What Would You Like to See?

While I have some free time on my hands, I would love to answer any questions that you might have.  If I don't know the answer, I will find out for you.  Are there certain types of recipes that you would like to see?  Just let me know!

The End of One Chapter, Beginning of Another

Graduation has come and gone.  I miss my classmates.  I actually miss going to class every weekend.  I was pleased with our Grand Buffet (final project), even though I was too nervous to eat.  Then came my internship.  I had a wonderful experience at Good Housekeeping's Test Kitchen.  I learned many invaluable things, and I hope to one day make that my career. 

Things have calmed down quite a bit.  I haven't had as much luck in the job market as I thought I would.  I was mistaken in thinking that having a culinary degree magically gets your foot in the door.  Oh well...  I have enrolled in the local community college, in the meantime, to finish my Journalism degree.  It's actually going really well.  I guess all it took was a major life crisis to kick my butt into taking school seriously.  I wrote an article for the school newspaper which will be published this month.  I'm electing to take Honors courses.  I guess you can say things are going pretty well. 

My social life, on the other hand, is not so well.  Rather, nonexistent.  I know that the choices I have made this last year were absolutely the best.  Ugh, enough of this self-pity party.  It's not like I'm taking the initiative to make friends here. 

As far as continuing to grow in the culinary world, I have been doing a home-study to become a Personal Chef.  Please feel free to check out my website.  In addition to home cooking, I offer recreational cooking classes perfect for bridal showers and dates, and I am available to cater small dinner parties. ==> Sarah's Home Cooking

Moving Onward and Upward

I apologize that it has been so long since my last post.  School, and life in general, has kept me very busy.  Since my last post, we have finished Module 3: French, Italian, and Asian Cooking, and moved onto Baking and Pastry.  Throughout Module 3, we really concentrated on plating.  Always looking for balance, color, and height on the plate.



  As far as Baking and Pastry, I have really enjoyed learning all of the science behind it all.  Bread rises because of a chemical reaction, and Puff Pastry "puffs" because the individual layers of butter melt and release steam.  I find this all fascinating, but I can't say the same for some of my classmates.  It's interesting that there is such a divide between Culinary and Pastry classes.  Those who chose Culinary have no desire to bake.  I wonder why one can't do both.  I mean, I'm certainly glad that I chose Culinary, but it's nice to get a taste of the Pastry program.

On a completely different note, I have started a new book.  "Will Write for Food," by Dianne Jacob is a tool for anyone looking to break into, or brush up on skills, in the food writing business.  She in no way sugar-coated the work that will need to be put forth, but in a way makes it seem attainable.  Each chapter ends with suggested writing assignments, which I will post on here.  As I am just beginning, I would love any feedback that you are willing to give.  Be brutally honest, as I am in the process of developing my voice and tone.  I promise that I'll be posting more frequently, and I really look forward to your comments.  Also, I would like to start answering any culinary questions that you might have.  I'm not saying that I have all the answers, but I think this would be a fun activity.  I'll be able to research what interests you, and practice my writing.

Stretching a Buck

I'm going to diverge from my usual path of posting about culinary school to talk about something that has been very near to my heart lately.  I'm sure that everyone out there has been affected in some way by the poor economy.  I, myself, am on food stamps right now.  So, I have decided that while I am not working, (and hopefully even after I am) to make my grocery budget stretch as far as possible.  This would not be possible without the wonderful information provided by fellow bloggers that I follow.  Someone out there does all the work of scouring store circulars and matcing sale prices with coupons.  And they are so gracious to provide all of that information to all of us.

I recently posted this picture on Facebook of my first attempt at "Extreme Couponing."  As I am fairly new to this whole world, I was a little apprehensive as I approached the check-out line with my folder full of coupons.  I was so nervous that some of the coupons wouldn't go through, or that I had gotten the wrong product.  Low and behold, they all went through.  The hour or so that I spent clipping coupons and making sure everything was in order really paid off.  I ended up getting over $100 worth of groceries for $16.  Ka-ching! 

