A Healthy yet tasty Macaroni and Cheese!?!

For our flex assignment for CF3 we were assigned various dishes where we had to come up with a "healthy" version of.  Me, I got Macaroni and Cheese.   We were set up in teams of 2 for this project and my partner was a new girl that was there all of oh, 3 days?  She supposedly cut her hand and never showed up again, so I got to do my assignment all by myself.  Yay, I hate having to try and figure out what's going on in someone else's head let alone someone that I don't even know.

I did all that was required of us and used the suggested cheeses from the Chef.  We had different check points where we'd discuss with the Chef our progress and he would make adjustments and suggestions to our work.  In the end we were to have a recipe fully written out.  It was to be written for someone who doesn't know how to cook or for your Mom that's going to try a new recipe for her family etc... And along with this, a Nutrition analysis for the dish.  I turned in the assignment on the due date and thought I was done... No, no, no...  Chef didn't like some After taste of the cheeses that He suggested I use so he made more adjustments and I made more Mac n Chz.  I made the adjustments but with the addition of spaghetti squash and the omition of 1c of pasta it made for a VERY small portion and HIGH calorie dish.  I took it in the next day and Chef Really liked the flavors but because of the High cal made more adjustments...

Let's just say that I don't want to see Mac & Cheese for a VERY long time.  But I'll say this, the end product is very low cal and according to the Chef has Very good Flavors.  So,  Here it is, the full recipe.  I hope you enjoy it as much as Chef Frerichs did.

Healthy & Deliciously Nutritious

Macaroni & Cheese Recipe

 from Soloau Teo's kitchen

(makes 5 to 6, 1 cup servings)

1  Whole Spaghetti squash (approximately 1# 7oz yield)

¾  c  Water

1 c  Whole Wheat Macaroni

1 ¼ c   Silk Light Soy Milk

2 tbsp  Onions, finely chopped

2  tsp  Kosher Salt

¼ tsp  White Pepper

¼ tsp  Thyme

¼ tsp  Oregano

¼ tsp  Rosemary

8 oz  Tillamook Classic Macaroni & Cheese 3 Cheese Blend

2 pc  Wheat Thins Flatbread, Tuscan Herb.  (make into crumbs)

1.       Using a whole Spaghetti squash, after cutting in half, clean out the center and remove the seeds. Place in a baking pan, Add ¾ c water and cover it with foil.  Cook at 350° for approximately 45 minutes.  It is done when you can easily poke through the meat with a knife. 

2.       When squash is cooked hold the squash firmly in one hand and in the other hand use a fork and scrape the meat from top end to bottom end to remove the meat from the skin.  Set aside.

3.        Using a 3 quart sauce pan, Prepare Whole wheat macaroni according to instructions on the package and cook until  Al Dente.  Drain the macaroni and return it to the pan.  Do NOT rinse the macaroni.  Cover and set it aside.

4.        In a 2 or 3 quart sauce pan Add Milk, Onions, Salt and White Pepper, thyme, oregano and rosemary.   Over Medium-high heat, cook until it comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 2 minutes.  Stir regularly to keep from scorching.

5.       Remove from heat and while constantly stirring with wire whisk, slowly add the cheese.   Stir until cheese is melted and smooth.

6.       Combine the Squash and Macaroni then add the cheese mixture. Stir until it’s all mixed well then pour it into a square baking pan and spread it out evenly through the pan.  Sprinkle the Flatbread crumbs over the top of the Mac and Cheese.

7.       Let it rest for about 15 minutes and allow it to set before serving.   

292 Calories per 1 cup serving.  584 Calories per 2 cup serving.

That is my blip for my BFFs today.   Enjoy...

Yes, that is my end product for my assignment, cooked at school.

Fire Oven Pizzas at 21 Acres

So, I have to say that for as long as I've lived in the Seattle area, I still don't know my way around so I Highly depend on the modern technology of the GPS to help me find my way.  And yet, even with this brilliant equipment at hand I still found myself on a dirt road in the middle of a field of vegetation thinking to myself..."where is everyone?"  I'm driving, I see shacks and tractors, where's the Fire oven and people?  Hmmm.  So I call Chef Moore's cell phone.  "Hi, please leave... blah blah blah"  "Hi Chef, it's Sol, I'm in the middle of a field and I think I'm LOST!"

