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10/2 Pictures
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This week we learned about starches! Chef Kristi started by showing us a variety of grains, rices, and pastas, before and after they were cooked. They really increased in size from absorbing all that water! She then demonstrated how to make a roux and took us down south and showed us a slurry! We used a wide variety of starches to thicken the food we made today, from risotto to stir fry to ravioli! Each unit made something to demonstrate the thickening power of various starches and how added ingredients affect their thickening ability.
Next week we'll be working with fruits and vegetables, and there will be a lot of delicious things to eat!
Today we made a bunch of different starch and pasta dishes. I really enjoyed all the mac and cheese, but did not like the polenta. The polenta's texture was grainy and wet which is not my favorite. I did enjoy the pesto with the raviollis but the pesto was thicker then I usually like. Over all I good time in this lab because there was a ton of things to sample.
ReplyDeleteKayleigh Palmer
In today's lab, each group made some type of pasta dish. Our group, group 2, made a quinoa salad. I talk about quinoa with the athletes that I counsel about nutrition at work; however, aside from studying its nutrition facts, I've never actually tasted this food. So today I not only got to taste it but be in the group that made it. I have to admit it's a great tasting food! I really enjoyed the quinoa salad and ate three helpings of it. The other pesto ravioli, risotto, and pasta dishes also tasted wonderful. I ate enough to make it my lunch again. The only thing I didn't try is the sushi. I've had wasabi before and didn't tolerate it very well. Knowing how it's not my favorite food deterred me from eating the sushi with wasabi today. So what did I learn how to do today? Make a great quinoa dish that I'll use in the future without doubt.
ReplyDeleteToday we made a variety of starch containing foods which was a lot of fun. I was a part of the group that made sushi, and upon first reading what we were making, I was a little apprehensive just because I'd never even really thought about what went into the process of making sushi let alone tried to make it myself. But it turned out to be a lot more straight forward than I expected and definitely something I'll make in the future (with less wasabi). Overall though, all of the dishes turned out really well all contributing to a delicious experience.
ReplyDeleteToday in lab each unit made a different starch based food. I was part of the unit making sushi and I was excited and nervous when I saw that in the lab manual. I'd never actually made sushi before and wanted to try it, but I didn't think there was any way we would be able to finish it in time. It actually worked out perfectly and for a first attempt, I was surprised by how nice looking my sushi roll was! I don't know that it is something I would have ever attempted to make on my own, but now that we've made it in lab and I see how much easier it is than I thought it was, I will try it at home. Today's tasting was great too, because there were so many different things to try. Our table really loved the macaroni and cheese- we couldn't believe other tables didn't finish theirs! All of the dishes were good and I'm always amazed at how little time it actually takes to make some of these recipes. I'll definitely be making several of these recipes in the future, especially for nights when I used to think that I didn't have time to cook anything.
ReplyDeleteToday's lab was all about starches. I was really excited when I was reading the lab manual before I got to class because my unit (11) would be making sushi! I'm normally not a fan of sushi because the thought of eating raw fish grosses me out, but the kind we would be making today was right up my alley. It had fresh vegetables, including some of my favorites, like avocado and carrots! When I got to class, however, I was a little intimated once I saw the nori and knew that I would be rolling up this intricate food to serve to the whole class. It was much easier than I expected, though, because the oil and vinegar concoction allowed for the rice to be spread out easily. I really liked the sushi in today's lab, as well as the Quinoa and pesto ravioli.
ReplyDeleteLoved all of the foods each group made in lab! My unit (9) made a rice pilaf using ingredients such as pecans, pumpkin seeds, brown rice, and butternut squash-- delicious! The most challenging part of the recipe was grating the ginger. The color seemed to be a bit off so I was hesitant to use it in the dish. Therefore, I only put the parts that looked okay into the pan; simple solution! I was excited to finally try quinoa, although I am not a huge fan of cilantro so it kind of ruined it for me. Good job to all of the units today!
ReplyDeleteOur Unit(unit 11) made sushi today and I am having so much fun! Loved all of the food today from other groups. This is the first time that I tried quinoa and i love it! I will definitely cook the food in today's recipe again!
ReplyDeleteToday we made cauliflower soup it was very good this is the first time that i have tried sushi and i thought it was not even that bad. the polenta was excellent. i had a lot of fun today making all different kinds of foods from different cultures.
ReplyDeleteThe lab today was very fun and interesting. My unit ended up making a Macaroni and cheese with different cheeses that normally I wouldn't think of. One ingredient that we used that I thought was a little too strong and different for my taste, along with those at my table, was the blue-cheese. Other than that, the foods we ate were interesting and it was a very fun lab!
