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Expecting a Chilli Reception
I've been passionate about food all my life. It's only recently, at nearly 50, that I realized that what I want to be when I grow up is a chef. So, now I'm in culinary school. This blog will chronicle that journey, as well as my personal experiments.
Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
06/18/2013 10:57 PM
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Mushroom Medley Stir Fry with Sesame Rice

I recently celebrated my 50th birthday. My friends, knowing me, all gave me food related gifts. One of those gifts was a selection of Asian fresh mushrooms. I decided to use many of them in a stir fry. I used fresh shiitake, king oyster, seafood, and enoki mushrooms. The shiitake and oyster mushrooms when cooked have a very meaty texture. The enoki mushrooms have almost the texture of noodles

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
06/17/2013 11:24 PM
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Summer Steak Salad

While we aren't quite officially to summer yet, it is starting to warm up, so we thought a nice, cool salad would be just the ticket for dinner.I had some grilled medium rare steak left over from the other night. I diced that, mixed with capers, and dressed with a mixture of mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, horseradish, prepared brown mustard, cumin, salt and pepper. It is served on a bed of mixed baby g

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
06/14/2013 05:16 PM
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Chocolate Class: Tempering Chocolate and Modeling Chocolate

A baseline skill needed to be able to work with chocolate is the art of tempering. The fats in cocoa butter can crystallize in a number of forms. If you can get it to crystallize in the right form, you get a glossy chocolate with a clean snap when broken, and a relatively high melting point, so that it can be handled without immediately melting. If you get one of the wrong forms, you end up with d

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
06/13/2013 12:36 PM
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Chocolate Class: Introduction and Chocolate Tasting

Yesterday was the first day of my chocolate class. As usual, we started with the basics of going over the syllabus, discussing grading and class/school policies.Because it is a short semester, we didn't have much time to waste. We started with a chocolate tasting. We tasted 28 kinds of chocolate, starting with several types of white chocolate, then working our way up through milk, semi-sweet, and

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
06/12/2013 02:27 PM
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World Tea Expo: World Origin Tasting Tour Part 2, the afternoon

For the teas we tasted in the morning, go here.After a morning of tasting many interesting teas, they fed us a nice lunch. As a bonus, I got to have an extended and very interesting conversation with my new tea guru crush, Jane Pettigrew. Once we were fed, we returned to the tasting rooms.Our first country of the day was Japan. The presenter for Japan was Rona Tison of ITO EN. When we got to our t

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
06/11/2013 05:29 PM
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World Tea Expo: World Origin Tasting Tour Part 1, the morning

Friday of the World Tea Expo we attended the World Origin Tasting Tour as part of the New Business Boot Camp. The set up was very well done from a logistics stand point. They set it up so that there were two rooms. We would be in one room tasting one countries teas, as they set up the other for the next country. When we finished tasting a country, we would have a short break, then move to the othe

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
06/10/2013 03:58 PM
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World Tea Expo: New Business Boot Camp

The spouse and I drove up to Las Vegas Tuesday after she got off work. We got there late, and crashed at a friend's house. There was a strict 'no photos or recordings' policy, which is why I have none to go with the post. The boot camp started bright and early, with a check-in at 7 AM. We did get a light breakfast, including some good tea from one of the sponsors. There was the inevitable wel

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
06/10/2013 01:22 PM
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Culinary Class: Final Grade

Checked my posted grade for my culinary class. I did in fact pull off the A+! OK, so there is no functional difference between the A and the A+. I don't care. It makes me happy.

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
06/10/2013 12:34 PM
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World Tea Expo: Introduction

Most of last week the spouse and I spent at the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas. This is a professionals only trade show for all aspects of the tea business; wholesale, retail, or food service.It was a whirlwind of activity. We took a number of classes, met a lot of great people, drank a lot of good tea, and generally came away overwhelmed and in desperate need of letting all the information proc

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
06/03/2013 07:36 PM
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Armenian Lamb with Sauteed Peppers and Onions on Walnut Couscous

A couple of weekends ago, I was out camping at a large historical re-creation event. I camp with a group that of people that are mostly enthusiastic cooks. At this event, however, we are all busy with the myriad activities available, and so meals tend toward simple and quick to prepare. Another reason to keep it simple is that sometime this site has an abundance of wasps. The less time raw meat is

