Yeast
 Matt H
 Class 8
 The yeast breads were very fun to make. We made pizza. We also made rolls (Or attempted to). Another thing we made were pretzels. The rolls turned into one solid piece of bread. The pizza was grilled before it was baked. The pizza was really delicious. We also made our own sauce. The sauce was my favorite part of the pizza. The pretzels we made were also very good. We put them in water with baking soda. Then after that we put them in the oven. My pretzels had salt on them. The only bad part of the pretzels was the cleaning up part. The rolls were by far the worst yeast meal we had. Mixing the dough, we grabbed a bowl that was too small for it. It almost overflowed. Then it went smooth until the baking. We were able to make the rolls effectively and put them onto the pan. The only problem was we didn't space them out enough. When we started to bake them, they all combined into one solid piece of bread. The rolls were a failure, but we were still able to make bread.
  

Emily Toby Ms. Hoagland Culinary 1, Class 8 November 17, 2013 Yeast Breads “From where I stood, the field stretched west to the bluish ridge of the Coast Range, a shimmering blonde avenue of lawn. If you stand in a wheat field at this time of year, a few weeks before harvest, it's not hard to imagine you’re looking at something out of mythology: all this golden sunlight brought down to earth, captured in kernels of gold, and rendered fit for morals to eat. But of course this is no myth at all, just the plain miraculous fact” (Pollan 289). Thus ends the chapter on bread in Michael Pollan’s wonderful book, Cooked. During this unit, we explored different types of yeast bread and different methods of cooking them. Two recipes we prepared were soft pretzels and rolls. They were polar opposites in success; the pretzels were beautiful and tasted delicious, and the rolls turned out unattractive but yummy. The rolls became unappealing when we took the plastic wrap off. We should have taken it off right after they came out of the refrigerator, but we waited until just before we put them in the oven. The dough stuck to the plastic, revealing the bubbly, airy surface underneath. When we baked them, they weren’t smooth and round, but blob shaped and varying thicknesses. However, they still tasted delicious, especially with butter and jam! The pretzels were more successful. We cooked these differently than the other yeast breads; first boiling them in two quarts of water and ½ cup of baking powder, then letting them bake completely in the oven. Afterwards, we drizzled them in butter and cinnamon sugar, and they came out delicious. It was my favorite bread we prepared this unit.

The yeast unit was one of my favorites. Everything we made was really good. The pizza was good especially since we made our own sauce. The dough was also fun to make since we got to knead it ourselves. Cooking the dough on the grill made it taste really good even thought I burnt myself at least five times. The pretzels were even better. They tasted just as good as Auntie Anne's. It was cool to make then dough and roll them into the shape. I always thought it was so complicated to roll them into the pretzel shape. When we let the dough sit over night it rose and they became really fluffy and airy. My group baked ours to perfection and they were so good. The final thing we made in the yeast unit was bread. It wasn't my favorite of the three thought came out really good even though the dough stuck to the plastic wrap. My group was still able to salvage a few rounded pieces of bread. The bread definitely had a yeast taste but it wasn't too strong. The bread was really good with jam and was crunchy on the outside and moist on the inside.

The yeast unit went well for the most part. The recipes all came out the right way and tasted delicious except for the rolls. Although the rolls tasted good they ended up not really being rolls. Overnight the rolls rose and touched the plastic wrap that was covering them. When we pulled the plastic wrap off the dough stuck to it and also the rolls stuck to each other. When we took them out of the oven the dough was one big piece. It was not a problem however. The recipe for the rolls was very simple, it was only four ingredients that all got mixed together to make the dough. We did not have a problem with making the dough. The grilled pizza was one of the best things that we have made this year. In the first class we made the dough and sauce and the next class we grilled the dough with olive oil and then added sauce and cheese and then baked it. My dough got stuck to the pan so it was a weird shape but it still tasted good. We made soft pretzels by making the dough and then boiling them for about 30 seconds in water with baking soda. After that we put them in the oven. When they came out we brushed them with melted butter and put cinnamon and sugar on. They were delicious and cooked perfectly. Overall the yeast unit was delicious and we all learned lessons about how to store and handle dough. Camden F.

Overall, I would say that the quick bread unit was successful and interesting. We learned a lot about how yeast will affect different products. The first quick bread we made was pizza dough. In this recipe we allowed the yeast to bloom in warm water, and “activate”. We then added other ingredients such as flour, salt, and baking powder. After we mixed the dough we put it on a floured surface and kneaded it until it was no longer sticky and had a uniform consistency. The dough was placed in the refrigerator overnight and when we took it out the next day, we found that it had risen substantially. After each rolling out the dough, we brushed a little bit of olive oil on it and put it on the grill. It firmed up and became the perfect base for sauce and cheese. The next quick bread we made was soft pretzels. This process was a little bit more difficult that the pizza, but still fun and interesting. We started off the same way as the pizza dough by letting the yeast bloom/activate in warm water, and then added the other ingredients. But this time, the dough was very sticky and we wound up having to add an extra two cups of flour than what the recipe instructed. We learned that temperature and humidity play a large roll when making quick breads. Also, when making the pretzel dough, instead of using a mixing bowl and wooden spoon, we used an electric mixer, which made it easier to create a uniform consistency. The hardest part about making the pretzels was shaping the dough. We rolled out “worms” of dough, made it into a “U” shape then twisted the top and folded it over. It was a tedious process and hard to get the pretzels to look aesthetically pleasing. We wound up having to put the pretzels into the refrigerator overnight and covered them with saran wrap. They rose so much that we had to re-roll each pretzel the next day. To cook the pretzels we boiled them in water with baking soda. It was crucial to add the baking powder to the boiling water and not pretzel dough. We boiled them for 30 seconds and then put them on a buttered baking sheet. We baked them in the oven for 8 minutes. We finished them off with melted butter, cinnamon and sugar. Even though we had minor issues, the end result was successful and the pretzels turned out very well. Our final quick bread was a “no-knead” sourdough bread. For this recipe we combined all the dry ingredients including yeast and then added water to the dry mixture. We combined the ingredients in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon. Our mixture was too moist so we had to add a couple more cups of flour. On a floured surface, we formed balls of dough by pushing and pulling the pieces of dough using the traction of the wooden table to make them smooth. This was a very difficult process. We then covered the bread with saran wrap again and let the bread sit for another day before baking. The day we were to make the bread, it had been warming on top of the oven and had risen a lot so most of the individual balls stuck together forming a “blob” of bread. We didn’t have time to recreate the balls/rolls, and so we baked them as is in the oven. In the end the bread had a good taste and consistency but did not look aesthetically pleasing. Overall, I enjoyed the quick bread unit and feel that over time, our quick bread skills will continue to improve. Celia G

Broccoli Blue Cheese Soup For the Stock unit we first started learning about how to make stocks then we started learning about the different techniques needed. We learned that sweating vegetables when you put vegetables in a fat over low heat that eventually allows them to release moisture. Also mirepoix is chopped vegetables and herbs that you can add to stock to add different colors, flavors and nutrients. For our first soup we made broccoli blue cheese soup. Our soup had a nourishing element of broccoli and blue cheese which was the most important ingredient in our stock. First we started with a pot and putting out bouquet garni and we let that simmer then we put in our liquid and after adding other ingredients we let it sit. After that we then pureed it and lastly put our garnish on top. If I were to make this soup again I would like to correct my errors by tasting everything as we go to make sure we have enough of each ingredient so that it could add certain textures and flavors. In our broccoli blue cheese soup it said to add a certain amount of blue cheese but we only did half of it and it ended up tasting just like broccoli which wasent suppose to happen. In our second soup, we experimented. We took potatoes and chopped them into medium size rectangles then we diced carrots, jalapeno, and onions. We put our chicken stock into a pot and then through in the carrots and potatos. We applied the mirepoix technique. While that was happening we then went on and sauted the onions and jalapenos until they were crispy and tender and then we added them to the rest of the stock. Then after our stock cooked for a bit we then pureed it and added the finishing touches. - Leah C.

