Let's see I think I left off...? Oh yeah, the last class was individual and production pastries. So that means the next one is cookies, tarts, and mignardise ("meen-yar-dee"), which, as an adjective in French, is used to describe something graceful and delicate. As a dessert, it is something small, usually a bite or two, and is traditionally served after dessert, or with coffee. Sort of as a way for the chef to say thank you. I quite enjoyed this class. I'm a fan of small bite desserts, and we were able to make some cool ones. This is the class where I learned to make french macaroons. And believe me, I messed up royally the first time I made them. The method for making these is something that takes time to get right. I still get nervous every time I make them because you won't know if they're messed up until they are baked. It's not like you can just start over. I've thrown away a lot of messed up macaroons! This was also the first time we learned how to temper chocolate. It's not the easiest thing, as chocolate is very delicate and temperamental. I really liked it though, and aside from it taking forever the first time, we made some really scrumptious truffles. mmmmm... We also practiced a lot of piping techniques with a small pipette. It's a small parchment cone with a really finely cut tip, so you get those really fine lines. It's not easy, because every little movement gets noticed. We were able to do petit fours and pipe the designs on them.
