Hot Tamale

Ooh boy. If you’re wondering why I didn’t post yesterday, it’s because I burned my fingertips off. Typing was just far too hazardous.

Working with sugar is really dramatic. It needs to be around 300* to make it the right consistency to pull and manipulate into beautiful shapes… which means you are touching some HOT STUFF. 

So hot, in fact, that my friend caught herself on fire today and didn’t really notice until she saw the flames jumping off of her glove. True story. Oh yeah, we also have butane torches fired up at all times to help “glue” sugar pieces together. Butane torch + Rubber Glove = GAH!

Also, we have to work under a heat lamp so that the sugar stays pliable and doesn’t harden up.

Don’t mistake this for a tanning salon or a McDonald’s. Please note giant butane torch (turned off for safety! We learned our lesson) in the background.

So essentially, I’m sweating like a banshee throughout the entire class… hydration is key in such situations. I had to demote the contents of my water bottle from iced coffee to iced tea… I needed something slightly more refreshing since I feel like I’m on a tropical island.

All of my blood, sweat, and tears produced this lovely little statue:

 

Apparently my roses looked like hibiscus. I’ll take it. Obviously I was inspired by the tropical climate of the lab.

Also, because you can’t eat a sugar statute, I made some mini baguettes for my wine class tonight:

Aww, mini breads! For those of you who are sick of my sugar postings and are missing the doughy goodness pictured above… I’ve got a recommendation for you –

Lily, one of my readers, has an awesome blog, The Upper Yeast Side. She tells magical tales of bread baking adventures in NYC.  Anyone who has lived in an NYC apartment would agree that magic is necessary to make ANYTHING in those tiny kitchens, let alone sourdough bread. I think the most sophisticated meal I made when living on the UES was a Lean Cuisine, so needless to say, I am super impressed.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to crank the AC down to 64* and get some beauty sleep!