Airbrushing with Stephane Treand

Isabella comes to life! :o)

My creation of Isabella *giggles* before Andreas brought her to life! :o) I had never airbrushed a face before, so please don't laugh! :o)

What can I say? I LOVE AIRBRUSHING!!! :o)

Chef Stephane Treand is TRULY the AIRBRUSH MASTER!!!

Put anything in front of him, and he could easily replicate it with his steady hands, keen eyes, and amazing artistic abilities! In 2004, he became an M.O.F. (Meilleur Ouvrier de France), the top honor in the pastry industry in France.

In these past three days, I returned to the Notter School, not as a 24 week program pastry student, but this time, as an alumni. At first, I had no idea what that was going to be like, but I can honestly say that it was definitely a different feel. I was excited to do more airbrushing, but more so, excited to meet the creator of the gorgeous showpieces in the school's lobby.

During my first visit to the school (to check it out), I was told that I was going to learn how to airbrush lifelike faces during the 24 week program. Not true! :o( However, when I found out that it was through the class with Chef Stephane, I did not hesitate to sign up for the class. Tah Dah! Here I was, FINALLY taking the class I was dying to take. Woo Hoo!! :o)

After taking his class, it reconfirmed something I've noticed/learned in the pastry world. PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE! No one shows more patience than Chef Stephane. Although I was itching to get my hands on the airbrush machine, I could have watched him airbrush showpieces all day long.


Unfortunately, I wasn't going to get away with it that easily. Hahaha! Instead, we had to get into teams of two or three and create a showpiece. I partned up with Andreas Proisl, the Executive Pastry Chef from Isleworth. His idea was to do an autumn themed showpiece. As long as we got to put one of those lifelike faces in the showpiece, I couldn't care less what our theme was. While we were brainstorming, I was a little scared that our idea was a little overly ambitious. However, after seeing the final result, I was amazingly proud of our work!! VOILA!!! and SUCH GREAT TEAMWORK TOO!!! :o)

What do you think Chef?

YAY!! A thumbs up from Chef!! :o)

p/s If I hadn't mentioned it before...I LOVE airbrushing!!! Christmas is coming soon *hint hint* :o)

Graduation!!

After 720 Hours filled with:

Joy

Trust

Fear

Surprise

Sadness

Anger

Anticipation

Optimism

and Love

...WE DID IT!! :o)

CONGRATULATIONS

APRIL CLASS 2009!!

Nuts About Notter

I've been so happy these days...let me count thy ways:

1. We are less than halfway to graduation!! *high five*


2. Tuesday, July 21: I did seven miles!!! The longest run since the NY Marathon!! Woo Hoo!!


3. Wednesday, July 22: our class graduated to the bigger classroom...with MARBLE TOP TABLES ....Ooooooo......Aaaaahhhh!! :o) (and FINALLY get Chef Notter as an instructor )
4. We've started the Candies and Pralines unit...YUMMERS!!! LEMME AT IT!!! *begins to drool*
5. Has consumed tons and tons of nuts and chocolate!!!....and somehow have still managed to lose weight since school started!! OH YEAH!!!


6. Chef Notter said "not bad, eh?" to my creations!! *does a happy dance*....he's such a master at his trade, it's not easy pleasing Sensei. :o)


7. Friday, July 24: Finished the last volume of Kitchen Princess!!!! Najika is incredibly cute and Daichi is soooo dreamy!!! *giggles*


8. Saturday, July 25: productive day cleaning house!!! *admires home*


9. Sunday, July 26: EIGHT great miles at the gym!! *loving my Bengay Patches*


10. I JUST WANNA BE!!! :o) *dancing to a bunch of fun songs downloaded this weekend*
    

Life is like a box of chocolate......Full of nuts!!! *laughs*

Watermelon Crawl

Rolling out of bed EARLY in the morning after a late night of fun was NOT the easiest thing for me to do! Was I looking forward to another run in what already felt like a sauna bath before the run even started???? Of course not, are ya nuts?!?!?! :o)


The race took place in a small residential neighborhood (in Winter Park), so one can only imagine how crowded the run was. There were 3000 hot, sweaty, enthusiastic runners lined up at the start! The anthem played, horn sounded, and the runners were off.

