Text 12656, 90 rader
Skriven 2007-03-05 17:07:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av LYNN SACERDOTE
Ärende: College and stuff 159
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 -=> Lynn Sacerdote said to All <=-

 LS> Hey there, everyone. Sorry I’ve fallen off the face of the earth for
 LS> a while, but school and its library firewalls have kept me from logging
 LS> on for a long time. I'm sure dad's told all of you by now, though, I've
 LS> decided to go to Connecticut Culinary Institute to become a pastry
 LS> chef. But, I know more information about it than he does. haha

It's always great to have something on the old man. Except that
is he paying for it? You might consider lightening up on him in
that case.

 LS> It's a nine month course, followed up by a paid half year (I think)
 LS> externship to a bakery in the area. And I'm pretty excited about it,
 LS> as well as a little disappointed. I really wanted to find a school that
 LS> taught how to become a confectioner, because I’ve found that I’m really
 LS> fond of making candy, but the only one that came relatively close was
 LS> Johnson-Wales...which is more expensive than I could afford by a long
 LS> shot.  

I think I originally suggested Johnson & Wales to you, not thinking
of the cost. But as soon as you have some kind of credential, you
can look at the job openings, and if they say, well, you don't have
a specialization in confectionery, you can say, just let me show you
what I can do, and everything ought to work out.

 LS> I went in two weeks ago over break for an interview, which went well,
 LS> and now that my friend Peter is back from a service trip to Mexico(!),

Who's Peter? Carol would be very interested if this was a romantic
thing.

 LS> I'm going to call back so that he and I can arrange a date to go in to
 LS> fill out a few forms as well as take their standardized test - like an
 LS> SAT, testing our general knowledge about academic stuff, so that they
 LS> know where we place among the other applicants. The whole form
 LS> filling/test taking portion is followed by a dinner in the school's
 LS> exceptionally nice dining room, made by the advanced culinary students.

You'll surely do well.

 LS> (It's the program I opted out of, because I don't want to learn how to
 LS> be a restaurant-style chef.) And, from what I've learned from the
 LS> students there that I got to talk to (who were all very nice), getting
 LS> in is tougher than I may have thought. However, since the test is
 LS> almost no math and mostly common sense/critical thinking, I don't think
 LS> I'll have a problem placing high up there. And if I don't get in,

If you (hypothetically) opted into the program, what would be the
possibility you could get into USCG or USN via the backdoor as a
cook person?

 LS> that's all right, too. I'll wait out the nine months and try again for
 LS> the next cycle of pastry classes, unless I find a school that teaches
 LS> how to be a confectioner. Because I really want to make candy more than
 LS> anything else. (But, on the plus side of that, the interviewer at CCI
 LS> told me that they do include a lesson or two on chocolate making. It's
 LS> mostly about truffles, which I know how to make quite well, but there
 is <i>always</i> room for improvement.)

A very mature way of looking at things (but we knew you would
have such a viewpoint - after all, you're tons more mature than
your dad and his skeevy friends).

SIMPLE PIE PASTRY
Categories: pastry, dessert
Yield: one 9-inch pie crust

1 1/2 c unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 Tb sugar
1/4 ts salt
1/2 c chilled unsalted butter, 1/2" pieces
1 lg egg yolk
1 1/2 Tb (about) ice water

Perfect for almost any dessert pie.

Blend first 3 ingredients in processor. Add butter. Using on/off turns,
process just until coarse meal forms. Whisk egg yolk and 1 1/2 tablespoons
ice water in small bowl to blend. Drizzle egg mixture over dough. Using
on/off turns, process until moist clumps begin to form, adding more water by
teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball. Flatten into disk.
Wrap in plastic; refrigerate 1 hour. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep
chilled. Let dough soften slightly before rolling out.)

Bon Appétit, June 1998

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