Making stock is new to me. I don’t do too much cooking at home. After making the stock and researching recipes that used chicken stock as the base I realized how important stock can be for cooking. I learned how nourishing elements was a key to the flavor of the liquid. So was the mirepoix and the boquet garni. I enjoyed learning and making the stock along with making the soup. I learned how the nourishing elements helped flavor it by simmering it for a while the straining everything out at the end with a chinois. My group and I had fun chopping all of the vegetables for the stock also for the soup we made with the stock. It smelled so good especially with so many people making stocks at once. Butchering the chicken was fun since I was the only one in my group that would even touch it. It was much easier than I thought. I learned the difference between stock and broth as well. They always seemed to me to be the same thought I learned that a stock is more of a watery based liquid and the solids are strained out. A broth is less watery and not all of the solids including meat and vegetables are strained out. -Tommy E

This marking period we worked on soups and sauces. We started by making stock. Stock is made by taking a liquid and adding a nourishing element, bouquet garni made with cheesecloth, and mire poix. The mixture simmers and then is strained through a chinois to get the liquid by itself. The stock our group made came out well and we did not run into any problems. The soup that our group chose to make was minestrone. Again we did not run into any problems and the soup was delicious. As a group we decided to add bacon bits at the end of the cooking time although the recipe did not call for it. The bacon added a lot of flavor and made the soup even better. I think it was good that we decided to change the recipe and we learned that the recipe does not have to be followed in order for the food to taste good. The puree had a different outcome. When we made this soup we tried to make it with sweet fruits and vegetables such as mango, corn and carrot. Although it smelled delicious the one jalapeno pepper we added overpowered everything and made the whole soup taste terrible. It was very bland and had a bad taste so we experimented with different seasonings and ingredients to make it taste better. Although in the end nobody was able to eat it. We learned that all the ingredients should get along and sweet foods don’t usually have a strong flavor. At the end we garnished it with parsley and mixed in chicken. The last soup we made came out perfectly. The tomato soup was a simple soup that didn’t need a lot of preparation or effort. It looked like it came out perfectly although nobody tasted it. We did not run into any problems and the group worked efficiently. Camden F.

Robert K


To begin the soup and stock unit we made chicken stock. In this stock we included chicken breast, the bones and everything. I have made soup before but I never made a stock. I thought it was very interesting that there are so many steps and ingredients to make a liquid. I learned how to make a bouquet garni to help season the stock. A garni is a bundle of fresh herds and vegetables tied with twine. This stock was the base for our chicken and sausage gumbo that we were going to make. I had never made gumbo before so this was all new to me. A challenge that our group had was making the roux for the gumbo. The roux is supposed to be thick and creamy while ours had a mashed potatoes consistency. The roux was supposed to be cooked for a hour before anything else but because we only had a total of two hours to make the soup we had to improvise. We cooked some vegetables ahead of time and we used precooked chicken. My group was skeptical to how the soup would turn out but in the end it was a success. The sausage and chicken was cooked perfectly while the spices and chicken stock added a kick. The final sou we made was a vegetable puree consisting of many different things. There were potatoes, caramelized onions, apple slices, celery, spices and herbs. To start off we made a mirepoix, a mixture of coarsely chopped vegetables and herbs. Using the mirepoix we added the caramelized onions and then pureed it, then adding apple chunks to to it off. In my opinion I thought the soup wasn't that good. I thought it was too bland, while some of the group thought it was really good. Vegetable soups just aren't my thing, I need a soup to have noodles and/or some type of meat.

Who doesn’t love soup? During this unit, we learned all about different ways to prepare soup and the main ingredients in a soup. We made chicken broth, chicken and sausage gumbo, and a vegetable purée soup. We learned about the different elements of soup, including mirepoix and bouquet garni. All of our recipes turned out pretty well. We made stock as a base liquid for our other two soups, gumbo and a vegetable purée soup. To add flavor to the soup, we made a bouquet garni out of cheesecloth and herbs and added a nourishing element of chicken meat and bones. When we made gumbo, we made a roux with flour and butter, and cooked meat and vegetables to add to it. Before serving, we garnished it with chopped parsley. The next dish we made, vegetable purée soup, was a bit more creative. We chose any leftover vegetables from the previous soups we made, and sweat them. Then we simmered them in chicken broth and then puréed them to make a creamy potato and vegetable soup. I chose to make a carrot and squash soup. From soup to nuts, this unit was souper fun and educational. I learned all about the methods and elements of the food, and got more comfortable preparing soup on my own. My favorite soup that I made was the chicken and sausage gumbo, which was delicious and more challenging to make than the vegetable soup. This unit was a great start to an exciting new class! Emily T.

I think the whole soups and stock unit went well. There were little to no errors and if there were errors, it wasn't an extreme error. While making the stock, I learned several new techniques like how to add spices (bouquet garni) using a cheese cloth and adding the mirepoix which was the vegetables. In our stock, then nourishing element was chicken, and once the stock had a chance to simmer and absorb the spices, it was liquid. We made broccoli blue cheese soup for one of our dishes and for that, we made a little mistake by adding the ingredients incorrectly. We were supposed to add the broccoli last and add the other ingredients before that, but we ended up adding them all at the same time. It wasn't a big deal because almost all of the vegetables needed the same amount of time cooking anyways, but we've learned to read the recipes thoroughly. In our recipe for that soup, it also said we have to purée it, so once it was all cooked, we put the hand blender in the pot and let it turn into liquid with very little chunks. When we made the soup out of random vegetables, we chose to make a carrot and potato soup with hot sauce in it. This turned out a bit better than the other one because we didn't have any mistakes. There was no recipe, so we just did what we thought was right and what would taste good, and to our surprise it all worked. We didn't really garnish our work, for we didn't think it needed to be garnished because we were the only ones eating it. For the most part, this unit was good and a well learned experience. I think we did a good job executing the recipes and working as teams. Samantha D.

When we started the stocks and soups unit, we made a chicken stock using the carcass of a chicken, and various vegetables. We also used a bouquet garni that was created by wrapping bay, thyme, and parsley in a cheese clothe. We put it into the stock to flavor it. I learned that certain parts of the chicken are used to go into the stock as flavoring, and which parts are used as the nutritional element in the soup. The second soup that we created was a recipe of our choice. We came up with the recipe, and wrote down the necessary ingredients. Then when we had reached our misonplas by gathering all the materials, we began the recipe. The roux that the recipe called for was a strange consistency, it was thicker and there was way more than we needed for the gumbo recipe we chose. So we only used a small portion of it. When we had finished the recipe, we figured out that we had added too much chicken, so it over powered the soup. If I had to give it a rating out of 10 stars, I would give it 8.5 stars. It was a good soup, it just took some altering to the recipe to create the desired taste and texture. Next, we had the challenge of creating a chicken- stock based soup, just using our knowledge of cooking. We added many different kinds of ingredients that are not typically found together in a dish. For example, sautéed onions, sautéed apples, celery, carrots, thyme, and potatoes. The soup turned out to be pretty good in the end. We did a lot of experimenting with flavors and we learned from other groups that the poultry should be added to the soup after the cooked vegetable and various ingredients are puréed. Throughout this unit, I learned that sometimes, going on your senses alone can turn out well. The uncommon ingredients that we combined turned into a very good soup. Being creative can actually work in your favor sometimes. - Mary-Kate M.

