Cedar paper and stuff

October 13th, 2008, by Francesca

My baking internship fell through. Bummer.

I went in this morning for my orientation only to find out that they couldn't have me as an intern after all. It's all to do with me not being enrolled in school anymore and not being covered by the school's insurance. For all effects and purposes, the externship (as the school calls it) is like a class but at a different location and the school covers students if any accident should happen. The bakery I have been talking to can't afford the liability of an intern who is not really an intern. I asked if there is any possibility of a part-time position with no pay, just to learn, but it's not looking good. I'll have to come up with another plan. It's just that for the past ten days I thought that this was a done deal so I've been rather bummed today.

On the way home I stopped at Whole Foods for groceries and I guess I was feeling a bit down and in need of something special so I noticed something that had probably been there all the time and never caught my eye before: cedar sheets.

I bought a package of four 6x9 inches sheets of cedar paper, actually wood sheets and tonight put together an improvised dish that ended up being quite good. I used the cedar paper to wrap two fillets of Pacific Orange Snapper garnished with a fine Julienne of scallions and zucchini and seasoned with some finely grated fresh ginger and lemon and orange zest, a touch of salt and pepper… tied the wraps with twine and baked at 400ºF for… hmm… 7-8 minutes I think. I sauteed more of the scallion and zucchini julienne to add as garnish and threw in some slow roasted tomatoes for good measure. Not that the roasted tomatoes really went well with that dish, but that's what I had handy so shoot me. Bread, white wine, and it all turned out well.

Oh, and to finish it all off, a shot glass of nocino, just because. Which reminds me… I am almost out of nocino. Anybody in Italy wants to send me a good bottle? Pleaaase?

Okay, I'll stop feeling sorry for myself; losing the internship is not a big deal. It just happened on a day when I had an hour and a half of sleep and I don't do well with sleep deprivation.

On the other hand, I had a wonderful Saturday with two friends visiting and spending the day with me, eating, drinking, knitting, chatting, and being designated laps for Kelvin, who likes nothing better than lap variety. And I made a mighty good focaccia, if I may say so myself. Of course all the credit goes to Peter Reinhart's recipe; a LOT of work, but oh so tasty.

No pics of dinner or Saturday's lunch either. It's either cooking or taking pictures. It's especially hard to take pictures while cooking something new and when I have no expectations of how it'll turn out. Well, that's it for now. You all have a good week.

7 Responses to “Cedar paper and stuff”

  1. Lydia Says:
    I'm sorry for the disappointment. But hey, out that pain came some good chow! I'll be looking for the cedar sheets on my next stop at Whole Foods; that's a fantastic find you've shared. Should have asked me about getting nocino when I was in Italy....what were you thinking????
  2. Lydia Says:
    Do you know you can buy nocino in California? http://www.nocino.com/
  3. Cilla Ann Says:
    I am so sorry... I am sure there will be something good around the corner for you. Hugs
  4. Agnes Says:
    Sorry for the disappointment! But I'm sure something else better would turn up later ... keep the smile on your face! :D
  5. Cornflower Says:
    What a pity, Francesca, but as the others rightly say, something will turn up and it may be even better that what you'd planned.
  6. Ava Says:
    I agree with the others - stay open for something better. Thanks for telling us about the cedar sheets. I can't wait to use them with salmon. Glad to have "Fluff Buff" back! (I guess Kelvin is too!) I'm looking forward to your knitting posts.
  7. MaryjoO Says:
    too bad on the internship -- keep going back and buy something and chat them up .... offer to sweep the floor. But I bet you've thought of all of that already! and WHY did you only have 1 1/2 hours sleep? M

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