ReplyDelete~Kevin Welsh~
I've tasted pesto in the past, once commercially and the second time my Mother made it a few years ago from scratch. The pesto and ravioli we made in class this Tuesday was very tasty. On a side note, I am a huge fan of avacados, and loved the mouthfeel and flavor combo of the avacado in the sushi:) Thumbs up to the unit in section 4 who made the sushi!
ReplyDeleteLast Tuesday we made New England Clam Chowder. A comment was made that our potatoes were still a bit tough from Chef. I agreed, and with some thought, I figured out why. I believe we cooked the soup too fast on a higher heat. Whether we were trying to "hurry" or just thought we were ahead, a taste-test before serving to the classs would have been a good idea. Our unit had approximately 10 "left-over minutes", (even though our soup was to take the longest and it did). The 10 extra minutes should have been used to (1)lower the heat and (2)continued cooking time. I actually evaluated this on my walk from NUTR to the commuter parking lot of where exactly we went wrong, so it must have been bothering me...However, to prevent future "mis-haps" I know now that the time that is given is given for a reason; no need to "beat the clock" or rush, good food is better when prepared correctly:) It was still quite yummy though.
Today's lab was so fun! We got to cook starch based foods which were so good. My unit made sushi which was very, interesting. I have never eaten sushi before but the one my unit made wasn't half bad. All the starch foods the other units made were good. I would have to say the Quinoa was by far the best! Great lab.
ReplyDeleteToday in lab my group got to make a delicious pesto sauce to go with ravioli. A friend of mine makes terrific raviolis from scratch, so I cannot wait to try this sauce over her ravioli! It definitely beats the canned sauce I normally use.
ReplyDeleteThe food from all of the groups was great today, and we had so much to sample that I didn't even need to eat lunch after. Best lab so far!
I always enjoy coming to lab because we learn so much in such a short period of time. On Tuesday, I learned how to make a roux, which I never realized how easy it was, and how it can make a dish taste that much better. In my kitchen we were in charge of making sushi! It was such a cool experience, and again I didn't realize how simple it can be. I definitely am going out to buy the supplies and am going to have a sushi party!
ReplyDeleteAll the kitchens did a great job with their recipes! They were all delicious, although my favorite was the mac and cheese, yum!
This has been the best lab so far. We got to sample so many different foods that were actually appealing and delicious. My unit made rice pilaf with caramelized onions and even though I don't like onions, it was great! The whole room smelled great and I enjoyed every bit of it. I'm so glad that I have these recipes because I'd like to try making them at home on my own time and see how they turn out. Hopefully, they'll be as good as the food in our lab today. I hope we have more labs like this in the future!
ReplyDeleteYvonne DeLancett
This week's lab has been explosive and I literally mean that. Firstly, I would really like to apologize for the flaming wasabi in all the sushi made on Tuesday's lab. My group was given the opportunity to make the sushi rolls and we definitely had a great time making sushi rolls and making compost. It was an eye opening opportunity to taste the different type of starches and I was glad I got to try some of which I know I would not have personally bought from the shelf. My favourite was the risotto and the mac and cheese was one of the popular ones on my table. Given the chance, We could have scraped every single bit of it. Definitely one of the best labs so far.
ReplyDeleteJessica Ng
This week in class I got to try a lot of new foods and dishes that I never have before. My group made a rice pilaf with pecans, brown rice, pumpkin seeds, and butternut squash. Most of these ingredients aren't things that I eat normally so I was a little hesitant. It came out great and I thought it was delicious! I'll definitely be making it again.
ReplyDeleteI liked today's lab a lot because I got to try a few foods that I was unfamiliar with, such as the polenta and risotto. I'm so happy I got to try both of these dishes because I really enjoyed them and will have definitely have them again. Today's lab was one of the best so far because every group created a meal that was unique from the next and was able to share that meal with our classmates.
ReplyDeleteChandler Ray
I really enjoyed this lab today because I felt like we cooked actual dishes that I would be more likely to repeat than all the other labs so far. I was nervous to try a few of the dishes such as the polenta and the cauliflower soup. I was the most nervous about the polenta because I had heard positive and negative things about it from friends and did not know how I would feel. I really enjoyed the risotto with tomato mozzarella and basil. It was unfortunate that the risotto was not cooked long enough, but I think if I made this and thoroughly cooked it I would like it even more. This is because despite the texture of the risotto I like the flavors.