Peanut butter soup

            We were told that we were to make soup for culinary class. Now, I love soup, so I was pretty excited myself, but the soup we chose kind of turned me away from the project. The soup that was chosen for us was peanut butter soup. It sounds awful I know, but the end result actually surprised me!       We started out with the basic ingredients: carrots, bell peppers, parsley, chicken, celery, potatoes, zucchini, and some other spices. We first cut up our main ingredients, and put them into separate hotel pans. After that we gathered up some chicken broth and brought it to a simmer, and then my teammates added the veggies while sautéed some chicken. After placing the chicken in, we put in about a fourth of a cup of peanut butter. And let that simmer while adding some salt/pepper to the mix. When the soup was done I was a bit hesitant to try it, but when I did, it was instantly one of my favorite soups. I would recommend this soup to anyone who wants to try something new, and have a developed enough palette to appreciate it.

Tyler R.

This past Memorial Day, I had the delight of eating a strawberry parfait for the first time ever.  It was wonderfully tasty with creame, fresh strawberries and little bits of cake.  It was delicious.  I had two servings, thats how fabulous it was.  But I don't think it would be hard to make, therefore I think I might try and make it at home soon. I wish  I had made this instead of a lemon meringue pie for the baking and pastry final last semester.  It probably would have been alot easier then trying to whip the meringue. 

Meagan F.

Peaches Corner

In Myrtle Beach on vacation, my family and I decided to go out to eat. We didn’t really want anything fancy, just something to stop the rumbling in our stomachs. So, we hit up a local burger joint. The restaurant on the corner of the main road in Myrtle Beach was named Peaches Corner. Though nothing on the menu involved peaches at all, it really fit the warm climate in Myrtle Beach. I ordered a double cheeseburger with lettuce, mayo, and ketchup and a side of French fries. A simple meal that you can’t really mess up on. I bit into the burger and was momentarily paralyzed at how wonderful it was. The bun was toasted perfectly, and the burger was cooked outstandingly well. The fries were crispy on the outside, with a crunch, but soft on the inside. The burger was nice and juicy, making every other burger I’ve ever tasted (Five Guys, Mr. Mac’s) seem boring and plain. With free refills on a cup of soda the size of a double gulp from 7-eleven, The Peaches Corner in Myrtle Beach did everything right. This restaurant earns a 10/10 in my book everyday.

~Michael C. Davenport 

This past weekend my sister who lives in Minnesota was in town, and of course on Sunday it was Mother's Day! My Grandma lives right outside of NYC and my other sister goes to college in the city, so my mom decided that we would have a family dinner in the city at this restaurant called Dresner's Restaurant and Bar. Located at 1479 York Avenue, this Irish Pub that has been open for 94 years, was a really nice place to have dinner with my family on Mother's Day. It was not fancy or super casual-somewhere in the middle. The place serves American and international cuisine. For an appetizer, my mom got a caesar salad and gave me a little bit of it. It was a good salad, and I am pretty picky when it comes to salads because I hate a lot of dressing. However, the amount of dressing was perfect. The dressing itself was also very good. I am very particular about caesar dressing because I hate when it is noticeably "fishy." This dressing however was not fishy. The salad overall, from the little I had, was very good and I would recommend it. For dinner, I ordered the turkey burger. I am not a red meat kind of person, so when I saw that they had a turkey burger I was pleased. The burger came with some fixings on the side, and was very big to say the least. I barely ate half of it! The burger part itself was very thick, but had a lot of flavor! The bun was toasted and they went very well together! It is an entree that I would most definitely recommend. My family ordered many other seafood dishes-crab cakes, shrimp scampi, calamari. They all loved their food too! The restaurant was very nice and welcoming. It was small and personal. In addition, the service was very good as well. Our waiter was very kind and quick! I recommend that if you ever find yourself near york and hungry, that you walk in and try this place!
-Lindsay B.

Alright, so continuing with Mrs. Hoagland's streak of giving me bizarre and strange-looking roots to make something out of, this month was no exception. I was handed a small oddly shaped root, resembling a miniature ginger root, yet the insides were the color of a carrot. I spent a while looking for a recipe, many were very foreign, flavors I might only find in Thailand, until I stumbled across a kind of dressing used on dessert fruit salads in Thailand, and it captivated my interest, I set off combining ingredients like orange concentrate, a paste made from the root which I soaked in water for about 10 mins, sugar, oil, vinegar, into what looked like a strange concoction. I will have to admit, I was pretty nervous as to it's outcome, but when I tasted it, it was pleasantly appetizing, with many dimensions of flavor, sweet, sour, savory, and would definitely taste very good marinaded with pineapple of fruit cocktail. I'll try to bring it in tomorrow as long as I don't forget it in my fridge!! -Bryce D

This last month, my mom visited my older sister in North Carolina who was having her baby. When she came back home, she brought back a present for me: Blair's After Death Hot Sauce with Liquid Fire. I have always considered myself a patron of the world of spice: I've eaten a raw red Thai pepper (I wouldn't recommend it!), but I wondered if I would ever use my new bottle of After Death sauce... The bottle itself is laced with warning labels and cautions. I was eager to see just how hot it was however, and my curiosity got the best of me. I pooped open the box, pulled out the bottle, and unscrewed the cap. I took a single drop of the inside of the cap on the tip of my finger, and barely touched it to my tongue. I couldn't feel anything at first, but after about two seconds my mouth erupted in searing fury. It went numb before long, and I downed a glass of milk to try to quell my pain. It subsided a little while later, and I put it in the fridge without any plans to use it. However, a few days later, we were having tacos for dinner, and I have always drenched my tacos in hot sauce in hopes of making a taco hot enough to satisfy me. I found my After Death sauce in the door of the fridge, and very sparingly put a few drops on my taco. I took my first bite and was amazed by the awesome flavor combined with the searing heat. It was my perfect taco. It hurt like crazy, but it was absolutely delicious! I love habanero spices and sauces now, and I have some seriously spicy tacos nowadays. The slogan of Blair's Hot Sauces and Spices is "Feel Alive", and I definitely feel more alive. -Sam G.