I make my way back to the main road and thankfully there is someone at the gate, and He is starting to close this gate.  Imagine now what might have come to pass had I not made my way out sooner...
"Excuse me, I'm looking for 21 Acres."  He points to the next lot.  "that's next door"   Whew, at least I wasn't THAT far off.

So it was said that if it rained the event was going to be cancelled.  It really looked iffy because when I left my house to go to school, it was raining but it wasn't raining at school.  I asked Chef Moore if it was still a go on the Event and she said yes.  So here we were at 21 Acres with grey skies but no rain. 

Stephen was the fire man.  There was a small fire burning in the oven and when I got there he had Bellows in hand and was blowing life into the embers to try and set the wood ablaze.  The others were in the field picking berries and veggies for the pizza.  So being the Pyromaniac that I am, obviously I offered to help with the fire.  And Stephen, being the modern man that he is, asked me to gather and chop more wood.  So I go to the wood pile and pick out the dry stuff, and with small axe in hand begin to chop wood.  I love chopping wood lol...

I hear voices coming from the field, I look up and here come Chef Moore, Bree, Inna and Jason with hands full of vegetation.  Chef Moore then immediately begins to divi out assignments and me, I'm the chopper of the veggies.  2 half sheet trays full of veggies were the results of my hard work.  This I did while the others rolled out the mini pizza doughs.  Then Inna and Bree were set to making beautiful Grasshopper and Bouquet appetizers while Jason made the dressings. 

With the chopping done ... we started building the pizzas or rather, I was the Pizza builder.  Chef showed me what to do and here I was, pulling and stretching the dough and Chef was like, "Here I'll help with the dough" because Obviously I kind of sucked lol... But by the end of the event I was the dough pulling Queen lol.  

"AH, I'm on FIRE!!"  Our Fire man Stephen, who was working the oven and baking the pizzas had his right arm wrapped in towels and this helped to keep him from burning while he reached into the oven to retrieve the pizzas.  His towels were spotted with holes and glowing with embers.  He was safe but the towels had seen better days.  I must say, the Fire Man did a Fantastic job working the Fire oven.

And so people were starting to make their way in, so Bree and Jason headed out to don thier LCB uniforms so they would look Dashing as they served the party people.  Well, the "party people" were the Hoity Toity's of Woodinville, there to discuss City Council issues while getting full on pizza and sloshed on expensive wine. 

We recieved raving reviews from the crowed.  The biggest hit of the evening were the Strawberry tarts that were made for dessert.  There is NOTHING like Strawberries picked Fresh from a garden and getting used directly for Dessert.

 It was a wonderful affair and even Mother Nature graced us with a gap in the clouds to allow the sun to shine down on the Event.  And so it was over and we cleaned up our mess and packed our bags and boxes and loaded up most of the stuff into the bed of my truck.  And as we were loading the truck the sky began to open up it's flood gates and it began to rain.  Not sprinkle, but shower.  Luckily for us most things were packed up and we didn't get too drenched.

So, on with the GPS and back to school I went.  Yes, you guessed it, I got lost! LOL...For some reason the GPS wanted to send me on a wild goose chase and it had me back track...15 minutes later I was back on the right track and 20 minutes later I was back at school... It's 10pm now and everyone is exhausted.  We all had finals earlier and now were cleaning up and washing and putting stuff away.  It's been a very looooong day.  Bree looked like a zombie, I think perhaps she would have just laid down under a table and slept right there and then. 

Success is the word for our 21 Acres Event and I for one had a Fantastic time.  Thank you Chef Moore and Ambassadors for a job well done. 

And that is my blip for my BFFs today.  http://21acres.org/local-food-co-op

Homage to Chef Isaac Frerichs

When I started school there was a buzz going round amoungst the classmates of the Dreaded Chef Frerichs.  "He's a Hard teacher and does not hand out grades easily."  Push, push, pushes you to the limits.  And well, yes, all of this is true.  But what they failed to mention is what an excellent and fair instructor he is.

