Starting school!...oh just kidding

After finding Le Cordon Bleu, I knew that was where I wanted to go. I contacted them, got my tour and talks of what they do there and had a lot of questions answered. However by the time I got around to enrolling it was too late for me to start the February class it was already full. I was a little disappointed but I was all signed up for the May class. I found out I could be put on a waiting list, if someone dropped out within the first few days of the class starting in Feb. I would be brought in, that is if the people on the list before me didn't want it. As the start date for the full class got closer and closer (Feb. 14th) I knew I wouldn't be starting early. I was working the closing shift at Nordstroms (my at the time job) I was bummed that I couldn't spend the night with my husband, but that's what you get working in retail.

My night was about to get better when I got a call from my representative at Le Cordon Bleu, he told me a girl had decided not to attend and since all my financial paperwork was done I was at the top of the waiting list! He asked me if I would like to start early. Duh I would!! But in the back of  my head I thought about the fact that I really wouldn't be able to work any of the shifts my department had, I hadn't given my two weeks notice and there was no one to replace me. So I spoke with my manager before I gave Le Cordon Bleu my answer. Nordstroms was willing to work with my on the schedule, so I called them back and agreed to starting early. 20 min later after having worked out my new schedule with my manager, I got another call from Le Cordon Bleu. Just kidding! The girl really is going to attend, so I wasn't going to be starting earlier. Happy Valentines day to me! It was disappointing to say the least. I said I understood and had to go back to my manager and tell her never mind...she wasn't very happy with me at the time. The next night I got another call from Le Cordon Bleu, this time from the President and the Admissions Manager. They said there was another spot open for me, to say I was excited would be an understatement, but I was a little nervous thinking I'll get a call 20 min later saying never mind. I asked them if this spot was a guarantee, that it wouldn't be taken away from me. They promised I was for sure getting the spot and apologized for all the confusion earlier. I was to start the next day at 1:30 PM. I was finally going to start school and earlier than I expected! Right after that phone call thought I had to call my manager and give her the news...a phone call I wasn't looking forward to. One of the best nights of my life! I was ready to start this new adventure.

Recipe request

OK! So I've had some requests for the "infamous cupcake" recipe so here it is with some pictures!

Blueberry Cupcake:
-1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter; at room temp.
-1 cup granulated sugar
-2 large eggs
-1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/3 cup of milk
-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-1 1/2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

  1.Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease or insert liner into a medium cupcake pan
  2. Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat well
  3.In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  4.Beat portions of the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture alternating with the milk. Mix until well combined. Fold in the blueberries and vanilla.
  5. Fill cupcake liners 1/2 to 3/4 full with batter. Bake for 20-25 min or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cupcakes before frosting.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:
-One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temp.
-6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp
-3 cups confectioners sugar
-1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
-3 tablespoons of maple syrup

  1.Cream together the cream cheese and butter until smooth
  2.Slowly sift in confectioners' sugar and continue beating. Mix until all lumps are gone.
  3.Add the vanilla and maple syrup until fully integrated

After frosting the cupcakes drizzle honey on top and if desired add fresh blueberries for garnish. I prefer to use fresh blueberries in the cupcake because frozen ones always make my batter turn blue-ish. If you don't like maple syrup simply don't add it. It taste good with a plain cream cheese frosting. I hope you all enjoy them!

How it all began

Since I started this late I figured I'd get you all caught up with everything leading up to this week at school. It started with what my mom calls "the cupcake that changed my life". Before I ever thought of Culinary school I loved to bake at home, some of my early attempts came out great...others not so much. But with the encouragement from my family and many baking books later I started to get the hang of it. It was one particular book that I got the recipe for the infamous cupcake. A blueberry cupcake with a maple cream cheese frosting and drizzled honey on top. My favorite taste tester, my husband Josh, thought they were amazing, super moist with great flavor I sent them to Josh's work, I call them my unofficial guinniepigs :-), and it got great feedback! At this point Josh and I had been talking about Culinary school as a "one day" thing. With all the positive feedback from his friends and co-workers, Josh thought why are we waiting? He called me at work and said "why wait? lets do it now!"; words that changed everything. We looked at schools in the area and found Le Cordon Bleu in Sacramento. I got to quit my not so amazing job so I could focus all my energy on school. Lets face it, with how hard things are right now in the world not many people get to do the things they love, they do what pays the bills. I get to pursue a career I truly love, and be happy with my job when school is done And I owe everything to a little blueberry cupcake. (And an amazing husband of course)

P.S- I've been told by my family that my Grammar and Spelling are not the best in the world. I know this, I love whoever invented spellcheck! So I hope you can look past my grammar mistakes :-).  (and things spell check missed)

I wanted to finally share a few photos of the breads I've been making

Tuesday April 19, 2011

So today in class I made Challa bread in the shape of a braid. I haven't tasted it yet but it looks good. I also made Brioche. Ive never had it before today and it was so good! A very rich dough with lots of butter in it, who doesn't love butter? I made little dinner rolls out of the Brioche stuffed with Chocolate and a loaf that I made french toast out of as soon as I came home. Brioche makes excellent french toast! I'm told it's good with coffee, but I'll never know since I hate the stuff. Yesterday I made Ciabatta bread. It came out great and makes amazing sandwiches. The dough is very different though, it has the consistency of very wet marshmallow fluff...very messy!! A little difficult to work with, but with practice I'm sure it will be easier.

I'll have pictures up soon!!

Let's begin!

I've never done a Blog before, but with a new adventure in my life I decided to start one! This blog to me is about documenting and sharing my experiences in culinary school and things I try at home specifically baking. I'm starting this a little late since I've been in school for about 8 weeks already, but I'll catch up! I'll be sharing my triumphs, epic failures and my experimentation's. I hope they are enjoyed!