I had risotto for the first time ever in class yesterday. I was incredible! Chef added portabella mushrooms, rosemary and thyme, and of course onion was part of it. It was a tough day, we ate Chef’s risotto, then made some one our own, then some rice pilaf. We practiced flipping things in the saute [...]
Posted by Becka on October 2nd, 2009
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Posted by Becka on September 22nd, 2009
Don’t cry… it’s just an onion!
Here are some tips for dealing with onions:
Before slicing, place onion in freezer for 10-15 minutes, or soak in a ice water bath. or…
After peeling, rinse onion in cool water.
Cut out, in a cone shape, the core, where the root comes out, this is the where the gland/source of the sulphuric compound is.
Use a sharp [...]
Posted by Becka on September 21st, 2009
Salmonella, Eggs and Cantaloupe
I learned something very important about cantaloupe and eggs in my food safety and sanitation class. There have been stories about getting salmonella from these things, and these are ways to help avoid it.
The salmonella is usually on the outside of the melon, and it needs to be washed before cutting into it. As the [...]
Posted by Becka on September 5th, 2009
Rhubarb Squares
Ingredients:
Crust
1 c. flour
1/3 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. butter
Filling:
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. finely chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350
Combine flour and powdered sugarin bowl, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Press into the bottom of a greased 11-inch x 7-inch x 2-inch baking pan.
Bake for 12 [...]
Posted by Becka on August 30th, 2009
Homemade Apple Pie
On Wednesday, we completed our apple pies. Chef demonstrated peeling and cutting apples, mixing up the filling, then placing it all into the pie shell and covering it. This also included making an egg wash to use as the “glue” to hold together the upper and lower crusts and to put a sheen on the [...]
Posted by Becka on August 27th, 2009
Going Well
I have now been through three classes of my my Culinary Basics class. I am so excited and motivated to do the reading, and now, work in the kitchen lab.
The first two nights of class were spent in the classroom talking about safety, rules, tools, basic cooking methods and we got a tour of all [...]
Posted by Becka on August 20th, 2009
Cupcake Men
After making the mini-cheeseburgers, I had left over pieces of the chocolate cupcakes. So, I whipped up some cream cheese frosting and made them into faces, adding yellow eyes and red noses with the icing from the cheeseburgers.
Cream cheese frosting:
Ingredients:
8oz cold cream cheese (not solid, but cold)
5 tbsp softened butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cup powdered [...]
Posted by Becka on August 20th, 2009
Mini Cheeseburgers
These little treats looks so realistic, and besides, it’s fun to say that you are having cheeseburgers for dessert. It wasn’t my idea, originally, but made some changes, I think, for the better.
P.S. I love making desserts, more and more as I make them. It’s fun to make them pretty and unusual. I think I [...]
Posted by Becka on July 29th, 2009
Busy Day
As the start of school nears, I am more and more excited. I felt the need to make some yummy dessert. I had purchased some tiny little chocolate shells and wanted to fill them with cheesecake. This snowballed into making a mocha cheesecake, vanilla in the shells with cherry topping and a small dish of [...]
Posted by Becka on July 26th, 2009
Cream Puffs
Today I made cream puffs. It was my first time, and I think they turned out pretty darn good considering. I got the recipe from ilovetoknow.com, I decided to fill them with prepared whipped cream, but ran out. I used some homemade cooked cream from another recipe to fill the last few. Both are delicious.
I [...]
