This past week has been easy. It’s been great. Only three days of actually going to school and two days off, PLUS the weekend! Pure bliss.

The seminar on Monday was boring, but I got through it.

Tuesday was spent in demo and then a practical a few hours later. The practical was turkey roulade – filled with eggplant, tomato and basil. It was pretty good. I got a good review from the chef. The sauce however…not so good. I have to work on the sauces – jus (natural juice) and a real sauce. The consistencies, I never really get them right. Oh well, I still have the chance to improve on them.

Thursday was spent in another workshop. This time I was more prepared! I rocked it, well almost. Escargot salad. It kind of freaks me out looking at a snail and knowing what it is and I am about to eat it. I just couldn’t bring myself to eat it. I remember my first time eating escargot. It was with my father at Chez Fon Fon. He and I went out to dinner and he wanted me to try them. So I said ok. I’m willing to try anything, well almost, at least once. So he ordered them and I ate one. It was covered in a garlicky, parsley butter with some buttered toast. I ate it and it burst with butter in my mouth. All you can taste is butter, which is not a bad taste. It helps mask the escargot and the thought that you are eating snails, an animal you find in your garden.
You probably should know that snails or escargot can be from the garden. Before you eat them, the people preparing them take weeks cleaning them before actually giving them to consumers. It’s sort of like eating mussels or clams. People feed mussels cornmeal and salted water to clean them before consumption.
My second dish was all vegetables. I was in the process of plating, when I messed it all up! I forgot to grease the ramekin so the eggplant would not come out! It made a huge mess and I did not try to fix it.

The weekend was spent doing errands and just hanging out. I went to the park and read and wrote to enjoy the sun. It’s been extremely sunny here with light breezes. It’s been perfect weather. The cool temperatures I was experiencing earlier have now vanished. It is definitely not as hot as in Alabama, but you can work up a sweat and it will still be there. Hopefully the fall temperatures will be coming soon…I do miss the cold weather from the north. But I don’t know if I miss the constant pouring of snow. We will wait and see.