No more.

From now on I'll have to keep my mind where it belongs, and in the right state of being: alert, focused, and engaged. Why the sudden rejection of my typical TGIF ways? Because this Friday afternoon, Chef Dianne pulled out the big guns of the kitchen: blowtorches. And that's no kitchen tool to be fooling around with when your brain has left the building.

I'm pleased to report that our first blowtorch experience was not only injury free, but also fantastically fun. I was still flying from the excitement of piping (yes, we're already piping!) Swiss meringue onto our lemon tartlets when, torch in hand, I beautifully singed my meringue peaks to a gorgeous golden-y brown hue. (Check out the photo of some of my classmates mid-torch.)

Believe it or not, my end-of-the-week buzz comes from more than just piping and torching. We also rolled and cut (lemon ginger sablé cookies; this time I chose the cowboy boot shape)—and stenciled and dusted (nut tarts, topped with a powdered sugar design of our own creation.) Did I mention we also made our own candied lemon peel, prepared a batch of pâte brisée, and learned two other types of meringue, French and Italian? How's that for a Friday line up?

It was, indeed, a memorable day of firsts for me—and here is yet another: I cheerfully spent a good part of my Friday evening with my nose in a textbook (!), reading up on all that we had done and recording all that I had learned. I guess that's what happens when you love what you're studying.

No worries, though: After that, I did take a short little trip to my familiar La La Land.

Each afternoon when I'm chatting it up with friends and family on the phone (they insist I describe every detail and recipe every day), some stories are so exciting the words practically jump out of my mouth. Today it was this: While walking downstairs to pick up Family Meal for the class (that's FCI-speak for "lunch"), my friend Beth and I stopped dead in our tracks. There, right in front of us, was the man, the myth, the legend: Jacques Pépin.

It's no surprise, really: Chef Pépin is, indeed, a dean of the school and probably goes about his dean-like business fairly regularly. But even more, he is a master of his art, a television star, an inspiration to many inside the culinary circle, including me.

Though I had seen Chef Pépin perform a few demos for enrolled students late last year, I was just as appreciative to see him again as I was the first time. But this was Beth's first Pépin sighting, and you could tell: I even think she did a restrained, but still giddy, hop.

Thrills like that happen more than I ever expected at school, especially celebrity sightings. My first week, I attended a demo by Ron Ben-Israel, a wedding cake guru here in New York City. Watching him work fondant was a once-in-a-lifetime delight and made me even more excited for that part of our program. That same week, I sat in on a lecture by Wylie Dufresne—he was a recent contestant on The Food Network's Iron Chef, and there I was, tasting his innovative creations fresh out of the pan. Pastry expert or not, each visiting presenter has something valuable to share with me.

Will I, or any of my classmates, go on to see such a high level of success in our new careers? It's hard to say right now, but some stars may shine brighter come this Thursday: We have our first test!

Ack!

I wasn't this morning, mind you, nor were many of my classmates. Running conversion formulas through our heads, comparing notes on meringues and custards, straightening our kerchiefs for the third time in five minutes, we were all just a teensy bit antsy. Though we were all probably well prepared, this was, indeed, our first culinary school test—and the first time we'd be working completely by ourselves; the unexpected loomed.

By 8:31 a.m. we were hunched over papers, the written exam being the day's first event. Frantic scribbling of procedures and ingredients—45 minutes flew by.

So did the next four hours, dedicated to the... pppprrractical.

I drew line-up #4: Quiche Lorraine tartlets, a caramel nut tart, and Viennese vanilla crescents and quickly formulated a plan for the day.

By 9:45, panic had already shown its ugly face: my pâte brisée wasn't rolling well, crackly and drier than previous batches I'd made. Follow that up with a panic over the stove: my dry caramel seized up when I added milk and cream—it's supposed to do that, but at the time it looked like failure in a pan.

As other students whipped egg whites or carefully sliced fruit, I made almond cream and toasted walnuts. Some students were already finished blind baking—was I falling behind? And did I overcook those quiches? I probably checked the oven every twenty seconds.

As 1:30 approached, we all began to settle down: Cookies were sugar coated and crème chantilly piped into rosettes. But did we do it right? And would our creations actually taste... good?

Mine did, I'm proud to say: Chef Tom applauded my crusts (phew!) and the smoothness of my custard. I did, he said, slightly overcook my crescents... hardly a major disaster.

While the rest of the evaluations took place, my tablemates and I pumped ourselves with sugar, tasting each others' yummy creations. It was the post-exam power trip, and we felt good.

Let's hope I can say the same when Chef Dianne returns our grades. No time for worrying about that, though; pâte à choux reading awaits. Tomorrow is éclair day!

But there's a new man in town, and I'm glad to finally be meeting him: Pâte à choux The basis for Paris-Brest, profiteroles, and more, Mr. Choux is welcome in my kitchen any time.

Today he morphed into éclairs: Chocolate, vanilla, and coffee, all piped full of freshly made crème legere. Check out the results: Some are slightly short, others slightly crooked—but they're not bad for a first try, are they?

Speaking of magic and all things playful, today we could indulge our own imaginations by constructing individual croquembouches (traditional French wedding cakes). Caramel-dipped, sugar-spun towers of choux balls, adorned and topped with choux-piped decorations, they are impressive. I went for a storm theme, complete with lightning bolts and rain drops, but some of my other classmates crafted butterflies, flowers, and some really great looking abstract designs, too.

Check out the class' collection of crouqembouches. (Fun word, no? It means "crunch in the mouth.") They're awesome, if I do say so myself. Apparently the chefs at the school were equally awestruck: Some towers were put on display under the glass cases in the hallway! It was the class' first show-off project, and there was no hiding our pride.

Not so awesome is the fact that we have our second test tomorrow. I've just barely unwound since the first one! Well, I guess that's just the beauty—or the beast?—of taking the fast-track towards becoming a pastry professional.