Chef Frerichs is the All seeing, hearing and knowing.  You may think that he is not looking but he has eyes on the back of his head.  You may think he can't hear you but he has bionic ears.  Just when you think he's not going to notice something, he says something to the effect of what you were thinking about.

I had 1 really bad day this term in his class but it was not his fault.  It was just a bad day.  Any other time I may have seemed to be upset but I was just on focus mode and trying to get the days work done.  If you thought he was easy then...I'd like to see your grade and I'd be afraid to eat your food.  I worked my ass off and it was NOT easy.  I smelled many a burnt dishes...

I appreciate all that I have learned from him.  All the push, push, push, "Come on Sol..."  is all about growing, learning and becoming the better person, the better chef, the better leader that I can become.  It is with an instructor like Chef Frerichs, if taken with a teaspoon of sugar, that possibly all your wildest culinary dreams can come true.  Truly, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  Chef Frerichs is the Trainer of Champions.

If your experience with Chef Frerichs was unpleasant, well then I hope that you have learned from your mistakes and you should now be ready for the next round.  I myself had a wonderfully exhilarating experience with him, enjoyed the Knights of the Round Table sessions where we got to learn, share and experience some of his humor.  Now I look forword to, and absolutely dread being taught by the person who is known as "The Velvet Hammer" Chef Herman.  And because we were taught by Chef Frerichs, she will be expecting a LOT more from us.  She is the tiniest lil thing but she walks with a velvet handled sledge hammer and she Frightens the living Bejeebus out of me.

Best wishes to your life in your new place of residence or wherever the walk of life may take you.

Thank you Chef Frerichs for enriching and seasoning my life.  Your Humble Student,  Sol.

"I Survived the Frerichs Ride..." cf3b Finals day 4 (our last day of term 3)

Methinks the incessant buzzing never left the room from the day before.  I walked into the room at school and I heard a lot of ?OMG what am I going to do?" "I'm going to kill Ferrit." "The deep fryer is being soaked for cleaning, how am I going to fry my chicken?"  And round and round it went in circles all about the room. 

Written on the dreaded Board was our curve ball.  We were "allowed" chef's knife, tongs, 1 tasting spoon, 1 sauté pan, 1 pot, 1 sizzle platter and 1 plate to make and serve our 3 course meals with. @@  huh?  Then Ding, I thought to myself, at least we don't have to trade our mise trays.  I get to work with the menu that I thought up and not try and figure out someone elses mess.  YAY!

I have to say that This was a Happy day for me all the way around.  For the very First time in this class I was in my game and I had prepped out my Mise en Place so well that even with his curve ball I was going to be alright.  The night before I had typed out my menu and worked on the Nutrition analysis so my mental Mise en Place was definitely in place and I was ready to Rock the House.  The one stipulation that I had dorked on was that we could Not repeat ingredients in the dishes.  At first, in my mind, I was going to make Cocotte potatoes with my pork loin and I had prepped for it and diced my potatoes but at the last minute I decided to put potatoes into my soup to help thicken it so... Out with the cocotte potatoes and in with the Basmati Pilaf.  It's a good thing that I thought about this while I was writing up my menu the night before and had it implanted in my brain.

Line up was done and Off we went to grab our Mise trays and start the last of our term Finals.  Got Mise Tray, check.  Pot, pan, knife, tongs, spoon, plate & platter, check.  Put my soup in the pot and on the stove.  Went to the fridge and found Microgreens and decided to add that to my appetizer dish.  Mixed up the vinaigrette, tossed the greens and cucubers, and started plating up the Galantine dish... and Up to the Pass.  One down.

Sauté pan to the oven and oil to fry up my Taro chips.  TAAT the soup.  OOoh, I can't serve soup in a plate.  "Chef, may I use a Mise cup for my soup.?" "yes, I'm ok with that."  Oo, the soup is Hot, the cup will melt.  "Chef, may I use aluminum foil?" "yes, I'm ok with that".  So I take the foil and line the mise cup.  Taro chips on the sizzle platter and soup in my make shift soup bowl... and Up to the Pass.  Two down.

