Last week I went to a restaurant that my family has been going to since before I was born.  We don’t go there that often because it is expensive but delicious.  Everyone there is like family we know everyone really well except for the new people like the bus boys.  This restaurant is called Tonelli’s.  When I went there, there was sooo many good things on the menu and I couldn’t decide what I wanted.  I finally decide to have a 10oz. filet mignon.  I knew it was going to be good but I am not really a steak person. The only steak I will eat and enjoy is filet mignon.  Of course it is the most expensive.  They brought out a huge salad for me that I happily ate.  I was half full by the time my filet came out.  I took the first bite and took a delicious road to Filet Mignon heaven.  I hit a food wall about half way through and couldn’t eat it all but I crashed through it a kept eating.  I wasn’t going to let this awesome piece of meat go to waste.  It could cut it by just staring at it.   There was no fatty parts or tough/chewy parts.  It was 10oz. of awesomeness.  I even ate the perfectly sautéed string beans and carrots.  Since we knew the waiter so well he brought out a bowl of strawberry and chocolate ice cream and that was even really good.  I would highly recommend going to Tonelli’s.

                                  -Sean H.

In the last few weeks our class has been participating in the cupcake war.  I have truly been enjoying this unit because we are learning, not only how to make cupcakes, but also how to decorate them and make them look attractive.  Making them look good was probably my favorite part of the activity.  My group won two awards for best taste and two for best look.  The first day our mint cupcake won for appearance and our peanut butter cupcake won for taste.  On the second day, we made a chocolate chip cookie cupcake with chocolate icing.  That was definitely our worst cupcake because it we did something wrong with the icing.  Also, the cupcake didn’t look very attractive.  On our last day we made the pumpkin cupcake which won everything.  When I tasted it, I thought it was very refreshing.  For the decoration we squeezed the icing out without a metal tip, we only used the white parts.  Also, we dyed the white frosting orange and put a leaf in the icing. Lastly, we shook some powdered sugar onto the plate, but not the cupcake.  I enjoyed this competition and experience.  It made me appreciate much more.

Sam Rohrbacher

Joshua Kaufman

Mrs. H

5/29/12

Class 1

                                                          Girl Scouts

My food experience was when my sister decided to make these bark cookies called Samoa bark and they are supposed to taste like the Girl Scout cookies. The Girl Scout cookies are called Samoa’s. I love those cookies with a passion. I once ate an entire box by my self in a sitting and gained a pound. That is a lot of weight if you gained it in 10 minutes. So my sister attempted to make the cookies that are to die for. When she had to let the Samoa bark harden I looked at them and they didn’t look like any Samoa cookies like I have seen. I got worried. So after an hour of waiting I got to try a cookie that my sister made. They were really good I liked the texture and most of all the taste. The only problem was they tasted nothing like the Girl Scout cookies. In the end it was a tasty new treat that I really enjoyed. It taught me always try something new because it may surprise you. 

Food poisoning is probably one of the most frustrating disease someone one can catch.  You never know when it will come and there is nothing that can stop it.  Everyone tries their hardest to use the freshest foods and keep everything clean but sometimes, bacteria takes over the kitchen.  It’s hard for everyone to understand what causes food poisoning and therefore, not everyone knows how to prevent it.  Thankfully, I have never had food poisoning because I hear that it is very tiring and painful.  The symptoms are usually diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pains and fever.  It is weird to think that something so little can turn around and bite you in the butt, and get you so, so sick.  Our bodies need food, it is the most important thing to stay alive, but it is also very dangerous.  People always have to keep caution of what they are putting in their body.  Also, some people are deathly allergic to certain foods, unlike others.  Others choose not to eat certain foods, like meats, or dairy.  When it comes to food, everyone can be hurt by it in some way, whether it’s by food poisoning or by being allergic. Even though food is most important, it could also be most dangerous.