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
05/31/2013 01:47 AM
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Mango Carrot Cake with Mango Ginger Pastry Cream and Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting

A friend of ours was celebrating her birthday, and the spouse and I wanted to make her a cake. The spouse had found a recipe for a mango carrot cake in the April 2013 issue of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine. We followed the cake recipe, but I came up with my own filling and icing recipes. We coated the outside with toasted walnuts. For the filling, the spouse and I collaborated on a mango ginge

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
05/30/2013 03:44 PM
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Outdoor Wedding Buffet

Last weekend, I was out camping with about 2500 of my closest friends at the Potrero War, a medieval and renaissance re-creation event. At the event, two people I care for got married, and they asked the spouse and I to help with the food. The spouse made pasta salads and desserts, which I may cover in another post, if I can get the recipes from her. She also provided sliced cheese, rolled cold cu

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
05/21/2013 10:49 PM
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Culinary Class: Written Final`

Had my written final for my culinary class tonight. I'm relieved to report that I scored 50 out of 50. I could have missed as many as six, and still had enough points for an A. That is without counting the extra credit I did, and whatever participation points the instructor can optionally give. I'm still holding out hope for an A+. I currently have 189 points. If he gives me a total of seven point

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
05/19/2013 01:39 PM
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Maple Bacon Popovers

Why don't I make popovers more often? They are easy, delicious, and impressive. It may be because the cabinet in the kitchen that holds most of the less commonly used equipment is ridiculously non-ergonomic. Getting the popover pans out is an enormous pain in the ass.If you haven't tried popovers, you need to, soon. They are descended from the Yorkshire pudding. They are a thin batter, cooked in a

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
05/18/2013 01:00 PM
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Buttermilk crepes with Sour Cherry - Cream Cheese Filling

Today, and this whole weekend, will be crazy busy while the spouse and I are preparing for Potrero War. Besides all the usual stuff, we are helping cater the wedding of a couple of friends. We also need to help provide snacks for a special event.To help the spouse get going, I made breakfast. Thinking about what was available, I went with filled crepes. I cheated for the crepes. I had some Krustea

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
05/18/2013 12:32 PM
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Apologies for Not Blogging Much

Sorry I haven't been blogging as much this month. I've been crazy busy. The month began with Gaslight Gathering, and will be ending with Potrero War. Recovery from the former, and preparation for the latter have kept me hopping, on top of finishing my culinary class. I helped run the hospitality suite and one of the teas at Gaslight, and I am in charge of running the rapier events at Potrero and,

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
05/14/2013 09:51 PM
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Culinary Class: Equipment Identification Test

Tonight was my equipment identification test. I'm a little frustrated. I scored 21 out of 30. Several of the wrong answers were due to getting the wire and piano whisks backwards. Most of the others were of the 'can be used for' questions. I said true to a number of questions because the book says you can use it that way. What he wanted was did we use it for that in class. I wish he'd phrased the

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
05/12/2013 11:15 PM
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Apple, Pear, and Sour Cherry Compote

I wanted to make an interesting accompaniment for breakfast. I was planning on bacon and Cheddar omelets, but I did want some fruit to go with them. I had a couple of ripe pears that needed used, and plenty of apples. I added some canned sour cherries and raisins. I used some sauvignon blanc and a little of the juice from the cherries for the liquid. I flavored it with a little ginger, cinnam

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
05/09/2013 02:24 PM
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Culinary Class: Hot Wings

For our last lab, we covered poaching. To do this we poached chicken wings until they were tender, then deep fried them until brown and crispy. We made a Buffalo-style sauce to coat them.Poaching is the process of cooking food in liquid that is just below the boiling point, typically between 165 and 185 F. For the wings, they were poached in water flavored with white wine vinegar, bay, thyme, onio

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
05/08/2013 07:01 PM
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Chicken Noodle Soup and Buttermilk Dry Jack Biscuits

Monday was a little wet and drizzly. So, it was a perfect day for soup. I had some cooked chicken left over from Gaslight Gathering, and some  three color rotelle, which would work just fine for the noodles. I added some diced carrot and white radish. I flavored it with a little thyme, oregano, and basil.I always like a little bread with soup to help sop up the juices.  I decided to make

