I missed the report on day 4 because I was so so tired.

The highlights:

- Lecture on cooking terminology

- Knife cuts - pommes pont neuf, pommes frites, matchstick, brunoise, small dice, medium dice, and large dice. My god, do I need to practice. My routine has been to walk home and pick up some of whatever it was that we cut in class that day and practice at home the following morning. Practice, practice, practice. I hate not being good at something, but, knife work is all about practice, and no-one is good at it right away. (But damn - do I wish that I had been practicing all these years and not just making "close enough" cuts)

- I cut myself. Twice! Which was a good thing. I am afraid of cutting myself. No-one wants to cut themselves, but I am afraid of cutting myself to the point of distraction. Which is weird, because I am not afraid of cutting myself at home, at all. And further - I have practically no nerve endings! I have an extremely high pain tolerance, and very little actually hurts me.

But at school I am really afraid of cutting myself. (hmmmm - possible that all of my anxiety about not being good enough is being focused on fear of cutting myself? uh-huh.) So I cut myself, twice, within about 2 minutes. When you cut yourself you are required to report the chef instructor immediately so that s/he can inspect your wound and dress as appropriate. So, not only did I cut myself, I had to tell my instructor that I had cut myself, twice. The third time I needed to speak to her in class, I started with "Chef, I didn't cut myself!" and she laughed.

Day 5.

- Lecture on the Brigade System and some chat about career paths and financial compensation. (Short version - don't rush to become a chef, and expect to not make a big whack of money)

- More knife cuts. Julienne, Zesting, and Turning. Turning is very difficult, and incredibly wasteful, but if you do it right you end up with a fancy little football shaped thingy, which actually looks pretty cool. I, at present do not exactly do it right. Again with the practice.

- I did not cut myself. Not even once.

I said I wanted to do something physical. This is physical. I am tired when I get home at night. Tired in a good way, like after a good workout. My body aches a little bit, but mostly it just feels warm and used.

So, that's week one.

One of the reasons I decided that I wanted to go to cooking school was that I really needed to be doing something physical and not sitting behind a desk eight hours a day.

First two days of cooking school? Sitting behind a desk going over administrative information.

As a professional administrator I know how important all those details are. I understand the legal and liability issues. And as a trainer I know all about teambuilding exercises and introductions and fostering a sense of group. I know it needs to be done, but damn, I don't want to sit through another second of it.

Today we entered the kitchen.

We cleaned the kitchen.

We chopped shallots.

We chopped onions.

We chopped garlic.

And it was fabulous. It was hot and sticky and rushed and overwhelming, but also great fun and the hours just disappeared in an instant

As it turns out, I suck at chopping.

There will be a lot of onion chopping practice in my immediate future. Anyone know of a good use for several pounds of diced onions?

Add 2 minced garlic cloves to a pan with some olive oil and melted butter
Add a cup and a half of small (or cherry) red and yellow tomatoes in sliced half or quarters
Cook til tomatoes are slightly soft, stirring gently.
Sprinkle in a couple of tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese and stir til it melts into the oil and and tomato juice.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Squeeze in a little lemon juice.

Push the tomatoes mixture off to the side and place two sole fillets into the centre of the pan. Cook each side for ~ 2 minutes.

Lay salad greens on two serving plates place a sole fillet on each plate.
Spoon the tomato mix over the sole and greens.

Peach Salsa

Peel and dice 1 large peach.
Seed one large jalapeno pepper and mince
Chop a small handful each fresh mint and cilantro
Grate a tiny amount of ginger
Mix above together with the juice of 1/2 a lime.
Allow to macerate for a half hour.

Cumin Lime Snapper

Mince 2 small garlic cloves
Grate the zest of 1 lime
Melt 1 TBSP of butter in a non-stick pan.
Soften the garlic then add the lime zest, 2 tsp of cumin, a pinch of dried chilli flakes.
Fry 2 snapper fillets for 1 - 2 minutes each side.

Remove any pin bones and break the fillets up into small pieces.

Serve with corn tortillas and cold beer.

Slice a small loaf of bread (I use a demi-loaf of Fig Anise bread from my local bakery because it is the best bread in the entire world. Note to self: must learn how to make fig anise bread) and cut into largish cubes.

Toast lightly under the broiler, til slightly browned and crisp.

Chop small tomatoes into quarters and toss into a serving bowl.

Add a handful of marinated cherry boconcini (I marinate in basil olive oil, torn basil leaves, and a few whole pepper corns - 24 hours to 72 hours). The cheese is better if you have time to let it come to room temperature before you serve the salad. I don't always. Life goes on.

Add torn basil leaves to your taste.

Salt and Pepper generously.

Drizzle with olive oil and fig balsamic vinegar.

Add the toasted bread cubes.

Toss thoroughly.
Allow to sit for a few minutes before serving.

Rub two half chicken breasts with a little oregano
Sear in a heavy ovensafe frying pan with some sliced garlic and olive oil.
Bake at 400 for ~15 minutes, or until done.
Remove from pan and allow to rest

Boil Pasta water and cook Penne. (I use a box of De Cecco, but I am incapable of cooking for fewer than 6. Even if there are only 2 for dinner)

In a saute pan soften some minced garlic in about 2 tsp olive oil and 2 tsp butter.
Add ~400 ml half and half cream.
Bring up to a simmer and allow to reduce. Stir constantly.
When the pasta is done stir in 2 tablespoons of parmesan.
Remove from heat and crumble in as much gorgonzola as you want (or have).

Slice the chicken breasts into thin slices.

Toss pasta, chicken, and sauce. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.