Today is, for all intents and purposes, the final final. Yes, I still have a written test ahead, and the group buffet on Friday, and four days of service on a somewhat foreign menu, but today, just today, is a mystery basket that is for the first time totally individual. The culmination of my young culinary career is about what I can do tonight. 3 dishes. 2 hours. 1 year of experience to back me up. The walkin fridge is wide open, and I have 120 minutes to put together something perfect or as close to perfect as I can manage.

Pressure? You fuckin betcha, slugger. I'm pumped to get it on.

So, again, send your good vibes my way. By 9pm pst, it'll all be a done deal.

I cheated a little, in that I recipe tested my main dish last night. Red wine braised filt, demi, arugula pesto, a zucchini fritter (really a garnish, no more), smashed potatoes made with milk solids and olive oil, whatever green veg I can find. The other two dishes? Fried polenta with a tomato white wine cream and sauteed shrimp, and an amuse bouche made from a sauteed mushroom, polenta, demi, all preplanted on a fork.

It should be good. Simple, somewhat Italian, but good.