CHEF SHUMAN.... While I truly have enjoyed taking your English Composition class, I must say I am happy it is almost over.  By the way, are we having a pot luck lunch next week?  Because I have been looking forward to that part for the past 9 weeks.  I only ask because I did not hear anyone else talking about it.  If need be I will make the phone calls to ensure that we have some food for next Thursday.

If the rest of the world would go to culinary school and actually take it serious, I wonder if places like McDonalds and Burger King would still be in business.  Those fast food joints, just don't do it for me anymore.  However, the fries, oh the fries.  How is it I cannot make fries like the fast food restaurants?  What is really the secret to why they are so good.  Stake n Shake has to have my favorite fries.  Just the small shoestring style with the cheddar cheese sauce over them.  MMMMM.  In fact, I am thinking I will have some after work tonight.

From school to work.  This seems to be my life as of late.  I just got a text message from my executive chef telling me we have a party of 250 coming in.  Apparently the hall that this group had rented out, must have double booked.  So I was asked if I could come in early to help prep.  Sorry chef, no can do today.  However I will be making some beautiful pies once I get there.  That is the task I have ahead of me tonight.

Here they are folks!!!!  The L'Ecole Culinary Competition Team.  Well three of them anyways.  First competition is coming up here in a couple of weeks and as the team gets prepared, you can hear the nervousness in each of their voices.  I keep telling them to just relax and remember to just take their time when the competition begins.  I will be there rooting for them.  Don't want to see our school come in any other place besides first.  They are all strong students and I have all the faith in the world in them.

We are almost done with the 5th phase of school.  I must say that I really miss being in the kitchen.  Especially when I have been doing nothing except for writing papers and watching other people cooking right in front of me.  The kitchen next to the library is called Plate Design.  And by the looks of things, it looks like quite an interesting class.  I am looking forward to that time.

When I decided to go to culinary school, I had this vision of walking in and just having different food all over the place.  That, however is not always the case.  It seems that as we near the end of each phase, you could walk into any walk-in cooler or reach in cooler and find that there is absolutely nothing as far as food products go.  I understand that the ordering goes down to make sure we use the product we have on hand, but just find it ironic.  It reminds me of my refrigerator at home.

Brian, my high maintenance brother, comes over once a month for some type of themed dinner.  This past Sunday he decided he wanted to have Mexican.  While I love Mexican food, it just isn't a whole lot of fun to make.  So I decided to do tacos four ways.  We had chicken fajita tacos, pork tacos with mango salsa, carne asada tacos with fresh pico de gallo, and fish tacos.  I had also prepared fresh guacamole and queso dip.  For dessert we had churros.  After it was all said and done, he says to me, " Why did you make so much food?"  Not a thank you or that was enjoyable, just a complaint.  However, this is my high maintenance brother.

March the 27th, day of the fish competition at school.  The only rule is that we must use Pollock as our fish.  For my dish, I made a cracker and Cheyenne breading, then pan fried the fish.  Under the fish was a Jicama, cucumber, and bell pepper slaw, topped with a balsamic glaze.  While it was agreed upon all of the judges my dish was enjoyable, I ended up getting 3rd place in the competition.  Some day soon I will regain my rightful place at the top of these competitions.  Until then, I will continue to hone my culinary skills.

The nice thing about working at a higher end restaurant versus the typical bar and grill, is the different food dishes you get to play around with.  Now that we are into the lent holiday we had the pleasure of creating some different fish dishes.  Below is a rainbow trout stuffed with goat cheese and fresh thyme.  For sides we grilled some potato squares and sauteed some green beans.  This dish was absolutely amazing.

This past Saturday, I had the honor of volunteering for Camp Rainbow, which is a camp for teens with Cancer or other blood related diseases.  It makes you realize how wonderful your life is when you look at these children dealing with this life threatening disease.  Even more than that is the courage they have and just how up beat they are about life.  For me they were nothing short of inspirational.  One teen comes to mind, in particular though.  Noah, who came up to me and asked, "what is this?" Churros, with chocolate sauce," I replied.  When I was asked if they were any good?  I told Noah that they were like heaven in his mouth.  Without skipping a beat he says to me, " I will be the judge of that.  And if they are, I will be back to compliment you on your cooking skills."  And that is exactly what he did.  A short while later he came to me and explained how amazing the Churros were and gave me a huge hug.  That in and of itself  made the entire day worth while.

I work for the Legends Country Club in Eureka, MO.  As we are getting into the Spring season, all of the cooks were asked to create a light pasta for the new menu.  Based on management, they would then decide whose pasta would make the new menu.  Thanks to Chef Hutchinson, whose pasta dish I copied, the pasta I made is on the menu.

