New Year's Eve

Saturday and New Year's Eve ... hummmm ... not sure what to write about today.

I guess that you could say that it is a day for reflection and to try and figure out how you are going to make the new year better than the past year.  I am not really smart when it comes to figuring this stuff out.

I think that I figured out last New Year's Eve how to make it a little better than the year before and I think that for the most part I was quite successful.  I actually had a very good year until the first of December when my back got so bad and I couldn't stand any longer doing what I loved most ... cooking.

I think that pretty much life is a crap shoot ... you can either go with the flow or fight it and be unhappy all of the time.  I have learned to go with it and over all I am a pretty happy person.  I think that if I continue on this path that it will only get better and better.

My words of wisdom would be to always stay positive.  Always find the good in whomever or whatever you are doing.  There is good in "every day" ... we just have to find it and make it a happy productive day.  Everyday I find the very smallest things to be grateful for ... life, health and happiness are a gift and we should always treasure the gifts that we have in our lives.

Happy New Year to all of my readers.  I wish you all health, happiness, love, family.  I will check in next year 2012.  Good bye for now from 1HappyChef.  :)

Friday

Good morning everyone.  Happy Friday ... enjoy your Holiday weekend!

Only one more day left after today to start the changes for the New Year.  As for me I have already started making the changes necessary to make my New Year a better one. 

I have started cleaning out my "house" so to speak.  I have started getting rid of all negativity in my life so the New Year will only be positive.

I am not too sure yet what "positive" means but I know that if the negativity is gone it can only be better, right?

I heard from school yesterday and as I have mentioned before everything regarding school has been put on hold until I get my back taken care of.  I am hoping that this process doesn't take too much longer as I am very tired of not being able to do anything without hurting.  To feel good would be a very good thing!

I am going to enjoy a quiet New Year's weekend and then I thought that I would go and stay with my mom for a few days and visit.  I don't know how much I will be able to help her with my back problem but maybe I can cook a couple of special meals for us or something?  She just got a new little freezer so maybe I can make something that she can put in the freezer for a later date.  I think that what ever we do that it will just be very nice to have the opportunity to spend some time with her.  I will be there probably at least 2 days and then I will come home and be ready to face whatever is going to happen with my back.

The following week I have 2 Dr.'s appointments so I am hoping by the end of the week of 1/13 I will have some answers and be able to move forward with whatever the future holds next.

As for this blog I am not sure what I should do.  It started out to be about cooking and school ... nothing says that it has to say that way but my question is ... do I really have enough interesting things to say that you my readers will want to keep on reading?  I would like some help with this ... if you have any ideas about what I should do or what I could write about please let me know.  I am open to all suggestions ... please help. Maybe I could still write about food ... just in some sort of different way or point of view?  Or maybe I should just start cooking at home and taking pictures?

Enough for now from 1HappyChef.  I am just a little frustrated right now ... sorry!  Have a really great Friday and I will catch up again really soon.  :)

Thursday

Good morning everyone.  Only a couple more days till New Years ... what exactly does all of that mean?

Any one out there have any resolutions?  I think every year we all at least come up with one that we pledge that we will never break but usually only a few days later we have all but forgotten about it and what we pledged.

As for myself ... I don't think that I will bother to make any.  At this point in time I need to change everything if I want it to end up differently this time next year ... that is way too many things to write down so I should just look at the entire package and go from there and start with the easy things and move on to the much harder things until I have made some sort of change that I will be happy with and can live with.  I don't want to make any drastic changes ... I just want to shake up the latter part of my life a little and maybe if it is in the cards for me maybe have a new friend to share some time with?  I have NO idea where I will find this friend or how it will happen but I am confident that this will be the year that things are going to change for me in many many ways.

I think that for now school will not get finished because of all of the problems that I am having with my legs and back.  I need to stay on top of that and get the problem fixed before I can even consider returning to school.  I would like very much to finish and get the certificate but it is not necessary for me to know that I did a fantastic job while I was in school and that I am a really wonderful cook.  The thing that is nagging at me is that I am not a quitter ... but I have not quit just to quit ... I have not really quit at all yet ... I am on medical leave right now but I don't know how long the school will leave me at that status before they drop me.  I am a little disappointed in Dorsey that I have not been notified in over 2 weeks now with what to do next.  I faxed them the information about being sick over two weeks ago and no one has been in touch as of yet to let me know what my options are ... Dorsey has been inconsistent with what they say and do since the beginning so I must say that I am not surprised.

Well enough about Dorsey and the up coming New Year.  It will be what it will be ... you hear for your entire life that you and only you have the power to change what you don't like ... I am not so sure that is true ... or maybe I just haven't been trying hard enough?  What ever the answer is I know that I will work harder on it in 2012.