Amongst the throng of trail trekkers was none other than Chef Ewald Notter! I felt like a completely lazy slug next to him. He had already done 4 miles..BEFORE THE RACE! This 5K run was nothing but a cool down run for him.

Hahaha....too funny because when I get to a race, I always see people running before the race and never understood the purpose....now here I was with the founder and Director of Education of Notter School of Pastry Arts and witnessing to him being "one of those people" *sheepish grin*

He gives me great inspiration to run....helps preserve youth, prevent weight gain (it's got to be his secret since he consumes all that sugar all day), and stay fit...HE is living proof!!

My goal (again) was to cross that finish line in one piece! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!! *does a moonwalk* <--- in honor of MJ :o)

The fun did not stop there, Kobfa and I signed up (along with hundreds of others) to do the watermelon eating contest. 5 guys and 5 gals were chosen (at random) to see who could eat their chunk'o watermelon the fastest in 3 minutes.

My name did not get pulled...but once again, people I go with do get chosen. Kobfa's name was chosen, but because there had already been 5 guys picked, he was not allowed to do it. The MC was gracious enough to allow lil o'l ME to do it instead!

Rules of the game were as follows:

No hands, no upchucking, no spitting!

So, how did I do? Welllllllllllllll.....you are now looking at 2009's Watermelon Queen!! WOO HOO!!! :o)

Me, FL's Watermelon Queen, Winner of Men's Division (and son)!

I won rights to never inhaling watermelon like that ever again, a whole watermelon, a crown (aka watermelon visor with "QUEEN" written on it"), and two beautifully hand painted wine glasses.

So what have I learned from this experience? Maybe cooking isn't my thing...but EATING sure is!!! Maybe after pastry school I'll go and train with Juliet Lee and Sonya Thomas and join them in the rankings of the International Federation of Competitive Eating. *laughs hysterically* JUST KIDDING....or am I? *wink wink*

It was just nice to run along side my sweet darling lollipoo. Our next appearance will be EXPEDITION EVEREST!

*Note-I had to use this Post Title because it used to be one of my favorite songs amongst many other country songs. How could y'all NOT like line dancing? :o)

Petit Four No More

PREPARE FOR A PHOTO FILLED BLOG :o)

Okay, so I've finally concluded that blogging is becoming more and more difficult to fit into my schedule...with school all day, gym afterwards, updating notes for school, and getting to bed at a normal time. *hmph*

It makes me sad not to be able to document my daily happenings...but I guess I just need to somehow make more time for it. But where oh where does the time go?

Without further ado...let's see what's been bake'n at Notter.

On Tuesday we finished our Petit Four unit...which I'm quite sad about. I actually liked that unit because all the pastries were sooooo cute. :o)

Chocolate Orange

(hidden orange coulis inside and sitting on an almond daquoise)

Mango Passion

Pate Choux

(translates to "cabbage paste", referring to the cabbage-like shape of cream puffs)

Brownies

Madelines and Financiers

Apple Custard Tart


Macaroons

For our practical, we had to create a pate choux, petit four sec (a selection of dry cookies), and a petit four of our choice.

What did Savitre decide to do?

For the pate choux, I decided to do a profiterole. The choux paste is baked into small round puffs that are served cold with a sweet filling and sometimes a topping. The term profiterole refers to a filling of ice cream. A cream puff has a filling of whipped cream or pastry cream.

For the petit four sec, I chose to do Rice Krispy Cookies...not to be mistaken with Rice Krispy Treats. These cookies are Tah DIE FOR!!! :o)

And for the petit four of my choice, I wanted to do a verrine (a confection, originally from France, made by layering ingredients in a small glass. It can be either sweet or savoury, making a dessert or snack.). Any guesses on my inspiration?.....CHOCOLATE, BUT OF COURSE! :o)

The bottom layer is a milk chocolate mousse, topped with a chocolate ganache (with Rice Krispy Cookie crumbs mixed in to give it texture), followed by a nice light praline mousse, and finally a super mega sweet whip cream topping. Talk about being a chocaholic!!!...That's ME!!! :o) *giggles*

Anyways, this is only a fraction of what we did in petit fours. I'd be here forever trying to upload all the pics.

