Taking a break

Hello Again to Everyone.

I have been away from the Blog for quite a while now because I have been very busy but I am excited today to come back to share very wonderful news.

I have spent the last two and one half years actively participating in the Young Chefs Academy near my home.  This past week those many hours of effort came to a close as I was awarded a Grand Master Chef status...... Yay !!  (... see pictures attached to this Blog post entry....)   Double Yay!!!!

This program was not easy but it was exciting and an adventure that taught me a whole lot more about cooking and as a result my skills have been greatly improved.    I am so happy to have had this opportunity and I am very excited to receive the Grand Master Chef plaque and trophy I earned.

To share some additional information

I took up swimming this past year also and I was honored to earn a spot on the Special Olympics swim team from my local YMCA.   I competed and I was selected to swim in the Ohio State Special Olympics event.

I  WON the Gold Medal in the 50 Meter Freestyle event and also competed in the 25 Meter Backstroke.

Here is my a picture of my GOLD medal.

And now to my latest update for everyone...

We had snowfall in my area and I had a mishap... OOOPPSS !!!

and now I can share the picture of my broken arm....  

So my cooking and my swimming will be put on hold for a while.

My what a very adventurous year it has been for me.. so many new adventures, excitement .. and some pain... good bye and merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, happy Kwanza and a happy new year.

Greek Week

This week it's one of my dad's favorite cuisines.... Greek Week. Bonus fact- the Greeks serve fries with their meals. I made a gyro with tzatziki sauce, greek green beans, french fries and baklava for dessert. I tried the tzatziki sauce and it was pretty good. This is important because I'm an incredibly picky eater and won't try most things. I also tried a part of the baklava. I loved it, but it was too sugary and I would be on a sugar rush all night.

This is the recipe I used for the gyro meat.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/173420/traditional-gyro-meat/

This is the recipe I used for the tzatziki sauce.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/20242/tzatziki-sauce/

This is the recipe I sorta used (with some changes) for the greek green beans.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/73470/greek-green-beans/

And, finally, this is the recipe I used for the baklava.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/9454/baklava/

Baklava Before

Basting Baklava

Baklava After

Me stirring the green beans

Finished plate. It's a gyro filled with meat, tzatziki sauce, tomato and lettuce, fries and the green beans.

A piece of baklava.

Next week will be...... Mexican. See you next week and.... Ole!

Spanish Week

This week we have special guests- 3 Sisters from the Mormon church. I made a non-seafood paella, pan con tomate and churros. 

This is the base recipe for the paella I used. 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/84137/easy-paella/

I made it into a one pot meal though by cooking the chorizo, taking it out, cooking the chicken, taking it out, cooking the oil, onion, garlic and red bell peppers. Then I added the rice and cooked that for a little bit. Then I added all the other ingredients plus some turmeric, a can of diced tomatoes and slightly more saffron than the recipe says. We do not have a paella pan plus we needed to make a lot because we had guests so I used a dutch oven. Not quite the same result as a paella pan, but everyone liked it!

This is me making the seasoning for the chicken.

This is me and my disgusted face mixing the chicken. I was disgusted because I don't like touching raw chicken.

This is me putting the chorizo in the pot (I took it out of the casing).

Mixing some of the ingredients

Paella un-cooked

This is the paella cooked.

For the pan con tomate I grated 3 big tomatoes (not using the skin). I drained the pulp and mixed the pulp with some salt and olive oil. I sliced the bread and put olive oil on it then toasted it. After it was done I put the tomato pulp on it.

This is me grating the tomato on the cheese grater. Or, as it's known today, the tomato grater.

Pan con tomate

My total meal.

This is the churro recipe I used.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/24700/churros/

This is the churros cooking in the oil

These are the churros. They are varied in size because my bag broke.

A churro with a smiley face with dulce de leche.

This is me and the Sisters.

These are the littles.

These are me and the Sisters. I tried to use Bunny Ears but failed. 

Next week will either be Mexican or Greek..... stay tuned! Dun Dun Dun.....

French Oui Oui

Sorry after being late for so many times, it had to be with being focused on school. Now with summer here I'll try to update it once a week. This week is French. I made Chicken Cordon Bleu, pommes frittes (fancy for french fries), a multi-grain medley, green beans and a baguette.

This is me slicing the fries. 

This is me sorting the fries and coating them in oil, garlic salt and fresh rosemary from our garden.

These are the fries ready to go in the oven.

These are the fries all cooked.

This me pounding the life out of the chicken (it was already dead).

This is me slicing the chicken in half, horizontally.

This is me placing ham and cheese in the chicken and rolling it up.

This is me rolling the chicken in beaten egg.

This is me rolling the chicken in seasoned flour, garlic salt and panko bread crumbs.

This is chicken cordon bleu before being cooked.

This is me getting the green beans out of the boiling water and into the freezing cold water.

This is me sauteeing mushrooms in butter, oil and garlic. I later added the green beans and some fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Finished green beans.

This is the finished plate. It is a castle presentation. Chicken cordon bleu being protected by a layer of rice, the green beans are attacking the layer of bread and fries. I made a sauce for the chicken from butter, white wine, chicken bouillon, cornstarch and heavy whipping cream. 

If you have any questions leave them in the comments!