Wash my plate and pot.  Used the pot to make my Pilaf, check.  Schnitzel,  I need to do the basic breading procedure of flour, egg, breading, but no bowls allowed, Hmm?  Ding, Aluminum...Get aluminum and make a little divider in it.  Mix my egg in a large mise cup and got my Pork loin breaded. check.  Tossed my aspargus in olive oil and roasted them in the oven with the sizzle platter. check.  Fried my Schnitzel and plated up... and Up to the Pass with 5 minutes left on the clock.  Thee down.  Breath... Wind down.

It's finally over.  We had our last Round table with Chef Frerichs.  Today was Chef Frerichs last day as an Instructor for Le Cordon Bleu.  He is on his way to New Jersey to work for Campbells soup.  We all wrote our farewells to him on the board and awaited his arrival back into the classroom.  We were all standing around the round table and Applauded him as he made his entrance into the room.  We had our final class discussion with him and he shared with us his words of wisdom before saying his last goodbyes. 

People were eager to find out what their final grades were and the first person to ask about them was Shamus and Chef is so funny, He told Shamus that he would give the grades out to everyone but him.  He would get his grade the next day but by then he'd be in the middle of Montana and that Shamus would be more than welcome to come and meet him in Montana to pick up his grade LOL...

So when it was all said and done I squeaked out an A- for the term.  And I say squeaked out because for my first couple of weeks of the term I was at a B+. 

Thank you Chef Frerichs for all the hard work... It has been a pleasure and I'm so happy that I was able to experience my 3rd term with you at the Helm.  More words to come but that will be another blog.

Off to 21 Acres I go to make Pizzas in an outdoor fire oven with Chef Moore and the Ambassadors.

And that's my blog, yet again, for my BFFs today.

Day 3 Finals CF3B

So, I walk into the room and Alyssa says to me, "Look at what Ferrit did to us."  And on the board Chef wrote that Ferrit said to him at the end of day 2 finals "Chef, your finals are too easy."  (arrogant bastard) Anyone in thier right mind would NEVER say something like this to Chef Isaac Frerichs. NO NO NO!!! 

The room was buzzing, a lynch mob was beginning to form amoungst the classmates and a Gauntlet was being organized by an Ambassador so that we could throttle Ferrit about the face and body with our 2oz ladles.  We were supposed to have an easy 4th final day and learn how to make bagels and elephant ears but NOOOOooo, that has all come crashing down like a poorly engineered high rise.

Now, Thanks to Ferrit, we were, now, on our 3rd finals day going to have to come up and prep for a 3 course meal, 1-Chicken appetizer, 2-Vegetarian entrée, 3-Pork loin entrée.  We had 1 1/2 hours to come up with something and prep for it, then he was "allowing" us 1 1/2 hours to make All 3 courses the next day and he wants a nutrition analysis for the vegetarian dish and type up a menu.  So Mise en Place is crucial.  As I bent over and said "Thank you Chef, May I have some more" my mind was racing to come up with something that I can make and prep for. 

1.  Chicken Galantine, stuffed with goat cheese, carrots, onions, herbs and roasted bell peppers, served on a bed of micro greens, diced cucumbers and finely chopped red onions, lightly drizzled and tossed in a Balsamic vinaigrette.

2.  Purée of Cauliflower and potatoes soup served with Taro Chips.

3.  Pork Schnitzel on a bed of Basmati rice pilaf, served with roasted Asparagus.

Galantine stuffed wrapped and poached, check.  Cook cauliflower and potatoes soup, seasoned and puréed, check.  Chop up onions, herbs, carrots, and celery, check.  Butterfly and paillard (pound out) the pork loin, check.  Make Vinaigrette, check.  Gather up the rest of ingredients, check...  It's a wrap.  LET'S GET READY TO RUUUUMBBBBBBBLLLLLE!!!

So, at the end of the day Ferrit again opens his mouth during group discussion and says, "I won't apologize for anything that I've said"... MMMMHMMMM.  Chef did this sideways glance thing towards Ferrit and says...Be ready for a curve ball tomorrow.  I may switch out your trays and you'll have to make someone elses menu or I may limit you to only certain tools, I don't know yet, we'll see what I come up with tonight.  And now I want you to do a Nutritional analysis on ALL 3 dishes, not just the vegetarian dish.  (And we're moaning and groaning as silently as possible) Be ready for tomorrow, make sure your mental Mise en Place is ready."  "Thank you Chef, may I have some more." 

