When I came into this class I was expecting a lot less quality than it is.  I imagined it to be like Home Ec (family and consumer sciences).  Some stuff that we made in that class was pretty bad (no offense Home Ec).  When I eventually got into this kitchen and started cooking I was amazed on how high quality it was.  One of the foods my group and I made was a muffin.  Those muffins were excellent.  I actually took pride in making an awesome muffin.  This was one of the only things I finished eating in the period.  I almost felt professional for once.  Now I know I can survive without going out to eat.  So far there was not one food that I didn’t like.  The first thing we made was Crepes.  I had never heard of them before but when I made them and got a taste, I loved them.  Another thing that I like is when you are done with your food you have many options for toppings.  For example when we made the Johnnycakes, we had a variety of options like 2 types of jam, butter, pulled pork! And that vegetarian bean chili.  We could very easily eat whatever we make plain but that wouldn’t be fun at all.  Baking and Pastry is the best class yet.

                                 

                                  -Sean H.

The other day my dance team all went into New York City to perform at an aids benefit. For Dinner we all went to this cute little restaurant called Ariba Ariba, it’s my teachers favorite Mexican restaurant in all of New York. She had promised to take us there for so many years and finally we got to go! From the outside it doesn’t look like much, just a small beat up building in NYC but inside was filled with ambiance and culture, it felt very authentic. The menu wasn’t very large, with only about 10 different meal options, I chose the quesadillas and a strawberry coolatta. Within 15 minutes all of our food was ready and on the table.... and I had never had better quesadillas in my life. Now, I know they are not the hardest thing to make but they were delicious. But, I wasn’t quite sure how they made all the meals so fast...? There was no way they were pre-made because everything was too good, but it was a question I pondered. For dessert we got a traditional Mexican dessert, flan. Non of us really knew what it was, but turned out to be a jello like caramel custard with a caramel liquid sauce all over. No one else liked it but I did... All in all the restaurant was a hit and I would recommend any time to anyone.

Before taking this course, I never once attempted cooking something from scratch. I never knew what any kitchen utensil was used for or even the fact that such things as a cookie cutter or a pastry dish existed.. I learned how to even use a stove, at least somewhat- The flame still freaks me out. However, from going into that cramped busy kitchen at NHS, I learned more in 2 months than out of my15 years. I always pictured myself being that person in college, who had no clue how to do anything but put cereal in a bowl and call it a meal. I still somewhat do, but I definitely find it amazing how much more comfortable I feel in a kitchen now. I'm used to everything being made by store bought cookie dough or bread, ect. So being able to actually create food, with my own hands and doing, it's something I never imagined myself doing, till this class. I've tried new foods, made pn my own, also unfortunately made mistakes in some of the recipes but I still learned from it. Most of all, I grew a broader view and greater appreciation for those who dedicate their careers to cooking/baking and are really good at it. While most people would take this course for the food, as it is indeed a benefit, I feel as if I benefit more out of the experience than anything else. Measuring dry ingredients, liquid ingredients, how to use a cookie cutter, how to follow the recipe, how to blend, ect- everything. I don't know how else to sum up what I'm saying other than- the fact that making food or food in general never exactly appealed to me until the day I actually started trying to make some in the kitchen. Talk about life experiences... as corny as it sounds, this is the only experience I'll have and remember for when I attempt making decent foods in the future. I don't get how people can say baking and pastry or culinary is a pointless class. Because obviously, without it I would be stuck trying to figure out how to cook when I'm older, and ending up miserably failing as well as potentially burning the kitchen down. No joke!
-Jamie D

So In days like these, where I stumble across the time of when my dogs get fed, is when I realize how spoiled, food wise, the pets of my house are, rather than me. My dogs get precisely 1 cup of dog food, but to top it off my parents give them cottage cheese precisely to 1 and a half spoons full, plain yogurt precisely to 1 spoon full, boiled eggs crushed up all nice and neatly evenly spread among their dog bowl, and of course, how could I forget, they even get about 3 different types of vitamins. Of course, the amounts of when they get what are spread out throughout the entire week, however their food preparation is as if they were waiting at a 5 star restaurant and they were the last person (or canine) standing in their way of staying in business. They have a set time to be fed too, Between 6-6:15am and 5:15-5:30pm. My parents act as if the world is ending, when my dogs don't get spoiled with all their healthy meals during said time spaces. Whereas when it's time for me to eat though, the kitchen is dead silent. My meals consist of cereal, Dino chicken nuggets, salad, and mainly overall, Soup. I'm not complaining, but that's maybe because I've never had a well made, all fancied up meal before. Though to my dogs, they practically get that everyday compared to some house pets. So when I think of being spoiled food wise, the first thing to comes to mind, are my dogs. That being said, I've never even had cottage cheese or boiled eggs in my life before. The different kinds of food I have eaten in my 15 years is quite lacking, and disappointing to a lot of people, actually. Considering the fact that this blog entry should be a page long, and I'm not quite sure how long I've already ranted on about my spoiled house pets, I figured I should entertain some, and list at least a couple of the common foods I have never even tried before, so here I go- Any type of soup other than chicken noodle, Any type of seafood other than shrimp, Vegetables (other than carrots,broccoli,corn,pees,lettuce- so like cauliflower, peppers, spinach ect.), and to go into deserts- Smores, Pie, and Cheesecake. In addition, basically anything fancy, that you would probably make in culinary class. I could go on for a lot more too. Well, my life has been very uneducated in food, and I don't exactly belong in the kitchen much, considering I can't even boil water. Seriously..I don't know how to use a stove, as sad as that sounds. Maybe that's why I took B&P, to at least be able to understand a kitchen when I go off on my own so I won't starve myself. aha oh well. All I know is, my dogs are living the life, enjoying their noms. Thinking about that, I just realized, that dogs would eat practically anything, yet an individual person is picky on the type of food they would eat. My animals get fed like their royalty, yet they'd eat garbage, but I get fed basic elementary foods and I'm actually a human being, in which it is out nature to enjoy classy things, including fancy meals. Ironic much. Welcome to my life.
-Jamie D

