4/18/18 Skills USA Competition

Nina Victor Champion Baker

4/18/18 Off to Greensboro for the Skills USA Competition
With my Good Luck Earrings, hit to road to Greensboro for Skills USA competition. With high hopes, but no expectations, our team was very successful! Five gold, six silver, one bronze, one 4th place, and one fifth place.

Photos of our adventure: Skills USA

Good Luck Charm

4/17/18 Escoffier Dinner Featuring Chef Pascal Coulon

4/17/18 Escoffier Dinner Featuring Chef Pascal Coulon

Much excitement surrounded this final Escoffier Dinner of the season with our visiting Michelin Star Chef, Pascal Coulon. From Raismes France, Chef Coulon is also one of the host chefs for our French Interns. Chef Coulon has earned a Michelin Star from his restaurant La Grignotiere.

To add further excitement, our French Interns for 2018 for named: Nacoltra, Jameson, Karran, and Chassitity. Bon Chance.

Video of the evening: Chef Coulon

Our menu for the evening:

4/16/18 Sixth Service

4/16/18 Sixth Service
Hot and Cold Desserts
Patrick and Sue present their desserts for final.
Video: Final

Rice Crispy Smores and Chocolate Mint Ice Cream Cake

Pecan Peach Cobbler

4/16/10 Prayer Breakfast: Apricot Cream Cheese Braid

4/16/18 A new recipe: Apricot Cream Cheese Braid

Having made braids before, I tried this new recipe. It did not surpass the ease of using my old braid dough, but I do like the large sugar crystals on the top. The braids spread apart and spoils the appearance, but not the delicious flavor.

Doing the splits

Sugar Crunch

Yum

4.14.18 Escoffier Dinner Prep

4.14.18 A Saturday Prep for Escoffier Dinner
In the Bake Shop, we prepare the components for dessert directed by Chef Pascal Coulon of Lille, France.

Jameson Toasts Hazelnuts

Joe's last stand

Decor

Creating the decor

Smoothing the chocolate

4/13/18 Skills USA Practice

4/13/18 Once again, Heidi, Nina, and I practice for Skills USA competition with Chef Summers.
In this practice, our products continue to improve. We are becoming more familiar with our recipes. We continually correct and improve technique.
Checkout our Butter Tea Cookies!

Video of our Day: Skills USA Practice

Sue's Cookies

Nina's Cookies

Heidi's Cookies

4/10/18 Brittles

4/10/18 What an exciting and fun class today in Chocolate Artistry!
Our class made all kinds of brittles: Peanut Brittle, Cashew Brittle, Pecan Brittle, and Mixed Nut Brittle. Simply stated, a syrup is made with water, sugar, and glucose. Nuts are added and when the mixture reaches temp, pour, and spread out over a silpat. Cool and break into snack size pieces.

Once again, my bridge club friends loved the sweets.

Here is a video of our day: Brittles

My Peanut Brittle

4/9/18 Hot Cross Buns

4/9/18 Hot Cross Buns

Our prayer breakfast group did not meet Easter Monday. So we had Hot Cross Buns on 4/9 instead.

Chelsea Buns are a traditional sweet roll with raisins from England. On Easter Friday, the buns are baked and marked with a cross. Raisins add flavor, texture, and nutrition to the bun. Loved by the prayer group!!

4/8/18 French Toast Redux

4/8/18 French Toast Redux

With Skills USA practice, there is an abundance of baguette cut into cubes in the freezer. Sunday  morning is becoming French Toast day. Here is the latest:

French Bread with Sausage

French Toast with Sausage

4/6/18 Skills USA Practice

4/6/18
Heidi, Nina, and I continue to practice our Skills USA baked goods with the help and patience of Chef Summers. We improve each practice session and discover ways to streamline the operation and produce better products.

Video: 4/6 Practice

Nina's Cookies and Baguettes

4/5/18 I Love Lucie

4/5/18 My friend Lucie had bunion surgery and I prepared dinner for her family to help out. Chicken Tetrazzini, Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Sweet Potato Rolls, and Strawberry Triffle. Saved a few rolls for my family and we had them for breakfast the next day.

Sweet Potato Rolls

Nice Golden Color

For Breakfast

4/3/18 Truffle Practice

4/3/18
The Chocolate Artistry class is practicing Truffles to prepare for our final. We improve with each practice. Here is the link for video:Truffle Practice

Packaged Truffles

4/1/18 French Toast

4/1/18
With practice for Skills USA, there has been left over baguettes. And, the best use for leftover baguettes: French Toast. This is overnight French toast. Layers of cubed leftover bread is soaked in eggs, milk, brown sugar, salt, and a little vanilla. We enjoyed ours with drizzled honey.