Have a really great day today and enjoy the last few days of 2011.  Signing off for now from 1HappyChef.  :)

PS>I am thinking and thinking really hard about what I can write about everyday now if it isn't going to be about school ... can anyone out there come up with any ideas or things that they would like to read about?  Please help ... and thanks!

Happy New Year!

Hello everyone. I am not sure where to start … 1HappyChef is not so HAPPY these days. I was cut down in my tracks with this back problem that I have.

I would have to say that I am probably a little impatient these days as I am getting really sick of being sick. This now is going on a little over 2 months and I don't see the end in sight yet. I have learned some things along the way though … I have a whole new regard for people that are in constant bad pain all of the time. That is me right now and I have to tell you that it is not fun at all and not to be in pain is not fun either. The drugs are so strong that when I take them I do not know what I am doing, I can't drive, talk, walk … nothing … I can barely function. So because of this side effect I have stopped taking them for 2 of the doses … now I only take the one right before I go to bed so I don't have to worry about what I can't do while I am sleeping. But by doing this I am back in pain again … not as bad as before but still a lot of pain. I have another Dr. appointment on /13 to see what the next step will be … I hope that they can take me out of my misery.

About this past year … I am not sure yet what to think. I do know that for the first time in my lifetime I actually did something that I wanted to do and as it turned out I was very good at it but in the end …. I am not sure what I expected to change but I guess that I was surprised when nothing did change. This is hard for me to explain to you and I am not sure even what I am trying to say but I just expected something to be different at the end of this year and I realize that I couldn't change what happened to my back but it just isn't that … it is …. can any of you explain it?

Please don't think that I am not grateful for all of the wonderful things that did happen this year … hey, I have a food blog that is being read around the world and is being published in the Oakland Press News Paper, I gave my very first speech, I was on the Channel 7 News, I cooked with the TV Star Ann Thornton, I can skin a 5' Salmon like a pro, I can cut down a side of beef with the best of them and I loved going to school and learning all of the special things that they teach that I didn't think that I was even interested in … problem is that now that I am no longer going to school I don't know what to do with my day again. I was so busy for one entire year … and at some point my mom asked me … what are you going to do Denise when you don't have school to go to everyday any longer? I don't think that I ever answered her for sure but I do know that I have been out of school for most of the past 7-8 weeks sick and I don't like being home anymore. I like seeing people and socializing everyday … It is way better than talking to myself. For me school was not necessarily to end up being some big time chef … for me it was to get me out of my apartment … but in the end I was very good at school and enjoyed learning.

I had a wonderful support system … my MOM came through for me in every way possible. She is still supporting me and helping me make some tough choices about finishing school, getting my back operated on and what the future holds for me or what I will or won't be able to do with a bad back … and if I am to be honest I would have to say that maybe I will not be able to be some great chef because I will not be able to be on my feet that long because of my back. Cooking for me might just be for fun as it has always been … only now I have the knowledge to make it even more fun and interesting. And if that is what is in store for me … I will roll with it.

I just want to know … I don't like NOT KNOWING what is going to happen next. I like knowing what is next …

I need to keep writing in the blog but now that I am not in school I am not sure what to write. I will keep you updated with the back operation and what is going on with that but the blog started out to be a day to day of happenings at school … and for now there is no more school I will have to write on the day to day of …. any ideas?

What would be interesting to write and read about?

I do know that I don't plan on being alone for another year … maybe I could write about how I plan to find someone who is honest, sincere, funny and who wants to spend some time with me. I am not looking to be married again, or even live with someone again … I just don't want to be alone anymore. I would like to find someone who likes to eat … someone I could cook for, maybe someone to travel with, maybe someone to live in Florida with?

Well, this is an update of the past few weeks … I am hoping that it doesn't take this long again to write again … I don't want the Oakland Press to stop publishing my blog because I am not updating it as often as I should … I will write again soon.

Hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas with their families and I hope that you all have a Happy New Year … stay safe and healthy! Good night from 1HappyChef. :)

Friday

Entire house made from Chocolate

Good morning everyone.  Hope that you are all well today ... I will get the results of my MRI in just a few minutes and then go from there to see what needs to be done to help me with all of this pain ... so for me it is a very good morning to get some answers.

Chef David, Chef Daniel, myself and Chef David's class

Yesterday was a very nice day.  We had to deliver the ginger bread houses to the OHCC so they could go on display and be auctioned off.  We left the building (school) with 4 and they were all very nice and we were so proud of our work and then when we were bringing them into the club for display the barn crashed.  It was so sad ... we all worked so very hard on all of them that we were just devastated.  We were going to try and put it together (we came prepared for anything) but the lady in charge said that she would prefer that we didn't put it together because she said if someone bid on it and it broke up again on their way home that that person would be mad.  After we thought about it we agreed and took it back to school when we were done for a barn burning.