And in all this time I've been remaking, adjusting, analysing the Mac and Cheese and bringing it in for him to finally clear but dammit, his last assessment and adjustments made the dish come out to only 3 cups so it made the dish an extremely High cal yet very yummy dish.  And so, back to the drawing board and on Top of having to write up the menu and work out the nutrition analysis for all three courses I have to make the Mac & Cheese One more time.  Oh, did I mention that I had voluteered a few days prior to stay after school and help prep for the 21 Acres event?  Yeah, uh huh... I had a LOOOONG night ahead of me.

To be continued...

Well that's my blip for my BFFs today

Day Two Finals CF3B

Meh, My brain is full of air and is flatulating constantly during finals so far.  My 2nd Dish was late to the Pass  Heh, I didn't even know I was late to the pass until the Chef says to me, "this is the first time you've ever been late to the pass..."  "What?" I spin around and look at the clock and sure enough it's 2 minutes past cutoff time.   At this point I just want it to be over with.  I didn't even get upset about it being late.  All I have to say is, At least my Risotto wasn't "Crunchy" by the looks of the pots that I had to wash today. 

We had to make Stuffed chicken breast with pan sauce, Risotto, and grilled zucchini.  I stuffed my chicken with shallots, roasted red bell pepper, roasted garlic, mushroom and herbs mixed with goat cheese. 

This plate made it to the pass on time, and the mantra is Hot food Hot, Cold food Cold.  Well, my plate was so hot that the sauce was bubbling lol.  I tossed the plate in the oven and made my pan sauce but evidently it was in there too long and well, Chef told me that the plate was too hot lol as if I didn't know and all I could say was, "Okay Chef, Sorry Chef" and take my Hot plate back to the table with me and get ready to plate up my Osso buco.  The upside to this is that even after I cleared and washed the plate for the next round, it was still so hot that I didn't have to reheat it lol..."if you get lemons"...

The second dish was Osso Buco, which is a veal shank stew.  with whipped potatoes and a veg, so I opted to make Sautéed Green Beans.  Well, it was late to the pass so, no grade for that dish, but eh, I took it home and ate it for lunch and it was fine and dandy.  A little bland on the sauce but lol it mattereth not at this point.
And that's my blip for my  BFFs today.

Final Day One CF3B

Fabricate a chicken, check.  Make Basmati rice, check.  Roast Asparagus, check.  Make Ballontine, Check...  Then it was time to plate up.  Oops, dropped the ball.  I was right up to the minute to that pass and I was rushing to get my dishes plated that I forgot to TAAT my rice and I admit that my plate was lack luster. 

So a big sigh for the flop but I'm glad the first day is done and over with.  Who forgets to TAAT on a final?  Sheesh what a loser I am...

What's TAAT?  Taste Anylize Adjust & Taste.  Yep, my rice was bland.  Oh, what really sucked was while I was putting the sear on my chicken it started sticking a little and as I was moving it about the extra skin I used  that was tied on with butcher twine decided to come off the chicken and take the twine with it so I'm cooking the chicken and hoping my forcemeat stuffing doesn't just all ooze out of the rest of the chicken...

We also had a written test on measurement conversion and Erma the cow.  I believe I did well on it.  200 Question written test tomorrow... I hope I can focus on studying tonight.  I'm supposed to redo my Mac n Cheese dish from my flex assignment because the Chef didn't really like the taste of the cheeses he had me use due to a bitter after taste.  So, yes i'm cooking Mac n Cheese yet, again.  /sigh  I don't even like Mac n Chz. 

So, That's my blip for my BFFs today.

Whew...

And so we've come to the tailend of this term and next week is finals week.  There really has not been much to write on as this term has been mostly a review of techniques learned in our previous term.  Chef Frerichs is an Excellent instructor and this will be his last term as an instructor at Le Cordon Bleu.  He will be moving to New Jersey to Bigger and Brighter things.  His shoes will be EXTREMELY hard to fill. 

