Alison's Gingerbread Houses for TCC's Christmas Card 2006

Alison Hodges made the BEAUTIFUL gingerbread houses
for TCC's christmas card 2006 and here is my spy camera
bringing a detailed look at Alison's art.

Great job Alison! the houses look perfect and beautiful!


My very bad quality picture of TCC Holiday card.
Well I am sure I am not getting a card in the mail from TCC
SOOOOOO I had to have a copy of it LOL



The 2 gingerbread houses



First House, front



First House, back



Second House, front



Second House, back



Pressed sugar trees and ginger bread train.
OH! the poor little train lost a peppermint wheel!!!



Back of trees and train.

Eating out ...

www.abuelos.com

SO for eons Jose had told me this was a good and true
mexican place to eat in and he was RIGHT!
Abuelos is a true "Mexican Food Embassy" the dishes
are very original and above all flavorful! MMM!
If yo are looking for a good Mexican restaurant head to
Abuelos not only the food is good the place is a true feast
for the eyes the restaurant is covered with murals and the
dinning area has a 'patio' style decor with a fountain!...
So relaxing with good music and great service.


Calabaza con pollo (chicken with zucchini)



Combination plate. Enchilada, tamal and burrito



Tres Leches cake (3 milk's cake) MMM! the sauce was MMM!
(Thanks for Lunch Jose! :P)

www.peiwei.com




This is a picture of what I got for lunch @ Pei-Wei an
Asian dinner. The food was good.. I got Lo-Mein Noodles
and spring rolls. (Thanks for Lunch Adri! :P)

Home Cooking

THANKSGIVING!


Brined and Roasted Turkey
I know what you are thinking... the turkey looks a bit over
done on top and under done on the bottom but it wasn't!

LOL Ok my brine had molasses and brown sugar (and lots of
salt to balance the flavor) so the bird caramelized on the exterior.
On the bottom ...
the bird came with underskin fat which I left to avoid drying
so this didn't brown as you can see.
So as soon as I removed the skin and excess fat, the meat was incredibly
tender and jucy! Thanks to the brine and the orange wedges
tucked underneath the extremities.

My recipe came from:
http://www.foodnetwork.com
/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_17081,00.html?rsrc=search

I am not exactly an Emeril fan but this recipe is a keeper... I made it
a bit different by adding white wine to the brine and by injecting the
brine under the turkey's skin; it worked wonders and the bird came
out very tender and most! After 3 1/2 hours of oven time.




Carrot Tsimmes (Jewish carrots), green bean casserole,
corn bread, turkey and cranberry relish + mashed potatoes
with mushroom gravy.

Thai Food


This picture makes me laugh it looks like some weird
jelly fish! It actually is a clear spring roll skin made of
rice + cellophane noodles and vegetables with grilled salmon.



The original Thai spring roll is not fried but this was kind
of unappealing to me to eat the skin raw...
so I did the american thing and fried it! :P
Then we wonder how asians manage to be so skiny! LOL



Thai-Pad, with rice noodles and veggies.
Spring Roll with pinapple sauce.
All was home made from scratch ... yet another attempt
(2nd one) at Thai food though this one went much better!!!

Home-made Italian


Gnocchi mise en place



The recipe comes from the translated version of:
"Il Cucchiaio d'Argento" or the Silver Spoon
which is to italians what 'The Joy of cooking' cookbook or
Betty Crocker's cookbook is to home cooks here in the US.
The 'Silver Spoon' has been in print in Italy since the '50's

SEE:
http://www.cucchiaio.it/cucina/avvio.cfm


Gnocchi di patate (Potato Gnocchi)
The little wood gadget makes the small grooves that make
possible for the gnocchi to hold the sauce they are served with.
The lines can be done with the gadget above or with the
back of a fork as well.



Gnocchi with Puttanesca Sauce and a slice of pizza.



Cranberry-Orange-Almond Biscotti



Chocolate-Hazelnut Biscotti

Home-made Cinnamon Rolls! MMM :)





So I came back from class and what do I find? My little
brother who is 13 now can bake too! It turns out he is taking
baking classes in school! and he made these cinnamon rolls
ALL BY HIMSELF! Though he was a bit reluctant to share
more than one roll! LOL he said they where to much work to
make and wanted to save them all for HIM!
Never the less we might end up with more than one culinary
arts student at home!

International Cuisine / Week 13 - Latin America

Queso Flameado or Queso Fundido (Melted cheese)
with (top to bottom) corn and peppers, mushrooms
and sausage



The hungry crowd!



Mitchell, Erinn, Elizabeth, Chelsea, Jose and Tu



Totopos, the real mexican tortilla chip! made by Mitchell
and Chelsea



Oranges with chile, Rice and Locro Stew.
(Locro, is a hearty stew popular in many parts of South America,
mainly near the Andes mountain range,
including Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador.
Its origin dates from before the Spanish colonial times.



A typical mexican brekfast...
The clay pot has the "Chocolate Caliente" (hot chocolate/cocoa)
tipical mexican drink during the winter months.
Also some "Machacado" (scrambled eggs with beef jerky).
Guacamole and home-made flour tortillas.




On the far back... some casserole and cinnamon tea + hibiscus tea,
guacamole and in the front some South American pastries.

Couldn't let this end just like that here comes DESSERT!


Alfajores from Argentina: Orange shortbread sandwiched
with "dulce de leche" (caramel) and coconut...then some
powder sugar on top. By: Evelyn



Conchas: Jamila brought this typical mexican bread to
drink with some hot chocolate she made :P LOL
By: Jamila



Jose cutting the cake.



3 Leches (3 milks cake) a typical Latin American cake
consisting of a sponge cake soaked in 3 milks and topped with
heavy cream and nuts. By: Jose

International Cuisine / Week 12 - Event

For the sake of giving it a name I am calling this one
"Onion a la Mitchell" though I am not sure if there is
a name for this...Mitchell showed me how to make this
grilled onion he learned to do at some event he went to.

You start by removing the onion's skin and center.
Then add some beef base and lots of cooking wine
and butter wrap with foil and grill. and VOILA!
The onion come out very tender and caramelized. MMM :)
THANX for the recipe MITCHELL!!!!!

Food Prep for Event:


Deep-fried shrimp in potato



Asparagus and bell pepper veggie bunches


Stuffed Onions with Gorgonzola cheese

While we where outside waiting for the guests to arrive
this lady cames out from an adjacent office to chat with us
She commented we all looked so nice in our uniforms and
asked if anyone had a camera because she could take a picture
of us. WELL... guess who always has one during class?
LOL THAT'S RIGHT! and I've got the only picture to prove it!
LOL


Set up for event



The first course was a gazpacho soup in bread bowls.



Plated Lunch: Grilled Chicken with veloute with shrimp
garnish, Gorgonzola stuffed onion, vegetables.




Dessert! MMM THREE-CHOCOLATE BAVAROISE : )