Plated Desserts Continued...

So, my favorite plate-up of the class was Seasonal Fruit Soup.  I chose Vanilla Parfait with Watermelon-Mint Soup, Sous Vide Honeydew, Poached Cantaloupe, Pickled Watermelon Rind, Candied Mint, Pistachio Tuile, Mint Syrup, Candied Pistachios and Cantaloupe-Honeydew Sorbet.  We had to make perfect knife cuts with all of our fruit so each piece of honeydew was exactly the same and a totally different shape than the cantaloupe and watermelon rind.  It was fun and delicious.  We presented our plates without the soup, then poured the chilled soup "table side" for Chef.  All the flavors came together to form the perfect, refreshing bite.  YUM!

The holiday dessert plate up was fun as well.  Half of the class made fancy s'mores with homemade graham crackers and homemade mint marshmallows.  They were really elegant.  I chose the Thanksgiving Tart Duet - I can't resist making a tart you know!  A Pumpkin Tartlet topped with Toasted Meringue and Candied Pumpkin Seeds and a Pecan Tartlet topped with a bit of Powdered Sugar, Cinnamon Chantilly and Candied Pecans was served with Bourbon Caramel, Creme Fraiche Ice Cream and Honey Tuile.  They are so cute and tasty!  This was our last regular class plate-up.  Our crazy pants 4 day final was all that was left in this class and it was intense.  I need to take a break and eat a fresh-from-the oven chocolate chip cookie before I can continue.

Until then, ciao!
-QoT-