Last week Friday was one of the Worst days for me at school.  Things just didn't pan out as they should have, and my dish was late to the pass,  Never say Never because I never said it but I Never thought that I'd ever be late to the Pass.  So many things happened and I was so angry and when I get THAT angry, if I don't have an outlet like a punching bag per se, I just cry.  And so, the Chef calls me up to the Pass for the review of my dish and he's all "so, Talk to me Sol, what's going on, what happened?"  And I stand there and stand there and he says again, "talk to me."  So, of course the minute I open my mouth the floodgates open as well.  /sigh, I hate when that happens. 

So many times, I've prepped out my stuff and started something on the stove and then go to prep out my dish and when I'm ready to use that oh, hot pot of water that I put on the stove, or whatever it may be, I come to find that Oh, I can't use that pot of water because SOMEONE ELSE has decided that they need that pot of water too even though they didn't put it there in the first place, and it's "Oh, I'm sorry, was this yours?"
Now, normally I don't mind and I just get another pot going and I continue.  Well, on this particular day, there was some serious crunch time going on and that little extra minute was a minute too much.  

I get my plate up to the Pass late and ..."Sol, where's the sauce?"  OMG, WTF and so many other flourished verbatum passed my mind, I go to my sauce and the pan is totally dry.  In my haste to get my dish plated I, obviously, forgot about the sauce sOOOooo, I headed on back to the rack and whipped out ingredients to make another sauce. 

And so I'm done with venting to the Chef as quietly as I could muster and he looks up and says.  You have really good flavors on your dish.  And I'm thinking to myself, well, FAT lot of good these nice flavors are going to do me now especially since Late plates to the pass get no points... /sigh...

So I come home and I'm all pissy and Poor Darcy gets the story, and I get all upset again...Bah, I get over it and now we're at the end of Yet another week and here we are with the upcoming Finals week.   I had been at a B+ since the beginning of the term and we got our update on grades yesterday and to my surprise,  I'm at an A- now and I'm so surprised and pleased.  I was sure that I'd be at a B- or even a C after last Friday.

Today was another OMG kind of day but I'll save that for another day.

That's my blip for my BFFs today.

Catch Up!

So...'A family of three tomatoes were walking downtown one day when the little baby tomato started lagging behind. The big father tomato walks back to the baby tomato, stomps on her, squashing her into a red paste, and says, "Ketchup!" ...  Eh, corny, yes, but It's the joke that came to mind when I decided to write this blog, so, you get the pleasure of reading it because yes, I love to share corny jokes.

Catsup vs Ketchup, I'm a nerd and like to research these things therefore you too may benefit from my research because, Here you are reading my blog lol.  First of all this popular condiment was developed in during the Spanish-American war and Theodore Roosevelt discovered that it prevented Scurvy as well as it being the right consistency for Axle Grease...So, the Axles were well greased and the infantry men would fall behind so the drivers of the artillery carts would call out "catch up, catch up".  Well, at the same time, when the men would stop for the night the cats would lick at the axle grease and an unidentified artilary soldier wrote home saying, "You should see the local cats sup on our caisson grease".  And there you have it... Learn something new Every day. 

I made Ketchup today.  Samoans LOVE Catsup on EVERYTHING.  I myself have gotten away from it but yes I was one that used to use Ketchup on almost Everything.  And today I made my own Catsup from Scratch and it's Yummy.  Also Chef Frerichs brought in Jars for us to put our Ketchup in, yay us ... So... Here is the Recipe.  Do enjoy.  It's so simple and it tastes so much better than the store bought Heins or Hunts.  FYI btw, The "Unidentified" soldier was actually Mike Hunt who started Hunts and called it Catsup, Aaaand, William K. Heinz was an infantry Officer of the Spanish American war who heard the men cry out "Catch Up" and yes, he is "the" Heinz of Heinz 57.  And the tale continues but eh, you can read it on your own, I'm running out of time.

So, here is the recipe to...Tomato Jam lol.

20oz   Fine Chopped tomatoes
5oz     Sugar
3oz     Red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp   Cinnamon
Pinch    Cround cloves
3/4 tsp   Kosher Salt
3/4 tsp   Red Chili flakes

Put all the ingredients into a sauce pan and bring to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer.  Reduce it til it's a sticky, jammy mess.  (Yes, that's what it says on the recipe lol...) This will take between 1- 1 1/2 hours depending on how high you keep your heat... Stir regularly because this can easily burn... 

