Chocolate!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love a good piece of chocolate, chocolate cake, chocolate fudge, nonpareils, or really anything with DARK chocolate! Today I got to indulge in tasting and learning all about the history of chocolate in my Gastronomy class. Take a look at the plate in the picture. Starting with the white chocolate at the top of the plate, we tasted each piece of chocolate 3 times. Each time holding our nose at first to taste with our senses and rate the level of sweetness, sourness, bitterness, saltiness, and the level of umami flavor. Umami is a newly recognized sense of taste and measures savory flavor. Think of a meaty portabella mushroom - that intensifies the umami taste. After the initial taste with our noses closed, we let go of our noses to allow our mouths to taste the flavor of each piece of chocolate. Ever wonder why you can't taste when you have a cold? It is because you can't smell! Flavor can be tasted only when one can use the nose to smell. 

As a kid I used to brush my teeth and drink orange juice. I never seemed to learn and did it time and time again. Turns out there is actually a reason that the orange juice tastes so bad after you brush your teeth! The actual term is called "successive contrast." Because the tooth paste is so sweet, the orange juice that I drank (way too many times immediately after brushing my teeth as a kid) tastes extremely sour or bitter. The sweetness from the orange juice is gone because of the sugar tasted moments before in the toothpaste! Who knew?! 

Today was one of those days where I enjoyed everything (ok maybe not 100% true but pretty close!) With a great run under my belt this morning (still hoping to run a marathon this fall with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society) I had my food safety class along with my Gastronomy class as I talked about above. After learning about Staph infections and intoxicating bacteria, I was still hungry for lunch and continued to enjoy a piece of grilled salmon with roasted peppers and rice. 

Shortly after lunch I took a trip with a few classmates to the storeroom where all produce, cheeses, nuts, etc. are stored for the school. With deliveries every day, the CIA receives and uses the freshest ingredients possible. In our trip to the store room we looked at and tasted the lettuces and bitter salad greens we had learned about yesterday. With everything from Belgian endive to treviso (long skinny radicchio) and escarole to micro greens, we smelled, touched, and tasted it all. Who knew there were so many kinds of lettuce??!! I am intrigued I must say! 

My four course dinner this evening included an amuse of a chopped liver crostini with pomegranate and mache leaf (a new lettuce I learned about!), roasted chestnut and ginger soup, provolone and spinach stuffed flank steak with polenta and zucchini, followed by a warm dark chocolate cake with creme angles, raspberries, and a nice cappuccino. Not too shabby for your average Tuesday night!

I was lucky enough to spend this past weekend with Ben here in NY. I actually cooked for the first time in my new apartment and we were able to spend time together relaxing. A cute movie, a good meal and a wonderful weekend all around :) 

With two tests on Thursday and a large presentation next week, it is time for me to get back to the books. This coming weekend I will get to spend with my Michigan gals in NYC and I can't wait! 

Last note for the night: I get my chef whites tomorrow! Check back for a picture tomorrow but I can't wait to put on my coat. Something I have been waiting to do for a very long time.