Random Thoughts

-When I am walking home from school with left overs in my purse and pass a tall skinny model I want to offer her food.
-I love to walk past the fresh flower markets. Note to Taber...When you get into town I will gladly accept some of these fresh flowers from you:)
-Only in a New York City Gym would I witness a man practicing his tap dance routine between sets of push-ups.
-When I make the train just before the doors are about to close I feel like I have conquered the world.
-I wonder why individuals feel the need to listen to their IPOD music so loud on the subway that I can hear it...from the next train over.
-There should be a regulation on how much cologne one is allowed to put on before entering a crowded subway train.
-New Yorkers are fantastic at multitasking. I have seen a man sleeping as he was walking to work, a woman reading the newspaper as she was grocery shopping, and a man walking his dog while text messaging and eating a bagel.
-When I walk across the street on a "No Walking" sign I am convinced that Taxi drivers speed up to try and hit me.
-I will take the route with the most sunshine. Even if it takes me longer to get to my destination.
-I have yet to decide if some train rides are bumpier because the train is older, the conductor is asleep, the conductor is drunk, or the conductor is bitter and wants all the passengers to spill their coffee, the conductor wants us to start the day off with motion sickness from trying to read the newspaper while being whipped around.
- According to the newspaper the train conductors have been asked to limit their commentary.
-The other day in class the Chef asked us what drives us. I said "success" and she said "Wow, you aren't holding anything back". It turns out she thought I said "sex"!I made sure to clarify.

And finally. The longer I am here the more I fall in love with this city. Sometimes when I drift off to sleep I think about Taber and I (and Aussie and Payton of course) spending an afternoon in the park across from our Greenwich Village apartment. After the park we would wonder to Magnolia Bakery and pick up some cupcakes to have for dessert after going to Blue Hill (farm to table restaurant) for dinner. The only way to make this dream a reality is to have several million dollars in the bank account. I have to go buy a lottery ticket now...

Cookie and Babies

I usually set three alarms for the morning and drag myself out of bed on the third one. Today was different. I jumped out of bed as if I had already had 5 shots of espresso. It was cookie baking day at school and I was excited. Today we baked 16 types of cookies. Yes, 16 different types. I was in my element the entire 6 hours of class and did not hide it well. A classmate came up to me and said "I can tell you love to bake, you have had a permanent smile on your face the entire day". I imagine I looked a bit abnormal smiling at the kitchen aid mixer while it whipped my butter to a light and fluffy consistency. My happiness is not easily contained.
Part of the reason we had so many cookies is because we made a variation of the same recipe a few times. For one batter we would use olive oil as the fat, another coconut oil, and lastly butter. We did these variations for the jam print cookies. I preferred the cookies made with the olive oil. It provided a moist cookie with a minuet olive oil flavor. If you did not know there was olive oil in the batter you would not be able to pick up on its flavor.

After tasting and critiquing the cookies we were able to bag them up and take them home. With my sugar high still in full drive, I started on my walk home. A few blocks from school I passed a homeless man asking for food and money. Whenever I walk by homeless people asking for food it pains me. Especially when I have a bag of food in my purse. Depending upon what leftover food I have taken from school that day, I will sometimes offer it them. The bag of cookies was weighing down my bag and too good not to share, so I offered the man some. His response..."thank you" and "will you have my baby". Will you have my baby? Cookies I can do. But a baby? That is getting a little greedy. I responded with "no thank you" and continued on my way.

Here is a list of the other cookies we made...Rolled Fig, Maple Pecan, Walnut Tea Cresents, Peanut Butter, Rugelach, Macaroons, Chocolate Biscotti, Pecan Tuiles, Raspberry Linzer, Black and White Checkered, and Chocolate Pecan Cherry Bars.

Mr. Caesar Would Approve

There is one dish that is always requested and present our family gatherings. Susie Frank's (my aunt) Caesar salad. It is, hands down, the blue ribbon of Caesar salads. The beauty of it is it's simplicity. It is light and refreshing enough for a hot summer day but can also round out a steak dinner on a cold winter night. She has mastered the ratio of olive oil to lemon juice perfectly. Having been spoiled with her Caesar salad my entire life, I am always skeptical of other Caesar salads. Before biting into them I know they will not live up to the standard I have become accustom to. Which is why I usually avoid them entirely. The other day at school we were given a recipe for "Vegan Caesar Salad". Before making it I had my mind made up that it would be the first and last time I would make it...I was wrong. The dressing turned out to be fantastic. I now have the recipe stared in my recipe collection. No Caesar dressing will ever live up to Susie's, but the Vegan Caesar dressing comes in at 2nd place. Give it a try, it may even end up starred in your recipe collection too.

