Mondays Practical

Well class on Monday was the day that we had our practical exam. I missed class due to being drifted in by the wonderful snow storm. I cooked through what I was going to cook for my practical anyways...
This dish is seared halibut, champagne and braised cabbage Asian flavored) risotto, roasted tomatoes and asparagus (Asian flavored), papaya relish, and Asian pears sauteed in a sugar-cinnamon compound butter for dessert...

Dinner Lastnight...

My fist time cooking rack of lamb and it was delish! I pan-seared the lamb, coated it in a garlic herb rub with a little panko, and finished it in the oven. I topped the lamb with an herb butter red wine sauce, and served it with potato lyonnaise and asparagus with hollandaise sauce.

Lunch

Well when I was in Chicago last weekend, I was able to stop at some great Asian markets and I went a little nuts on trying some new ingredients. I have been cooking with these items since I got back... This is a picture of lunch today. I sauteed shittake mushrooms, onion, and marinated tofu (marinated in soy sauce and a ginger juice) in a mix of red chili oil, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger. I then boiled and chilled some Thai noodles and warmed an oriental soup base (yes that is cheating, but I am learning) with some sliced scallions. As you can see in the photo, I topped the noodles with the mushroom-tofu mix, poured some of the soup base and topped with a sesame-seaweed salt mix. YUM!

Trip to Chicago

I was able to get back to Chicago last weekend to visit some friends and get some yummy food... here are a few pictures I wanted to share...

Skirt Steak w/ Asiago and a Veal Demi Glace

Panko Encrusted Halibut

(Tavern on Rush)

2 pnd Maine Lobster

(Bob Chinn's)

Vegetarian Day

Well class was interesting today... it was vegetarian day. I have never had a veggie burger, but WOW, it was delish! I had no idea that a burger with zero meat could satisfy my burger craving. Very interesting. We also had a little competition in class today where boys vs girls and some die hard vegetarians judged. Sad to say that the gals lost, but for the first time being judged.. it was fun and we all did well.

As far as my last soups/sauces class we re-visited the wonderful hollandaise and mayonnaise.... I was blown away at how fast a mayo can really come together. Chef Tim had us all get our bowls ready with what we needed, aside from the oil, whisks in hand and all start at the same time. He timed how quickly we could get the mayo to come together with the ingredients. I made it in just under a minute which blew my mind!

culinary school

I am in my second quarter of culinary school and I am absolutely loving it!
I have been required from 2 of my classes to create a blog, therefore I am going to blog about some of my experiences throughout culinary school and post some homework assignments for classes as well...
Happy blogging! < < that was a little cheesy huh? : )