ReplyDeleteThis weeks lab was very fun and creative. We made everything from sushi to mac and cheese. This was by far the best lab and even better than last weeks! We got to enjoy all the flavorful starches and my favorite had to be the sushi. Personally I love sushi so theres no way to go wrong with it. I loved this lab, and enjoyed every minute of it!
ReplyDeleteThis week's lab was one of the most interesting labs so far. I enjoyed making the sushi the most because I learned so much that I did not know about sushi. I hope there are more labs like this to come!
ReplyDeleteThis week's lab was delicious! It made me eager to go home and try out some of the recipes we made. My unit made risotto with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese. I may be biased but it was my favorite, especially the melted, stringy mozzarella cheese. It would be a great dish to make at the beginning of my week and then have leftovers ready to heat up all week. I was also surprised by how well the vegetable sushi turned out. I was skeptical to taste it, but it was a nice surprise. I never had polenta before this lab and I came to find that I really loved it and tried it out at home this weekend. This lab was the most useful so far because it made me really want to try out these easy and delicious recipes.
ReplyDeleteThis week's lab was definitely the best one yet! Of course, I'm basing it off of the different foods we got to make (and eat!). I was really impressed with a lot of the units' final products. The recipes are generally basic, but even simple things like presentation and cutting the vegetables julienne can be a challenge.
ReplyDeleteMy group made the risotto, and I've never made risotto before so that was a lot of fun. It came out well, but we should have used more chicken stock to expand the risotto even further. I liked a lot of the dishes, and I was impressed with the sushi group. The wasabi was a somewhat unpleasant surprise but I thought they did a good job considering they were given a difficult dish to make. I'm excited to see what lab we do this week!
Tuesday's lab was so much fun! My group made the risotto and it turned out to be easier to make than I thought, plus it was really yummy! The other groups also did a great job and some of the foods made were foods I never tried before such as polenta, quinoa, and of course, sushi. I was really taken by surprise by how hot the wasabi was in the sushi, but the group who made it really did a superb job with presentation. All in all, this was one delicious lab and I'm looking forward to what we do next week!
ReplyDeleteTuesdays lab was a ton of fun and definitely got me excited for the labs to come! This week, I helped make polenta with sauteed peppers and onions. I really enjoyed this task since I have eaten polenta many times but never made it myself (but will be making again!). However, my favorite dish was the rice with squash, seeds, nuts and caramelized onions. I thought all of the flavors were well balanced and was really satisfied by the different textures brought on my the vegetables and nuts. It reminded me of a dish that I make at home, but I am also excited to try all of these new recipes too. Great job to all of the units!
ReplyDelete-Morgan Cooper
Lab this week was a lot of fun. Every group made something very different and I got to try a lot of new foods. My group made Mac and Cheese, It turned out to be great! Although it wasn't as easy to make as Kraft mac and cheese out of a box, it tasted a lot better! I always thought that cooking from scratch took a lot more time and effort, but after making mac and cheese I realized that its not as hard as one would think and always gives food that extra flavor. I also really loved the pesto ravioli.
ReplyDeleteTuesday's lab was my favorite lab to date. I really enjoyed all the foods that were prepared by all of the students. My group made sushi, which happens to be one of my favorite foods. It was particularly exciting to make something that was different from our American culture. I was also able to improve my knife skills, as I was required to slice vegetables that were rather difficult to cut. I realized that making vegetarian sushi isn't as complicated as it seems. It is a pretty simple concept that can easily impress others. Another favorite dish of mine was the pesto ravioli. I really enjoyed the freshness of the pesto sauce. I did not enjoy the risotto with tomato and mozzerella primarily due to the fact that the risotto was not cooked fully. I am looking forward to next week's lab!
ReplyDeleteThis lab was my favorite so far because we just went back to our stations and got to cook. Our group got to make macaroni and cheese which is exciting since I usually just pour that out of the box and into the boiling water and sprinkle the cheese packet on top. If I was to make this recipe again I would probably leave out the blue cheese.
ReplyDeleteLab this week definitely left me with a very full stomach. Everything tasted great! Our group was responsible for making the stir-fry. I had never used a wok before in my life- it was pretty neat. I actually really want one now because it was so easy! The mac n' cheese was definitely my favorite- second to my moms that is! I will have to make that in the future. Kudos on the sushi too- I didn't think it was possible to make it without being a master chef but it still tasted pretty great.
ReplyDeleteThis lab was the first time we really got to try some delicious foods! My favorite part was that my unit made one of the stir-fry dishes so I got to use a wok. I have never used a wok before so it was really interesting to me. I was really surprised by how easy and fast it was to cook the vegetables! Using a wok is such a great way to cook a variety of vegetables in a quick and definitely tasty way. The clean up of the wok was also really easy for us so that was nice!
