, because that's how you learn!] and the pot was so burnt I was literally scrubbing it in the sink for 15 minutes and it was still only 30% clean. Cinderella Cinderella!

That was last week, and since then, I’ve had a lot of time to think about what I want in life.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you…

My Career Goals.

1. Work in Bay Area restaurants. Improve all techniques, become an expert dessert plater.
2. Move to New York & work in a really amazing restaurant.
3. Move to Paris and learn how to make French pastries [& learn the language].
4. Work for the Ultimate: Thomas Keller [cue angels singing].
5. Return to the Bay, the greatest place in the world, and work somewhere amazing.

Surely my goals will change. Perhaps I will be blessed enough to work with more than one Ultimate. But I figure by posting this publicly, I am somewhat held to this list. Then in five years, if you see me on the street, you can ask if I’ve accomplished any of them. Hopefully in 15 years, with enough hard work, it will all have happened.

In regards to the burn out, I am grateful that it happened even though I felt like the crappiest of craps in the following days. There is always so much more to learn, more ways to improve efficiency and quality of your work, no matter what you choose to do with your life. And even when I am tired as a newborn pup who needs to sleep all day and it feels like my body has been run over by a tank, I remember how blessed I am to be able to do what I love everyday. It also helps to have a boss who really wants you to succeed and who is behind you every step of the way, even when you do screw up.

It is a new week and I am ready to focus and kick some ass.

Overheard at the Restaurant, Part II.

[I am DEDICATED. I should be sleeping but instead am updating this bad boy. Also because I didn't want to forget what I am about to tell you all.]

So today was another reasonably busy night at The Glorious Restaurant. I am at my station plating desserts and semi-talking to these two guys sitting at the bar across from me. One of them is a regular and always talks to me when he comes in for a drink. He is an older white gentleman, perhaps in his late 60s, pearl-colored white hair. He is well-traveled and has eaten in all the great restaurants of New York.

So he and his friend are talking and suddenly I hear this juicy tidbit:

Old gentleman [the regular]: I don’t want to wear those short scarves when it gets cold. It seems too middle-eastern for me. I can’t do that.
Friend: [Silence. Cricket! Cricket!]

I don’t even know what a short middle-eastern-looking scarf is but I want one! Because I’m a g and I can do that. Also, really. How does one respond to something like that?

That is all. I need to get better at working and keeping my ears open so I can eavesdrop and report it to you all, my loves. Have a wonderful week!

Check It.

(I did not take this picture. Thank you Google Images.)

This is cute.

Things worth pointing out:

- The Davis Farmer’s Market got first place in the Large category. That’s because the entire Davis population voted and because there is nothing else to do there. JUST KID. I love you, Davis California. Thank you for educating me.

- The SF Ferry Building Farmer’s Market & Marin Farmer’s Market both made the Large list. GOOD because they are fantastic. Everyone, you oughta go check it out. Hurry while the berries and stone fruits are still around! Oh. And figs. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

This is genius.

- I want to try some butterbeer. Spiked with some rum or something equally delicious, of course.
- Also, I bet firewhisky would be awesome too.

That is all. Work is going great. My hands are getting calloused from the rolling pins & many tiny burns from the oven. Success! And it now feels foreign to sit down to eat a meal. Sitting is for driving and watching movies only.

Have a wonderful week, beautiful friends.

Aaand now, cue the Debbie Downer music.

The other day, I came into work at The Glorious Restaurant. I was super exhausted because I had just finished a 6 hour shift at the ice cream shoppe and still had another six hour shift to get through before I could go home and sleep in my sweet bed.

So it’s 4:15pm and I begin plating my first dessert (or in this case, a cheese plate) and all of a sudden, my right contact starts to bug me. I rub my eye and continue working. Fifteen seconds later, it is still bugging me and feels like it’s about to pop out of my eye. So I go to the bathroom to rinse my contact out. It still hurts like a mofo so I take it out and examine it up close. Turns out my contact had a giant tear right in the center. So I had to throw it out and work the rest of my shift with one contact on. And those of you who know me personally know that I have REALLY bad eyesight. So bad that if it weren’t for modern eyeglass technology, I would have thick bottlecaps for lenses in my glasses. Good thing you all can’t see me in my glasses all the time. For sure you guys wouldn’t be able to handle it. Anyway.

You never really realize how much you take your sweet eyesight for granted until you are about to pass out from exhaustion, can only see out of one eye (barely, because your other contact is so dry it’s pretty much blurry vision all around), and have to roll pie dough out into tart pans. I was literally two inches away from the pie dough and rolling pin, checking frantically every 5 seconds to make sure the dough was of even thickness all around. Needless to say, after rolling out 3 pie doughs, I gave up and spent the next five hours trying to smile at the patrons of the restaurant while secretly throwing myself a pity party.

