20 Things I Learned In Level 2

1. Improvise. Sometimes the cake doesn't come out of the pan as planned...

2. Expect the unexpected. You can make a butternut squash purée in an hour unless the squash is cut into small cubes. The oven doesn't care that the dish is due and the squash isn't ready, and neither does chef.

3. In good pairings, wine makes food taste better and food makes wine taste better! What a nice relationship.

4. I don't really fancy organ meat ("offal"), but I have faith that there are a lot of chefs out there preparing organ meats in some delicious ways. Chef April Bloomfield at The Spotted Pig already changed my mind about chicken livers, and chefs at The American and at Del Posto have confirmed my belief that foie gras is an irreplaceable luxury. I know the practice behind foie gras is cruel — there's no denying that — but if a server offers to let's say, ladle foie gras over a crispy duck breast, I'm afraid that I'm just not prepared to turn it away.

5. The term "venison" applies to meat of deer, elk, caribou, moose, antelope, and pronghorn. The USDA classifies meat from deer, elk, bear, moose, rabbit, alligator, and armadillo as red meat.

Flounder "My Way" - Panko pecan-crusted flounder with citrus beurre blanc, wilted spinach, & butternut squash purée

6. Veal is meat from a male calf that is 2-3 months old and it's delicate, tender, and pale in color because the calf's movement is completely restricted and its diet is monitored. This is a just a reality.

7. I now know more about custards, frozen desserts, crusts, and soufflés than I ever thought I would as a classic culinary arts student.

8. The difference between all purpose flour and cake flour is a BIG one. As a novice baker I used AP flour in place of cake flour all the time because I didn't want to spend the extra money, but it's a small difference in price that's worth it. Gluten, a network of proteins in flour and grain, is largely responsible for the shape and texture of a baked item. AP flour has a protein content of 11-12 percent and cake flour has a protein content of 8-9 percent. What does this mean? The type of flour used and how it is manipulated will yield pretty specific results. If you're serious about baking, knowing your flour and purchasing flour specific to your baking needs will make a huge difference.

9. Chilling dough and batter does matter. In the past I would rush chilling times specified in recipes, but I now understand that chilling is important because it allows the gluten networks to relax.

10. Appreciate handmade puff pastry! It took someone a little bit of time to make.

Apple tarts and a pear-almond cream tart

11. White chocolate is a chocolate impostor. It isn't chocolate at all. It's made out of sugar, milk soils, and cocoa butter.

12. In the words of Eldridge sous chef Nick Haxton, "I'm your chef, not your dietitian," but a food professional should know a thing of two about nutrition.

13. Sheep's milk has the highest fat content (7.5 percent) compared to goat's milk (4 percent) and cow's milk (3.7 percent), but reindeer (17 percent) and fin whales (42 percent) have the highest milk fat contents. Reindeer milk, anyone? How about cheese made from human breast milk? New York chef Daniel Angerer did just that earlier this year with his wife's breast milk. Check out the New York Post March 2010 article.

14. Making ricotta is easy. All you need is milk, citric acid, and salt. Food Lab blogger J. Kenji Lopez-Alt posted a nice tutorial on SeriousEats.com.

15. Gnocchi is versatile, easy (to my surprise), delicious, and can be easily edited for seasonal purposes. Spinach or squash can be added to the dumplings, the sauce served with the gnocchi can be light or heavy, and gnocchi can be served as a side dish or main course.

Roasted beet salad with endive, watercress, pears, Roquefort, & walnuts

16. There really is beauty in simplicity.

17. Real, French-style scrambled eggs ("oeufs brouilles") shouldn't take less than 15 minutes to make. They're cooked over medium-low heat with constant stirring and the final product should be soft, creamy, and thick.

18. The truth about sugar substitutes is that they're awful. Thank you, Chef Tim. Read this article. Raw sugar all the way!

19. Desserts are cheap for most restaurants to make, so why do you think restaurants send out birthday treats and "apology desserts?" It's cheaper than sending another entrée or booze.

20. At the end of the night, despite what went wrong or didn't get chef's approval, I'm still doing what I love.

Finally, free time

I finally have time to wash my underwear. After nine days of working, eight of them doubles, I'm happy to report that I've had three days off to do whatever I want.