I was given a tamarind root sometime during the past week and I was told “make something out of this for your blog”. After extensive research and multiple tries, I’ve learned that Worcestershire sauce is really, really annoying and time consuming to make. Aside from Worcestershire sauce, the Tamarind root can be used in some herbal medicines. It has a wide variety of uses in Culinary, ranging from juices to jams to ice cream to Worcestershire sauce. You can also make Tamarind candies such as the Tamarind Ball from Trinidad & Tobago. -Cameron Partrick

I do not understand avocados. I enjoy eating them but....what are they? I mean, most everyone has a basic understanding of food. Cheese is simple. Chocolate is great. Apples are good. But avocados. Is it a fruit? Is it a vegetable? Why does it taste like egg? Who the hell designed and why aren't we shunning them? To begin, we have the avocado itself, which is a usually a pear shaped thing with a thick dull green skin. The skin is very tough like an orange but not really as pliant. We are also not sure if it is a fruit or a vegetable. Yet. Avocados are also pretty intimidating to cut. do you slice it up (no) or cut it down the middle (not bad) or peel it with a peeler (oh god, no. just get out of the kitchen now)? No, you have to slice this little androgynous thing down the middle, curving around this really awkward center. You don't try and cut to the center open because you will lose your fingers in the process. Just don't even try it. Now you have to twist the the avocado apart, and you have two nice halves of an avocado. Yay!and whats this a seed?! Yes, an avocado has a seed therefore it is a fruit even though it does not taste like a fruit and is made up of mostly fat. Its like the black sheep of the fruit family. So you have two halves of avocado, one half with a little bowling of a nut stuck smack dab in the middle. I swear to god, the avocado nut is the most annoying thing in the world. Half of you just wants it out of the flesh but, you also don't want to ruin the smoothness either. I kind of....sort of...hit the nut with a knife and it pulls right out. So you have this nut now. Just throw it out. Its nut. What are you going to do with a nut? Now here's the fun part. You get to scoop out the soft avocado stuff. I don't know why but I just get such a kick from scooping out the avocado meat. You can also remove the skin easily now by simply ripping it away; since you cut the avocado in half, you don't have to worry about bruising the meat. In this way the avocado retains its curve. Yay, curves! If you wanna make a sandwich, you can slice it up like this. Very good with turkey. And tomatoes. And salads. And chicken breast. Avocados also have this weird flavor. Even though they are fruit, they are not water based and are mostly fat. Because of this they do not taste refreshing in the classical sense of the world. No, instead, the avocado has a creamy egg flavor. It is indulgent yet cool like a cucumber. It goes good with spicy food and strong flavors because its flavor is just so mellow. Aesthetically, it blends really well with the brighter redder colors spicy food tends to have. Cayenne, tomato, onion are forever the avocados' best friend in the kitchen. Cilnatro is its adopted twin. Lime juice is its sassy gay friend. Together they make guacamole which is just amazing. And for the record, everything I learned from avocados I got from this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNJdJIwCF_Y you should really watch it. -Gabriela P.

While on spring break i went to an amazing restaurant in Florida called Snook Haven. It was heaven! The locals call it old Florida. It is seated right next to a river that is filled with alligators! It features local entertainment such as various banjo players. And as far as the food, it might be the best thing i have ever tasted. Even just starting with the drinks. I ordered a sweet tea assuming it would be nestea or some name brand, but no, it was freshly brewed true sweet tea. I couldn't stop drinking it! I think i must have gone trough a whole pitcher; it must have been the best thing i have ever drank. Now onto the food, i ordered the shrimp and chips, which came with another side dish so i also got baked mac and cheese. I did not have a single complain about anything, and the portions where so generous i couldn't complain. The chips where so delicious, they where home made and the perfect crispiness and thickness. And they had all these homemade hot sauces you could use! I tried a little of each on a chip till i found my favorite (which was the sweetest one they had). Then after i devoured most of the chips i moved onto the shrimp them self. Words cant even describe how perfect the batter on the shrimp was. It had so a deep flavor yet, it was so light and not greasy at all, and it had the perfect crispiness. Just the sight of the shrimp itself was mouth watering. And lastly was the mac and cheese. It had such a great combo of gooey cheesiness balanced with backed crispiness. Ad surprisingly, it just harmonized with everything else on the plate. Over all i would definitely eat there again and i will most definitely start eat more southern comfort foods. -Bailey S

A few weeks ago My family and I spent a day in the city. We tried see as much as possible, and coincidentaly as we were getting hungry little Italy was close by. Much arguing was going on as we tried to choose a restraunt to eat at. I follow my dad up and down streets, finally we turned around this corner and the smell was amazing. I traced the smell back to this little pizza/bakery take out place. It was fresh dough almost with a sweet smell to it accopanied by a rich and authentic tomato sauce much different than what I'm used to topped with the perfect amount of cheese. And what made it better, everyone recieved their own mini pizza in a bag similar to soft pretzels. It was easily the best pizza I have ever had and possibly the most mouth watering meal I have had in Little Italy -Ryan Pisani

I'm not a big fan of messy eating and getting all dirty with finger foods, but when it comes to sloppy joes I can't resist. Sloppy joes are probably one of my favorite finger foods. I don't know why but I love it when its really messy. An interesting thing that I did before was instead of using the sloppy joe sauce for the beef of the sloppy joe try using the sauce for spaghetti it's actually pretty good. It's like sloppy joe but its spaghetti. There once was a bar in Florida that was called sloppy joes and they say that they had the sandwich made there too. Sloppy joe is known as fast food selling product. Making your own sloppy joe is simple, but the sauce might be hard, that's why today if you go to your local grocery store you'll find Manwich which is a sloppy joe sauce. The ingredients for the sloppy joe sauce are extra virgin olive oil, onion diced, bell pepper diced, minced garlic, ground turkey, canned pureed tomatoes, BBQ sauce, ketchup, white vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, brown mustard, and finally chile garlic sauce. All these ingredients may sound bizarre, but they make the sloppy joe amazing! Is that why the sauce is kind of dense? Anyways,you should really try the sauce with spaghetti with meat in it. Its so good. ~Mirna M.

The other day for dinner I had steak fajitas for dinner, with Mexican rice. I started it off by marinating the steak with a lime-cilantro marinade, and let it sit for half an hour. Then I threw the steak on the grill and cooked at medium temperature for about 4 minutes each side. Meanwhile I had cut up some onions and peppers, and then proceeded to sauté over medium heat. Once the steak was done I took it off the grill and cut it up into slices. I mixed it in with the peppers and onion, as well as added in some jalapeños. I then lowered the temperature and mixed in a packet of seasoning with the fajitas. After that I added some water in to make it a little liquidier and kept the food warm while I prepared everything else. I had also been cooking some rice on the side for the meal. Finally I heated up some tortillas in the microwave to have the fajita mix on. It turned out to be very good, I’d never had steak fajitas before only chicken. I would definitely make it again sometime. Jack B

Nicholas Carozza

Last weekend was my cousin’s communion so when there is a communion, there most likely is an after party. So I thought it would be cool to make a chocolate rapture with homemade ice cream. Now to make a chocolate rapture you need 21 ½ oz of brownie mix, 2 two ounce chocolate mousse mixes, 12 oz of cool whip, 8 14 oz heath bars (basically any chocolate bar you want) and 1 cup of chopped pecans. Before I say how the dish is created it serves a lot of 15-20 people so it’s not all for just one person. First what you do is make the brownies and let them cool down. You get a big serving dish its hard to describe what it looks like but if you think of a cake dish with a clear pot on top, that what it sort of looks like. So lets get back to actually constructing the cake. On the bottom layer you put down half of the brownies. (The brownies should be crushed up) Then you make half of the mousse and pour it on the crushed brownies. Next you cover the mousses with half of the cool whip. On top of the cool whip you can sprinkle a lot or a little of whatever candy bar you want. Then you repeat this process one more time until so the bowl is filled. Once you have completed all of these steps put the chocolate rapture in the fridge and let it chill over night so it is easier to serve. Next I made homemade ice cream. To do this I got 2 cups of heavy cream, 1 14 oz can of condensed milk, 3 tablespoons of melted butter, ½ tsp of ground cinnamon and ½ tspn of vanilla extract. What I did was whipped the heavy cream until it became still and would stick to the sides of the bowl. Then I combined the milk, butter, cinnamon and vanilla until they were all mixed well. Then I mixed both of the bowls together until it was stiff and put them in the freezer for 6 hours. (I know this sounds like a small recipe and it is, I might have doubled or tripled it but that is what the recipe I have looks like.) 