And yes, I now have a pair of glasses & contact case in my purse, in case another freak contact-tear occurs. Always be prepared!

Overheard at the Restaurant, Part I. (of many to come.)

Hello Friends,

Long time no meet! As always, I apologize for the lack of posts. Blogging seems like a full time job that I am sucking at right now because [physical real] work has taken over my life! Which is a very great thing, seeing as jobs are few and far between in the US of A right now. (Especially California. And dear Swarzy, you are so dumb for all the education cuts. Children are our future. D-U-M-B. Anyway.) I am young and full of energy for hopefully another eight, nine, twenty, thirty years, so I might as well work as hard as I can right now so I can drink mojitos on the beach with my future husband when I retire.

In my previous post, I mentioned the new job that I got at The Glorious Restaurant (TGR for short). It’s been a month of learning new recipes, meeting new people and remembering five trillion names, making mistakes, and generally trying my best to kick ass and not fail.  It’s been going pretty decently so far and I am loving every second of it.

Yesterday was my first solo shift and it was such a blast. A solo shift is where you work an entire shift alone, doing production & plating all by yoself. Kind of a big deal for me. Anyway. I know I can work faster and more efficiently (because there is no such thing as fastest & most efficient!) but for the first time alone, it went smooth as the skin of a delicious red peach. My heart was pounding from all the adrenaline running through my veins. What a great feeling. I highly recommend it. (But say no to drugs, kids. Hugs not drugs, okay?)

Anyway. That is not the point of this entry. I am here to introduce a new feature on Oh Sugar Pie!. It is called “Overheard at the Restaurant.” This will be a regular feature, because when you work quietly, you can hear lots of interesting nuggets of information. Lots.

Let’s begin.

Because of my lack of visual aids all the time, here is a ghetto Paint layout of The Glorious Restaurant. It will help with my story.

As you can see, right when you walk into TGR, you see the Dessert Station & Bar. We share the area. Pastry gets the one half, Bar the other. (Just FYI: We make all the desserts in the actual kitchen. The Station is only for plating and reheating desserts to order.) Anyway. Like any other restaurant, people sit at the bar for drinks and sometimes even dinner.

So last night at 7pm, I was doin’ my thang, plating up desserts and in walks these three ladies and they plop down at the three stools directly in front of my station. I am starting to get used to patrons watching my every move. Not a big deal. I smile at them and continue working. They each have a drink. Red wine, white wine, & a grapefruit-ish martini. They look like well-off mid-to-late thirties women. Nicely dressed but not too fancy. They toast to their friendship and their first night out without kids or husbands.

Then, they get a-talkin’. First, about their kids and the sleeping habits & favorite toys and stuffed animals of each children. Then they do comparisons of which toys are better. And habits of each kid. And how their husbands act like kids too. And.

A: “My kid said ‘freakin’ slippers’. Do you reprimand them for saying “freakin”? But I say it all the time!”

B: “But, they are almost saying the f-u word. Yes, reprimand!”

Then. Next topic: home inspections! And if it’s a good idea to be present for a home inspection. And so-and-so neighbor got their front yard landscaped. Does it look okay? Not bad but so-and-so has a nicer landscaped front yard. Then they each shared their hopes and dreams. One of them is finally going back to school. She got a prompt reply from one of the schools she researched.

This went on. For. Three. Hours. Non. Stop. Literally twelve inches from me. And I am positive I left out 99 other topics of discussion. Those were the ones that seemed the nuttiest to me. It was intense and I was reeeal happy when it was time to clean up and close up shop.

There is a lot I can say about how I should give them a break and they are tired moms and blah blah. But, that’s okay. I will save that for next time. A long long time later kind of next time. I’m all about keeping this Overheard in the Restaurant thing light, airy, and fun.

Til next time, friends. Have a very pleasant tomorrow.

This is Crazy. Crazy with a capital C.

[Just FYI, this is going to be long. Very long. So if you don't read the entire thing, I won't cry a river or hate your guts or anything. Rest your tender eyeballs if you must.]

When I was a kid, I watched cartoons. Muppet Babies, Looney Tunes, and Tiny Toon Adventures. Those were my favorites. But only on weekdays afterschool. On Saturday mornings, I would watch KQED Public Television. Why? Cuz that’s when the cooking shows would be on.