We also got a tour of the entire club and it is really something.  I took some pictures that I will post for you to see.

Some of the ginger bread houses were really really great!  I mean we put hours into ours that we made and I though that they were pretty cool but some of the ones that we saw before we left were well WOW is the only way to describe them. 

Denise, Esther, Angie and Tammy's lighthouse

I also added the Christmas tradition for the United States of America, there are some things that I learned today reading about Christmas in the USA. 

Well, for me it is time to get started with my day so I will be saying good bye for now.  Please stay safe in this snowy weather.  Good day for now from 1Happy Chef.  :)

Take care everyone and have a really great day!

                                                   

Christmas in United States of America
Santa Claus was born in US in the 1860's he was named this as he had a white beard and a belly, so he was named Santa Claus as this was the Dutch word for St Nicholas, Sintaklaas. Although the Dutch had bought him with them in the 17th century, he did not become an important person at Christmas until the Novelist Washington Irving put him in a novel that he wrote in 1809. This first Santa Claus was still known as St. Nicholas, he did smoke a pipe, and fly around in a wagon without any reindeer, but he did not have his red suit or live at the North Pole, he did however bring presents to children every year.

In 1863 He was given the name Santa Claus and bore the red suit, pipe, and his reindeer and sleigh.
Now Christmas celebrations vary greatly between regions of the United States, because of the variety of nationalities which have settled in it.

Early European settlers brought many traditions to the United States. Many settled in the early days in the South, these settlers would send Christmas greetings to their distant neighbors by shooting firearms and letting off fireworks. In Hawaii this practice is still in use as under the sunny skies, Santa Claus arrives by boat and Christmas dinner is eaten outdoors.

In America the traditional Christmas dinner is roast turkey with vegetables and sauces. For dessert it is rich, fruity Christmas pudding with brandy sauce. Mince pies, pastry cases filled with a mixture of chopped dried fruit.

The majority of Americans celebrate Christmas with the exchange of gifts and greetings and with family visits. For many, the day begins on Christmas Eve with the Midnight Mass. At Christmas it snows in many states, so dinner is usually eaten indoors.

American homes are decorated with holly, mistletoe and branches of trees, most have a Christmas tree hung with electric lights, tinsel, baubles, and strings of popcorn and candy canes. 

There are two homes for Santa Claus in the United States one is in Torrington, Connecticut, where Santa and his helpers give out presents. The other home is in Wilmington, New York, where a village for Santa and his reindeer is located.

Christmas traditions/China

Good morning to all of my readers.  Here is the first Christmas tradition that I will be posting.  I have looked up the information and all of the Countries celebrate differently and I think you might find it as interesting as I have how different all of our traditions really are.  I think that I will post one or two of these traditions each day until I get through every country ... it is very interesting all of the differences.

Today at school we will still be doing the Ginger Bread Houses.  Frankly I am happy that this is winding down and also happy that the entire MOD is winding down and about over with.  Only 2 weeks left and then a break for about too weeks and then we start out externships.  Wow, this year has flown by so very quickly.  In a blink and it is over with and I will be graduating.

I picked China first because that was my RP and I learned a lot about China doing it.  Speaking of the RP all of that has to be turned in next Monday for the final grade ... hum, wonder what that will end up being?  I did everything that was required but I still am not too confident about what the final grade will be.

I am also waiting to find out the results from my MRI the other day and waiting to hear what can be done to make all of the pain go away.  I hope that I hear today or I may call tomorrow and see if the MRI has been read yet or find out when I can find out about the results.  I have another Dr. appointment next Friday so maybe I won't find out until then?  I have to tell you though that the meds. are making me goofy and somethings I feel so weird that I can't even talk right.  It's like someone else is in my head trying to talk ... so, the sooner I don't have to take these anymore the better.

I will be saying good bye for now from 1HappyChef.  Have a really great day everyone and I will write later and post some new pictures of the final products of the ginger bread houses.  Take care everyone ... stay warm and well today!

Christmas in China

The Christian children of China decorate trees with colorful ornaments. These ornaments are made from paper in the shapes of flowers, chains and lanterns. They also hang muslin stockings hoping that Christmas Old Man will fill them with gifts and treats.

The Chinese Christmas trees are called "Trees of Light." Santa Claus is called Dun Che Lao Ren which means "Christmas Old Man.".

The non-Christian Chinese call this season the Spring Festival and celebrate with many festivities that include delicious meals and pay respects to their ancestors. The children are the main focus of these celebrations, they receive new clothes and toys, eat delectable food and watch firecrackers displays.