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
05/08/2013 04:58 PM
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Gaslight Gathering: Saturday Tea and Port of Call

Saturday at Gaslight Gathering was a very hectic day. Like at most cons, it was the busiest day, so lots of people came through the Observation Lounge looking for a beverage or light snack. We also were responsible for an afternoon tea in another part of the building, plus two special events in the Lounge itself.This is the third year we have run the steampunk Saturday tea. This year, in keep

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
05/08/2013 02:58 PM
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Gaslight Gathering: Friday Port of Call

Last weekend was Gaslight Gathering, a major steampunk event in San Diego. The spouse and I, with another couple, were in charge of running the hospitality suite and one of the teas. The four of us, along with all our staff, were responsible for providing food and drink for the attendees, who probably numbered around 1200.We kept the bathtub full of sodas and bottled water on ice, provided coffee

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
05/08/2013 12:27 AM
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Culinary Class: Knife Skills Test Results

So I found out how I did on my knife skills test last week. I scored 48 out of 50, tying for the best score in the class. I am so relieved. I was exceedingly nervous; the test was nerve-wracking. I guess the three hours I spent cutting up carrots that morning paid off.So, even though I lost a couple of points, I did do two days worth of extra credit. So, If I can ace both the tests the next two cl

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
05/01/2013 01:22 AM
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Culinary Class: Knife Skills Test

Tonight, I had my knife skills test for my culinary class. We were tested five at a time. When it was my turn, I had to set up my mise en place, grab a carrot, half an onion, and some parsley, and wash them, then wait. When instructed, we had to demonstrate rondelle, diagonal, batonette, and dice cuts on the carrot, dice the onion, and mince the parsley. While I was mincing the parsley, the chef&n

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
04/29/2013 06:54 PM
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School Progress: Summer Registration

Registered for the summer semester today. I'm taking one class, Chocolate Preparation. I'm very much looking forward to this class. It will be rather intense, as the short six week semester means the class is two seven hour days a week. The chocolate class was one I really wanted. I did not want to have to teach myself the techniques, as chocolate can be a little fussy.

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
04/25/2013 01:36 PM
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Registered for World Tea Expo

The spouse and I have registered to attend the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas June 5th through the 8th. This is the largest trade show in the world for the tea business. From what I can gather there will be between 5,000 and 10,000 attendees, and over 200 exhibitors. We are excited for this opportunity to get introduced to the business of tea.We will be attending the New Business Boot Camp, two days

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04/24/2013 03:12 PM
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Culinary Class: Asian Style Chicken Stew and Rice Pilaf

Yesterday was our penultimate cooking lab. Only one more left, in two weeks. Next week is our knife skills test. I plan to spend next Tuesday destroying carrots.Anyway, we are continuing our survey of wet cooking methods. This time we covered stewing. Stewing generally involves cooking smaller portions of meat completely immersed in liquid. For this class we made an Asian style stewed chicken. It

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
04/24/2013 02:13 PM
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Blog News: Milestone

Just this morning, this blog received its 100th hit for the month of April. This marks the first time ever that I've had more than 1000 hits in one month. Yeah, I know, in the blog world this is small potatoes. I read blogs that get that  much traffic in one minute.Still, this is very significant for me. Thanks to every one who reads this blog. I appreciate you all, and hope we can continue t

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
04/22/2013 08:38 PM
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Chefs Fire Up The Iron Horse Event

This weekend I helped, along with a lot of the other students in the Grossmont College culinary program, at a culinary event. This event, titled Chefs Fire Up the Iron Horse, was a co-operation between The Chefs de Cuisine Association of San Diego, the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association, and the Southern California Vintner's Alliance. It was a food and wine tasting out at

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04/18/2013 03:26 PM
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Creampuffs with Strawberry Orange Pastry Cream and Galangal Dark Chocolate Ganache

I owed a friend some cream puffs in exchange for a favor. I decided to use the opportunity to experiment a little. We had purchased some strawberry oranges at the Farmers' Market. This is a variety whose technical name is Vaniglia Sanguigno. This is Italian for 'Vanilla Blood'. It is also marketed as a Vanilla Orange, or as a Mango Orange. It is an almost acidless variety, with none of the tartnes