All you need to do is heat a skillet with a little bit of oil, toss in some minced up garlic and shallots until aromatic.  Then put in some broccoli, chopped sundried tomatoes, Italian sausage (all ready cooked).  Once all of these items have heated through add some chicken stock and orchiette pasta.  Toss all ingredients together in the sautee pan.  Add some shredded Pecorino cheese until it is melted.  Serve immediately and top with some more cheese, salt and pepper.

On Tuesday, March the 9th my entire class volunteered to help out at the American Culinary Federation Convention.  They had different demonstration on cooking with grains, meats, seafood, and even a version of Jeopardy, just in the culinary form.  Food vendors from all over the country had shown up to display their products, but I must say that the bacon kabob was my favorite.  Who doesn't love bacon?  And now to have it on a kabob.  Holy Moly!!!

With St. Patrick's day right around the corner, I believe it is time to start making my corned beef.  It will have to sit for several days, but just the thought of watching it sitting in the brine and starting to corn, gets this fat guy all excited.  Once it is done I will post the recipe and pictures of each step. For now, you just get to see the briskets I will be using.

So today my classmate Alex Emrich and I decided we wanted to try something new and different for lunch.  As we drove aimlessly around we came across Atai Mongolian Grill.  Neither one of us had ever had Mongolian, so figured we'd give it a try.  Not only was it delicious, but I decided I want to try and cook on this massive round flat top, with what looked like to long metal poles.  Can't wait to go back again.

Today is :Monday, the 10th of March, the weather is gorgeous, I have no school and the Cardinals are playing.  Whatever shall I do?  That is right folks! Time to break out the Weber and grill up some chicken, potatoes, and some grilled asparagus marinated in a Balsamic Vinegar.

Now that the move to our new home is complete, we finally got to have our first real dinner with some friends and family.  I grilled some Teriyaki salmon, with sauteed squash and zucchini and Soba noodle salad.  For dessert we had warm pineapple, mango, crisp.  Needless to say everyone was in a food coma by the end of the meal.

Thankfully, mid-terms are over at school.  I am really missing being in the kitchen and cooking on a daily basis.  At least today I get the opportunity to go to work and prepare some food tonight.  By the sound of things we should have a pretty busy evening.

Once again, I had the joy of working on the L'Ecole food truck.  Although we were not near as busy, myself, Tim, and Chef Hutchinson had a great time serving our customers.  However, I find it interesting how many people suddenly become practicing Catholics during lent.

The Country Club atmosphere I have found out is much different than any other type of restaurant that I have worked in before.  This past Friday, we started off with 33 reservations.  Before we knew it we were putting together hors d'oeuvres for a party of 75.  By the end of the night we were at full capacity of 187 guests.  Just goes to show you that you never know what is going to happen in this industry.

We had to do 10 more of these platters and another 30 of the ones below

I have worked in a couple of different restaurants, but never have I had the pleasure of working on a line that was so big and open.  We even have air conditioning.  Even though I just started this past Thursday, I think I may have found a home to stay at for awhile.

Tonight, when I get home it will be another fun night of unpacking the new house.  However, I have my mother and father coming over for dinner.  Chicken Lombardy with smothered with sauteed mushrooms and mozzarella cheese.  With that we will have some sauteed asparagus and roasted red potatoes.  I will get the progressive pictures and the recipe to all of you once we have our internet transferred over to the new place.  Then hopefully we can get back on track.

It is mid-term week here at school, and I must say that I miss the cooking side of testing.  Above is a picture of some of my fellow classmates taking their Garde Manger practical.  They are in the process of making table side Caesar Dressing.  

Over this weekend, I literally did not cook one thing for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner.  This wasn't because I am trying to starve myself to loose weight.  Rather for the fact, that our new home was ready a week earlier than expected, so my friend Shawn and I moved all weekend long.  I must say I am not a fan of manual labor.

Last Thursday, I was asked to help out on the food truck with Chef Hutchinson.  I must say it was fun to be back working around food.  While I am having fun with the AOS program, it is just not as much fun as cooking.  However it was very hot and stuffy on that truck.  Be good for me to loose some weight.

Well after a 3 and 0 start, I was finally knocked of my thrown yesterday for our cooking competition.  Was a little upset with myself for not asking more questions about the details.  However all the food was amazing, and congratulations to Sarah Bailey for winning.

You ever have one of those days when you get home from work ( in my case school), and there is absolutely nothing good to eat and you are too lazy to go to the grocery store to get something?  This was me last night.  What I found was a box of Banquet Pasta, some chicken breast and some Italian Bread Crumbs.  What came out is shown below and I must say it wasn't all that bad.  The important thing is the kids liked it....I think.

