Friday, April 11, 2008

Exam No. 1

I'm an unabashed, card-carrying nerd. In college, you can find me in the front row, armed with a myriad of colored pens and highlighters. I enjoy puzzles and taking tests. I'm also way more confident than I should be. The 20-week long cooking class ends with three consecutive exams. For the first part, we all receive a list of ingredients and instructions. For the second test, we get a list of ingredients. No instructions were provided. For the final, we only get the name of the dish--no ingredients, no instructions.

Here are the results of the first test:

test

The mushroom soup was my pride and joy. It was well seasoned and had great consistency. I've never made mushroom soup in my life, but have enjoyed them as part of set lunch menus. It turned out great.

test2

I apologize for the blurry photo. This dish was just OK. The fish was slightly undercooked (boo!) and my Béchamel sauce broke. *sigh* It tasted fine, though.

test3

Again, I've never made a bread pudding before. It's so freaking easy that it's no wonder Tre got kicked out of Top Chef 3 for screwing it up. I like mine chunky, so I added the bread cubes at the last minute. It turned out more "rustic."
Ray

2 comments:

bananami said...

Oh wow! Cool! I didn't think you would have exams. It makes sense to, but it never crossed my mind. I wish you luck! You're going to have to share that mushroom soup recipe. I LOVE mushroom soup. So, how do you prepare for a cooking test? A sharp knife and a healthy tongue?

Hakka House said...

Thanks Nana! The mushroom soup was really easy. Saute chopped onions with 1 tbs butter. Add 1 cup sliced button mushrooms. Add 1 tbs flour and mix for a min or so. Then add 1/4 cup white wine, some oregano, and 2 cups chicken stock. Simmer for 30 mins. Transfer to blender. When smooth, return to pot and add some whipping cream. Season with salt as you go along.

I didn't practice for this one, but I did make a souffle for the 2nd test. And this weekend, I'm going to practice a lemon tart.