Some people might think that this is cheating the system, or that they are too good for couponing.  I have always bought generic items, so I didn't think that I could possibly save money buying name-brand products with coupons.  For those nay-sayers, I ask who is too good to save money?  And why would companies spend millions of dollars on coupons if they didn't want people to use them?  As far as coupons over generic, you really do have to compare.  I have been converted, though.  Sure, I still buy generic items that I do not have coupons for, or if the generic price is still cheaper.  But I have to ask, what is better than free?  Because I have been getting an awful lot of free groceries lately.  And you can, too.  I've added links to some of my favorite blogs.  These are based out of New Jersey and Indiana, so there are stores and deals for everyone.  I hope that this helps you as much as it has helped me.

Money Saving Mom

Living Rich with Coupons

Free Sample Freak

Gotta Get My Name Out There

Next weekend, I'll be volunteering for Food Network's South Beach Wine and Food Festival.  I know, I'm pretty excited.  This will be my first real event.  I've volunteered at my school, but this time I'll be working with a chef from Miami to prepare and plate his menu.  Not only will volunteer work look good on my resume, I'm looking forward to working with professional chefs in this capacity.  School can only teach you so much.  I need to get out there and get some real experience under my belt.

I've included the link for the event if you would like to check it out.  I'll report back with how it went.  Wish me luck :)

NY Times Travel Show and Food Network's South Beach Wine and Food Festival

Sandwich Day :)

This was a nice change from some of the really rich, heavy dishes we've been making lately.  We covered your basics: Cold, Hot, Open-Faced, Grilled, and Tea sandwiches.  It made for a tasty, laid-back morning.  And it also gave me lots to consider for potential catering recipes...

Yesterday also marked the end of Module 2.  It seems like we have been flying through these lessons.  Next up will be French, Italian, and Asian cuisine.

As Requested

I really appreciate all of the positive comments I've been getting.  It's nice to know that these posts aren't just falling into cyberspace nothingness.  We have come to the end of our second module.  This section concentrated on dry and moist-heat cooking methods.  While my family has thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of my labor, I have enjoyed learning the "proper" ways of cooking.  I mean, everyone knows your basic terms: grilling, sauteing, poaching, braising, stewing, etc... but could you actually explain the execution of each?  I can, now :) 

I had posted some pictures on Facebook, and a request had been made for the recipe for Broccoli Souffle.  So, here it is.  Made correctly, this is a beautiful, light and airy, but fully flavored dish.  Enjoy...

Broccoli Souffle (Yields 6 Souffles)

Butter (as needed)
Flour (as needed)
20 oz. Broccoli (peeled and trimmed)
Milk (as needed)
2 oz. Butter
Salt, Pepper, and Nutmeg (to taste)
2 oz. Grated Gruyere cheese
4 Egg Yolks
8 Egg Whites

Coat inside of ramekins completely with butter and dust with flour

Blanch broccoli in salted, boiling water until cooked.  Shock in ice bath. 

Puree broccoli in blender until smooth.  Add milk, as needed, to help mixture blend.

Place puree in saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until milk is cooked out.  Mixture should be very thick.  Season, to taste, with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Stir in grated gruyere cheese until melted, and add egg yolks.  Remove from heat.

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.  (Should be able to hold whisk upside down and egg whites still stand up)  Fold egg whites into vegetable mixture in three batches.  First addition will just be to combine.  Second, fold a little more gently.  And third addition fold just to incorporate.  You want mixture to remain as light as possible.

Pour mixture into individual ramekins.  Run finger, gently, around the edge of each ramekin to form a lip, almost.  Bake in water bath for 10 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

*You will not want to open oven at all during cooking time.  This will release steam, and the souffle will not rise

This recipe can be made with different vegetables in the same preparation.  Substitute 10 oz of trimmed cauliflower or 12 oz of unpeeled zucchini for the broccoli.