I think I have mentioned that I am a little infatuated with bite sized food. Its easy. Clean. Fun. And it makes for a great presentation. Recently I was doing a big party for The Dishs Dish, (an at home weekly personal chef service which rocks for families that are busy but still want to […]
Wow! What a fabulous year 2009 has been! It started with a tad bit of turbulence as I was laid off, which ended up being a blessing in disguise, as it brought me so many new opportunities! (like this wheel of cheese – I was pretty excited about it to say the least!) The first […]
Ta-Da!!! I finally have all the photos from my Culinary School Graduation! These were taken by Andy, a gracious photographer who volunteered his time at our graduation! After an intensive 24 week course covering everything from basic knife skills to advanced preparation of meat and lobster, my fellow classmates and I finally made it to […]
Well this was our last formal week of Culinary School. Of course we still have a TON of work to do on graduation as far as menu development and other delicious details and I will continue to fill you in as we go! After a week full of Caul Fat and Sausages I was happy […]
Read More… from Culinary School – Week Twenty Three – Advanced Vegetables
I have definitely been exposed to some interesting things during culinary school… but I must say… nothing compares to this. Be warned that some images are kinda graphic… and this post is not for those with a weak stomach… but its so cool that you just have to read it! Let’s start with the finished […]
Read More… from Culinary School – Week Twenty Two – Advanced Meat Preparation
I love focusing on specific types of cuisine at Culinary School. It is so fun to dive into a culture and play around with different flavors… especially when they involve hot and spicy chilies! Did you know that the HOTTEST Chile in the world is called the Ghost Chile… its from India and has over […]
Read More… from Culinary School – Week Twenty One – Asian and Latin American Cuisine
Culinary School is winding down and we are starting to focus on specific cuisines. This week we dabbled in Asian Cuisine and explored some of the flavors from Korea, Japan, Thailand, and China. Everything was really delicious and one of the best parts about the night is that we used absolutely NO butter! (my waist […]
Read More… from Culinary School – Week Twenty – Asian Cuisine
I would just like to preface this posting by saying that chances are you will gain weight by just reading this post. I am fairly certain that I gained weight by just making these pastries… not to mention eating them. Pull out your elastic waist pants because this advanced pastry class is a bucket full […]
Read More… from Culinary School – Week Nineteen – Advanced Pastries
Everyone… I would like you to meet Fred. I am fairly certain that Fred knows his life is about to be over. He was flailing his claws around and freaking out while we were observing him on the cutting board. I am pretty sure he took one look at the cleaver sitting next to him […]
Wine tasting is always fun… I have been a few times in Napa with my girl friends from college and then we did it again this past weekend at Culinary School. Not only did we try 10 different wines ranging from Prosecco to a full bodied Shiraz that is said to “Body Slam Your Toungue” […]
I love bite sized snacks so this week at Culinary School I was in heaven! We explored all different kinds of appetizers and then I proceeded to eat everything! Everything was so delicious 🙂 These mini Mexican Quiches were stuffed with cheeses, chorizo and topped with a sliver of a Jalapeno. This smoked salmon pate […]
This week at Culinary School we focused on Puff Pastry and all its uses! In order to prepare we each had to make our own puff pastry, with 6 turns, at home… which is not a quick and easy process! It requires a lot of time and work but homemade puff pastry is significantly better […]
Read More… from Culinary School – Week Fourteen – Puff Pastry
After a week full of rabbit, duck and other game last week I was ready for a week filled with salads and fabulous dressings! Not only did we focus on Salads but we also did a full tasting for over 40 oils and vinegars. We tried everything from basic oils, like canola, safflower and grapeseed, […]
Read More… from Culinary School – Week Thirteen – Classic and Contemporary Salads
This week at Culinary School we focused on different kinds of Game and how to prepare different kinds! There was Rabbit, Kangaroo, Ostrich and Silkie (Black Chicken). How many of you have actually tried all that?!? I know that I sure haven’t which means that I didn’t eat quite as many calories as I usually […]
Read More… from Culinary School – Week Twelve – Game Identification and Prepartion
Notice anything new…like my website!!! What do you think? Do you love it! We are still in the process of tweaking a few things but I couldn’t let another day go by without sharing my Culinary School Adventures from this week. And… if you are looking to get your site designed you should talk to […]
Read More… from Culinary School – Week Eleven – Classic Desserts
oh my goodness. This has been a big big week for me. Not only was it my birthday on Monday (I am still celebrating) but I tried so many different kinds of shellfish that I never even thought I would ever try! And so many fabulous people at culinary school made me cakes, cupcakes and […]
This week at Culinary School is all about pasta, pasta, and more pasta. Did I mention pasta? The amount of carbs I consumed cannot even be described and it will take at least 72 million hours of spin class to burn them all off! Pasta is and has always been one of my favorite foods. […]
Who here watches Iron Chef America? I know that I do… and I am constantly amazed at how creative these chefs are. They are also fairly calm throughout the show and handle the pressure with such grace. Well… let’s just say that I an not quite ready to be on Iron Chef… nope… not even […]
Read More… from Culinary School – Week Eight – Vegetables, Herbs and Exotic Fruits
This week at Culinary school it was all about FISH!! I tried a few types that I have never tried before and for the first time ever I tried raw fish!!! It was a big step for me… now maybe if I am really brave I can try raw sushi. I also filleted and de-boned […]
After a week off of culinary school for Easter we started back up this week and focused on meat! Since we weren’t doing any recipes that required long amounts of cooking time we were able to sit down and all eat at the same time rather than wrapping up most of the food and bringing […]
My latest Cookbook is now available for pre-sale
