Culinary two period seven, baking and pastry period one. Two periods apart. Make one thing in culinary, a period later, make the same thing in baking and pastry. That’s basically been my experience for this unit at least. In culinary we’ve been doing all the same stuff we’ve been doing in baking and pastry. So I can do something in one of the classes then come to the next class and seem, well, like a cooking genius, so I’m kind of looked up to in the classes…(sarcasm). Any way, the food we just finished was quick breads and I had absolutely no complaints cooking those two times a day. Those involved waffles, pancakes, Irish soda bread, crapes, muffins, and biscuits. I can easily say that quick breads were probably my favorite unit so far. Because let’s be honest, who doesn’t like them… come on, be real. Most recently however, we’ve been working with yeast, and making bread. The first bread we made the first day I thought was better than the bread we made out of the dough that we let ferment for a few days. The bread that sat for a few days was too sour for me, I preferred the other one. The grilled pizza we made, although Chris ate basically all of mine, was still very delicious. Definitely something I will try at home when I want to make something up pretty quickly. Maybe cook for Tracy and Dave, maybe. But I am intrigued to find out what we will be doing next, and I can’t wait to get into the kitchen and get my hands dirty for another day.
Eric F.

From as far back as I can remember, I have always loved seafood. I love the texture, the zesty flavor, just makes my mouth water. It doesn't matter how it is cooked, I just enjoy eating it. My favorite seafood is without a doubt, steamed clams with butter. Now that by itself would satisfy me on any day but one time, and one time only, I had it at a resturaunt in such a way thati have been wanting to taste it again ever since.

About two years ago I was in westport with some of the family and they happened to suggest a local resturaunt that was on the water and was notorious for having some of the finest seafood around. Now me being the ignorant child that I was, thought nothing of it and played on my phone until dinner time came. When we left, the everyone was in a tizz. They had to be dressed properly, and had to look nice with the make up and the perfume and what not. I just grabbed my favorite black hoodie and got in the car before anyone else. Once we arrived at the resturaunt everyone got out of the car and we were seated quickly because we had reservations. Most of them knew what they wanted, while I, had not a clue. The menu was so large that it took me several minutes just to skim it. After several visits from the waiter, I had placed my order. I decided to go with a special kind of pasta noodle that is long and very thin. This was served with butter and of course, steamed clams. The food took quite a while to arrive but it was worth the wait ten fold. The clams were just visible under a deep rich layer of soft warm pasta that was gradually pooling a vat of butter in its depths. first bite was a medium sized portion of pasta wrapped around the fork with a steamed clam on the end of the prongs acting as a stopper. One bite was all it took. I am a light eater at heart and always have been but even after snacking previously, I was not going to waste this meal. There was butter and clam sauce in the plate, a littel bit of a spice that I'm not familiar with, and of course the clam / pasta mix. Now normally I am a clean eater, but you can bet that there was butter all over the freaking napkin after the meal was done. Magnificent. Saying it was a simply and purely a fantastic meal would not to this heavenly bliss any justice at all.

Grandon S.

Food. Everyone has to eat it to survive without it we would all die. However most people don't really think about food that way. They think about how good it tastes, or what kind of it to get. Many people nowadays often eat too much. Eating when there bored or just for the fun of eating not eating because they are hungry. This causes a huge problem in our world, obesity. When you walk down the streets nowadays you always see at least if not more over weight people. It has probably been the result of how much people nowadays work. They have no time or energy to go home and cook a home cooked meal, so instead they simply order out or grab something quick. However, the one thing I think about the most when it comes to food is family. I seem to always be having the best and most food when my family is around. For example, my dads side of the family is very big, he has five brothers and sister so its not common everyone can get together. However, we usually manage to get together for Thanksgiving. The food served on that day is absolutely spectacular. Although my grandmother is not still around to cook us the exquisite meals she used to her recipes are still around and used every Thanksgiving to create the same meals we were to have if she was still around. Not only is there dinner but of course, there's dessert. The dessert is almost everyone's favorite part, I mean how could it not be. There's always more than enough to go around, which means tomorrow, the next day, and maybe even the day after that is leftovers day. Not only is celebrating with the family great but it shows you to appreciate what you have. When you sit at the table with all that food besides you, you think of all the people who aren't as fortunate to have all this food.