VEGAN CAESAR SALAD
INGREDIENTS
-2-3 garlic cloves (if they are big only use 2)
-1 tablespoon white miso
-2 Tablespoon lemon juice
-1 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
-1 tablespoon mustard
-1/2 teaspoon umeboshi paste
-1 teaspoon shoyu
-1 ounce silken tofu
-6 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
-1/2 sheet nori, crumbled
-1 head Romain lettuce, torn into bite size pieces
-2 cups homemade croutons
-freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS
-In a blender, combine garlic, miso, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, umeboshi paste, shoyu, tofu, olive oil, and nori. Blend until mixture is smooth and creamy.
-Toss salad with croutons and dressing; serve immediately.

Scallop Ceviche

Ceviche is something I have been wanting to make for awhile. My sister, Melanie, told me about a recipe she and her husband, Chris (who is an amazing cook) made awhile ago. Since then, I have been eager to have a hand in the union of raw fish and acid. My day came a few weeks ago and I made this scallop ceviche.

INGREDIENTS
-1 pound sea scallops, cut into coins (1/2 inch thick)
-1 jalapeno pepper, cut into bruniose
-1 medium red pepper, cut into bruniose
-1/2 small onion, minced
-2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and cut into small dice
-1 clove garlic, minced
-2 teaspoons rice syrup (optional)
-2 Tablespoon chopped cilantro
-2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
-sea salt
-black pepper
-1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
-1/4th cup lemon juice

GARNISH
-1 avocado, peeled and cut into 16 slices. and brushed with lemon juice
-2-3 tablespoons chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS
-In a large bowl, combine scallops, jalapeno, red pepper, onion, tomatoes, garlic rice syrup, cilantro, parsley, salt, pepper, citrus juices.
-Toss gently but thoroughly, being certain scallops are well coasted with citrus juices.
-Cover and refrigerate for at least 40-60 minutes, or until scallops lose their translucent appearance. Stir occasionally.
-Serve in individual chilled bowls and garnished with avocado and parsley.

Grilled Ginger Lime Chicken Breast with Papaya Salsa

Here are a few recipes worth trying...

GRILLED GINGER LIME CHICKEN BREAST WITH PAPAYA SALSA
- 6 Organic Free Range chicken breasts (skinless and boneless)
-1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
-3 tablespoons grated ginger
-1/2 cup olive oil
-1 Tablespoon black pepper
-2 Tablespoons Shoyu

DIRECTIONS
-Combine the lime juice, ginger, olive oil, pepper, and shoyu
-Pour over the chicken
-Allow to marinate in refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
-Grill on a hot grill until cooked through (juices run clear)
-Slice on the bias and serve with the papaya salsa

PAPAYA SALSA
-1 Papaya
-1/4th pineapple
-2 scallions, cut on the bias
-1 Tablespoon cilantro, minced
-1 jalapeno
-juice of 1 lime
-1 Tablespoon ginger juice

DIRECTIONS
-Peel, remove seeds, and dice papaya into small dice
-Peel, remove core, and dice pineapple into small dice
-Cut scallions on the bias
-Mince Cilantro
-remove seeds and membrane of jalapeno, mince
-Combine all ingredients in a bowl with lime and ginger juice
-Refrigerate for 1 hour or over night. Remove 30 minutes prior to service.

Back in Business

I have spent the last couple of weeks fully emerged in school. Between after hour stewarding, homework, recipe testing, and studying for my midterm I have had no time to write.
I took (and survived) my midterm yesterday. The only traumatic experience of it was burning myself on the convection oven and almost bursting into tears after giving the chef the first course I had prepared. Luckily I held myself together and kept the tear ducts in check. I was not happy with my vinaigrette I had made, which is why I almost broke into tears. Apparently the chef was satisfied with it. I got a 95% on the cook tech part of the midterm. 100% would have been better, but I will take the 95%. I have not yet seen the actual test, so I don't know what I was marked off for. The chef only showed us our grade as we were walking out the door.

I Died and Went to School

Last week we made chocolate souffles with creme anglaise. I was in heaven the entire baking process. I think I reached super heaven standing over the double broiler smelling and watching the dark chocolate melt into a decadent silky pool.
The creme anglaise was divine enough to drink from a glass. What? It would be the same thing as eating peanut butter or Nutella (which I guarantee Taber is doing at this moment) straight from the jar. Right? I was able to resist drinking the creme anglaise straight up. Thank goodness, because I would not have been able to stop at one sip so there would not have been any left for the souffle. It tasted amazing poured over the warm chocolate souffle.
We replaced refined white sugar with maple crystals, which (in my opinion) intensifies the rich flavor of this dessert. Maple crystals are a great sweetening agent to use in baking. Much better for you than refined white sugar.