Tuesday and Ginger Bread Houses

Good evening to all of my loyal readers.  Haven't had much to post lately but I will try and do better.  

Today we are still working on the Ginger Bread Houses and they have to be done by tomorrow or it will be too late.  They are suppose to be at the club by 10 AM on Thursday.  I will post some pictures of the progress that we have made so far ... they are starting to look pretty good.

I think starting tomorrow I will also write about Christmas traditions ... so, if any of you have any really neat traditions would you please comment and I will post them.  One that I know of right now is the Christmas tradition of the 7 fishes ... I will find out more about that so I can tell you all about it.  I also know of people who don't eat any meat on Christmas and I know that some eat black eyed peas for New Years to bring them good luck for the coming year.  I think that this will be fun learning about these traditions together, right?

So for now I will be saying good night to all from 1HappyChef ... :)  Have a good evening everyone ... I will write again soon.  Take care ...

Saturday

Good evening everyone.  Hope that you are all having a really great weekend.

As for me I just got home from getting an MRI .. neat machine if you are not afraid to be in small places.  I had to get an MRI with contrast of my spine ... hope that it isn't bad news. What ever the news I guess that I will just have to handle it.  I went to school yesterday with all Dr.'s papers and talked it over with Chef Abbey and I think that we can make it work so I can pass this mod and move on to the externship on Jan. 10, 1012.  I am sure that it will all work out the way that it is suppose to, right?

To the right are up-dated pictures of the Lighthouse and the Ginger Bread Barn.  I have not been able to work on these as much as I wanted because of my problem and this is my project that I brought to the school so it is very frustrating not to be able to work on it ... but I am still apart of it and I know that the rest of the team are going to do a wonderful job and they both are going to be beautiful!  Thank you team!

Tomorrow is Sunday and I am hoping with the new meds. that I got yesterday that I will feel better in school this coming week.  The Dr. put me on 2 weeks of bed rest ... that isn't going to happen but I will be very careful and take it easy until I know what I am dealing with.

So for tonight it will be good night from 1HappyChef.  Have a really great Sunday and I will check in again really soon.  :)

2 AM Friday

Good morning to all of my readers.  Guess what?  Can't sleep again ... this is happening more and more often these days and I am not liking it very much.  Tomorrow morning at 9 AM I have to be at a new Dr.'s office to see what we are going to do about my back and hip.  This morning I woke up with a whole new symptom and it wasn't a nice one.  My pain shifted from my right side to my left side and for a couple of hours in the morning I could hardly walk or stand on my left side until I sort of walked it off a little and too way too many pain pills. I am not sure what else to do at this point.  I knew that I had the Dr.'s appointment this morning so I thought that I would just tough it out ... it wasn't a very nice day but I did get 1/2 of a book read that I have wanted to read for a very long time now.  I was so concerned about babying my back and hip that I got into this book and have had a hard time putting it down once that I got into it.  I also think that reading is much more enjoyable now as I have my new glasses and they are GREAT!  I can see and I can read ... yea team!

After the Dr. tomorrow I am suppose to go to school to try and work on the lighthouse and the ginger bread barn ... we are running out of time but it depends what the Dr. tells me that I can and can't do.  My health is much more important than the ginger bread stuff ... I will miss helping though.

So that will be it for me tonight/this morning.  I think that I will try and lay down and see what happens ... maybe I will get a few hours of sleep before I have to get up and get ready?  I sure hope so ... I know that I would feel much better.

Something surprising did happen today .. my 88 year old mother told me that if they have to operate on me that she would come over and take care of me ... thank you for that mom ... you are the best!  That was the best offer that I have had in a very long time ... now I want to get an operation so my mom can take care of me.

Good night for now from 1HappyChef.  Have a good day today and I will check in later with the prognoses from the Dr.  Hope it isn't too bad of news.  Take care for now ... :)

Wednesday

Good evening everyone.  Not too much to report to you this evening.  

Today in the kitchen was Thailand food.  Sorry I have no pictures to show you.

Today we went to the Great Lakes Crossing Mall and went to the Sweet Shop and bought some cobble stone candy for our Lighthouse that we are building.  The candy is very expensive so we could only get a little (a little over a pound) so we will have to build up the rest with ginger bread pebbles that we will have to make.  This is getting exciting now and pretty soon we will see this beautiful lighthouse standing in front of us and be in aww ... wondering how we ever did it and got it finished in time.  Next Thursday is the day that it has to be at the OHCC at 4:30PM.  Boy or boy ... I sure hope we make it.

Tomorrow in the kitchen is Indian food ... hummmm ... I don't think that I care of Indian food but I guess that we will see.