Sunday I went to Trader Joe's and picked up some necessities. I'm pretty happy when my fridge is stocked with salad fixings, goat cheese, tortillas, salsa, almond milk, vegetables, and beer. My roommate works on weekends, so I decided to buy some salmon for dinner. I marinaded it in maple syrup, soy sauce, and fresh ginger and served it with barley and stir fried zucchini. We ate some edamame and cucumber dumplings for an appetizer. Mae has never had to cook for herself, so cooking in our tiny New York City kitchen has been enjoyable and new for both of us. In the mornings I usually saute myself an assortment of vegetables and serve them with eggs over easy.

Yesterday was the first time I was able to shop for anything that I didn't have to wear to work. I stocked our kitchen with a few items I found at cheap home furnishing store down the street and stopped at a farmers market. I was really surprised to see how many farmers markets are in the city! There are a variety of markets and all of them are huge! How they're able to transport all of the fresh produce is beyond me. I'm glad it's all available. Mae has learned that shopping for me usually entails kitchen items and groceries, not necessarily shoes and clothes. "On Friday we're going shopping," she said. "Oh great, I've been wanting to go inside the big Crate & Barrel!" I told her. "No, like real shopping, Lauren." I'm a lost cause.

Last night I was invited to observe a class at the French Culinary Institute where I'll be attending evening classes beginning next Thursday. When I arrived to the building I was issued a chef jacket and hat. I was introduced to a prospective student and together we were led to classroom of students prepping their cooking stations for class. The chef instructor told us he would be teaching how to cook and serve shell fish. I looked to the dry erase board that hung in front of the classroom. "Class Plan of Action" was written across the board with a list of tasks to accomplish:

Class Plan of Action

-Court bouillon with vinegar

-Sauce Americaine

-Moules a la marinere

-Escargot Bourguignon

-Scallop with parsley coulis

-Oysters & clams

The class met at the head of the classroom where the chef began to lecture about the versatility of sauce Americaine, which is a rich lobster sauce made using the entire lobster. He then grabbed a live lobster and began to prepare the class for the execution the lethargic sea creature. I watched as students began to squirm, some of them laying their eyes on a live lobster for the first time. I have memories of my father submerging live lobsters into boiling water for their final moments, but I'd never seen anyone kill a lobster like this chef did.

He held the creature with both hands, knuckles up, and twisted its body like a wet rag. Water and bodily fluids began to seep from the lobster's broken shell and the chef began to pull the organs from the head cavity. It was quick, and probably more painful for the students watching than the lobster. He then stuck a thick needle through the lobster's dismembered tail to prevent it from curling and the class watched as the dead specimen's legs continued to flail. The lobster's meat was placed in a bowl separate from the cracked shells, which would later be used to enhance the court bouillon. He then dismissed the class to preform the same routine at their individual stations.

I watched as students held their lobsters, some of them hesitant to commit lobster murder. Shells cracked and lobster bodies began to clank against the steel bowls at each station. Once the lobster preparation was finished, the class began to prepare their sauce Americaine and some steamed mussels. The smell of simmering garlic, butter, and lobster stock began to drift through the air. White wine hit my nose and I could hear the chef saw at crunchy baguettes. Broth foamed in each pan as parsley and slabs of butter were tossed into the mix. All I wanted was a slice of baguette and an invitation to dip it. Alas, the mussels were steamed and a buttery liquid was drizzled over their yawning shells. "Would you like one?" one of the students asked. She could probably see me salivating.

Class continued, and before I knew it I had been observing for an hour and a half. Luckily, when I turned in my issued chef coat I knew dinner downstairs at L'Ecole was waiting. My admissions officer invited me and a guest of my choice to eat at the restaurant on the school's tab. I will cook at this restaurant during my last 200 hours of training.

Mae was my guest and we enjoyed a cocktail at the bar before we were sat for our five course meal.

Dinner was fantastic. Mae and I asked our waiter about the sweetbreads on the menu since neither of us had tried them before. Sweetbreads are thymus glands of beef, pork, or lamb that are usually pan fried. Sensing our hesitation to try them, he didn't push us to order, but instead mentioned that he might bring us a surprise at some point in the meal. When our meat courses arrived, sweetbreads accompanied our osso buco and lamb dishes. We each tried them, but we didn't finish them. While the taste wasn't bad, the texture was different... almost like fried soft fat.

After five liberal courses, we were feeling full and sleepy. We pushed ourselves to walk home, and even though I was slightly uncomfortable, I smiled the whole way home. The evening definitely made me excited to start school next week. It's really happening!