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
04/17/2013 08:25 PM
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Culinary Class: Roast Chicken with Roasted Root Vegetables, and Funnel Cake

We are continuing our survey of dry cooking methods. For this class, we were exploring roasting. We made a marinade, halved some chickens, and cut up some vegetables. Probably our easiest prep yet.The marinade was made up for us, so it had time for the flavors to blend. It had oil and vinegar, and was flavored with a variety of herbs, spices, and prepared mustard. We cut up an onion, some celery,

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
04/16/2013 01:59 AM
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Sauteed Chicken with Kohlrabi - Potato Puree and Wilted Kohlrabi and Radish Greens

We picked up a nice looking kohlrabi at the El Cajon Farmers' Market the other day. Mostly, I was curious, having never worked with one before. Kohlrabi is a cabbage that has been bred for its stem, rather than its leaves. I've also never tried to do a puree before. I've seen enough of them on cooking shows, however, that I decided I wanted to give it a try. The kohlrabi alone would not be enough,

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
04/13/2013 11:57 PM
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Angel Hair Pasta with Carrot Green, Dry Jack, and Pistachio Pesto

We picked up some lovely carrots at the El Cajon Farmer's Market the other day. They add lovely greens, so I knew I'd be making pesto soon. I've made pesto with carrot greens before. I really love the sharp, parsley-like flavor of them.This time, I used dry jack cheese, and pistachios. This may be my best pesto, ever. The dry jack adds a lot of umami and a real depth of flavor. The pistachios add

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04/13/2013 08:54 PM
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Business Progress: Califonia Seller's Permit.

Made one more step toward getting a business started. We applied for, and received a California Sellers Permit. That should allow us to attend the new business bootcamp at the World Tea Expo in June.I still need to get my food handler's license from the County board of health. We are still researching commercial kitchen facilities. And, we have to consider options for starting capital. Still a lot

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04/12/2013 01:29 PM
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Buttermilk Chiffon Cake with Key Lime Curd

I had an awful lot of buttermilk and egg whites left over from the Baseball and Princess parties we did recently. I wanted to find a way to use them up. I found this recipe, and adapted it a little to my understanding of the foaming method. Looking in the store for inspiration, I saw that key limes were inexpensive. I love key limes, so I decided a key lime curd would be awesome as filling in

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04/12/2013 12:26 PM
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El Cajon Farmers' Market

A new farmers' market has started in El Cajon. It takes place Thursdays from three to seven PM at the Prescott Promenade in downtown El  Cajon.The spouse and I have been wanting to go since it first opened a few weeks ago. We've had conflicts that prevented us from being able to. We finally got to go last night. It's rather small, yet. There were three produce sellers, a handful of

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04/10/2013 03:30 PM
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Culinary Class: Tempura Battered Chicken and Onion Rings

After two weeks off (Spring Break, and written mid-term) we were finally back in the kitchen. We continued our exploration of dry cooking methods with deep frying. We have been moving from least to most oil in the frying methods. We used a batter to coat the food for the first time. Also, we made an aioli from scratch, which was fun. I've never done my own mayonnaise before. Now that I know how ri

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04/08/2013 06:26 PM
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Baseball Party

A friend of ours oldest son wanted a baseball themed birthday party. He much enjoyed the opportunity to be able to articulate his desires, and have adults listen and take notes. I think it's something that doesn't happen enough for most kids. We sat down with him and his parents. We asked leading questions, but sincerely listened to the answers. He wanted a cake with a baseball diamond and someone

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04/03/2013 02:56 PM
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Business: Names Registered

The first step in starting a business, apparently, is registering a fictitious name with the county clerk. The spouse and I went over to the clerk today and registered the names of our companies. They are Royal Tea Party Planners, and Epicuriosities Catering.We also had to arrange for the names to be published in a local paper, for them to be legal. Is this the only way newspapers will stay alive,

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04/03/2013 02:01 AM
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Culinary Class: Mid-term Exam

Had my mid-term exam for my culinary class today. Fifty multiple choice questions. It covered basic sanitation, the techniques we've covered so far, and recipe conversions.I'm happy to report that I aced it. It pretty much followed the lecture notes. A few questions referred to our labs, but I haven't missed a class, so that was no problem.