Over spring break, I went to Florida with my parents and my best friend Sara. Other then the obvious appeal of a beach front hotel, palm trees, and 85 degree weather every day, I was looking forward to the food. Going out to eat is a rarity for my family because my mom loves to cook at is good at it and my dad doesn’t like to spend money on thing he says he can make himself (this philosophy has lead to creations that have all failed miserably). So with the only food in our hotel room being a box of Honey Chex and apples, we ate out every single night. The first night we ate at a beachside restaurant called H20 which ended up having the best bread of all time. Here I got an angel hair pasta dish with fresh tomato and basil. The next day at lunch, we ate at a place called The Big Kahuna, a Hawaiian inspired place where I was creative enough just to get chicken nuggets. I do regret being so lame about my food orders because I have chicken nuggets sitting in my freezer right now and I had to travel all the way to Florida just to enjoy some. The 3^rd night we took a water taxi around the canals lined with billion dollar houses and yachts. We knew we were in for some good food when we got off and walked along a place called “Restaurant Ave” by the locals because of every building being a restaurant, ice cream parlor, or candy store. We finally settled on a fancy Italian place where I got a beef lasagna and Sara tried gnocchi for the first time. It took me all of 5 minutes to eat my huge plate, after complaining about how full I was, my parents tried to kill me by bringing us to an ice cream buffet. Throughout my time in Florida I really started to appreciate food and how much I need to learn about portion control.

Over April vacation I got bored one day and I started thinking what I could do.  I called up some of my friends and we hung out for a while.  When they left I became hungry.  So I started looking in my house for something to eat and there was nothing good to eat.  So an idea popped into my head that I should make something to eat.  So I started to look for stuff online to make.  After a while I found a peach blueberry upside down cake.  It required blueberries and sliced peaches (obviously), which I didn’t have.  So my family and I had to go out for a while and I thought on the way home we could pick up some blueberries and sliced peaches.  So we did.  When I got home I started my mise en place. After about 30 minutes of mixing ingredients, I put the peaches in the bottom of the dish with some brown sugar and butter, and then poured blueberries on it.  Then I poured my batter over it.  While it was cooking I saw heavy whipping cream in the fridge so I started to make my own whipped cream.  When it came out of the oven I let it cool and put the whipped cream on it.  It took a bite and it was sooo good.  I gave some to my parents and my brother and they all had seconds.  It was gone in 10 minutes.  I would definitely make it again.

                              

                            -Sean H.

So you know that feeling when you are really bored and you want something sweet? And not just sweet, something chocolatey sweet. So, of course my first reaction is to check through all of the cookbooks in my house (mind you, that means like 40 different cookbooks). What can be tough about baking, especially if you are suddenly baking on a whim, is the fact that you can't seem to find a recipe. Either they are too complicated, like ham and maple bacon cookie, or they call for ingredients you just know you don't have, like real rhubarb muffins. Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen rhubarb. But, then I found the perfect chocolatey sweet recipe. Giant. Chocolate. Sugar. Cookies. Yes!

And I have everything, which in of itself is a miracle. My house is hardly ever stocked to make anything besides oatmeal cookies. And admittedly I did substitute unsweetened dutch coco powder with Swiss Miss hot chocolate powder. And all real came along. The thing about baking is that if you just follow the recipe, you'll end up with at least something. With cooking, its a little bit trickier. Baking is all measurement and technique and then voila!

What I like best about my house is that its small. Like really small. The kitchen and living room is essentially the same room, only divided by strategically placed cabinets. So I can put in an episode o Firefly or Buffy, and half watch while I bake. I can't stand silence, especially when I am making something. So I had an episode of Firefly playing while I baked the cookies. The recipe said that they took about 20 minutes to bake. But, when I took them out they were all flat and brittle. Over baked. The edges were darkened black and the little marshmallows that had slipped into the batter had formed little glazed over puddles (that part wasn't actually that bad). Besides the fact that they were practically cement cookies, they were pretty tasty. Nice and chocolatey. And the caramelized marshmallows were a nice touch too. Now for the sake of my family's teeth, I ground them up and poured the crumbles over some vanilla ice cream. Now that turned out well!

-Gabriela P.