Overnight French Toast from leftover baguettes.

3/27/18 PBJ Confections

3/27/28 PBJ Confections Video: PBJ Confections
Our Chocolate Artistry class made lovely PBJ Confections using a recipe from our textbook.
Three layers were prepared: raspberry jam. peanut butter, and milk chocolate. All three were layered in a pan and set aside. Dark chocolate was melted and tempered. The layers were cut into 1" squares. We had trouble with the squares breaking while being cut. Chassitity used a kitchen torch and heated a knife to cut the squares and this solved the problem. The squares were dipped in tempered dark chocolate and topped with chopped peanuts.

PBJ COnfections

3/26/18 Fifth Service Hot and Cold Desserts

3/26/18 Hot and Cold Desserts
Fifth Service: Fifth Service Video

Sue and Chassitity prepare Pineapple Cake and Burnt Sugar Ice Cream

Patrick and Ayana prepare Coconut Creme Pie and Strawberry Shortcake

Sampler Plate for Fifth Service

3.26.18 Sticky Buns for Prayer Breakfast

3.26.28
The Early Bird Prayer Breakfast loves Sticky Buns! Many say this is their favorite sweet. I will treat them again today with this fave bread.

Baked but not flipped

Turned out

Ready for my close up Mr. DeMille

3/23/18 Skills USA

3/23/18 Skills USA

Preparing for Skills USA requires much practice. We keep trying to improve our baked goods and meet time limits. We have made many mistakes and improve with each practice. At this point we have 3 more Fridays to prepare for competition and Butter Tea Cookies to add to the French Bread and Pumpkin Bread.

A few photos: Practice

Nina's Great French Bread

3/20/18 March Escoffier Dinner Series

3/20/18
March Escoffier Dinner Series

Video of Event:March Escoffier Dinner

Featuring Chef Anthony Garnett

The Baking and Pastry Department prepared Fleur de Cinque Mousses

3/12/18 Fourth Service

3/12/18
Fourth Service

The Hot and Cold Desserts Class presents the Fourth Service! Here is our features menu:

Photos from our event:4th Service

3/10/18 Beaufort Food and Wine Event

3/10/18
The Beaufort Food and Wine held a culinary fundraiser on 3/10/18 to announce the Artist of the Year and to pledge $100,000 to the new CCC Culinary and Hospitality Building. Chef Scarborough,  Heidi, Michael, and I volunteered to help serve this event. Our space was not ideal, but Chef Garnett and Chef Park directed the process and all was well.

The NC Maritime Museum Boathouse by day is a workshop for boat building and boat repair. But on this special night, it was transformed into a beautiful venue for the event. Four long tables were set ready for attendees. A fabulous dinner was served accompanied by four wines. Follow this link for video: Beaufort Wine and Food

 Beaufort Wine and Food Event

3/6/28 Baguette Practice

3/6/18
Practicing again for Skills USA at home.

3/5/18 Chocolate Babka

3/15/18

The Early Bird Prayer Group was treated to Chocolate Babka this morning fresh and hot out of the oven.  Cook's Illustrated Bread is a go to recipe. Originally a Cinnamon Bread, I usually make the Chocolate version.

See the Chocolate Swirls in this bread?

3/3/18 Sam Brake's Birthday

3/3/18
I know of no other happier recipients of my baked goods that the Brake family. My husband John and I are invited for Sam's birthday dinner tonight. Sam is the only person I know born on Leap Year's Day and this year is his 70th birthday. When these fabulous friends invite us to dinner, I do try to bring dinner rolls. For this evening, I prepared Sweet Potato Rolls. The rolls have a lovely golden color and a slightly deeper flavor than regular rolls.

2/28/18 Skills USA Baguette Practice

2/28/18
As a member of the CCC Skills USA, I will be competing in Commercial Baking at Guilford Tech in Greensboro, NC on April 18. The competitors will need to prepare French Bread, Pumpkin Bread, and Butter Tea Cookies. Heidi and Nina are friends in my Baking and Pastry Program and they will be my partners in crime in this adventure.

Here is my first effort for French Bread:

Baguettes Ready for the Oven

Baked Baguettes

Interior View

Uneven Holes: Just what I want

2/27/18 Escoffier Dinner

2/27/18 The Baking and Pastry students help prepare dessert for the February Escoffier Dinner.
February Escoffier Dinner link for video.

First Course

Second Course

Third Courser

Dessert