As we all know, the past Friday was Valentine's Day.  Even though I am not a big fan of this holiday, I thought I would do my best to make it special for my better half.  After all,
she does deserve it for having to put up with me everyday.  So I waited until she was asleep and made some chocolate covered strawberries, cut up some fresh fruit and went and got her some Dove chocolates (her favorites).  And before she woke up the following morning, I went back downstairs and made some heart-shaped blueberry pancakes for her.  All followed up with a marriage proposal....That's right I am now engaged.

Starting this phase in school was a little nerve racking for a guy like myself.  I have gotten by on my personality for so long, that I forgot what it was like to have to do real work.  With everything I have on my plate; personal catering, that my partner Shawn and I are doing, starting the L'Ecole Catering Club, my school work, and my family, it has gotten a little overwhelming.  Until today, when I looked into the kitchen and saw Chef Damicos class putting together a display.  It quickly reminded me why I am doing the things I am.  I am lucky to have the instructors I have and the support system I have.  Soon, you all will see these types of displays from myself and the club soon.

Ughhhh!!!!  You ever have that feeling after you just stuffed yourself with an amazing meal?  So good, but so miserable.  Tonight we had roasted pork tenderloin, in a home made rub, sauteed squash, zucchini, and red peppers, with smashed Rosemary-Parmesan potatoes, and a nice pan sauce

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A lot of my friends and family already know this, but over the past several months I have been getting really in to the personal catering side of the business.  This past Saturday, my partner and I did our 4th catering job.  This one was quite simple, but fun never the less.  We prepared Salmon, Chicken, Rice, a Vegetable Medley, and Salad.  Seems everyone was very pleased and enjoyed the meal.  Looking forward to the next event.

I have been laid up in bed with my foot propped up, starving for some sweets, when suddenly my wonderful girlfriend Monica and her beautiful daughter, Mackenzie surprise me with this wonderful cake.  Mackenzie made this with little help from her mother.  So in tribute to her first cake, I thought she deserved a spot on the blog.  And yes, she even decorated my piece.  She is so creative.  Guess she's been paying closer attention than I thought.  The cake itself was a box cake by Charm City Cakes and Chef Duff Goldman

Once again it's another freezing cold day.  It may have reached about 20 degrees outside.  So once again for dinner I turned to one of my favorite dishes my mother made when I was a kid.  It is called Meat Pie Roma.  If you like spaghetti, then you should love this dish.  Again it is very simple to prepare.  The recipe is as follows:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 green bell peppers (diced)
• 1 pkg spaghetti sauce mix ( I use two)
• 1 (6oz) can tomato paste ( I use two)
• 3/4c of water ( I use 1 1/2c)
• 1/3c parmesan cheese
• 4c shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 pkg Pillsbury flaky biscuits

I make twice the amount of sauce, simply because in my family we like this dish a little more saucy.

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease an 8-inch pie plate, then line it with biscuits, pressing them together to cover both the bottom and up the sides of the plate.  Brown ground beef in frying pan; drain and set aside.
2) Cook green peppers until tender.  Then return the beef back into the pan with the green peppers, add spaghetti sauce mix, tomato paste and water.  Simmer for about 10 minutes.
3) Sprinkle 1/4 cup parmesan cheese over the biscuits, then pour 1/2 meat mixture over the biscuits, top with two cups of mozzarella.  Repeat layering one more time, ending with the remaining mozzarella cheese and little bit more parmesan cheese.
4) Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the biscuits and top of dish starts to form a nice brown color.
5) Let stand for about 10 minutes and cut just like you would a pie to serve.

Hope you enjoy this as much as we do.

Every now and again, I enjoy looking up different recipes to try out.  My family loves Chinese food.  The favorite being General Tso Chicken.  So as a treat to them and hopefully all of you, here is a recipe I found on line, done by Emeril Lagasse and the Food Network.  Make sure you give it a try.  It was absolutely amazing. The recipe that follows will make 2 servings.

• 1 large egg white
• 3tbsp conrstarch
• 3tbsp Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry
• 3tbsp soy sauce
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs(cut into 1" cubes)
• 1/4c Chicken stock
• 2tsp white vinegar
• 2tsp sugar
• vegetable oil for frying the chicken
• 1tbsp minced ginger
• 1tbsp minced garlic
• 12 dry red chile peppers
• 1/2tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2c green onions, cut on the bias

1) In a bowl whisk together egg white, 2 tbsp of cornstarch, 2 tbsp of wine, and 1 tbsp of soy sauce.  Mix well, them add the chicken chunks and toss until coated well.  Cover and let marinade for up to two hours.

