June 20 , 2011 - Baking and Pastry I

Okay...so it's COOKIE DAY!!!  We were able to pick between three types of cookies (Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter).  As you may see below, We chose peanut butter to start off.  Making these cookies really took me back to my childhood.  One of my aunts is a baker.  She used to give us (children) of the family coupons for free cakes (personal size) and cookies.  She always forked (made the checkered marks using a fork) her cookies.  At any rate, she made some AWESOME COOKIES...and still does.  These were great but I'd say that her cookies tasted more peanut buttery :).  All in all, I enjoyed making my first batch of scratch peanut butter cookies.  Maybe one day I'll make the actual peanut butter and use that for the cookies. ;-)

Giant (approx. 3-4 inch diameter)Peanut Butter Cookies

The second batch of cookies we made were a little more elegant.  As a kid, we always called them a fancier sugar cookie, but today I found that the actual name is a Spritz Cookie.  Spritz cookies are made from a softer dough.  We actually used a pastry bag and star to put them on the cookie sheet.  I've seen my aunt (the same one mentioned above) use a pastry bag all while growing up, and, I've seen television shows where the Chef  used pastry bags with the greatest of ease.  Little did I know that they obviously practiced a whole lot to get that part down.  Just as with everything else, with practice comes a better product.  So these spritz cookies aren't so round, but they were as tasty, if not tastier than those that I've eaten before.  Maybe eating them just a few minutes from pulling them from the oven made the BIG difference. :)

Spritz Cookie with Raspberry Preserve

All in all, these are just a few more items that I've added to my baking and pastry repertoire.

June 6-16, 2011 - Baking & Pastry I and Quantity Food Production I

I really do apologize for those of you that have been supporting my blog.  I didn't post last weeks class projects and am posting those (Baking and Pastry I and Quantity Food Production I) pictures with descriptions along with this weeks Quantity Food Production I dishes.


First up is an Apple and Blueberry Tart.  Although you may see two different tarts, each are the same, with the top just having a streusel topping.  Both of them tasted extremely well, and I would eat both at any given moment.  I would have to lean toward the one with streusel, mainly due to the added texture that it gives you while enjoying it.

 

 Apple and Blueberry Tarts:  Hand made sweet dough pressed firmly in tart shells and filled with a cooked chopped apple and blueberry with light sugar feeling.  These can be enjoyed fresh out of the oven(of course allowing them to cool enough to eat) as well as cooled completely.  The top two pictures have a simple crumble that was cooked along with the tarts in the oven while the bottom two pictures have no topping.

Second up is the Quantity Food Production Meal from last week which was a stuffed Pork Chop (boneless) with Potato Pancakes and Brocolli Almondine and a small Salad.

Braised Stuffed Pork Chop with Potato Pancakes and Brocolli Almondine

Small Salad with shredded carrot and quartered tomato and a poppy seed vinaigrette.

This meal was full of tasts that would satisfy my ongoing craving for some stuffing.  Although I have to admit, I've eaten my share of Stove Top...but now, I know for certain that I dont think I'll ever need to make that purchase again.  Stuffings in general are extremely easy to make, and can be made within minutes.  The almonds added a different texture to the brocolli that I would've never thought of  putting together.  The braised pork chop was tender and the potato pancakes were crispy on the outside while staying soft on the inside.

The last meal is the one we compelted yesterday (June 16, 2011).  It consisted of a Beef Roulade, Asparagus with Creamy Mustard Sauce and Classic Rice Pilaf topped with Dill.  This was probably the most involved meal thus far. We had to chop each of the vegetables (onions, celery, green beans, zuccchinni, carrots, etc.) into half inch cubes for the soup, pound the beef thin enough to make the roulade and shred a load of parmesan cheese for the roulade and soup. The list of things to do for this creation goes on much further, but, I'll let you get to the pics. :)

Beef Roulade with Asparagus and a Classic Rice Pilaf

 Ministrone Soup topped with shredded Parmesan Cheese

I really enjoy the fact that we get to eat everything we make :)  Although weight gained should be reduced with exercise, the many different dishes and tastes that I've been able to make and discover have increased my palate and overall awareness of things that I wouldn't otherwise use in the kitchen.  I'm still enjoying this process and am continueing to drive forward in learning and creating mouth watering and tasteful foods.  Until next week...keep chewing.

June 2, 2011 - Day 4 of Quantity Food Production I

Very interesting meal.  I can certainly say, I've never seen my mom, any of my aunts, or anyone for that matter put stew in the oven to cook, but hey, I learn something new every single time I attend class.  The meal was really good actually, Stew with Pasta (who would've every known that they went together...never in our household growing up), with slices of cantaloupe and prosciutto.

Cantaloupe and Vinaigrette with thinly sliced Prosciutto.

Beef Bourguingnonne and Basic Pasta (cut into the size of Fettuccine): Garlic, Onions, Carrots, Chopped Parsley, Fresh Thyme (from the herb garden), Dry red wine, Beef Chuck, Vegetable Oil, Flour, Tomato paste, Tomatoes, Brown Stock, Mushrooms, Unsalted butter, Salt and Pepper, Fresh Oregano (from the herb garden).

Again, a really nice and filling meal that you could make with a little bit of prep work.  The pasta is what will take the longest.  We made the dough, then had to cover and chill it in the refrigerator for two hours before stretching and cutting our pasta.