Third Week-Winter Quarter

In theory practice we are cutting the bones out of chickens, removing the meat from the skin, pounding the meat thin, and rolling it back up in the skin. Later we will stuff these chicken rolls and poach them. This is called a galantine. All of the students are looking at their macerated bird and saying they are going vegetarian.
I am working three days this holiday week, in cooked to order. The regular chef who runs CTO is on vacation, and Larry the management instructor is in charge. What a fantastic teacher he is! The menu consists of 7 oz New York strip steaks (which he shows us how to cook on the grill) bacon wrapped scallops, (we burn the bacon and have to start over), pork chops stuffed with Fontina cheese and prosciutto, and vegetarian steamed dumplings. All of this is served in the dining room for less than $7 for the individual entree and soup or salad. Merlin has lunch in the restaurant Thursday and I give him the department tour.
Friday I do an extra cooking day to satisfy banquet hours. I get to cook chicken caciatore from scratch, just as I would cook it at home, and it is colorful and delicious. As I have mentioned before, the food is fresher and better tasting on Fridays. There are less students than on class days, and we have less to do. I am able to finish reading one chapter for the test on Monday.
I am working on a Washington Award for Vocational Excellence scholarship application, (as a challenge), and they don't make it easy. There are 6 sections with a requirement of at least 150 words stating things like what career and technical education has meant to you. After the student fills it out, it goes to the instructor to fill out his part. We'll see how this progresses....