For now, we've moved on to Classical Cakes and Tarts. WHAT?!?!?!? Did someone say CAKE?!??!?! Yippie!! I'm super excited...this is where I come in! Maybe I didn't know much about bread, or breakfast pastries, or petit fours, but when it comes to cake...NOW we're speaking my language.

Yesterday we were busy baking away and today we decorated. Check it out!!!

We made Grandma's Chocolate Cake, Carrot Cake, California Fruit Tart, Apple Custard Tart, and NY Cheesecake....and none of them came out of a Pillsbury box. *chuckles* I was so proud and excited of our accomplishments...but then it dawned on me that I had no one to share all this yummy goodness with. I watched all my classmates strategically pack them away to take home to their loved ones...and then there was me. *sniff * :o(

I ended up taking home the carrot cake and cheese cake...and figured I will eat them by myself...*ho hum* such is life! :o) WHATEVER!!! TWO WHOLE CAKES to myself and not having to share or worry that someone else is going to get the bigger slice or last slice???? THIS is definitely a sweet life!!!!

Star, Veena, Jon...if you're reading this...know that I'll share this with y'all ANY day!!!! :o) With 15 weeks left to go in pastry school...you guys can be my taste tester anytime!!! Star, maybe I'll have left over for your 4th of July bash!!! (if not, I'm sure I'll have something) :o)

Not So Petty Petit Fours

It's a new month, with a new unit and a new teacher...which means NEW ATTITUDE!

I see great things for this NEW beginning! *great big smile*

We've left breakfast pastries behind and are now faced with the challenges of petit fours, mignardies, and patisserie. WHOA BABY!!!....many new words to learn!! *looks frightened*

When I first heard of petit fours, I was all excited because 4 is my favorite number. :o)

However, I just learned that petit fours has NOTHING to do with the number 4. *sigh*


They include any small cake or pastry that can be eaten in one or two bites. They are typically served at the end of a meal, with afternoon tea, or for buffets and receptions. The term comes from the French meaning "small oven". :o)

Anyways, how is Savitre liking this class so far? I am having a blast!! *cheeky grin*

Chef Jim has made busy lil cookie monsters out of us for the past two days. We've made spritz, chocolate chip, hazelnut, sugar, linzer, *takes a breath* shortbread, oatmeal raisin, biscotti, and praline rings. *phew* I've never been a cookie person...my favorite has always been chocolate chip with M&Ms but I never knew how fun it was to make cookies. The best part about it is that you don't need an oven that steams (like you do for bread), so all these recipes that we learned could be made at home!!! *does a happy dance*


This class is going to require more work outside of school because at the end of the unit, we have to turn in a portfolio with notes and pictures. Everyone has been listening intently and taking as many photos as possible. *cheeeeeese* :o)

Don't get me wrong...we're still having FUN!!

Chef Jim doesn't fail to continue to make me laugh!! Chef, you're such a goof...YOU ROCK!!!!

Now switching gears from TREAT to FEET! Pleeeez help me regain my joy of running!!! *on bended knees begging*

This past weekend, I'm not quite sure what happened to me, but when I got on the treadmill to do my regularly scheduled 3 miles, I was struggling from the minute the machine turned on!!! *frown*

I also managed to hurt my back from using the Gravitron. A wuh?!?!?!

For people like me who can't do a pull up, this machine assists in that area. It's really cool, but because I haven't worked out any other muscle in my body since the ice age, it was easy to overdo it. I'm okay now...no worries! *thumbs up*

So, after this complete failure of a weekend for working out, I've decided I needed to set a goal for myself. I continue to read blogs about others who are accomplishing goals left and right and all I'm doing is EATING!!! *guilty grin*

Here is my game plan...listen carefully, cause I'm only going to say it once (unless you come back to read this blog again). *giggles*

Since I will be running a 13K (8.08 miles) at the end of October, I figured I'd start training for that because if I don't, I would continue to wuss out and do my measly 3 miles and then freak out the night before the 13K.

Soooo....

here's my training schedule! :o)

Click on the chart to take you to the link!