2) For the sauce, in a seperate bowl whisk 1 tbsp of cornstarch with 1 tbsp of stock until smooth. Add remaining 3 tbsp of chicken stock, 1 tbsp soy sauce, the 2 tsp vinegar, and the sugar and whisk together until combined.  Set aside

3) In a large skillet, heat enough oil to come about 3" up the sides.  Place chicken into oil one piece at a time.  Cook until golden brown, flipping once or twice.  Take chicken out and put on paper towels to drain.  Set aside

4) Heat 1 tbsp of oil over medium heat, add chile peppers and stir-fry them until they start to get a nice dark color. Add the garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, and scallions.  Stir-fry until fragrant (about 15 seconds) Add the chicken stock sauce and bring to a boil, stirring until sauce starts to thicken.

5) Lower heat to low and add chicken and toss until coated.

Hint: Serve over rice and steamed broccoli.

Once again, last night we got hit with some snow and the temperature got down to 3 degrees.  With that in mind I thought we should have one of my mother favorites, baked potato soup.  There are a hundred different ways to make this soup, but I enjoy the way my mother makes it. What you will need:
-6 large baking potatoes
-1 pound of bacon(for bacon bits)
-1 (8oz) container of sour cream
-2c of shredded cheddar cheese
-2tbsp of green onions (sliced on a bias)
-6c of milk
2/3c of butter, melted
2/3c of flour

1) bake 6 large potatoes @ 400 for an hour.  And cook off 1 pound of bacon for your bacon bits. Once the potatoes are done allow them to cool slightly, then cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out the insides and then set aside.  Once the bacon is nice and crispy allow them to drain on a paper towel so that the grease get soaked up, then chop into small pieces.
2) Start by melting 2/3 cup of  butter, then slowly add 2/3 cup of flour over a medium/low heat,stirring constantly to make a blonde rue.
3) Take 6 cups of milk and slowly start adding this to the rue.  Increase heat to medium, stirring constantly until it starts to thicken.
4) Add in your potatoes, half of the bacon, half of your green onions, and about 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Stir until incorporated.
5) Slowly start to add your sour cream.  Stir until the sour cream is mixed into the soup well.  Make sure it doesn't come to a boil.  You just want it to heat through.
6) Serve immediately and top with more cheese, bacon bits, and green onions.  Add salt and pepper to your desired liking.

So here it is at 6:30 in the morning and after yesterday's breakfast in bed experiment, I have decided to make everyone blueberry pancakes with some home made maple syrup. Seeing that there are 5 people in this house and 3 of which are females, it should make my stepson and my day go smooth. Especially since he is helping.

Mom Taught Me Well

My mother, whom for as long as I can remember, has always complained about the lack of romance in her life from my father.  She used to teach me different ways to make that someone special feel amazing and important. Her favorite saying was "the quickest way to a girls heart is through her stomach."  For some reason or another I woke up this morning with that thought on my mind. So I walked into the kitchen whipped up an ham and cheese omelette, with some bacon, and fresh fruit, and fed my wonderful girlfriend breakfast in bed.  Thinking that she was most grateful for starting her day off this way.

The prodigy and mama D

                                                                 Snowy comfort food

Here we are in the beginning of February and the weather is still cold, snowy, and nasty.  However it makes wonderful weather for nice warm comfort food for dinner.  My mother was always big on feeding our family of 8 with casseroles and food that would put you into that "food coma."  So last night for dinner I made one of the families easiest yet delicious meals.  Known as hamburger, gravy, over smashed potatoes, topped with corn.  It is exactly as is sounds.  Take some ground beef, brown it up.  Make your favorite type of brown gravy and add it to the cooked beef.  I like to make some rosemary, parmesan smashed potatoes.  Place a big scoop of potatoes in the bottom of a bowl, top that with the ground beef and gravy, topped with some fresh corn.  That is literally it.  Absolutely amazing and only takes about 20 minutes to make.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.  

I must say that the best thing about this superbowl Sunday, was my loaded tater-tots. Covered in chili, cheese, onions and ranch. Not healthy at all, but a delicious football snack

First Blog ever!!!!

Today marks day one of my personal blog page.  It will be interesting and fun to watch things transpire throughout the rest of my culinary schooling.  As time goes everyone will get a great understanding of where my love for food and passion for cooking has come from.  Her name would be Mrs. Joan Deutschmann, my mother.  Hence Mama D's prodigy.  Hope you not only enjoy my future blogs, but you learn some fun and exciting recipes from me as well.