So for now it will be good bye from 1HappyChef.  Take care everyone and have a good night ... :)

Monday

Esther with beginning of our BARN

Good Monday evening to everyone.  Hope that everyone had a wonderful day today.

Today as you can see we finally started making some headway with the Ginger Bread things that we are making for the auction next Thursday.   Today Esther, Angie and myself finally got it together enough to see a little progress.

Phase 1 of the Lighthouse

Esther rolled out all of the dough and made the parts for the Barn and then about 4PM her and I started putting it together but we had already put in a full day and

we were getting very tired so we wrapped it up for today and we will start again tomorrow at 1PM.  By tomorrow we should really see some progress with both of the projects that we are doing.  The picture on the right is the beginning of the Lighthouse.  We are not sure yet what we are going to do with the sides ... we were thinking cobble stones or shingles or ... any ideas out there?

Other than that there is not too much to report today.  Today was just a bookwork day ... math and the price costing book.  I am understanding it a little better but I am sure that I will never use this information again in my life time.

Tomorrow we will be in the kitchen doing Japan/Korea on our trip around the world.  I am just praying that my hip holds up ... not so good today but i am just thinking that if I can make it until Friday when I have a Dr.'s appointment that all will be good.  I am hoping that he can get me on some more meds. to help me get through the next couple of months so I can graduate.  I just need to graduate ... that is all I want.

So for now from 1HappyChef I will say good night.  I will have some more pictures tomorrow to show you how the project is looking ... oh and I will have pictures of the Japan/Koren food too.  Take care everyone ... :)

Monday morning very early

Good morning everyone.  I hope that everyone is getting a good night sleep ... I am not.  I am not sure why I can't sleep other than I never sleep on Sunday nights but for some reason it is getting worse ... I can't stop thinking about the Ginger Bread Lighthouse that we are making for the OHCC.  It has to be done next Thursday and in my mind I just don't see how that will be possible.  I am thinking that maybe the structure is built then it will be only decorating ... could this really happen?

I just can't shut off my mind and I have my hip working on me too.  I need to get through this week and then on Friday at 9AM I have a Dr.'s appointment and I am hoping that he will come up with some better pain relief until I am out of school.  It seems that since I was at the emergency room that it is getting worse and worse.  I don't think that it helps that I drive a car with a stick shift so I think that is aggravating it as well, but I have babied it all weekend and it is still bad so I am not sure what to do ... I will be in the kitchen 3 days this week and then several hours each day working on the Ginger Bread Houses so I am sure that will not help it.  Anyhow enough about my aching hip.

 

So, here it is almost 3AM and I am still wide awake ... I think that when I finish this that I will try to lay down for a couple of hours and see if I can get just a little sleep.  I always get very tired when the alarm goes off and it is time to get up ... and today we have bookwork so it will not be too bad. I usually can stay awake for that but on Monday night I go to bed very early as by 5 or so when it gets dark I am very tired.

Hope that everyone has a really great week ahead and I will take some pictures of the Ginger Bread Houses as they progress so you can see how we are doing.  I also will try and get some pictures of the food this week as it should be pretty interesting ... Japan/Korea, Thailand and India.  Boy, we only have a few weeks until Christmas and then we start our ex tern-ships ... wow, time is really flying by.

So for now have a really great day and don't work too hard.  I will say good bye for now from 1HappyChef and I will check in tonight if I have some news that I think that you would want to hear about.  Take care everyone  :)

Sunday

Good Sunday afternoon to everyone.  Hope that everyone enjoyed their weekend and the Holiday.

For me it is back to school tomorrow.  I was just looking at what is coming up this coming week and it looks like we will be very busy with 4 new countries.  It looks like we will be doing Japan/Korea on Tuesday and then Thailand on Wednesday and then on Thursday it will be India ... D'Andre will be doing India so I would not be surprised if he has invited his family to come and join him on that day.

Tomorrow we have to really get down with the "Ginger Bread" project ... we are running out of time.  We are expected to have 5 Ginger Bread Houses to the OHCC on 12/8 at 4:30 PM in the afternoon and right now where I am sitting I don't see how we are going to be able to pull it off.  Last week was the first week that we started working on them after school ... none of this can be done on school time so it is all after school.  We (Esther, Tammy and Angie and myself) picked out a barn ginger bread house and it looked like it was going to be pretty easy so me being an over achiever emailed Chef Abbey and asked him to help us also do a lighthouse ginger bread house and I have to tell you ... I am not so sure at this point.  I know that Chef Abbey has a vision as to how this is going to be but right now I am not so sure that I get it or understand it.  I do know that we backed 12 assorted size cakes for the base of it and that it will end up being about 3 feet tall when it is finished with a real light in it and real water mist ... wow, can this really be possible?  I don't know but what I do know is the last two night instead of sleeping all I thought about was this lighthouse.  I am hoping that we make Chef Abbey proud and that it turns out specular ... wish us luck.

