...Moving on...
Last week in my professional cooking class - we prepared soups & appetizers. This week we had to prepare a composed salad and 2 green salads - one dressed with a vinaigrette and one with a bound/creamy dressing.
...Here's how it went down...
First and foremost I needed to figure out which dressings I was going to make. Last night my mother and I brainstormed...and brainstormed...and brainstormed...and finally we figured out which dressings I should do.
For my vinaigrette I made italian dressing & for my bound dressing I made creamy italian. My mother is one smart lady (it was her idea to make creamy italian) because all I had to do was take 1/2 cup of my already made italian dressing and mix it with 1/2 cup of mayo (which I made from scratch as well) to assemble the creamy italian. Other people made a bunch of different dressings, which took up a great deal of time, but I killed two birds with one stone by making 2 very very similar dressings!
For my composed salad I chose to make my moms famous spaghetti salad - but instead of using spaghetti I used tiny elbow pasta (or at least that's what i think it's called lol.)
I chose to accompany my creamy italian dressing with a vegetable salad
This salad contained: carrots, tomatoes, green pepper, and cucumber. I feel as if my presentation was lacking a bit when it came to this particular salad, mainly because my knife cuts were a little bit off and it just looked too busy. Although....I thought my creamy dressing was delicious, and tasted exactly the way I wanted it to.
Lastly - I chose to accompany my italian dressing with a fruit salad.
This salad contained strawberries, grapes, raisins, and apples. I loved this salad. I loved the taste of the dressing, the texture of the fruits all together in my mouth, how it was strategically arranged on the plate, and how colorful the salad was. But...here's the thing... the plate was WWWAAAYYY too busy. Look at how much fruit I piled on it!! Lol. Once I started I just couldn't stop! Chef weighed out all of our salads before anyone got to taste them, and i'm sure mine was well over the weight limit lol.
All in all I think I did a very good job today! I'm proud of myself. Stay tuned for my class next Tuesday where we will be preparing some very fishy meals....
Let us begin...
[[Today’s music]]
'This love' is a new hometown/local band who are friends of friends/acquaintances of mine. This is their first music video, so it would be awesome if you'd all show your support by giving them a listen and checking out their myspace as well!
You know how I refer to some songs as "scream at the top of your lungs while you're alone in your car" kind of songs? I would definitely put this one in that particular category.... probably because I've done it a few times already lol :)
Right to the left as you walk through the front door is the register & a display case which holds cookies, cupcakes, and doughnuts. Who could resist!? (Well actually....I did resist lol- It took a lot of effort though!)
On top of the case there is a basket of pre-wrapped muffins for sale.
After about the 5th or 6th time the waitress came over to our table to see if we were ready for her to take our order - we had finally made decisions on what we wanted to eat. I ordered the French Toast Kabobs. Mia ordered regular french toast + an english muffin. David ordered a doughnut. 
I was diggin the light fixtures and the decor on the walls and ceiling of this teeny tiny restaurant.
There are only about 8 tables (I didn't count lol) that fit very snugly together.
The tables all have fresh flowers, syrup, creamer, sugars, and jams already laid out.
My french toast Kabobs were delicious! They contained - 2 pieces of french toast, fresh grilled pineapples, strawberries, shredded coconut, and a strawberry sauce/glaze. YUMMMMM!
Mia's french toast was delicious as well (I had to give it a taste or two...you know...to make sure it was safe for consumption lol)
I didn't taste David's doughnut, but I'm sure it was good.
[[Today’s kitchen gadget]]
MICROPLANE HERB MILL
“If you are an amateur/budding chef and you like to add a dash of herbs to your food, look no further. We have the Microplane Herb Mill that is mighty handy for your culinary adventures. It allows you to mince fresh basil, oregano, sage and other herbs as easily as grinding pepper. Simply load in your favorite herb, twist the handle and the ultra-sharp stainless-steel scissor blades quickly minces without tearing, bruising or blemishing the herbs' delicate leaves. Your sauces, salads and other dishes will taste lip smackingly good with some exotic herbs flavor added to it.”
[[Today’s news]]
KIDS SEEING MORE ADS FOR FAST FOOD, FEWER FOR SWEETS
“Children are seeing fewer television ads for sweets and beverages than they used to, a new report in the online edition of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine suggests. However, the study also suggests, children are being exposed to more TV ads for fast food.
Lisa Powell, a researcher at the Institute for Health and Research Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago and her team looked at advertising targeted at children from 2003 to 2007. On average, they found children between the ages of 2 and 11 are seeing 30 percent fewer television ads for fruit drinks and regular soft drinks. Exposure to ads for sweets, such as candy and cookies, went down 35 percent. However, exposure to ads for fast food went up 8 percent. Powell says 2- to 5-year-olds now see more fast food ads than cereal ads. "That suggests a lot of branding is going on. They are starting marketing of brand loyalty at an earlier age," she says.”
Want to read more?
[[Today’s random]]
CONVERSE PRESENTS KID CUDI
“This summer, Converse further activates its commitment to being a catalyst for creativity by bringing together three extraordinary musicians from different genres to form a unique collaboration known as Three Artists. One Song. The nucleus of this initiative is a brand new, all original track featuring Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast, Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend and Kid Cudi that will be released this July and available to music fans globally via free download at converse.com and authorized Converse websites around the world. In addition to collaborating on the track, each of the artists also participated in the creation of the music video, which will be released later this summer.”
http://hypebeast.com/2010/06/converse-presents-kid-cudi-video/
[[Today’s food clip]]
UNWRAPPED: BISCOTTEA
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