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.