Every year when I go spring skiing at Killington VT we always make an effort to eat at The Garlic since it’s a great restaurant. After you order your food the waiter comes back with bread and garlic. Its roasted garlic so it loses most of its potent smell and taste but it’s easily spreadable. After that your dinner comes. I ordered wild mushroom pasta. It had an Alfredo type sauce with wild mushrooms and penne pasta. Then for desert I ordered 3 layered chocolate mousse cake with white and dark chocolate mousse and a bottom layered ganache. My sister ordered tiramisu and that was delicious also. Michael B.

I was in New York City for the weekend about 3 months ago and Mrs. Hoagland told my mom before we went to try the Meatball shop in New York City. I figured if Mrs. Hoagland said its really good then it has to be. So the first night were there, we decide to try it. We had to wait a little bit because it was crowded but I knew it was going to be good because it was already crowded at 5. We finally get seated and I ordered the meatball parmesan. The food come and it looked so good. Every bite I took the food kept getting better. It also came with salad and it was very good. It was a bit different then your ordinary salad but it was just as good. When I finished with my dinner, I ordered desert. I ordered a chocolate chip cookie sandwich with vanilla ice cream in the middle. This was one of the best deserts I’ve ever had. This was probably one of the best restaurants I’ve ever been too. The next time I go to the city, I’m definitely going to go to the Meatball shop again. Michael P

This weekend I had a wonderful dinner. I had fish in chips from from Two Little Fishes in Rhode Island. when they make the fis in chip you get to see how they make the fish the fry it then they bake them. When you order the fish and chips dinner you get fish and chips, frys, colsla, and tarter sause. I Injoy the restrant because it is right on the water and it has good food. by Andy DeWolfe

My Mango Madness

Last Monday my mom bought a bunch of mangos. I was so excited to have one that day. It had been a while since I had eaten one. I asked her if I could have one and she said, "they're not ready yet. Give it at least 2 days to rippen. So I waited 2 days to pass while my madness for a mango got worse. Finally I could have one. There is no easy way to cut a mango and when you do it never looks right. That didn't matter to me. I just wanted mango. My mom started cutting the mango up and she could immediately tell by looking at it that it looked like it was not good to eat. She ended up throwing them all out. I was so disappointed because I wanted to have a mango. My mom knew I was mad about mangos so she went out and bought new ones. This time I decided to cut up the mango. I knew I would eat the mango whether it was good or bad. I didn't even care. I just wanted mango! Luckily this one was good. When I started cutting into my first mango, it had been so long, I was so eager that I accidently ate a piece of the mango skin. Obviously, I wasn't suppose to eat the skin but at that point I didn't care. It still tasted good. I was so crazy for mango that when I continued to cut the mango I almost cut my finger off. That wouldn't have been good. Anyway, right after digging in to my first mango, I decided to make a smoothie with the awesome goodness a mango has to offer. In fact, I made everyone in my family a mango smootie with a touch of banana and vanilla ice cream. It was mango goodness at its best. My madness finally disappeared. All it took was a mango.

Tim P.

I have many allergies. I have seasonal allergies, but I am also allergic to peanuts, treenuts, and shellfish. This makes eating out very difficult because I have to talk to the server or chef personally to make sure that everything I eat will be safe to eat. I am very paranoid just as anyone with food allergies would be, but when it comes to taking  a risk I will not, and do not. I am sure many people are familiar with the restaurant Five Guys, I am too, but I am no judge on their food because I cannot eat there. They use peanut oil for all of their fried foods. When I went to Sanibel, Florida for spring break, we decided to go to a burger place called Cheeburger. Turns out it is a Sanibel version of Five Guys, meaning they serve the same food as Five Guys, and that means they too use peanut oil. At first I did not care and just thought I would get something else off of the menu because they informed me that there were salads and wraps that I could have, but I just decided to leave and go back to the condos. It was a very good thing that I did because while at the beach, a woman was talking to my mom about Cheeburger and said that the manager told her that they cannot guarantee that peanut oil will not touch your food. I completely understand that, and am glad that I had made the decision to leave! However, this got me thinking more about food allergies and how they come to be. 15 million people in the United States have food allergies, and 1 of 13 children have them. Food allergies happen because the body thinks that the certain food or its protein are a harmful thing to the body, and the immune system attacks it. If you have a food allergy, your body releases histamine and it causes the symptoms of an allergic reaction: hives, headaches, adn the closing of the throat. I have never had an allergic reation, and am very thankful. But, I think it is very important for people to take allergies very seriously as they are life threatning and it is not always guaranteed that you will be safe.
Lindsay B

On Wednesday, while in Williamsburg, Virginia, I had my first sun-dried tomatoes.  It was in a chicken ceasar salad.  The fanciest chicken ceasar salad I've ever seen or eaten.  It was laid out on a huge square plate and the salad was laid out diagonally across with huge pieces of grilled chicken on top. The chicken was probably a little too big, but it looked nice.  Along with the salad and chicken there were sun dried tomatoes and the perfect amount of salad dressing.  It was really a great salad.  Beautifully presented and delicious. But the best part about the whole thing were the sun dried tomatoes.  They were seriously fabulous. I don't usually like tomatoes, but these were fabulous.  I urge everyone to try sun dried tomatoes in a chicken ceasar salad, its very tasty.
Meagan F

Unlikely & Easy Snack! I was with my friends this past weekend and we were home alone. We had been outside in the woods for the better part of the day and we were starved. All that we could find was frozen rolls, some slices of cheddar jack cheese, and artificial sugar. So what we scraped together was a low hope meal turned into a delicious snack! We thawed out the rolls for a few minutes, and then put 2 slices of the cheddar jack cheese onto it. We microwaved it until the cheese was almost melted, and then we dipped it in a bowl of the artificial sugar. It was one of the most delicious things I have had in a long time (possibly due in part to the fact that I was willing to eat anything at that point.) Regardless of how gross of a meal this appears to be, it is definitely worth trying!

