As I stirred the tomato sauce in class tonight I realized that this same wooden spoon would stir a lot of things over the course of my time here at CIA. This spoon would stir the vegetables in a pot of boiling (well salted!) water, it would scrape out the burnt food that will inevitably occur in one of my pans, and it will stir the food I will serve for a final exam. It was just a cool thought I had. Maybe its not really that cool, but it made me look at all the tools in my knife kit in a different, more loving, light. They were mine and they would see everything I saw over these next four years.
For our final day in Skills I, we made a vinaigrette (you could choose what vinegar and herbs), pasta, and tomato sauce. I chose to use a mixture of balsamic and a fruity pear vinegar with chervil, tarragon, and basil for my vinaigrette. It was very sweet and light. I don't usually like vinaigrette but I liked this. Then the tomato sauce was just onions, oregano, and garlic sweated out in a pan with olive oil. Canned tomatoes were added and then tomato paste to thicken the sauce. It was simmered for 25 minutes and then run through a food mill. It turned out lovely.
I have been really proud of myself since becoming a student here because I've been expanding my palate (trying things I decided to hate like foie gras, caviar, and beets) and refining my tastes without becoming a snob about things. I still eat Doritos, egg rolls at the all you can eat Oriental Buffet, loaded french fries at Applebee's, ice cream from Dairy Queen, a cheeseburger from McDonald's, or any fried/processed/preservative laden foods I feel like. But tonight and I took one bite of the dried pasta I had cooked and I didn't want anymore. It made me really sad because pasta is one of the things I love to cook at home. It's one of the reasons I started cooking. My little sister and I love Alfredo sauce, being the determined person I am, I realized when I was younger that if I wanted Alfredo pasta I was going to have to make it myself because I couldn't go to Olive Garden every night for dinner. Mushroom sauce, tomato sauce, cream sauce, cheese, whatever we put it on it, I loved dried pasta. But I don't like it anymore. Maybe this will change. I hope it does before I go home again.
As you well know, this was my fear when we first toured the school - that after your "dining hall" food (said with the typical college experience in mind), you would never want to eat at home again. You assured me that would not be the case. Time to put your money where your mouth is (or is it "our" money where your mouth is?!). I won't subject you to Olive Garden but I can assure you there will not be fresh pasta at our dinner table....... sorry!
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