So, until I have more to report I will be saying good night from 1HappyChef.  Have a really great evening and get plenty of rest for the up coming week ahead.  Good night .. :)



Happy Thanksgiving + 1

Good afternoon everyone.  Happy Thanksgiving + 1 ... hope that everyone is enjoying their weekend.

As for me I am just taking it easy and trying to get my hip feeling a little better.  It seems if I stay off of it or not it just doesn't matter ... it is not getting any more comfortable.  Last night when I finally got home and called it a day ... it was really hurting and it kept me up most of the night.  I was tempted to go back to the emergency room to see what was the next plan for it.  I however am still home trying to talk myself out of going ... I am not sure how long I will be able to put it off ... I guess the pain will tell me that.

So, I am hoping that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family, friends and loved ones.  I had a very nice day ... first I went to my sister Heidi's for dinner and I got to see my mom and sister Gretchen who were also there and then I came home and touched base with my very best friend in NJ to see how she and her husband were doing and then I went and spent several hours with my best gal-pal Karen.  I ate dinner all over again at her house and we visited and did some much needed catching up.  I really enjoy her company but with our schedule's we never get to spend any time together ... so yesterday was the day for that.

Not much else to report today.  Not too much happening around here.  I am just waiting for the mail and something good to come on TV.  I hope that you all have a really great day and I will check in again very soon.  Take care from 1HappyChef.  :)

China/Chinese

Hello again from 1HappyChef.  

Happy Happy Thanksgiving to one and to all!  Hope that everyone has a wonderful day with loved ones.

Renee', Denise and Darcy

Darcy and Denise

As for me after the past two weeks in school I am ready for some American food ... turkey, stuffing and all of the trimmings.  I will be spending part of my day with my sister Heidi and her family and my mother and my sister Gretchen.  I hardly ever get a chance to visit with them so that will be very nice ... yes, it will be very nice.  And then later in the day I will be spending   some time with my best gal-pal Karen.  Her and I hardly ever get any together time either because of our schedules so it will also be very nice to catch up with her later today.  I am looking forward to the entire day ... it will indeed be a good one!

Yesterday was my day at school.  It finally happened ... China/Chinese.  All of the weeks that I was moaning and groaning ... it finally happened.

It turned out very good ... only 5 other students besides myself showed up to help cook the menu that I had worked on and picked out but we all pitched in and everyone did one hell of a good job.  I want to thank each and everyone one of them for all of the effort that they made to make this happen for me and my guests.  So a big shout goes out to Angie, Molly, Dray, Kyi Kyi, and Esther and maybe Vlad was there for part of the time.  Anyhow, it couldn't have been done without any of you ... thank you!

On the Chinese menu was:  Drunken Chicken, Jian Bing, Dumplings w/Dip, Spicy Hot and Sour Soup, Lion's Head Soup, Chinese Chicken Salad, Cold Pasta Salad, Pork Tenderloin, Green Beans and Asian Noodles, Pot Roast, Braised Zucchini and Sesame Rice, Happy family, Hot/Sour Eggplant and Steamed Rice, almond Cookies and Sticky Rice Cake.

I do have to report the the "Chinese Dessert" is not like our desserts.  Theirs had very little sugar in them ... it did not even taste like you were eating a dessert at all ... more like eating a roll or biscuit.  I think that I will just stick to America desserts to satisfy my sweet tooth .. much better I think.

Also, most things Chinese are very spicy ... so, if you are not into the spicy things then authentic Chinese food would not be for you.  It was all very good but most of it had a "kick" to it.

Well, I need to get moving so I can get to Heidi's and help her with the things that she is preparing for us this Thanksgiving day.  So, I will be saying good bye for now from 1HappyChef.  Everyone enjoy your day and thank you again to everyone who helped me yesterday ... you are the best!  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone ... until next time .... :)

German/Russian

Sauerbraten

Hello to all of my wonderful readers.  I forgot to post on Tuesday with what we made so today I have to do two posts for you ... with pictures.

On Tuesday we did German and Russian food and it was quite the challenge in the time frame that we have to work with but as you can see the food looks pretty darn good and I am here to tell you that it was very good.