There you have it.  Now what I did was used and emulsion blender to smooth out the chunks of tomatoes.  Then I put it in my cute lil jar.  During our little round table discussion at the end of class, Chef wanted to see my little jar of Catketchup and as he looked at it he said it was "beautiful" lol I did have a nice deep red color to it... Oh,  What I did was I added a dab of Molasses to my concoction.  That's not in the recipe.  =}  and I used Canned tomatoes because they are picked at Peak season and are sweeter than the fresh tomatoes that you can buy at the market that are usually not quite ripe yet...


And that is my blip for my BFFs today.   Enjoy.

Ribeye, Carnitas, Amuse Bouche OH MY...

It was a full day of Crazy.  Ribeye Steaks, risotto, and Tomato Provencal for one dish and for the next we teamed up to make Pork Carnitas with Flour Tortillas, Guacamole, Salsa Cruda, and Poblano and Corn saute.  I teamed up with Richard, He made the tortillas, I made the guacamole, salsa and corn saute, then he built the Carnita and we plated it up together.  Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. 

Amuse Bouche, pronounced ah-mooz boosh, and means to amuse the mouth.  What is that you ask?  It's a One bite wonder.  A teaser gift from the Chef just to give you a taste of things to come.  The song "Anticipation" by Carly Simon just popped into my head lol.  So, we had to make one of these for the chef from what we had in the kitchen, so I took a slice of bagette and cut it to a tiny disc, put olive oil on it and popped it in the oven to toast.  Then I put guacamole on the bread, then salsa, fried up 3 slivers of bacon to top it... Well, the Chef liked it well enough lol.

The Tomato Provencal has a breading mixed with butter, herbs and seasoning, topping a tomato cut in half then baked in the oven until the tomato is tender.  Well, I put too much butter on my breading as per Chef.  Then I made a risotto and I do believe that the rice was made quite well and had a good creamy consistency to it but after all the testing to make sure the rice was done properly and making sure I had the right creamy consistency I forgot to Taste and season the stupid thing!  /sigh... Fail.  The steak on the other hand was grilled and finished off in the oven to medium.  Turned out well and was quite yummy when I took it home to share with Darcy.

So, good on the Amuse Bouche, Fail on the Steak dish but came back on the Carnitas dish.  All in all it was a Whole lot of crazy and plenty of dishes to was at the end of class.

I get inducted into the Ambassador Club tomorrow.  Tonight I made my Healthy Macaroni and Cheese dish and wrote it up and calculated all the Nutritional stats with the help of the resident Numbers wonder, Darcy.  I used Darcy as a guinea pig to taste it and it must have been good because she asked for seconds.  I'll get that recipe on the Blog soon.  I'm going to take it in to the Chef and see if he likes it and tell me if I need to make any adjustments.

Thats my Blip for my BFFs today.

Curve Ball...

So we made 2 stews, pasta from scratch and rice... The rice was the easiest thing for me and well the stews really weren't too bad.  The Ass Kicker was the curve ball.  What's a curve ball?  Well for those of you who watch the food channel you know what it is... It's that mystery basket item that you have to make on Top of what you already have on the menu...

So, Chef says, "you have a choice, #1 or #2"  Then he puts us to a vote and majority voted for #1.  "Okay, get to work, I'll announce it later."  (moans all around)  So off we go, baddabing baddaboom, I'm sweating away over the stove and Chef gets on the intercom,  "Ok, for your curve ball I want you to make me an Appetizer salad with vinaigrette, and I don't want just a simple vinaigrette.  You have 10 minutes"  MmmmHmmm, it was RUN FORREST RUUUUN!!! Bottle neck at the refrigerator, someone grabs the WHOLE BAG of greens and off she went, people scratching and pulling and BAM the Stock container falls and splashes, I pick it up and go off to get a mop...Yep I come back and they are just stepping ALL over the spilled goods. "Excuse me, can I get in here with the mop?"  sheesh...I decide I'm going to start on my vinaigrette and not get run over by stampeeding cooks. 