This Monday, I went to New York City with my dance team for a benefit performance. For some unknown reason, we had to arrive for a 1pm rehersal when the show wasn’t until 7pm. Needless to say, we were horribly bored. Once lunch time rolled around, we needed a place to go because the Starbucks next door just didn’t cut it. Someone suggested their favorite restaurant that was just a few blocks away. The restaurant was called Arriba Arriba! It was a Mexican bar and restaurant and it was AMAZING. There lunch menu was short but everything sounded great. I still laugh about how every item on Mexican menus are just tortillas, beans, cheese, and rice for every single thing. I ended up getting a California burrito which was easily the size of a football (and yes I ate the entire thing). It was a regular tortilla with cheese, beef, rice, guacamole, sour cream, lettuce, tomato, beans, all topped off with enchilada sauce on top. It was sitting in a pool of spicy tomato and green pepper sauce. I also had a virgin strawberry coolata on the side (not worth the $7). I had stuffed myself with all I could eat and still had about a half of it left and convinced myself to stop eating it because I was most likely gonna puke if I ate anymore. But it was just too good to stop. I finished the entire thing and went into a food coma on my chair in the corner. After a while of trying to get through my food induced sleep, our waiter TJ came over and said the word I never wanted to hear: dessert. I showed some self control myself and didn’t order anything, my tablemates however were not as strong-willed. Within minutes, plates of Crème Brule, Flan, and fried ice cream were sitting on the table, mocking me. What I learned from this trip was that I have little to no self control when it comes to food, I don’t like flan, and that football sized burritos will put me to sleep. – Hope M.

Lauren S

Joshua Kaufman
Class 1
4/2/12
Baking and Pastries


THE 50 BUCKS THAT NEVER LEFT MY HANDS

Dear Mrs. Hoagland,

My parents were going to New York City for the weekend and I was stuck home all by myself. I was like great cant drive; can’t go anywhere. So then I was like to my parents what am I going to do? My mom said “watch a movie or hang out with friends”. I said “ok, but what am I going to eat”. My mom said “Here’s 50 bucks call food in”. Then after I got the money for my food for the weekend I got an idea. I decided that I would keep the 50 dollars and eat whatever was in the house. There wasn’t a lot because my mom didn’t go grocery shopping this weekend because she was away. So I was looking and looking nothing. Until I found a box of Ritz crackers and then I was like only if I had some pepperoni. I looked and in fact I did. I had 2 packages of pepperoni and a box of Ritz cracker. For dinner Friday night I had Ritz crackers and pepperoni and I thought it was a heavenly combination the spiciness if the pepperoni complemented the salty and sweetness of the Ritz cracker. I know what you all are saying “sweet” but in fact yes. If you put a Ritz cracker in your mouth and you let it sit there the sugar of the cracker comes out and you can taste the sweetness of it. Then for the next day I had Ritz and Pepperoni for lunch and dinner. It was the same magical experience I had yesterday. The saltiness hit my stomach like a feather hitting the ground. The Sweetness swept me of my feet. It was a match made from the gods. Then for the day my parents got back I had it for lunch and the only thing magical was my stomach up chucking everything I ate that weekend. I was at the toilet for an hour. That’s where everyone should learn something. Things are good in moderation and proportions. Then I thought to myself not a bad way to make 50 bucks. Then when my parents got home they said “Josh, what did you eat” while holding the 50 dollars. I smacked myself as hard as I could in the face. I forgot to take the 50 dollars off the counter where I left it. Overall it was a great food experience that I hope to have again in proportions.

From,
Joshua Kaufman