Yan Can Cook, Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Cooking Secrets from the CIA [Culinary Institute of America], Lidia’s Kitchen. I would sit in front of the tv, watching in awe as the chefs turned nothing into the most magnificent somethings. I would have daydreams about how life would be so fun if I were a chef working in a restaurant. As I got older, KQED began airing more shows featuring pastry chefs. Jacques Torres always made whimsical figurines out of chocolate, while Gale Gand and the folks at America’s Test Kitchen focused on comfort desserts like apple pie and bread pudding. That was when I realized what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to be a pastry chef. It seemed like the perfect job. I love sweets, and I love watching peoples’ reactions as they eat something delicious. And the way I would achieve my goal was to go to culinary school and learn all that I could.

But plans changed. Pleasing my loving parents was very important to me, and I went to college thinking I was going to be a dentist. When I couldn’t pass Intro Chemistry freshman year, I wound up changing my plans again and graduated from college with the intention of teaching grade school. Culinary school was just another one of my crazy dreams that would never happen. Being a pastry chef would have to wait.

However. The night before my college graduation, I met someone who would change the course of my entire life. I was at my friend’s graduation potluck and a bunch of family & friends had driven up for the celebration. I had been talking to this one particular person for awhile and we seemed to get along really well. Food & our love of it was a reoccurring topic of discussion. As I was heading out the door, I asked her “Oh by the way, where do you work?” She wound up working at a ridiculously well-known restaurant and that is where the story gets reeeaaal juicy.

I had read a lot about this restaurant in the past and knew all about it. It was [and still is] a big freaking deal. When she said she would talk to the pastry chefs and see if I could work in their kitchen, I almost passed out from excitement. Fast forward two months and I am in the kitchen, trying out for an intern position in the pastry department of one of the best restaurants in the world. It was an unreal experience. I had never worked in a professional kitchen, and felt like such a poser in my chefs coat and apron. There were chefs running all around me, pots and pans continually clanging, and high quality food being banged out every five seconds. I don’t remember much about that first day other than the fact that I burnt my finger on the oven door, but the pastry chefs must have seen past my snails-pace work speed and endless mistakes and thought I was worthy enough to become their part-time pastry intern. Four months later, the part-time internship turned into a fulltime internship, and I wound up spending a whopping 8 months there.

It was during those 8 months that I learned what it was really like to be a pastry cook. The media portrays it as such a glamorous job [especially at high-end restaurants, like the one I interned at], but it’s not. There’s a lot of hard labor that goes in to everything and stress levels are always high. Sometimes you get so behind that you don’t even have time to pee or waste a second talking to anyone. And no one looks cute with strawberry puree splattered all over their chefs coat & sweat glistening across their entire face. With all of that said, I was so scared that I would start to hate it after two months, but every single day was better than the day before. I was learning something new everyday, whether it was a more efficient way of peeling apples or the correct method of making a particular type of cookie dough. All the chefs (both savory & pastry included) were ridiculously generous with their knowledge and shared it all willingly with me. And best of all, I didn’t have to pay tons of money for all this culinary school knowledge. I was learning it all for free! [Minus the cost of gas, of course.]

Working at that restaurant was a dream come true. In addition to all the technical knowledge I gained, I was also exposed to a whole new world of food. Example: rhubarb. I had never eaten rhubarb until working at the restaurant. Still don’t know if I like it, but at least now I know how to cook it and make it taste melt-in-your-mouth delicious. And after making ice cream on a regular basis with excellent quality ingredients, I can never go back to eating Dreyers or Breyers. Not to sound elitist, but no bueno. The taste is completely different. And this is not pastry-related, but holy hotness Hog Island Oyster Company is top notch. Go get some oysters from there STAT. You will not be disappointed.

Anyway. Back to the story. Back in April while I was still interning at the Restaurant, I started to apply for jobs. My very first interview was at this restaurant not too far from home and when I didn’t hear back from the pastry chef (not even a “nope, you didn’t get the job” phonecall), I assumed that I bombed the interview. So I continued my job search and after being rejected a couple times [yes, each rejection I cried, because I am a big wimp, but rejection builds character, and now I've got a whole lot more character than I did 2 months ago], I found a fantastic job working as a pastry cook in an ice cream shop. It was definitely a huge transition to go from fast-paced restaurant life to mega-chill [no pun intended] ice creamery, but it was a job in the kitchen, and with the economy in its current crappy status, I gladly took it.

That was three weeks ago [see the May 31 post where I melted the plastic lid]. Then last Thursday out of the blue, I get an email from the pastry chef I interviewed with back in April.

How is everything going? Do you have a job? I’m looking for one more person to join us here and you came to my mind. Let me know if you’re interested. Thanks.

I met with her on Saturday and fifteen minutes into our conversation, she asks, “So when can you start?” Holy. Mother. Of. Freaking. Pearl.