I like watching the Food Network in particularly Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and Man vs. Food. I saw the Eveready Diner on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and I went there a few weeks ago. It was by far the best food I have ever tasted. I had stuffed shrimp but I tried my mom’s short ribs and they were so tender they fell off of the bone. It also had a lot of flavor with perfect amounts so you can taste all of them. I would recommend going there if you haven’t already.it is in New York. On Man vs. Food I like to see what kind of challenges he does and be amazed when he does it. I get full from just watching it. I saw an episode three days ago and he had to eat a seven-pound burger and an extra large milkshake. Unfortunately he didn’t finish but he ate four pounds of it. The most I could probably eat if I really tried would be ¾ of a pound. If it was on a much much smaller scale than it looked DELICIOUS. If I ever go on a vacation to another state I will see if there is any awesome restaurants. If so I will go to that part of the state and try it out. I also enjoy watching Cake Boss and see what kind of crazy cakes he makes. It amazes me how well him and his workers can make realistic cakes.

-Sean H.

Last night I made box brand mixed cupcakes. By making them from a box mix it took less time then from scratch and was a gurantee of them turning out good, but by realizing the ingredients in the box mix it made the cupcakes seem even more unhealthy then they already were. With so many chemicals and fake products and then ontop of it puting 1/2 cup of oil! Eventhough when I took them out and had one they were really good, super moist, and cooked to perfection I couldn't get over the fake products. If i'm going to make something, unhealthy or not, I want it to atleast be real products, not man made chemicals in a factory. Next time I want to try and make homemade cupcakes from scratch and maybe even try something new like put some cinnamon in them with cream cheese frosting. It's always fun to try new things.

Brittney I.

Last night, I made a banana cream pie just for fun. It was all homemade except for a store-bought pie crust. For those who are not well versed in the world, a banana cream pie is a pie crust with a sweet, creamy banana filling made of a couple bananas, milk, eggs, sugar, and a little vanilla extract with either a whipped cream or meringue topping. The filling was the easy part; all I had to do was make sort of a banana mush in a saucepan with all the filling ingredients. I simmered it over low heat until the mixture became more of a thick custardy texture. Then while letting that cool, I made the meringue topping. This was more difficult because if you don’t do it right, meringues aren’t good and can end up ruining the dish. All you have to do the meringue is beat egg whites and cream of tartar with sugar. It becomes a really fluffy and foamy and tastes really good. Then I put the filling into the pie crust and swirled the meringue on top. The hardest part of this was baking it right. If you undercook it, it is just mushy and gross, and if you overcook it, it gets hard and the filling can heat up too much and get too runny. Luckily for me, I did it just right, cooking it only about 8 minutes just until the tips of the meringue swirls were lightly golden-brown. It was hard to let it sit because I was so hungry but I had to let it cool for over two hours before I could eat it. I ate it with my family and everyone liked it!

Hope M.

Joshua Kaufman
Class 1
Mrs. H
Baking and Pastries



STEAK
Dear Mrs. H
My family and I went out for my birthday which was February 13. I chose to go to a restaurant called Marisa’s. The dinning was amazing very dim lighting and the food was to die for. I got the steak and me I don’t like my steak with any fat on the sides. The steak came out not a drop of fat on it. Medium just the way I like it. It was the size of my forearm so 9 inches and the width of it was 3 fingers so 3 inches. The steak was a five star course. Then what do you except for 35 dollars. With it came green beans fresh not canned. There was enough for an army or about 3 people. Then when I ate it all up; I had dessert with a cappuccino. The cappuccino was nice and sweet just how I like it. The tiramisu I got was to die for. The lady fingers were so delightful. The creaminess of it was too good to be true. I ate every bite I could because my dad had some. It gets 5 out of 5 in my book. That’s based on dining, food, and service. I highly recommend it. As well, as the bread was to die for all you can eat it kept coming and coming. It was always hot and I at like a whole loaf. Talk to you next time.
Sincerely,
Joshua Kaufman