It's a 15K training schedule (for novice runners) for only 10 weeks, but I figured I'd do it twice so that I would be in top shape for the 13K. I will also have to do the first two weeks twice to get on track...but it's all goooooood! *feeling like a champ*

Yesterday began day 1 of week 1...a successful 2 days!!! *hip hip HOORAY!* :o)

I'm not sure why I get bitten by all these other bugs out here in Florida EXCEPT for the running bug! Ever since the New York City Marathon, I was never able to get that runner's high ever again. Whenever I go running now, I do it just to do it. I have good runs but it's just not the same as when I first started out running 6 years ago. Maybe I'm due for a race and immersing myself amongst my fellow runners...not quite sure, but I'm hoping that this training plan will be a good start! *crosses fingers*

OH HOW I MISS MY CURB CREW!!!!

Time to go update my notes for school now! :o)

Lamination Station!!

I've been feeling Un-Savitre like these days. I usually can stay positive and happy about a lot of things, but after Thursday's traumatic experience, I have been ANYTHING but positive and happy. *sigh of disappointment*

We finished off breakfast pastry on Thursday with a practical and written final exam.


I am definitely an advocate of practice makes perfect. I guess I didn't quite understand how we were expected to make a perfectly looking laminated croissant or a normal looking brioche à tête after doing it just a couple of times. I guess some people have the knack for it and some don't (yours truly).

Chef Tim told us that working with dough requires gentle hands....hmmm.....I'm the same girl that jump started her own car....do I seem like a girl with gentle hands? NO!!! I'm no Martha Stewart....I'm more Bob Vila!...hence the reason why I would rather manually roll out dough than use the silly sheeter!
This gosh darn thing would do nothing but eat up my dough, spit it out, then laugh at me! I kid you not!....It's a conspiracy, I tell ya! :o)

What laminated dough SHOULD look like!

Well, I thought I'd make up for it on the written final seeing that I studied my brains out...but NO...that wasn't the case either. How was I supposed to know what the French word for puff pastry is?...our book says mille-feuille...but Wikipedia says pâte feuilletée. Which one is it?!?!?! Too bad that wasn't the only question I answered incorrectly...now I'm wondering if I spelled my name correctly on the test. *frowns*

Anyways, I have been having a lot of personal issues with the happenings in school...but thank goodness I have this three day weekend to recuperate and regroup...

sometimes you're better off not knowing the answer to the ever so popular question..."WHY?"

As for breakfast pastries....I guess I won't be opening up a bed and breakfast anytime soon...but thank goodness for an upcoming weekend class with Ciril Hitz that may make me rethink how I truly feel about breakfast pastries. *cracks a grin*


All in all, Chef Tim will be missed. He's taught me lots, not only about bread but also about one's own character..."By seeing the seed of failure in every succes, we remain humble. By seeing the seed of success in every failure we remain hopeful."-unknown

I must continue to remind myself "Savitre, don't be so hard on yourself...you're in school to learn....no one expects anything more from you than trying your best...so go get 'em tiger" *cheeky grin*

After class, I had a little pow wow at my house. It was a potluck dinner and night of games.

Thank you Renee for providing the source of entertainment...and CONGRATS on getting the job at the French Pavillion in Epcot...I'm sorry you couldn't stay longer at the party so that I could beat you at Cranium!! *winks*

I attempted to make my famous papaya salad...only I had never seen an orange mushy gushy papaya before. Everyone here told me that that was the papaya they know it to be...but I've only made it with green ones...so it went from a papaya salad to papaya salsa. Oh well, still yummers! :o)


Elena, being the sweet heart that she is, made us a huge helping of lasagna and tasty garlic bread...I kinda sorta observed her making it and she did it in about 30 minutes....watch out Rachel Ray!!! :o)



It was super delicious and looked so easy to make....I MUST steal the recipe from her!!! *evil laugh*


Reggie brought us some hot wings, Kiku brought a tray of assorted cookies, Lorenzo with his ice cream and a bouqet of tulips, and John and Samantha with their cute little rice krispy treats with M&Ms on top (how did they know that M&Ms were my favorite)?

Mmmm...Mmm! I have not had a feast like this since I left Chicago....I feel like I could go into hibernation now and not eat for the next 5 months that I am here.....or as Justin would say...run it off! *wink wink* :o) (Thinking about you on your 20K!!!!)

After an excruciatingly painful day of breakfast pastry practical and final exam, this was DEFINITELY the way to end the day and kick start a three day weekend! *smile of content*