Fast forward to today. I worked my first shift as a pastry cook at this Glorious Restaurant and had a BLAST! It’s a mix of production [baking cakes, making pie dough, making cobblers and crisps, etc etc etc] and plating [the customer orders dessert, the waiters punch it into the computer, and ticket pops out at the dessert station with what the customer ordered, we put it on the plate, add sauces, and make it pretty before the waiters bring it to the customer and they eat it and smile cuz it's so damn good]. Aside from the kitchen being like, 500 degrees and the fact that I got a blistering burn from the oven, it was amazing. Freaking amazing. Restaurant work is such a rush of adrenaline. And no one even slipped me a rufalin [if you know where that's from, you win.] Sidenote about the burn: it is in the same exact place as my very first oven burn at the Restaurant. Going full circle? I think YES!

Which brings me back to my original story. I used to watch cooking shows and wonder what it was like to be working in a restaurant kitchen. Now, fifteen years later, I am living out my childhood dream. I am working as a pastry cook in a restaurant kitchen, and loving every single second of it. There is still so much I have to learn, but give me six or seven years, and watch me rock out at El Bulli or The French Laundry. Now wouldn’t that be a sight to see?

The End!

[PS: If you read that entire thing, you are freaking amazing. Want to come eat dessert at the Glorious Restaurant?]

Many Apologies, Dear Friends!

Hello to my five, maaybe six faithful readers. (A special shoutout to MrWu. Hello hello!)

I apologize for my lack of updates. Life has been busy busy busy! But, in a good way of course. And, I’ve kind of had a bit of writer’s block. But never fear. I am here. There are a couple things I will share with you readers in the near future, but for now, I am going to talk about conversions.

If you think that all we do in professional kitchens is cook, you are wrong! We like to do math. HAVE to do math. Whether we are doubling a batch of cookie dough or doing one-fourth the amount of lemon curd or even trying to figure out how many servings we can get out of a batch of chocolate candy, numbers are always on the brain.

When I first started cooking professionally, I was terrible at this. It would take me forever to go from ounces to pounds, cups to pints to quarts. But, after a couple months, I got the hang of it because practice makes perfect, my friends, and now I am here to share the goods with you.

Memorize these and your life will be greatly enriched.

1 pint = 2 cups
1 pint = 1/2 quart
1 quart = 4 cups
1 quart = ~1 liter (0.946 L to be exact)
1 quart = 1/4 gallon

1 gallon = 4 quarts
1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons
16 tablespoons = 1 cup
2 tablespoons = 1/8 cup

16 ounces = 1 pound
1 ounce = 28 grams

I am sure there are more, but my tender brain is fried from lack of sleep and probably the harmful electricity rays from staring at the computer screen for so long. This will be updated periodically because it’s useful.

To end, here is a picture of the love of my life. Sweet baby Berykah Badu [Bear, for short.]
She is my sunshine on a cloudy day and my sunlight when the skies are blue. She’s also so black that you cannot see her in the dark. (That is not a racist comment, nobody please give me any grief for it. Or else.)

Have a wonderful weekend, friends! Eat lots of good food and try to walk instead of drive! You’ll save gas and see things you would have never paid attention to had you been driving.

A Story From The Kitchen

Today was my first day of work as a pastry cook at an ice cream shoppe. It was ridiculously fun and now my hair smells like sugar. Anyway.

One of the things I had to do today was make a vanilla ice cream base. If you are unfamiliar with ice cream making, basically you have your half & half / sugar mixture, your egg yolks, and your cream. You heat up your half & half / sugar mixture along with the flavorings (in my case, vanilla beans) until it begins to scald. Right after that, you take it off the heat, cover it, and let it steep for however long it takes to get the flavor right. Then you add your yolks and heat the mixture til the eggs have started to cook (“custard” if you want to be all fancy and professional). Then you strain that mixture into your cream, let it chill in the refrigerator overnight, and voila. You have an ice cream base.

Once the base is chilled, then you can put it in the machine and you have ice cream. Easy as 1-2-3.

So back to my story. So while my half & half mixture is off the heat and steeping, I have my back to the stove and am hard at work on another project. Twenty minutes later, I go to the stove and as I am about to taste the mixture, I notice the square plastic lid I placed on the table next to the stove 30 minutes ago. But, it is not a square anymore. It is a pentagon!

That’s right. On my very first day of work, I melted an entire corner off of a very heavy duty plastic lid. I am like a freaking magician. You turn around and bam, shapes transforming all over the place. First it is a lid, then it is a useless piece of plastic. Haha!

Luckily the stove wasn’t on so the plastic didn’t light on fire. And double luckily that the melting plastic didn’t stink up the entire kitchen. Otherwise the sugary smell of the kitchen would be replaced by nose-burning death smell of plastic. And triple luckily my boss is super chill and just laughed at me.

Phew oh phew. I love being in the kitchen. You never know what will happen. Have a wonderful week, friends.