German Potato Salad

On the menu we had Soft Pretzels with assorted Mustard's, Kartoffel-Kloesse (Potato Dumplings), Cabbage-Beet Borscht, Pikanter Moehrensahat (Spicy Carrot Salad), Cucumber Dill, German Potato Salad, Pierogi with Kilbasa and Kapusta, Red Wine Vinegar Beets, Stuffed Cabbage, Braised Kohalrabi, Sauerbraten, Purne Bread Pudding and Kuchen.  And on the Russian menu we had:  Wild Mushroom Caviar, Moldavian Marinated Peppers, Zest Eggplant Slices, Black Bread, Russian Cabbage, Byelo Russian Wild Mushroom and Noodle, Tomato and Garlic Salad, Cucumbers in Sour Cream, Uzbek Lamb Stew, Beef Stroganoff, Haddock and Scalloped Potatoes, Lavish Chocolate Meringue Cake, Apple Baba, Spicy Carrots with Cumin, Potato Pancakes, Pelmeni, Fried Cucumbers, Chicken Stewed in Sour Cream and Cheese and Noodle Casserole.  Wow, see what I mean about the time limit thing?

I will report that we did get it done in time ... maybe we were 5 or so minutes late but we did it and with a lot of help from Chef Abbey we got out plating done and it was all very pretty and presentable and pleasing to the eye.  No one like the Sauerbraten .... I guess either you like it or you don't like it ... most in the school on Tuesday did not like it.  I had made it before at home and my was in the form of a roast and I thought that it turned out very good but because of time we had to make this like a stew so it would be cooked all the way through.

So, I will let you go for now and tell you in another post about the Chinese menu from yesterday and the visit from my sisters to enjoy it with me.  Signing off for now from 1HappyChef.  :)

Poland/Polish

Country Style Pork Ribs

Good afternoon everyone on this lovely Saturday.  Hope that this post finds everyone well.

Thursday was Polish day in the kitchen and boy or boy was it ever good ... as you can see by the pictures.

Sausage Cheese Bites

One the menu was:  Caramelized Onion Tart-lets, Marinated Olives, Sausage Cheese Bites, Green and White Salad, Cucumber Salad, Sauerkraut Soup w/Buttermilk Rye Bread, Split Pea and Sausage Soup, Pickle Soup, Old-Fashioned Cabbage Rolls, Tender Cabbage and a host of other ingredients simmered together for a hearty meal, Country-Style Pork Ribs, Beef Roulade, Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary, Green Beans with Sliced Almonds and Garlic Butter Sauce, Carrots with Garlic Sauce, Peach Mazurka and last of all Coffee Cake. 

Table 1, team 1 was responsible for the things in the pictures to the right of this ... everything except the stuffed Cabbage Rolls, that was another teams job.

Pickle Soup

Angie is the one who picked this menu for the class to cook on Thursday and she got to invite her family to share in our lunch.  We are short some students now so even Chef Abbey pinched  in and made all of the soup for us.

It all turned out very nice and I think that Angie's family enjoyed what they got to eat.

Old-Fashioned Cabbage Rolls

My week "China" is this coming week.  I think on Tuesday we will be doing more Polish/German food ... Chef Abbey has picked that and then on Wed. it is time for me to serve my China lunch to Darcy, Renee' and maybe her husband Roger.  I hope that I can make it very special for them.  Should I make them eat with chop sticks?  That would be really mean ... wouldn't it?

As for the rest of the weekend I am just taking it easy as my hip and leg are really bothering me.  I was going to go and get a couple of groceries and I can't even walk around the store the way that it feels right now.  I took a couple of pills and I am hoping that it feels better in a short time so I can take care of a few things.  No worries on Monday as that is our bookwork class all day ... so, only two days on my feet this week because of Thanksgiving.

Sauerkraut Soup

So, for me for now I think that I will say good bye.  I hope that you all have a really great day and weekend.  Good bye from 1HappyChef.  :)

Italy/Italian

Good evening everyone.  Hope that this post finds every one well and good tonight.

Today was "Italian".  Sorry I did not get to take any pictures today ... way too busy and at the end when it was crunch time there wasn't time to take any.

Italian ...

Rooted back to the 4th Century BC, Italian cuisine changed over the decades with the influence of many social and political changes with the giggest change occurred with the discovery of the New World.  Top Quality and Seasonal ingredients of the freshest nature are a mantra of the Italian culture.

Their major foods are Wine, Cheese, Coffee, Pasta, Seafood, Fresh water fish, Lamb and Pork.

Generally meals consist of no fewer that 3-4 courses.  They are considered time to be spent with the family.  The first course is generally the most filling consisting of a pasta or risotto.

Butter and Dairy products are more often seen i the North, Different styles and types of pasta are seen depending on the region, Coffee and Espresso are a huge part of the cuisine, Germanic and Roman Culture are seen in the North and Arabic and Mediterranean cultures influence the southern parts of Italy.

