salty papas

August 23, 2017


    Day 3 of Culinary School but Day #1 in my cooking class. Once again, we reviewed the syllabus and timeline for the course. I was honestly more excited to be in the cooking class because cooking has always been more fascinating to me than baking has ever been. I feel like with cooking there are endless possibilities, more delicious combinations, healthier options and so much room to experiment and grow. Baking on the other hand feels stiff with rules and procedures that limit creativity and emphasize exactness and precision in following a formula. So, because I am a right-brained person, I favor the creative and artistic side that cooking caters to. No pun intended. I loved the meal that Chef KJ created for us, he made a herb marinated, pan seared chicken breast with a caramelized onion mashed  sweet potato with a mixture of diced vegetables. He topped it off with a sherry sauce that was very flavorful. I honestly liked this meal 10 times more than the meals that the kitchen staff and Chef Todd brought down to us the first two nights of baking. Chef KJ's meal was more satisfying and lighter than the other dishes. I personally loved the medley of fresh herbs Chef KJ used and I think that if it were acceptable, I could have easily sipped on that marinade all day. I also learned that by finishing the cooking process of chicken in the oven, you can still pan sear it to give it that nice golden brown outer crisp. That was very interesting, Overall, I  was reminded on the basic components of a meal, and the basic rules and procedures of cooking.