Fresh Ricotta....YUM!!!

Today we did a fresh ricotta on garlic crostini demo.  It was delicious! We learned about chiffonade cuts, what "on the bias" means, and how cheese is made from scratch.  The recipe is linked on our page under "recipes".  Here are some pics of our chefs helping out!

Test Kitchen

Today we tried out new recipes for Cougar Cakes Cafe.  The coffee cupcake was amazing!  We used fresh blueberries, but they were too sour in our blueberry pancake cupcake.  These chefs decided to take out the fresh blueberries and add blueberry preserves for the filling.  The maple cream cheese frosting on top was delicious!  Here is a pic of three of our Culinary II Honors students hard at work!

Garden

Students from the Agriculture program joined Culinary Arts to help weed and trim the garden week one of school.  We are excited about planting fall crops and cooking fresh food!

How to Butcher an Avocado

Here are some knife skills you can practice this weekend. 

Cut avocado in half by slicing length-wise all around the pit. Twist the two halves apart; the pit will remain embedded in one half.

 

 

Carefully (but firmly) strike the heel of your knife into the pit; twist knife to dislodge pit. Use your thumb to push the pit off the knife blade.

  

 

Using the tip of the knife (careful!), make a crosshatch pattern in the flesh of each half. Cut all the way through the fruit but not through the skin.

 

 

Scoop out the diced flesh with a spoon. If not using immediately, toss with lemon or lime juice (or even water) to prevent browning.

Source: Bon Appetit

Bad, Bad Commercial.....

http://youtu.be/AwLwnBR3vHI

Quizno's has had some terrible commercials in the past, but this one made me laugh out loud!  What do you think?  How does this commercial help (or hurt) their business?

Food Recall

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/08/bagged-salad-recalled-for-potential-listeria-contamination/#.UDmCm8FlQ3g

Summer Picks

Here are some great recipes that my family has enjoyed this summer.  Try them out for your family and friends!


Cajun Chicken Pasta

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/09/cajun-chicken-pasta/

Easy Lemon Cream Cake

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=336868