I was feeling very bittersweet and no not like the chocolate. Wish I tasted like chocolate, but come to think of it thank g-d I don’t because I would be biting off pieces of myself to eat. Bittersweet in the sense that I am sad that culinary school is officially coming to an end, but happy because I don’t feel like having chefs breathing down my back anymore. It always seems as though when I take a tiny little break that a chef happens to look over at me at that exact moment! Golly- I am NOT going to miss that feeling.
I was on canapés today (which I just love) because everyone gets one when they sit down , so you are constantly busy making little one-bite dishes. About two weeks ago, Chef helped Daniel make a dank canapé that tasted like the country of Thailand—nothing but blue skies, sea green Ocean, and coconuts. The canapé was a tomato thai basil soup! Off the chain in the flavor department! So, I thought that it would be nice to learn how to make the soup. What was my canapé of the day? You guessed it—tomato Thai basil soup! The only thing missing was a nice plate of Pad Thai to go along with it—nom, nom, nom!
One can of x10 tomatoes went into the pot first. One the side, I had some heavy cream reducing. Then I (with the help of Chef) gathered all the ingredients together- lemon grass, ginger, basil, curry powder, chili paste, sweet chili sauce, lime zest, coconut milk, and sautéed onions. The girl who went up to the storeroom forgot to bring us down some Kaffir lime and Thai basil, so we had to do without it. All of the ingredients went into the tomatoes to infuse all their greatness. I learned that in order to release the natural oils in the lemon grass, you must bruise it or bang the stick very hard. In my opinion, chef went a little chili paste crazy and the soup had a big spicy afterload in the back of your throat. It was still delicious, but definitely at maximum capacity for heat and lord knows I can handle the heat or else I wouldn’t be in the kitchen (muahah). When I can’t handle the heat, everyone knows where to find me- out in the hallway on my phone or in the bathroom because I drink SO much water (oops!). On top of the soup, we added the reduced heavy cream and a sprig of micro cilantro.
Tomorrow is a big day, but I will be ready for it. I love you all and hope you have a deliciously relaxing night.
Love,
Eliana Nicole