Long time no post , but my culinary exploits have continued! I'll be posting a couple blogs today on what's been going on with me over the last few months and hopefully a new recipe will be up by the end of this week. In the meantime, you can also check out my instagram handle; bohemiangroupTO and #cookalongwithkate for almost daily posts of my food adventures.

So! Onto the first of many updates: This past January, I started my first professional cooking course at George Brown College's School of Culinary Arts! With the outfit and the hat and the industrial kitchen equipment and everything! Neato! I'm currently taking 'Intro to Baking Arts'; a 12 week program that covers all the baking basics; breads, pies, cakes, cookies, custards, eclairs etc.

As a savoury cook by nature, baking has always been a bit intimidating for me. I love chemistry and science, but the whole "add a teaspoon more of (blank) and your f***ed and need to start over" thing is terrifying. So, I decided to take a course on baking specifically to broaden my culinary horizons as well as get my confidence up.

We've officially finished half of the class as of yesterday (6 classes done, 6 more to go) and I've learned how to make flaky pie crust from scratch, apple pie, bran muffins, tea biscuits, Bavarian creams, creme caramels, monkey bread and sweet rolls! Still to come are eclairs, cream puffs, cakes and more! I'm so excited, as is my family, who are reaping many of the benefits of my taking this course.

For anyone out there who has considered taking a cooking class, I HIGHLY recommend the classes at George Brown, my chef/prof is amazing, my classmates are quickly becoming good friends and you get to take home all your treats which is a seriously awesome bonus.

Here are a couple pics of me in my uniform, my tool kit (which I'm super proud of), and some of the treats I've learned how to make over the last 6 weeks...

I love lamb, I really REALLY do.

So when a frenched rack of lamb was on sale at my local grocer and it also just so happened to be my boyfriend and I's 7 year anniversary, I had to get my hands on it - it took some help from the store's meat department and butchers, but I got the cut I wanted for the price I was willing to pay.

The recipe is one I've attempted before, it's based on Gordon Ramsay's "Herb Crusted Lamb"; you season and sear the meat off in a pan with a bit of olive oil, then transfer to a hot oven (350F) for 8 minutes, remove, brush with dijon mustard, apply a full coating of the herb crust mixture*, then crisp the herb crust under the broiler for another couple minutes - remove and LET REST.

Lamb is easy to cook, but it's also easy to OVER cook, so the challenge is trusting yourself and your instincts in cooking meat (I'm starting to get the whole "meat temp by feel" thing, but only recently). Also remember, perfect meat temps are ALL about the rest (also you don't want to sacrifice any juices and risk the meat becoming dry by stabbing it with a meat thermometer or god forbid, slicing into it prematurely). This was my third try cooking this lamb dish and I NAILED the temp - it was perfect, melt in your mouth goodness.

Sides: For the sides I did simple roast russet potatoes with onions, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and olive oil and I also tried out a new brussels sprouts recipe - also based on a Gordon Ramsay dish: blanch the sprouts in boiling salted water for 2 minutes, remove and add to a pan with bacon lardons, finish with butter, chopped walnuts, lemon zest and lemon juice (he uses chestnuts and pancetta in his).

Learnings: If I made this exact dish again, I would opt for garlic mashed potatoes instead of roasted potatoes. I felt the dish needed a smooth starch element as the sprouts were already pan roasted.

*Herb crust: This time I ONLY used fresh herbs and it made a world of difference to the colour and taste. The Herb crust is pretty much breadcrumbs, fresh thyme, rosemary and parsley leaves/flowers, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

Photos - a couple beauty shots of the final meal, my new knife that is AMAZING and a shot of the lamb thawing at my desk at work yesterday ahead of bringing it home to cook :)