Petit Four Final

This was a very intense week.  Monday was thankfully a holiday.  FancyPantsPet was very busy at the Houston Pet Expo on Saturday, so having an additional 2 days totally saved me!

Petit Four Poster

On Tuesday we turned in a full scale poster representation of what we wanted our Petit Four final tray to look like.  It was actually a fun project to complete and made plating the actual products much easier because I already had a plan.  We also made large macaroons for the Cafe.  As usual, there was a bit of an altercation with the crazy lady in my class.  There are just no words to describe what we deal with in regard to her.  I didn't realize that people actually behaved the way that she does.  It really is as though she is the only person in the class.  Anyway, that is enough about that.

We also created a plan of action and went over what items could be made on what days.  Obviously, you can't make Italian Meringue on Wednesday morning and hope to use pipe it onto tartlets on Friday.  Everyone made their own version of a production list.  I typed out all my recipes in the order I needed to make them with notes and tips.  Being organized certainly made all the difference.  We had 3 days (a total of 11 hours) to make 6 different Petit Fours, 10 of each.  The 10 of each had to be identical in every way.  For these 6 items, we made about 15 separate components.  The true purpose of this exercise was time management and making a plan.  I completed my tasks for each day with no problem and was able to finish on Friday with time to spare, so it really ended up not being too stressful for me.  I really enjoyed the fast pace of having so many tasks to do.  Deadlines always work for me anyway.  I like all the intricate detail that goes into making the Petit Fours as well.

Here is the finished product:

Chef was impressed overall and said that I should be very proud of my work.  She was especially impressed with my Lemon Tartlets, which seems appropriate.  I am the Queen of Tarts, after all.
The few points that were taken off were from small mistakes like shaky hands or inexperience.  While a number of my classmates did not enjoy the experience at all, I really had fun working on this project.  I received a high A on the final as well as for the class.  So, my 4.0 is intact and I am glad for that.

Next week we start Viennoserie and Laminated doughs - puff pastry, danish, croissant, etc...  We even get to work on some savory applications for puff pastry, which is exciting.  We are all looking forward to having food to eat at the end of class again.  All these little desserts didn't do much for us when we are starving at 10:30 am!

I wish everyone a happy Easter and hope that I survive and live to bake another day.
Until then, ciao!

-The Queen of Tarts-