ISCAHM - Bread Baking Day 2

Well nothing really changed except for the fact that we had a bit more hands on (and no we didn't have to recycle it this time).

We were able to make focaccia - one with pesto and olives, the other with tomatoes with veggies topped with gruyere. Grissini, ensaymada, etc. Actually we made a whole bunch and the idiot that I am, well lost my recipe list. What an ass!

All in all, it was ok. I particulary was eying the focaccia since I really love bread (yeah, you've heard it a million times already). But again, I miss the focaccia I would get in San Francisco. The ones we made in class fell short of being too doughy. It just didn't have that chewy yet rough texture that I know of it to be. Also, there is something so simple with the ones I would eat elsewhere. Something about the sea salt and light herbs that made dipping it in olive oil and balsamic that made it oh...so good. Again, it could just be the difference of the fact that the ones we make in school are really for the purposes of a hotel setting.

Well, day 3 of class is coming up and it's supposed to be bread...breads. Yeah, the French and sourdough. Let's hope I don't get disappointed because that is the whole reason for my attending this class.

Private Tutorial - Cakes

My mom, who's visiting here for a few weeks decided to have a sit down dinner with a few of her friends and family. So its a perfect excuse to do all sorts of desserts. And since Allan was here, I decided to learn to make a few sweet dishes apart from learning how to cake decorate.

First up, we decided to try the marshmallow fondant instead of the traditional bland fondant. Actually to tell you the truth, it was easier to make it the marshmallow fondant than the traditional one using glycose or glycerine. The steps involved and the ingredients are lessened.

While easier in terms of ingredients, it was also harder to knead because the marshmallow was really sticky. It took time really to get the consistency we needed to actually roll out the fondant.

As we finished up kneading, we waited for our carrot cake to bake and cool down. We used cream cheese icing on top of the fondant. Even though our cream cheese icing was pretty watered out, the marshmallow fondant was able to cover it. It just so happened that the marshmallow fondant was too thick I think. Again, it was because we were testing the fondant itself.

We then made our carrots and the leaf out of gum paste. It was cute! As for our mini carrot cakes, we just used cream cheese icing and then piped it using the leaf design. We then put them in boxes for our guests to take home.

Apart from our cakes, my mom decided to make her dishes. For starters we had mixed salad with mustard vinaigrette dressing. For some odd reason, those mixed salads don't have enough arugula greens in them. It's my favorite.

Our main course was sirloin peppercorn steak topped with a reduced red wine sauce and wild rice. For dessert, we had home made sansrival and cute polvoron in little cupcake dishes. The guests really appreciated the desserts and even requested the polvoron for take home.

It was one of the best home cooked dinners I had in awhile. It's always good to have my parents around as I really get to eat well.

ISCAHM - Bread Baking Class

As promised, I'm reporting on my bread baking class. But before I do, let me tell you my misadventure getting to class. It was my first LRT ride from D. Jose to Katipunan (normally I'm an MRT rider...nothing beats it than being in traffic). Let me tell ya, I enjoyed the LRT. In terms of cleanliness and looks, it beats San Francisco's subway system Bart. Yeah, can you believe it? I'm giving kudos to the government for it. It's spacious and clean and pretty neat looking. Only issue? Body odor or clothing odor. I don't know what it is. The person I sat next to gave me a headache. Not so much from the smell, but because I had to breathe through my mouth for a good 20 minutes into my trip. God, I'm baaad!

Then like an idiot, I realized I didn't bring the school's address and number with me. Yeah, I know, I know. I went around asking every non student or student if they knew of the school. No one did! Finally after thirty minutes of waiting in the station, I was able to get directions.

When I got there, I was amazed to see about 20 plus students. I couldn't believe it! There were just too many students. They were already started and I completely felt lost. After I got a recipe sheet, I caught up.

So, did I mention there were just too many students? Yeah, well obviously that bothered me. When the chef was demonstrating to make pastries, it was difficult to see anything. It's like playing football with everyone just to get to see him up close. What's worse, when we were able to do hands-on and the ingredients were provided, some student weren't able to get a piece to practice on. At one point, I practiced making a pastry and after I was done, gave it to a girl next to me and told her to practice on it, since I felt bad for her. We were recycling pastry for crying out loud. Whaaah, i need a refund!

Secondly, the chef spoke so softly, I barely understood him. Third, no clear explanation was made regarding the ingredients.

Whhaaah! I need a refund!

Well the trooper in me decided to make the most of it. What to do? The friendly in me decided to make friends, of course. Some were super shy (which is a trait I found with alot of the filipinos, especially with small conversation), some just smiled! Whaaah, i need a refund! No, but as the class rolled on through I was able to meet a few people.

In the end and after some hands on, we were able to take quite a few pastries. We did zopf bread, cinnamon rolls, raisin bread, mango pinwheel, doughnuts and berliner. It was nothing to rave home about. The pastries made definitely tasted and were meant more for the hotel environment. If that's what you like, then you'll definitely like this.

Next week we WILL be making bread.

Right now I won't judge early. I'm going to give it till the end of class to endorse my final recommendation. Whaaah, i need a refund! Just kidding. Photos to come.

NegoSkwela - Master Cake Decorating Day 3

This is our finished work in day 3. Again, each one was able to make their own cake. This time, I opted to buy a real cake to decorate on. No, I did not have time to make it. One of my employees had her last day with us so this was a perfect excuse to decorate a real cake. Unlike the rest in class, I was the only one who designed my cake in boiled icing. Why? I knew my employees wouldn't like the fondant taste. I knew they liked sweet icings.



It was sad to see our class end. I believe three days wasn't enough to really master everything. But that's ok, because I'm asking Allan to give me private tutoring. I'm excited and will post how my apprenticeship with him develops.