Avocado and Pinneapple Salad

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup sugar
4 cups Iceberg or Boston lettuce shredded
1 cup fresh pineapples 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup sweet onions thinly sliced
1 Avocado peeled, sliced, 1/4 inch thick
4 fresh lime wedges

1.Combine olive oil, vinegar, orange juice and sugar in a blender until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper
2. Lightly toss together the lettuce, pineapple and red onions. Dress with the oil and vinegar mixture adjust the amount to taste
3. Garnish individual salads with several avocado slices lightly seasoned with salt and pepper and squeeze of lime juice.  Serve with lime wedges

Jhinga Kari (shrimp curry)

1/4 cup       Butter
1 cup          Onions, cut in half lenghtwise
2                 Garlic cloves minced
2 tsp           Coriander, ground
1 tsp           Ginger minced
1 tsp          Turmeric
1/2 tsp       Chile Powder
1/2 tsp       Cumin ground
2 tbsp        White Vinegar
1lb             Shrimp, removed from shell and deveined
3/4 cup      Water


1. Heat butter over medium heat and add onions and garlic, cook until soft and slightly brown 10-12 minutes, Add ginger cook 1 min
2. Make a paste out of the dry ingredients and vinegar
3. Add paste to cooked onions and stir 3 minutes, stirring constantly
4. Add shrimp and toss to coat.  Add water and cook until done about 2-3 minutes
5. Serve with rice or as a appetizer

Curried Pinneapple Rice

1/2 cup Jasmine rice, uncooked
1/2 cup Brown rice, uncooked
1/2 cup Wild rice, uncooked
1/4 cup Almonds, toasted
1 tbsp Ginger root, finely minced
1/2 cup Raisins
1/4 cup Red Bell Pepper, small diced
1/4 Green Onion sliced thinly
1 cup Pinneaple, meduim diced
2 cups Vegetable stock
1 1/2 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 1/2 tbsp Lime juice
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp Curry powder
2 cup coconut milk

In a bowl, combine the vegetable stock, coconut milk, curry powder and soy sauce.  Set aside.  Using a ration of 2 parts liquid to 1 part dry rice, cook the jasmine rice and brown rice separately.  Bring the liquid to a boil, add rice, cover and decrease the heat to a simmer.  Cook approximately 18 minutes.  Cook the wild rice in the remaining liquid.  Wild rice cooks in a slightly different manner.  Bring to a boil and add the wild rice.  Decrease the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered until the rice grains swells and splits at the ends.  Drain any leftover liquid from the wild rice.  When the three rices are fully cooked, toss them together and add the remaining ingredients.  Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.  This is a vegetarian dish.

Option:  cook small pieces of chicken or shrimp separately and add to finished rice dish.

Kale Soup

Before I started culinary school I had never seen or heard of kale, and I had never seen a quail's egg, needless to say after making Kale soup I have not only seen and heard of them but I also ate for the very first time in my life.  Kale soup is a dish from Denmark and is called Gronkclsuppe.

Kale 1lb
Butter 2 tbsp
1/2 cup Bacon   1/4 diced
1 cup Onion       1/4 diced
3/4 cup Carrots  1/4 diced
2 cups Leeks, white and light green parts, 1/4 inch dice
2 tbsp Flour
5 cups chicken stock
Salt and White Pepper to Taste
4 Quail's Eggs, poached

1. Remove center ribs from kale leaves, wash carefully, blanch, drain well and chop coarsely.
2. Heat butter over medium-low heat, add bacon, and cook until fat has been rendered; do not brown
3. Add vegetables; saute without coloring until soft, 5 to 8 minutes
4. Add flour to make a roux, cook 3 minutes
5. Add stock and cook 10 minutes
6. Add kale; cook until kale is tender, about 20 minutes
7. Adjust seasoning, and place a hot poached egg in the middle of each serving.

Poaching the egg, if you cant get quail's egg a regular egg will do, crack egg in some sarin wrap, pull all for corners of sarin wrap together,(not to tight), tie the end together, and place in a pot of hot hot, 3-5 minutes egg should be ready.

The fundamentals of culinary

The very first class i took when i entered culinary school was the fundamentals of culinary, the book we used called, On Cooking.  In this class you would learn the things like, knife cuts, food safety and sanitation, tools and equipment, flavor and flavoring, mother sauces and stock preparation, different cuts of meat, fruit, vegetables and a whole lot more.  This class is very important because it prepares you for future classes, i doubt very serious if a person flunked this class that they could or would even pass any class after this.  A few things that stood out to me was, 1. Knife Skills, the importance of this is so when the customer is eating the food you prepared they are chewing the same bite size every time they eat a particular item. 2. Utilizing every thing such as bones from meats and scrap vegetables to produce stock, such as chicken, beef or fish stock.  I had no idea how much stock was used in preparing everyday dishes, from soups, rice, sauces or braised dishes.  Next time a dish calls for water try using stock instead, it adds a whole new flavor to the dish. Prior to attending this school I had never even cut up a chicken, let me tell you, a person will get plenty of practice to master this skill in this class.  The book is very useful for people who want to learn some of the basics around the kitchen, gain knowlege on how to prepare some of the more simple dishes and learn the diferrent terms used around the kitchen.  Plus there are simple recipes in this book. 

garde manger

The art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen,  Garde Manger, I took this course last quater, I found it very interesting and challenging.  The term garde manger was originally used to identify a storage area.  Preserved foods such as hams, sausages, and cheeses were held.  Over time, garde manger has evoled to mean more than just a storage area.  It also indicates the station in a professional kitchen responsible for preparing cold foods, the cooks and chefs who prepare these cold foods, as well as an area of specialization in culinary arts.  The name of the book we used in class is, Garde Manger, The Art and craft of the Cold kitchen,  this book gives the history of garde manger, numerous recipes from sandwiches, soups, salads, sauces, cured and smoked foods, sausage making, appetizers and hors d'oeuvre, jus to name a few.  If your into the cold side of the kitchen I really recommend this book.