Eh, I get my salad made and back to the stews...I'm sweatin', I'm cookin, I'm pressed for time.  I'm just about to plate up my stew for my assigned 1200 Pass time and..."So nice of you to pick #1 but guess what, You have to do #2 as well, I want a 2 egg omelette in 15 minutes and I want NO COLOR."  @@ stay calm, stay calm... I finish plating up my stuff because he then says "Team 5 it's time to bring up your plates to the pass... Sol, are you ready?"  "Yes Chef, Coming Chef..."  And up I go with my plate. (wipes brows)

I go and get my 2 eggs, go next door to get an egg pan.  Pan is on the stove, heat, Oil, heat, Crack, Beat, Season, Eggs into the pan, stirstirstirstirstirstir...Add oil, scrape, scrap, tap tap tap, Fold egg over, grab plate, roll the egg onto the plate, Big Baddaboom, I'm done.  Up to the pass I go.

OMG Still one more Dish, it's AFTER 1200 and I Still need to get my Pasta made and it's due up to the pass On or Before 1230...All Together Now...RUN FORREST RUUUUUN!!!  Flour on the table, make my volcano, salt, egg yolks, oil, and water. stirstirstirstirstir, kneadkneadkneadknead, flour table, rollrollrollrollroll, pastry wheel zips through the dough and Off to the Hot Pot of water goes my Parpadelle pasta and...OMG earlier, Kristina didn't have Boiling Water on the stove and asks to use mine and now IT'S 1225..."KRISTINA, DO SOMETHING WITH THIS PASTA!!!"  Yes, I'm sweating bibi pellets.  Thank God pasta cooks extremely fast when it's fresh..."Everybody Needs to get their Rabbit Stew to the Pass in 2 minutes."  "Yes Chef."   All Together Now, Baddabing Baddaboom, Up to the pass my Rabbit on Pasta goes. 

I've never been so happy to be done cooking in my life.  The pressure, the pressure and it was so Fun LOL...All in all my dishes were pretty good and Chef told me that it was time I started playing around with spices a little more.  And I was like, ? you couldn't tasted the cumen?  And he said, "no no no, this is a good thing, I mean that you're ready to take it to the next level."  "Ah, Okay Chef, Thank you Chef..."

And so, to conclude my Blog for today I'm very Happy to announce that after applying and being interviewed, I and 2 other classmates have been accepted into the schools Ambassador Club to represent the School at various functions and volunteer projects as well as help out new students.  (takes a bow)  Thank you very much.

And that is my Blog for my BFFs today.

Wascally Wabbit

Today we learned how to fabricate Rabbit and remove the membrane from Thymus gland aka Sweetbreads from calves...

Mmmmhmmm...I am not looking forward to trying the Sweetbread.  It's a delicacy that's a delicate matter with me, this is the part of cooking that I really was Not looking forward to.  We must taste EVERYTHING... ={ 

The Thymus gland is found only in young calves as when they mature the gland disappears.  So, why is it called Sweetbread?  Honestly, would you sit down at a restaurant and look at the menu and think to yourself, "hmmm, I think I'll have the Thymus gland.  It's sounds really yummy..."  I think not!  It is simply for the marketabilty of this delicacy...  "mmmmm Sweetbread!"   ...

And so we had our lecture today and Up pops a picture of a cute wittle Bunny wabbit and then right next to it was a picture of rabbit stew...We had Chef Mullins come into our class today to show us how to fabricate Rabbit.  He's our resident Expert butcher.  I'm surprised at myself because I had no qualms about putting the blade to the bunny to fabricate it, especially after seeing that cute little bunny picture.

We're making stew with both these items tomorrow.  I've never had rabbit  before and I'm kind of looking forward to trying it, unlike it's partner in crime Sweetbreads...  So, on the menu for tomorrow it's Sweetbread stew with Basmati rice and Rabbit stew with Parpadelle pasta.  I'm thinking that they are trying to get us to learn how to make stew because this is like, oh I think, the 5th stew dish we've made this term.  And really, how many times can one write a blog about stewing?... /sigh

That's my blip for my BFFs today.