For Easter Dinner I had many things  to eat.  I had ham, Mashed potatos, Sweet potatos, Green beans, Carrots and Cheese Cake with Strawbarays. My mom and I made most of my dinner. when wegot the ham it was already precooked. thanks to all my great culinary skills I pealed and cut the mashed potatos.
Andy D

     

A few weeks ago I went to kings diner for the first time.  I had previously heard about kings so I expected it to be good.  We arrived at kings around 11 and as soon as I walked in I could smell various flavors, some sweet and others smoky.  We sat down and I eagerly awaited for the time to order.  I narrowed my options down to two but I knew I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't get both so yeah...  The first dish I ordered was pesto eggs with melted mozzarella, juicey sausage and tomato.  The other was banana bread french toast topped with a sweet syrupy banana sauce with sliced banana on the side.  I went back and forth for every bite trying to savor the goodness.  I expected it to be good, but not that good.
Ryan P

Recently, I have come to the conclusion (finally) that the lunch served in the cafeteria is not only not fresh, but do not taste good, probably don’t contain any real meat, and are most certainly not a healthy option. So, I am boycotting Chartwell’s for the time being and am waking up early in order to make an eatable meal for lunch. Obviously, considering the title this blog entry regards the classic: Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich. It is a delightful food that satisfies even the pickiest of eaters.  I am not a huge fan of white bread, and so I tend to deviate from the norm and smother a whole wheat bagel with a hefty layer of peanut butter, and some Grade-A Smucker’s Grape Jelly. Regardless of the bread choice, the main ingredients remain the same creating a scrumptious sandwich.  There’s just something about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that really capture the taste buds. It might be the rich, creamy, salty taste of the Peanut butter or the sweet essence of the jelly whether it be strawberry, grape, or any other. Or, it may be the fact that they take about 45 seconds to make.  Nevertheless, PB & J is perfect. It is not open for discussion, they are the best, and I just wanted to give a classic a little bit of the limelight as it commonly gets overlooked. Here’s to an oldie but goodie, PB & J!!

as a student athlete im always in a rush, rushing from one practice to another, barely making it home in time for curfew. And, thats why i have learned to appreciate the convinence foods i have avalible. My favorite is the ramen noodles. you can do almost ANYTHING with them, and they are so cheap! My favorite way is to cook the noodles in boilig water, drain them, then put it in a bowl and add half the flavor packet. This is perfect becaus then they are not overpiwered in flavor, and isnt soup. OF course there are other ways to make them, if you want you can add the water to the noodles to create a soup, or you can add in oriental vegtables such as baby corn and water chesnuts, or if you wanna get really crazy you can throw away that flavoring packet, look in your fridge and spice cabinet, and make a new creation! and thats whats so beautiful about them. They take like a max of 5 minutes to cook, they cost like 20¢ per package, and you can make them into anything you want. And if you dont feel like making your own flavor they sell them in like 30 diffrent flavors, and they arent always unhealthy, some packets come with reduced sodium, and you cam always add on your own vegtables. I would say i have ramen at least 2 times a week and i would recomend them to anyone thats on the go or needs a quick easy dinner.

Enjoy!

Bailey

Over the weekend I went into the city for a college visit.  Knowing a good cupcake place called baked by Melissa I decided to try and find it. For tiny cupcakes they are sure expensive.  Once I bought them I immediately opened the package and ate one. The first one I ate was mint chocolate chip.  The first and only bite was amazing the flavor shock was overwhelming. The people I was with asked me why I would pay $21 for 25 tiny cupcakes. Once they tried one they asked me why i didn't tell them not to but some.  We had to run back to the store and buy more I finished all of them, not by myself but enjoyed ever flavorful bite I got. -Kayla O'Grady

Nadimul Haque

Mrs. Hoagland

Culinary 2

3.27.2013

March Blog

            I love events like weddings and birthdays and anniversaries because I get to have different food. As good as the entrees can be, the cake decides whether I liked the catering or not. Even if it is the most delicious chicken, rice, pasta, (etc.) I have ever eaten, it isn’t a perfect meal unless the cake (if there is any) is done right. Anyways, for my parent’s anniversary earlier this month, the appetizers were done perfect and the entrees were pretty good. For the appetizers, we had pasta with just the right amount of cheese and the right amount of sauce in it. For the entrees, there was white rice, with roasted chicken, tandoori chicken, beef kebabs, and a vegetable mix. All of the meat items were seasoned and cooked with a lot of spice, but that spice brought intensity to the flavor of the other items. Anyways, after the entrees, my favorite part of the meal came. A round red velvet cake with nice artwork and vanilla filling. As soon as I ate it, I could immediately taste all of the flavors, and it was just one of the better cakes that I've had. 

St. Patrick's Day at Colony Grill Pizza

It's March 17th, Saint Patrick's Day and it was my little brother Jameson's Birthday. It's a weird kind of thing that my three brothers and I all have birthdays on a holiday. My birthday happens to be on Thanksgiving; at least the year I was born it was. Tristan's Birthday is Valentine's Day and Brighton's Birthday landed on Election Day the year he was born. Anyway, back to my little brother Jameson. He just turned 10 years old and thats a decade. Wow! My dad had the idea that we should all go and celebrate Jameson's Birthday at Colony Grill in Fairfield and that's exactly what we did. We've been going to Colony Grill since I was 3 years old! Although, I'm not sure that was the best idea this day because we were thinking birthday and not St. Patricks Day, it was really packed and loud. There was a band playing and singing all different types of songs that I had never heard before. My mom said this was the music that she grew up to. The music was so loud that, bloody hell, it gave me a massive headache. It didn't matter because the pizza made up for it. Pizza is the only thing they sell at Colony which I think is really smart. They have mastered the perfection of "Goodness" in the pizza. We ordered seven pizza pies for the table; 3 plain and 4 hot oil with stingers. If you've ever been to Colony Grill Pizza Restaurant you know you have to order at least one "Hot Oil" pizza. It's HOT!!!! that's for sure. The pizzas are made of a super thin crust with just the right amount of sauce and cheese or whatever toppings you may be putting on your pie. I think Colony Grill Pizza has one of the best thin crust pizzas in the world! The first bite was unbelievable. My brother Tristan and I each had a whole pie to ourselves. I finished my pie while Tristan had one slice left. I ate that too. In fact, I ate the most out of everyone at the table. I think I gained five pounds by the time I was done eating. After everyone was done eating, we headed back home to celebrate some more with a delicious Strawberry and Banana custard cream and whipped cream frosting Birthday Cake. My mom always creates the best Birthday cakes! Although, my stomach was telling me I shouldn't have a piece, I couldn't resist. My brother had an awesome birthday. He said he had a great time with his family and the presents were awesome too. But, he said the best part of his birthday was going out for dinner to Colony Grill with his family. Colony Grill Pizza is always worth the trip.

Timothy P.

When most people think of asparagus, a stalky, green, bitter vegetable only heard about in children's books may come to mind. Who would ever eat that? For a while, I had the same mindset on this peculiar vegetable until a few weeks ago when my mother had made a Gorgonzola chicken breast with a side of sauteed asparagus. I had been reluctant at first, but didn't want to disappoint my mom so I tried it. Wow, it was delicious, the veggie has a tender and flavorful taste with an almost creamy texture when cooked right. I was hooked on it. These past couple weeks, I've eaten more asparagus than in my entire life. Now, there are a couple tricks to getting asparagus right. First, the end of the stalk should be generously trimmed, it is thicker and won't cook all the way through, and the next is to be sure it is all the way cooked. I had one batch of asparagus undercooked, and it was AWFUL. As long as it is prepared correctly, it is a great addition to many meals, and has a flavor all it's own. I was happy to find out today that it will go along with our group's fried chicken and hush puppies. Anyway, all of you who may be skeptical of this vegetable, go out and have some!! -Bryce D

Today it crossed my mind just how often I visit the General Store in downtown Newtown by the flagpole and Edmond Town Hall. I love the food there, it's in the perfect spot in the heart of town, and I love the small-town atmosphere and history that's found there. While the general store is fantastic for a number of reason, the thing that always gets me is one sandwich. My favorite, The Flagpole. Delicious chicken, melted cheese, BACON. It doesn't get any better than a Flagpole. I never get it with tomato though, I can;t stand tomatoes... Either way, the General Store makes a fantastic sandwich, and I always wash it down with a Stewart's Cherries n' Cream soda. Pure perfection. I can't wait for my next mouth-watering, butcher-paper-wrapped slice of heaven called The Flagpole. -Sam G.