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04/02/2013 11:43 PM
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New Blog Network!

Hey, cool news! I was invited to join a food blog network, Cook Eat Share. I've added the link button on the right. I'll be adding recipes from the blog as time permits.Check them out! Looks like a lot of really good chefs over there.

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04/01/2013 01:50 PM
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Princess Tea

The spouse and I are seriously contemplating starting a business doing party planning and catering. As kind of a dry run, we did a princess tea party for a friend's daughters' birthdays. The spouse did a great job with all the party stuff. She made custom handmade invitations, extravagant goodie bags, table settings, and came up with interesting, fun games. I focused on the food.I made a modified

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04/01/2013 10:53 AM
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Pastry Class: Final Grade

Grades for my pastry class were posted. I got an A, which I expected, but am still pleased to see. The next pastry course I expect to take is the chocolate class, which is being offered over the summer. It's a short semester, only six weeks, so that means seven hours a day, twice a week. I am really looking forward to that class. Chocolate is just fussy enough that learning from someone that reall

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
03/31/2013 02:01 PM
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Reuben Burgers

Probably my all time favorite sandwich is the Reuben. A thick layer of corned beef or pastrami, Swiss cheese, mustard, sauerkraut, and thousand island dressing on grilled rye. Perfect with a good stout. I was planning on making burgers the other night, and saw I had pastrami and Swiss cheese in the refrigerator, and was inspired. I seasoned a pound of hamburger with two tablespoons of mushroo

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
03/27/2013 12:39 PM
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Grilled Salmon with Sweet Soy Glaze, Coconut Glutineous Rice, and Curried Cauliflower

Salmon  is one of my favorite fish. It has a unique flavor, and a meatier texture than a lot of fish. It is quite versatile; it can be poached, broiled, grilled, sauteed, heck, it's even good raw as sushi, sashimi, or ceviche. I love to grill it. A three ounce fillet cooks in no time on the grill, and takes to a variety of flavors. This time, I decided to use more Asian flavors. The spouse ha

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
03/26/2013 01:11 PM
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Pan Fried Chicken and Onion Rings

I love onion rings. Check that. I love good onion rings. I loathe bad onion rings. Unfortunately, good onion rings are hard to come by. They are not that difficult to make, but do require careful attention to the temperature of the oil.In my last culinary class, we covered pan frying. The chicken came out OK, but the onion rings were not good. Most of the coating fell off, and they were limp

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
03/21/2013 07:16 PM
11 views

Culinary Class: Pan Fried Chicken

In this class we covered another dry cooking method, pan frying. The difference between pan frying and sauteing is the depth of the oil. In sauteing, there was just enough oil to prevent the food from sticking to the pan. In pan frying, the oil should be deep enough to come half way up the food in the pan. It uses the heat of the oil to cook the food.We made pan fried boneless chicken, using

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
03/18/2013 04:56 PM
9 views

Pastry Class: Practical Final Exam

I had my practical final exam for my pastry class today. We were supposedly given one of five recipes at random (I think I was targeted for a more difficult recipe), with just the ingredients, amounts, times, and temperatures (but no instructions), and had to make that item. I was given pate a choux, and had to bake cream puffs with it.I was ready for the final. The two hardest recipes, the p

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
03/14/2013 02:22 PM
8 views

Pastry Class: Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Tuile

This was my last pastry lab. Monday I need to turn in my research paper on my favorite pastry ingredient. I will also take my practical exam. I will draw a random item from five things we have made this semester (cookies, scones, chiffon cake, pate a choux, and creme brulee) and make it. I'm fairly confident. I've made plenty of cookies, scones, and creme brulee, and I have practiced both the chif

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Expecting a Chilli Reception Expecting a Chilli Reception
03/13/2013 08:06 PM
13 views

Culinary Class: Sauteed Chicken Breast and Vegetables

In my culinary class, we are starting to work our way through the dry cooking methods. Last week was grilling, this week was sauteing. Saute comes from the French for 'jump', referring to the tossing of the food often done with this technique. Sauteing involves frying items over direct heat in just a little fat. With small items, the cook will often jerk the pan in rhythmic pattern to cause the pi

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