On the menu today was  Applesauce, Wedding Soup,  Little ears and Broccoli Rabe, Bisocotti,  Tiramisu, Risotto Al Pepe Verde, Stracciatella, Insalata di Lattuga al Proschiutto, Trotelle al Balsamico, Cosciotto D'Agnello Farcito and Zabaglione with Strawberries.   All of these dishes would make for a wonderful Italian menu.  Team 1 is down to only two people now and working very hard to keep up ... but, still sort of doing it.  We did forget one thing today and I never even realized it until about 20 minutes ago when I was re-reading what we did ... I realized that it was team 1 that forgot the Baked Tomatoes with Herbs ... I hate when that happens.  When Chef Abbey said that ... "someone forgot the baked tomatoes" ... I really didn't have a clue that he was talking to us.  I am sorry Chef Abbey ... we will try to do better tomorrow.

Tomorrow we are moving on to Poland/Polish.  It is Angie's day to shine with her menu that we will all cook and put out for her family members.  She said that Polish food is easy to cook but that remains to be seen.  We will see how easy it is with a team made of only 2 people.  I will try to take pictures tomorrow so you can see how we did.

Have a great night everyone and take care.  Good night from 1HappyChef.  :)

France/French

Good evening everyone.  Hope that everyone is well tonight.

Today at school we did "French" cooking.

Based on an ever evolving history, French food derived from political and social change.  The classics were codified in the 20th century by Escoffier.  Regional Cuisine is a large influence in the types of food eaten and the style of cuisine.

The major foods in France are Wine, Cheese, Herbs, Seafood, Fresh water fish and Meats.   Lunch would be their big meal of the day .. it could take up to at least 2 hours to eat this meal.

France consists of 22 regions.  It has a huge culture of Wine consumption.  It is very rich in culinary history, its Regional Cuisine characterized by its extreme diversity and style and the Brigade system was invented in France.

So, there is a little bit about France.

 

Today, table 1 or team 1 was responsible for the appetizers and the Boeuf a la Gordienne (Provencal Braised Beef) with Dauphinouse Potatoes.

The picture in the middle has all of our appetizers that we made ... we even made the baguettes for the appetizers. The 3 that we made are Anchoiade (Anchovy Spread), Tapenade (Olive Spread) and Cervelle De Canut (Herbed Cheese Spread) w/2 baguettes to spread the spreads on.

 

The top picture is a picture of "French" fish ... no, I am just kidding.  It is Loup Au Fenouil (Grilled Bass with Fennel and Boignets De Legumes (Vegetable Fritters).  And the picture of the Lobster is stuffed lobster.  I did not try it but the people who did eat it said that both the fish and the lobster were excellent.

Tomorrow we are moving on to Italian.  It is Molly's turn to impress with all of her Italian dishes that she has picked out for us to make.  Molly is on my team so it will be fun helping her with her dishes.  Can't wait!  You go Molly ... I am sure that it will be delish!

Today I made it through the entire day without much pain until the very end.  After school I went and picked up my new glasses (and now I can really see) and then I came home to do recommended exercises and then I took to the couch to get off of it for the rest of the night.  I hope that it can just hang in there for a little while longer so I can finish school.

For now it will be good night from 1HappyChef.  I will have more for you tomorrow about the Italian way of cooking and a little history and some more pictures.  Have a really great night everyone.  Take care :)

Monday

Good evening to everyone out there.  Hope that everyone is having a really great Monday.  I am not so happy with this weather but I guess that it could be worse ... like snow ... ick!

Not too much to report about school today.  We were in the classroom doing math and working on our RP.  Tomorrow we start cooking the different countries.  This week we will be doing ... French tomorrow and then Italian on Wednesday and on Thursday it will be German/Polish.  I am hoping that I will have some really great pictures for you to see what we did.

Next week on Tuesday  will be Polish/Russian and then on Wednesday will be my turn to shine with the menu from China and then we are off for the rest of the week for Thanksgiving.

Today was not too bad for me and my hip pain but tomorrow will be proof of how much better I really am when we are in the kitchen on our feet for 4 hours.  I am hoping that I have got this licked and that I will be OK so I can get through this.

Also in the next two weeks we will be doing Restaurant Inventory Costing, and Sales and Food Costs and Scheduling and Labor Costs for our individual Restaurants.  This is a bunch of math stuff that I don't care about but just to get a better understanding of it I will attend the special credit class this Friday as it is all about Culinary Math.  I am thinking that "something" has to stick in my thick brain if I keep taking the class, right?

Well, everyone have a really great night.  I have one more thing of homework to do and then I am going to watch some TV and take a break.  I will catch you up tomorrow with our first country cooking ...French and hopefully with some great pictures.

Take care everyone and have a really great evening.  Good bye for now from 1HappyChef.  :)