Last week for dinner I had stir-fry. When I make my stir-fry I make it with grilled chicken, vegetables and brown rice. To make stir-fry it is fairly simple. First you have to get a bowl like frying pan. In the pan you put in 2 garlic cloves diced and a teaspoon of olive oil. While that was heating up I went over to the chicken thighs and seasoned them with Mrs. Dash seasoning. Mrs. Dash seasoning has tons of ingredients that make the chicken taste really good and has a little kick of spice. Once I was done seasoning the chicken I went outside and put the chicken thighs on the grill and let them cook. I then went inside and threw broccoli, carrots and celery into the frying pot. While I was letting that cook I made the brown rice. To make the brown rice I put some water into a small pot and poured the brown rice in. In the big frying pot with all of the vegetables I cut up some onions and put those in while adding some soy sauce. Once the chicken was done I brought it inside and cut it up into bite sized pieces and put it in the pot. While I was stirring that I saw the rice had been finished. I drained out the rice and put the rice into the pot and stirred it around for a few minutes. Once I was done stirring the pot and everything seemed to be cooked to my liking I took it off and put it in a bowl and ate it. I like stir-fry because it is a great meal to cook up and it’s healthy. Also you can add any kind of vegetables that you want and you don’t have to make it with chicken. If you want you can make any type of meat and toss it in. Stir-fry is great because you can make anything you want, you can also substitute anything you want too. Nicholas Carozza

Cupcake war was interesting because I never tried to make cupcakes out of scratch but with the help of my group it worked out well. My group and I made three cupcakes, a pink lemonade, caramel with chocolate, and finally a carrot cake cupcake. Surprisingly, i was satisfied of what I ate that day they were so good! PINK LEMONADE This wasn't how it really look like the cupcake we made was a brighter pink, almost neon pink but they were so cute!But the best part about this cupcake was we didn't have pink lemonade juice so we added lemon margarita to it. It had this amazing kick to the frosting. But i have to say that pink lemonade cupcake had to be the best cupcake ever and the frosting of it gave it a nice tangy taste to it that made it even better. ~Mirna M

Now I know that I am supposed to be a good cook or to at least cook on my own occasionally, but I don't. I am very lazy and tend to let my mother do the cooking. But the other day I cooked on my own for the first time ever, and I didn't burn it. I cooked ravioli all by myself and it was fabulous. Wednesday I came home from school very hungry. So following my mothers instructions, and filled up a bowl of hot water, waited for it to boil, put in the raviolis and let em cook. Two minutes later, the pasta was rising to the top of the water and I knew they were done. After putting them into a bowl, I realized I probably needed to put some sauce on them. But I was feeling lazy and very hungry so I just sprinkled some parmesan cheese on top and ate it. I cooked pasta for the first time by myself. It was fabulous, although it probably could have been better with some actual sauce. -Meagan F

Why do we have breakfast foods? Why is it considered odd to have eggs, bacon and pancakes for dinner? Why do we deem some foods acceptable for consumption based on the time of day? This is an outdated concept to say the least. We used to lack proper refrigeration methods so people could not store eggs and milk for long period of time. Okay, I get that. Because of this, eggs are common breakfast foods. The chicken would lay them earlier in the morning and you would have to eat them before they went bad. So eggs were an easy option if you had chickens. Then you have toast. Maybe its stale left over bread that you toast to soften with a bit of fresh butter on top. Or perhaps you mixing a bit of oats and berries with fresh milk from the cow. Great. Now you are nourished enough to spin wool to make your own clothes. I highly doubt anyone today has eggs that need to be consumed or fresh milk or stale bread. Today when we eat food, we do not consider if it has a short shelf life. Well, we do to some extent. But, most modern day conveniences are created to extend the freshness of produce, meats and dairy products. Also the vast majority of our time isn't spent procuring food. Most people do not own chickens, cows or even a garden. Isn't it funny that even though our lives have totally changed we still eat what might be considered an outdated diet. Well, its not really our diet that is outdated. Its how we choose the foods we consume. Seriously, why is cereal a staple of morning foods? Its not like that is the only time at which it can be eaten. Why can't we eat pasta in the morning instead of pancakes? Why can't soup replace egg sandwiches? As it turns out our consumption is not based on the food that needs to be eaten but by the food's cooking time instead. In our modern day world, we can procure any food we wish to consume. We can buy cheese, celery, oatmeal, linguini and salami any day of the week and at any time. However the time we can dedicate to cooking and eating a meal is limited. For example, take a typical meal. Lets say someone eats an egg sandwich or maybe some cereal for breakfast. Few working people have leisurely long mornings. The early part of the day is the most hurried and hectic part of the day. While you'll need nourishment for the rest of the day, you need it to be quick. Sandwiches are the pinnacle of quickness; eggs, too. Just fry them up with a little cheese and a slice of sausage. You're good to go. Lunch is usually a similar matter because lunch breaks are typically very short; the sandwich strikes again! Dinner is the opposite matter. After a long day, you have time, something you have missed all day. You can finally take the time to prepare a good meal; the pasta can boil. The vegetables can steam. You can relax while the food cooks. Because it is the end of the day, we have more time; i.e. the food tends to be more meats and pastas with sides of vegetables. Even then, we strive to shorten the preparation time. The masses consume tons of premade food from restaurants and grocery stores. We no longer live in a world where we have to work to gather or make our food. We simply have to buy it. Nobody makes their own butter or cheese; we don't own gardens and we don't kill our own meat. This is why it is still important to appreciate food. We can't just label it as form of nourishment. Food is enjoyable. Food is an experience. Food is art. Gabriela P.

The other day when it was snowing out, I had asked my mom “what’s for dinner?” She told me that she didn’t have anything for tonight and that we were going to go out for dinner. My family didn’t know where to go for dinner so I said “let’s go to Burgerittoville.” My family was fine with that so we went. I then told my family that since it’s snowing out, were going to get free fries because whenever it’s snowing or raining out, they give out free fries. When we got there it was empty. I ordered the club chickeritto. It had chicken tenders, bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and mayo. I then ordered 2 large fries to share with the family because I knew they were going to be free so why not order 2 large fries? When we got the food, I couldn’t wait to eat it. Every bite of it was so good and the chicken was so crispy which made it a lot better. The French fries were also very good. They had the perfect amount of salt on them and for me; I didn’t even need ketchup for them. Overall it was a great experience for me and you should try this restaurant if you haven’t already. Michael P.

