Oh by the way...I got an A

Our final assignment was a written project that had to consist of a complete menu with prices of a cuisine we chose, 15 facts on the cuisine, one recipe with serving conversions and a full ingredient list.  I chose Italian as my cuisine and created a very nice menu from my own restaurant called "Vengalli's" (my maiden name). I recieved my full 50 points on this project and ended this class with a 98%.  Indeed an A.

It was a great class and a great experience.  The only area I seemed to lack in was keeping up with this blog.  This Spring I have decided to take the semester off as this is my busiest time of the year at my current job.  I hope to take more classes this summer and hopefully find an opportunity to share those experiences with you on this blog.

Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing this experience with me. Many more food adventures to come.

Bon Appétit!

The Final Class

In our last class we would have our cooking final.  The format for this final was to receive a basket of ingredients and to use them all in our dish.  We could make anything we wanted but had to use all the ingredients. We also were given a specific time that our plate had to be done and presented to the Chef.  We were all given the same protein and starch - pork and risotto rice.  I was happy to see both - they're so versatile.  What scared me in my basket was fresh whole cranberrries. I have never cooked a cranberry from it's raw state.  Luckily the CI gave me some suggestions and when he said sauce I knew that would compliment the pork so well and I was on my way.  I had one of the last times to present to the CI and that was probably the hardest part - the timing.  I had to wait to start most steps in fear I would end early and have dry or cold food to present.  I worked and worked my sauce starting with apple juice and watched as my cranberry burst open and then added vinegar and sugar and more vinegar and more sugar until I had a very sweet tart rich sauce.  I pan fried my pork, sauteed my veggies and made my risotto with mushrooms and onions.  It all turned out just as I wanted although I wish I was more creative with my sauce presentation.  I received a 95% (5 points were taken off for leaving my pork sitting out so long).  I should've put it in the fridge until I was ready to cook it.  Dang that sanitation stuff!  We all have our finished dishes out for display - I just had to take some pictures of everyone's final dish.  What a great way to end this class. 

SIFE Lunch

When word got around that I was taking culinary classes, those who also liked to cook came up with the idea of cooking up a meal for the SIFE Staff (where I work).  We decided on Mexican and planned the menu to feed about 40 people.  We made everything from chicken tortilla soup, a taco bar with chicken and beef, baked chimichangas, cheese enchiladas and all the fixins including guacamole, mango salsa, sour cream and lots of cheese.  Oh and there was dessert too - flourless chocolate lime cake with Margarita whipped cream and Liz made her famous carrot cake.There were 3 of us who primarily did the cooking - me, Bruce & Kirk.  Then we had help from a few sous chefs and lots of people to help clean up afterward.  Between all the planning, many trips to the food store, the prep and cleaning it was a lot of work but well worth it as it turned out to be a great experience for all - those who cooked and of course those who ate.  We were asked to do this again with another cuisine and I'm sure in due time we probably will. 

Here's some pics of our buffet line with all our homemade food.

Class #12: Fish

In this class we would be preparing fish.  We received a whole talapia filet and learned how to filet it into servable portions. As I wanted to try all different cuisines, this time I went with an Asian/Thai flair and prepared my fish by pan frying it and serving it with orzo pasta cooked in coconut milk with ginger.  I sauteed carrots and threw those in and added basil for extra thai flavor.  The flavor turned out very well.  The only thing I wish I had done better was presentation. I started with the orzo on the side but wish I had stacked the dish a little more putting the orzo in the center, fish criss-crossed on top, the veggies on top and the sauces drizzled over all of it. Luckily my Chef Instructor was pleased with the flavor as well and gave me an A and I ended up with a great dinner that night. 

Class # 11: Veal

Well, I really let time slip away and did not blog as consistently as I had planned.  This is in no way a reflection of my passion for food and cooking. I have just had a lot going on in the last few months in addition to the normal day-to-day stuff.


We are down to me summarizing the final 3 classes.

In class #10 it was all about Veal.  In lab we were told we could prepared our veal any way but needed to make a complete plate with a starch and vegetables. I wanted to do a different cuisine than what I've done so far so went Italian and made Veal Parmesan with linguine and sauteed green beans.  It turned out very well - meat cooked perfectly and my sauce turned out very tasty.  It turned out to be an eye-pleasing plate as well.  I got my full 25 points and walked away from the Chef Instructor very proud.