Intro to Commercial Craft Brewing

Tonight there was an informational at SCCC for a new program they plan on starting next year. Actually,  next month. The brewers at Saranac, Adirondack Brewing, Shmaltz Brewing, and Rare Form helped create a pilot program that they hope will give the participants the entry level skills needed to work at breweries here in the region and elsewhere. Other than programs in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, the majority of the university/college based programs are out on the West Coast. I thought the CIA was starting a program of their own, but it looks like they are just offering a class. This program could very well be the first here in New York!

There were the usual introductions and a brief overview of the program. There was a lot of information being given, so what I write here is not all of it, and it could very well be inaccurate. It is modeled after programs used in Europe, and focusing on the specific skills the participating breweries are looking for. Mentions of manufacturing, processing, sanitation, safety. 

It will be a 13-week non-credit program; classes will be held twice a week, with the possibilty of some weekends. There will be visits to different breweries, and some hands on experience to go alongside the classroom teaching. The price of this program will be a little more than what I paid for one class at SCCC. 

The process of applying for the program takes more than filling out a form. You have to make an appointment at the One Stop Center in your county. Never heard of a One Stop Center? Neither did I until tonight. It's a workforce/career center. What you discuss with this person I'm not too sure. Probably see if you would be a good fit for that kind of career. There's a part about being eligible for money to pay for this program, somethingsomethingsomething. There are online tests you have to take, see how well you do at math (ugh). A resume is submitted. Lots of waiting (or maybe not because the program starts soon), and the final decision is made by the breweries. They are only selecting 15 people for this, with a handful to be placed on a waiting list. Really doesn't make me feel good about my odds.

There were a lot of people at the informational tonight. Majority are homebrewers; majority male. There were probably seven women in the audience, including myself. Other than myself and two of my classmates, pretty homogenous. 

Food Prep 1 Lab: Salads and Sandwiches

Geez, I really have been slacking, haven’t I? The semester is almost over and not one post about this class is up! So I really should change that now. Last night in Food Prep we covered salads and sandwiches. My team had to make tabbouleh, spinach salad with bacon vinagrette, and club sandwiches. Should be easy, right? Don't worry, it wasn't bad. None of the bean fiasco like last class.

 

My station. I got to class early because I wanted to get things moving so we could leave early. Yeah, shouldn't hurry... but it's a night class. If I can help speed things along I will. With the help of one of my classmates I sharpened my chef knife on the stone and got my station in order. I grabbed a pot and filled it with enough water for the bulgur. Set that on medium heat like I grabbed a cutting board, bowls, and containers for my ingredients. Mise en place people!

 

After helping check in the foodstuffs, my partner and I grabbed what ingredients we needed for our recipes. I weighed out 12 ounces of bulgur and set that aside. My partner cut out the stem and scored the bottom of a tomato and set that aside to be blanched and peeled later. Tomato concasse... we have to do that for the final. Peeled and diced the cucumbers, washed and finely chopped the parsley. Poured the boiling water over the bulgur and covered it, and kept it in the oven to get out of the way. Partner cooked up the bacon and set it aside, washed and cut up the mushrooms. Another team was boiling eggs for their salad, so we threw a few in there as well. After prepping everything, making the actual dishes was quick. As it should be since it's just salads and sandwiches.

 

 

This was supposed to be a traditional spinach salad with hard boiled egg, bacon crumbles, and mushrooms. Topped with a bacon vinagrette which chef was supposed to demo. Well, didn't happen. The spinach was old and it was hard to pick through and find enough good leaves. So I added arugula and watercress. Chef did not realize there was a dressing demo and someone threw out the bacon fat I had been saving for it. Oh well. Made a vinagrette with some dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, olive oil and a little salt and white pepper. Washed and spun dry the greens and tossed with just a bit of the dressing... enough to coat the leaves. Added the bacon, eggs and mushrooms and gave it a quick toss.

 

I thought the dressing went well with the salad. Slightly acidic which worked with the peppery arugula. Most people that tried the salad liked it, including chef.



 

I've made tabbouleh so many times before (and I'm sure I've written about it) that I don't think I have to say too much about this dish. I let the bulur sit for about 30 minutes before I dumped it into a china cap and let it drain for another 30 minutes or so. I mixed the olive oil and lemon juice in a seperate bowl and set it aside. After draining, I mixed the bulur with the diced tomatoes, cucumber and parsley. Poured the dressing and gave it a good toss to help evenly distribute. Seasoned with salt and white pepper. Kept it on ice while waiting for serving. For presentation, I took two raddichio leaves to make a bowl and placed a scoop of tabbouleh in the center

 



My partner did almost all the work for the club sandwich. I helped with slicing some tomatoes and getting the bread ready for toasting. There is no toaster in the kitchen, so we had to use the broiler. She even used the slicer to cut the turkey. I made a few slices, but I'm squeemish with a fast moving round blade near me. I'm not really a big sandwich person, so I had no idea a club sandwich is a turkey sandwich and blt put together. It was pretty good! I'll have to make these for myself. Or order it.

 

Next week is our written final, followed by our lab final. Wish me luck!



The Problem With Spring Semester

Being in the Northeast, snow is expected. So we have our shovels and salt ready. We have our warm clothing and waterproof outerwear to deal with the low temperatures. And we expect things to keep going.

But then there's a snow day. I don't get these days anymore, but I used to. When I was in grade school, and even then it was only for extreme conditions. If our elders marched through blizzards, then we could put up with a few inches and go to class.

But things have changed. Global warming... lack of salt... things. Since I've been upstate I've noticed it more. When I went to UAlbany, we had one snow day, and they it was for afternoon classes. Still had to trudge out to my morning classes. This season... heck the last two weeks alone they've had what... two? Three?

Lucky.

Or are they? I only say this because I am having the same problems at SCCC. These winter storms have been hitting early in the week, cancelling either one of the classes I am taking this semester. Cake Decorating has been dealt the worst of it - we've only had ONE class so far - and that was the "first day." I have that in quotation marks because technically the real first day of classes was a holiday so of course no class.

Plain bad luck.

How will they make this up? Two labs now we've missed and they're the foundation classes for the rest of the semester. Sure, I may have a leg up because it's piping and frostings which I have plenty of experience with, but it's sucks for those who don't. So we have to do it on our own at home, and I guess they'll have to cram the rest in the remaining weeks.

Still sucks.

And I am pretty sure there are a few people in my class that will be demanding a refund.

Okay, rambling post somewhat food related done. Time for lunch.

Oh, and I do have Food Prep tonight. We make soups tonight. Excited!