BREAD!

I am going to master the art of bread baking.

Week 3 in the bakery is going well (I have today off)...smoother now that there is a new system and new schedule.  I've started the PM shift (which means I work from 4pm - midnight).  It's not as bad as it sounds...I don't fall asleep until 2 or 3am now...but whatevs.  I don't have to wake up until I feel like it (or 1 or 2pm...but I usually get up around 10 or 11am).

So now, because I want to master the art (the science?), I am on the search for books!  Books books and more books!  Give me things to read to learn the why and the how!  It will help me in my practice to have the knowledge.

Any suggestions?

3am Wake-Up Call

Clearly, I rock at updating this thing frequently. Obviously I've made plenty more dishes in school that I should have written about...but I failed.

I did go to St. Louis a few weekends ago.

Kent and Whitney got married at McKendree University in IL (about 30 min from St. Louis) and held their reception at the planetarium in St. Louis.  Probably one of the most epic weddings I've been to (and I haven't been to many so that doesn't say much).  It was a wonderful break from life...even though we drove 15 hours to get there and 15 hours to get back.  The drive wasn't even that bad....good company makes time go by quicker!

Here are a few things I've made in the past few weeks:
Mexican Wedding Cookies (served to chef with a cup of coffee and some cream):

Brownie Pudding Cake (the chocolate "sauce" around the bottom is actually the "pudding" that formed while cooking....sooooo delicious!):

Chilled Cucumber and Avocado Soup:

In the meantime, it's 6:43pm and I need to hit the hay.  Starting tomorrow I'm training to be a baker at my restaurant and they want me there at 4am.  That is why I have a 3am wake-up call and 7 or 8pm bedtime.

Congrats to me!