Last Sunday was Saint Patrick’s Day, and so my family had an Irish-themed weekend. We had a party at our house on Saturday, and served Corned beef, boiled potatoes, carrots, and cabbage, and a chocolate Guinness cake, which I helped make. The Corned beef and vegetables we cooked in a slow-cooker recipe by putting them in our crock-pot. First we made a nice glaze of apple juice, brown sugar and mustard. Once the sugar had dissolved we placed the corned beef in the pot, and then mixed in the red potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and some onion. We then let this cook for about nine hours and it was ready when our guests arrived. For the cake we first melted the butter with the beer, and then whisked in sugar and cocoa powder. Next we added two eggs, some sour cream, and vanilla. Finally we mixed in the flour and some baking powder. Then we put it in the oven for 45 minutes, and began the frosting. The frosting we made by mixing butter, powdered sugar, and a little baileys. Once it was nice and fluffy we spread it on the cake and we were done. Jack B

What I injoy in the spring/summer is Steak and baked potatos. I like steak because when I get home from work I injoy a hot meal. It makes me feel like I earned a nice dinner. When my family makes it the steak and the potatos go on the grill. When I eat the steak I put A1 steak sauce on it  cheese sour cream amd bacon on my potato and A1 sauce on my steak.   
by Andy DeWolfe

This past weekend I was making a cake with my friend for another friend's birthday, and everything was going well until it came to making the frosting. At my house we never buy canned frosting from the store but instead make our own. As we were gathering the butter and milk for the frosting, I went to get the powdered sugar and found that there wasn't any in the container...it was empty. At first we panicked and didn't know what to do because I have never made frosting without powdered sugar. That is when we decided to search the internet for frosting recipes without powdered sugar. We found a recipe on the website called Tasty Kitchen. It called for flour, milk, vanilla, granulated sugar, and butter. The first step was to combine the cup of milk and 5 tablespoons of flour in a saucepan, stirring it constantly until it became a thick mixture. Then we cooled it until it became room temperature. Once it was cooled, we added one teaspoon of vanilla to the mixture. The next step we did was creamed the butter and sugar in an electric mixer. We had to keep mixing it until it wasn't grainy. Then we added the flour, milk, and vanilla mixture. We beat it on high speed for a very, very long time. It became very light, and almost looked like whipped cream. My friend tasted it and said it was amazing! We frosted the cake with white, but we made some of it green to use for piping. When we gave the cake to my other friend, she liked the frosting as well! When I first realized I didn't have any powdered sugar in the house, my initial reaction was panic, because I couldn't go out and buy any. However, when we went online and found this recipe I realized that it really isn't necessary for a great frosting!
 -Lindsay B.

A bit of a runaway...

Cupcake War No. 1
Presentation: A tie for first place, with 13 points each, Tables 12 and 32!
Taste: With 13 points, Table 32

Cupcake War No. 2
Presentation: With a  whopping 19 points, Table 32, with Table 11 a close second with 18 points.
Taste: With 10 points, a sleeper, Table 31.

Cupcake War No. 3
Presentation: Oy vey...With 15 points, Table 32.
Taste: Alright, who's palm did they grease? With 10 points, Table 32.


I will post photos when I figure out how to get retrieve them from my iphone. Until then, feel free to add your photos to the post entitled CUPCAKE WAR PHOTOS!!!

When I made the papusas I enjoyed them very much. When I got home I made them for a side at dinner. This time though they were very starchy and very thick. They were much better in class when we made them. My brother didn’t like them to much when I made them at home. That reminds me of the first time he tried lobster for the first time. He like it at first, then all of a sudden juice squirted out of the lobster and he was very grossed out, it was very funny to see. I personally like trying new food because I am usually grossed out easy when I see the food. I guess I just stick to my roots and eat what I do all the time. But the food I hate the most is fish. It is so gross to look at and it smells bad. I once was eating fish and I ran into a bone and I was never to eat fish again!
Trevor L

Super Spicey Sausage and Pasta - Culinary 2

Last Tuesday I had one of the most delicious meals that my momma had cooked for me, my brothers and sister. My mom made a super spicy pork sausage with pasta dish.When I took my first bite I didn't know what to expect. I was amazed how good it was. It was spicy but not too spicey where I couldn't handle the hottness of the spice. But it definitely deserved to have a huge glass of milk with it. It was filled with spicey pork, sliced onions, crushed tomatoes and some herbs. I also tasted a good amount of garlic. My mom served the sauce with some Penne Pasta which is my brothers favorite type of pasta. To me the sauce could have been served over anything, it tasted so good. It could have even been served over rice. When I finished my first bowl of the spicy pork sausage dish I had to have another bowl of the goodness that my momma made so I helped myself to a second serving! Halfway through my second bowl I got use to the spicyness. When I finsihed my second serving I considered having a 3rd bowl but my mom said we should save the rest for lunch or a snack tomorrow. She wrapped it up in another bowl and told me to have it tomorrow. When I got home the next day I decided to go and get me some more goodness. As I was getting ready to have it for lunch I realized it was gone. The rest had already been eaten by my brother.I was pretty annoyed because it was suppose to be mine. I asked my mom to make it for "me" next time. I hope she makes a lot more so there's extra for other people in my family to eat. Hopefully she will make it soon because this blog is making me hungry.

Last weekend I made breakfast on two days for my family. On Saturday I made a classic, bacon and scrambled eggs. First I fried the bacon on medium heat until they were nice and crispy, but not burned. Then I got rid of some of the grease because there was a lot in the pan, and used the rest for cooking the eggs. After that I fried up some onions, and red peppers. I cooked these until the onions were nice and clear, and the peppers tasted fine. Meanwhile I had scrambled some eggs in a bowl, and next I added in the egg and began to stir. After the eggs cooked for a little while I added some cheese and tomato. After that I added a few herbs and spices from the cabinet and the breakfast was ready. I served it with Orange Juice. On Sunday I made some blueberry pancakes from scratch. First I added flour, sugar, baking powder and sugar to a mixing bowl and mixed it until it was blended well. After that whisked eggs in a bowl, and added sour cream, milk, butter, and some vanilla. Then I made a well with the dry ingredients, and poured the wet ingredients in. I then mixed the ingredients together until they were just blended. Finally I added in the blueberries, and some lemon zest. I had been cooking some bacon on the side and put that aside. I then cooked the pancakes on medium heat in a large pan. Again I used the grease form the bacon to cook the pancakes. I cooked them for about a minute on one side and 30 seconds on the other. Finally I served them with some maple syrup, and Orange Juice. Jack B

the Best Eggs So, I have always enjoyed cooking eggs. I love making them and I love eating them any style: poached, sunny side up, Benedict styled, omelets or baked with bread and sausage. I love it all. But, recently I discovered possibly the best way to eat an egg: scrambled. Now there are several components to making the best, more delicious, absolutely awesome scrambled eggs. First off, what is the best scrambled egg? Well, the most ideal egg is light and fluffy. It doesn't have that weir burnt layer on the bottom. The final product should look like soft yellow curds, not a mash up of overcooked egg that you need to chew off. It should taste soft as well. Personally I don't enjoy having my eggs smoky or burnt. This leads to Gabby's guide for an awesome scrambled egg. When you first scramble the egg, beat it till its just combined. If you scramble it too much, its tends to be tougher. Its not a huge difference but, less whisking tends to make more lighter fluffier eggs. The second most important thing I’ve also discovered about making eggs is that a little bit of half and half or even plain milk tends to make the eggs even better. Okay, now onto the actual cooking part. Whenever you make scrambled eggs, the best thing to do is start on high heat. However don't cook it over high heat the whole time because then you'll get that crusty burnt bottom part which I have already mentioned. We do not want that. Once you can drag the wooden spoon across the pan without a trail, you turn the heat down to low. From there, you simply cook the egg till its finally light and fluffy. This is the middle ground between two extremes. If you cook an egg over low heat, it doesn't always that throughly cooked and can be runny or soupy. Yuck. But you also don't want to over cook by heating it over high heat. This method works wonders. I love it. And finally the ultimate secret to the best scrambled eggs: mix in cream cheese. Whether it be half a tablespoon or whole chunks, it makes your meal twenty times better. You can whisk it in or you can put int little dollops. Instantly your eggs becomes creamy and smooth and oh so satisfying.