*SAD (Single Awareness Day) Dinner*

First, sorry about my lack of posts. It has been a busy couple of weeks...actually, month. Going to San Fransisco, work, school, cooking, and other things coming up I couldn't dedicate my time that this blogs deserve. I actually started this post (and another post about San Fransisco, but more on that soon) several times, but either got interrupted or lack of dedication. But have no fear, yours truly is back, and this time, with a vengeance.

So as all you lucky couples know, this past weekend was Valentine's Day. What my friend and I decided to do was to cook dinner for ourselves to celebrate our "choice" to not have a date. If I keep saying that then I might actually believe it :P

So anywho, our dinner date soon turned into a threesome, which quickly turned into a quintet when her parents

also decided to join us. I didn't mind and thought more the merrier. This way I get to cook for even more people and show off my bad@$ culinary skillz.

The menu that we decided with was Chicken Linguini w/ Alfredo sauce, Polenta w/ Marinara and Mozzarella, garlic and Parmesan bread, some steamed veggies and some wine. For dessert we had a chocolate fondue with strawberries, bananas, and angel food cake as dippables. All-in-all a pretty "romantic" dinner for five.

I was responsible for the pasta and dessert, one of which I have made many times and one that I did some research to make sure I knew what I was getting myself into. I'll let you decide which dish is which.

This is what the finished result looked like. I was very happy with the dinner. Hopefully, everyone else thought the same. What really caught me was the fondue. That turned out nomnomnommy!

It was basically like making a chocolate ganache. We used Hershey's chocolate bar, 2 milk and 1 dark. *Note-for any fondue do not use a chocolate with more than 68% cocoa* We set up a double boiler system. That's basically two pots, one on top of the other. In the bottom pan you want to have some water boiling and in the top pot (preferably a glass bowl) you want to cut up your chocolate and let the steam from the water melt it. In another pot you want to scald some heavy cream. Scalding is cooking liquid *almost* to the boiling point. Pour the heavy cream into the chocolate and mix away. Drop in 1-2 tablespoons of cold butter to give it a shine. You can also add in other flavors such as vanilla, some liqueur, or even hazelnut. The possibilities really are endless. As for dips, we used these three...

You could use whatever your heart desired to dunk into this chocolate goodness: marshmallows, pretzels, apples, graham crackers, oreos, brownies, cake, etc...

Melting Pot, eat your heart out!

*Strawberry Goodness*

So as most of you know I am going to Culinary School to become a chef. What you may not know is what I want to do after I graduate. My dream job would be to become a personal chef for a celebrity, or at least, for a crazy, fun, (wealthy) family. My ultimate goal would be to create a program that teaches children to cook or just teaches children that food can be fun.

The reason that I bring this up is because I am able to practice my latter dream at the place I currently work at. Being a YMCA leader I am able to create a curriculum that I enjoy doing and that interests the kids. Every Friday I run a Cooking Club where I am able to create easy and fun dishes that kids will actually eat. My one goal is expose the kids to different tastes and ingredients that they might otherwise shy away from. I urge every child to try a little before they disregard it. What usually ends up happening is that they love it.

My first club, I started with an easy recipe: Fruit Kabobs coated with Strawberry Yogurt with Toasted Coconuts sprinkled over it. Of course it was a hit because every kid loves fruit and the yogurt and coconut was like an extra treat. The real reason behind this post (and my affirmation that I am headed in the right profession) is what I created this past Friday for my kids. I call it my, "Strawberry Goodness."

Baby salad mix, strawberries, mint, red onion, and a balsamic vinaigrette. Add to that the taste palates of elementary school aged kids. I was pretty hesitant at first; but I wanted to challenge myself to create something that the kids would be surprised that they enjoyed.



So these were the ingredients. I urged everyone to try the salad with strawberries and drizzled some vinaigrette over it. The younger kids (kindergarteners and 1st graders) were pretty hesitant but tried it anyway. The older kids, especially the 4th and older were pretty open. I urged them to also try it with the mint and red onion and told them that those two ingredients really completed the dish. Of course, they could care less about that but ventured on anyway. The outcome was almost unanimous...






THEY LOVED IT!!!

Imagine hearing from kids who were "bummed" that we were having salad as our dish asking...no, begging, for seconds of everything, not just strawberries. Being the true teacher (and aspiring chef) that I am, I was ecstatic that they liked what I was "teaching" them, but even more ecstatic that they loved what I was "cooking" for them.

I boast (perhaps too much) that I am a great chef and cook these amazing dishes. However, after hearing all the excitement and rave reviews from probably the toughest, harshest, and most honest critics, I am really starting to get excited about what I can do after I graduate from AI.

So now I am sharing with you...and encouraging you all to try this recipe. I can not claim all the credit. I did get the base of this recipe off of foodnetwork.com. However, like every true artist, I added in my own tweaks and tastes to call it mine.


"Strawberry Goodness"



Your favorite salad mix (I love the Baby Spring Mix)
Fresh Strawberries
handful of Mint
handful of Walnuts (toasted if you prefer)
Mozzarella
1 oz EVOO
2-3 oz Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp Sugar
salt/pepper

To create the vinaigrette combine the evoo, balsamic vinegar and sugar. Season with salt and pepper. You may need to adjust the sizes according to your tastes, ie: more EVOO, less balsamic.

Slice strawberries and add to salad mix. Cube mozzarella and add to mix. Chiffonade mint and add to mix. Add walnuts to mix. Drizzle with vinaigrette. Toss and Enjoy!

And enjoy you will!

:)


Happy Cooking!