Sunday 26 February 2012

Sublime

As I look back on this week I am at a loss for words. It was a pretty routine week with nothing too extravagantly special which was a welcome change.

The kitchen was quiet and I spent the week steadily making puff pastry, danishes, and petit fours. I had forgot how much of an upper body work out rolling out pastry dough was. Thanks to this week I have Popeye arms! With every turn the dough gets tougher and tougher, more ornery and stubborn. But eventually it cripples under perseverance and can be molded, stretched, and folded into deliciousness.

Thursday was a mad house at school. Another job fair tailored to seduce high school students into the glitz and glamour of the hospitality and culinary industry was set up in the cafeteria. The Pastry Arts had a booth set up where we made Cherries Jubilee for the curious masses. Cherries Jubilee is sour cherries heated up in a skillet, swimming in their own sauce with a splash of water and alcohol. Just before pouring over vanilla ice cream we light the pan on fire and watch the audience go oooo and ahhhh. Unfortunately, by the time it was my turn to man the station the alcohol had run out and the customers were few and far between. But I still got the pleasure of seeing flames jump. One of the propane table top stoves had run out of gas and my fellow classmate was changing the tank. The stoves were finicky and had a curious way of connecting the gas. My fellow classmate, to save his dignity we’ll call him Bob, was fiddling with the stove puzzled at the odd engineering. Unknown to us while he was tinkering the gas from the fresh propane can was leaking and surrounding the table in a haze of flammable air. Finally, the propane can was securely in place, locked and feeding gas into the stove. As Bob turned the stove on there was a sudden WHOOF!! Flames leaped up and engulfed the stove, table, and Bobs chef whites for little more than a second, but just long enough for me to scream in surprise and jump out of my skin. Thankfully nothing caught fire, and Bob didn’t even loose an eyebrow. Concerned conversation with Bob informed us that he hadn’t noticed the flames, and when we asked if he was burnt anywhere he looked at us like we playing a joke. “What flames?” he asked. Obviously his observation skills need some improving.

The Island itself has been in a quiet state this week. The weather has been gentle, soft blue skies with bright sunshine, and mauve clouds has been a constant smile in the sky. Every so often it would break out in laughter and shower the Island in delightful snow. As I type these words I gaze out the window and see quiet giggles of snow surrounding Charlottetown in a winter joy. I will dream of happy snow flakes tonight.

Dutch inspired Chocolate Box


1 comment:

  1. I love the chocolate box!! It turned out terrific!
    And I love your words: "Every so often it would break out in laughter and shower the Island in delightful snow." So poetical!

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