ReplyDeleteThis past lab was by far the most interesting and filling! For the first time, I learned how to use ginger root in a rice pilaf. Looking at a ginger root had me completely confused, but my group was taught to simply remove the skin from the root and grate it. Unfortunately, this task was harder than it looked. I was very impressed with the macaroni and never considered a holandaise sauce for this dish. I will definitely need to try it!
ReplyDeleteThis lab was the most delicious lab so far. My unit made vegetarian stir fry. I've had stir fry plenty of times but I never made it myself from scratch and it was very easy to make. I am not a vegetarian but even without the meat the stir fry tasted very good. I enjoyed this lab because we got to try out many different and delicious dishes made by other units. My favorite dish was definitely between the risotto and the macaroni and cheese. the mac and cheese was different from how my mother or I would cook it but it tasted very good. This lab, just like very lab, provided me quick and relatively easy recipes for me to try at home.
ReplyDeleteThis was by far one of the best labs that I have had during my entire college career! My group made mac and cheese by starting of with a roux. I have never done that before! I also had a great time taste testing all of the foods from the other units. The sushi was very delicious and it also cleared my sinuses with all of that wasabi. I definitely did not have to eat lunch after this lab!
ReplyDeleteThis lab is probably going to be one of the most useful - starches are something everybody eats! I was so glad I was in the homemade mac n' cheese group because I've been wanting to learn how to make that for a while. The results were spectacular too! From the food I sampled everything went very well. My classmates were all very happy and digging into all the dishes so it seemed every dish was a success. All I have to do now is find non-nut substitutes for all the recipes so I can make them at home.
ReplyDelete-Georgia Foulds
I really enjoyed this lab because I can apply the information I learned to my everyday life. Living in a college apartment requires me to cook for myself. I always knew how to make simple pasta but I never expanded my horizons to different recipes. I was in the macaroni and cheese unit. I was so surprised at the simplicity and the quickness of the recipe. In addition, I was obsessed with the risotto; I actually made it for dinner. I realized there are endless possibilities when it comes to starches.
ReplyDelete-Lyndsay Haverdink
Lab this week was focussing on starches and all the different types of meals that you can make with them. I learned alot about different options that starches can provide. My group made the classic mac and cheese and it was so delicious! It showed me that there was a easy way to make this meal other than the store bought packages of it. I was so surprised that the sushi turned out to be very good as well. I was not expecting much from these meals but now I see that as long as you are using good, quality products the meal can turn out to be very appetizing.
ReplyDelete-Alexandra Howell
This was my favorite lab so far because we got to experience so many different varieties and ways to prepare starch. My favorite dish had to be the polenta which I have had before but it has never been as good as it was in lab. I have always relied on the polenta toppings (normally I use a tomato sauce) to add the flavor but I really liked how the polenta made in the lab had all the flavor for which the onion and green pepper simply complemented. I also really liked the quinoa and will definitely make both recipes in the future :)
ReplyDeleteI liked this lab because it introduced a food I did not previously like at all (eggs) and showed me ways I could eat it and get its nutritional benefits without wanting to spit it out. My group was the group that made the egg drop soup, which I actually loved. Not only did I not previously like eggs, but I also have never had Asian food before (due to allergies) so this brought the two of them together quite nicely. Half the class crowded around the pot when we dropped the eggs in, which slowly swirled into the soup like tye die in a way I had never seen eggs look before. After that each group individually went and worked with Chef Kristi to make omelets stuffed with different kinds of cheese, which I'm sure will be useful this weekend when I'm making my dad birthday breakfast.
ReplyDelete-Georgia Foulds
This week we worked with meat and meat alternatives and it really opened my eyes to some options that I had not thought about eating. My group made an Irish Lamb Stew. I had never tried Lamb before and usually do not eat red meat. I got to use a pressure cooker for the first time as well. I learned another way to prepare meat that I have never seen before. It taught me that some cooking methods must be performed with care because they could be dangerous if used incorrectly. The pressure cooker needed to be used a specific way because we did not want it to explode. The meat alternative were my favorite part of the samples because I really enjoy mushrooms and eggplant. This lab has taught me there are way more options when it comes to eating meat than I thought!
ReplyDeleteI never knew that I would like tofu chicken! I also really liked the black bean burgers that my group made. I've needed a recipe for vegetarian burgers, and I loved the use of black beans. I was not crazy about the rest of the dishes; I think because I do not eat meat much. Cant wait to see how our plating skills are tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteGabby Keeley