Crepes
Last Tuesday, my mom jokingly asked what I was going to make for dinner. It was a rhetorical question, and obviously wasn’t expecting the response I gave her. I told her that I would make crepes for dinner. Surprisingly, she allowed me to. I made the batter, and began cooking the same way we did in class. While mastering the flipping technique, I popped the crepes out one by one through the very simple process. The fillings were applied after. Nutella, Jelly, and Powdered Sugar, show that this is not the most nutritious meal that I have ever had for dinner, but I can say that it was fun, and I was certainly proud of that dinner. Food critics (My Family) are raving about my crepes saying “Delicious!” “What a great idea!” “Cooked to perfection!” Overall, my experience making crepes both in class and at home was pretty cool.

Brio-Tuscan Grille Restaurant
My food experience at Brio, a restaurant in Danbury was one of the best that I have had in a very long time. The appetizers were delicious, and the service was great, but nothing can top my entrée of steak and mashed potatoes. Once I got the dish, I was in love; I hadn’t even taken a bite. The meat was cooked to perfection. The knife sliced through it like butter, and the savory taste was out of this world. I slowly took in the scrumptiousness of the meal, as I began to eat the mashed potatoes. Good, old-fashioned mashed potatoes, whipped perfectly, and tasted like they had been seasoned by God. The service was great, and I would definitely recommend this place to anyone that wants an outstanding food experience.

~ Mike D.

Food to me is so much more than something I put in my mouth every day. Food is a part of memories, smiles, and laughter. Food is what brings friends/family around the dinner table every night, at holidays, or lunch tables in the cafeteria. Most of us don’t really think about this on a daily basis but sometimes its nice to think about the way food impacts our lives. During the holidays my family and I always make home-made noodles my great, great grandmother created and has passed down to each generation of ours so far. We first make the dough, roll it out, and then cut it into the shape we want it to be. Its not a difficult food to make but its just the fact that my family loves doing it each year and it never gets old! I find it so incredible that such a simple plate of food can carry such wonderful memories throughout so many years. I cant wait until I’m older and have a family of my own to carry on such a memorable, loving tradition. In my opinion it doesn’t matter what you eat every day, it’s all about the memories you create by doing so.

I am Italian so good food sort of comes with my life. My parents are divorced; so whenever I see my father, we always dine out. I think the most important thing with eating good food is that it needs to be an activity, not just a necessity. When I dine with my dad, we enjoy our food. Or at least we try to. Many a times, restraints can be deceiving.
But, when you find a good restaurant, having a meal becomes a pleasure. There is this one restaurant in long island my father and I have been going there forever. And its the little things that make it special. Like the way there are slices of oranges and lemon in the pitchers of water. I remember being 7 or 8 and not drinking any water at dinner because I didn't like the taste of citrusy water. And I of course didn't have the heart to ask for a different glass. As I grew, I began to love the flavored water. Or I just got thirsty enough to drink it. It was cool and refreshing and had the slightest tang of orange. It was the details that real counted.
The reason why this restaurant, Sole Mio, sticks in my memory so much isn't because the food was so good. I mean, it was delicious and well made and everything Italian food should be. But once you were seated at your table, you had a basket of bread and a little plate of Kalamata olives placed on your table like a little gift. There are about three Kalamata olives on a plate with two maybe three small basil leaves. Then olive oil is poured onto this little presentation right in front of you. Kalamata olives. They must be one of my favorite foods. It was kind of beautiful; the dark purple and the fresh green mixed with the yellow-green of the oil. Now I am getting hungry
And the bread basket! Its not just the traditional Italian bread slices. Buttery garlic knots and long strips of bread baked with tomatoes and sweet onions on top. I always tend to go for the garlic knots first. I usually end up hollowing it out and stuffing the olives into it. Its funny; if you asked me what I ate there as a entree, I wouldn't be able to tell you. But, I can easily recall the water, the bread basket and the olives, the stuff that I really love and enjoy. Its the little things that matters and make your memory so vivid and fresh. Its the details that make the meal.
Gabriela P.