Culinary.

Helllooo everyone!

So today I had my first Culinary class at the hotel school! It was a lot of fun. We baked cookies haha - it felt like middle school. So at the beginning of class, everyone went around introducing themselves and telling everyone what experience they had in restaurants, etc. Many of us had none experience whatsoever (myself included). I do however, love to cook, and so I told the class that. The chef asked me, "Well what do you like to cook?" And it got me thinking, what do I like to cook the most? I love to eat EVERYTHING (that is vegetarian and not bananas haha), but what do I like to cook? I cook a lot, but what is my favorite? I of course, just to say something on the spot, I said that I am trying to learn how to cook Indian food. Which is true. Partly. I would love to learn how to cook Indian food more. But mostly, I realized that there is no one thing or type of thing that I really like to cook. I just love the act of it. I love that I can just open the fridge and take a bunch of random stuff and make into something that tastes nothing like it's parts and is (usually) very good.

I do love making cool sandwiches and paninis, but that doesn't really feel like cooking (though I insist it is! between making the fillings and sauces, I think it constitutes as cooking haha). 

I think everyone should try cooking - it is very fun! And you get to eat afterwards!! Double fun! If you are scared, though I promise you shouldn't be, follow a recipe. Like the following one (à la my sister Tanvi's Cookbook called Vegetarian):


UPDATE! I found another recipe that is muuccchhh easier to read :) 

• INGREDIENTS:

  3 large red bell pepper 1 large potato, halved 40 (1 1/4 oz.) butter 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 lb (800 g) English spinach leaves, shredded 1/4 cup cream 1 egg yolk 1/3 cup EVOO 2 eggplants, cut into 5 mm slices lengthways 1 cup fresh basil 350 g (11 oz) ricotta cheese 2 cloves garlic, crushed, extra

  DIRECTIONS:

  1.	Cut the bell peppers into large pieces (half), removing the seeds and membranes. Cook, skin-side-up, under a hot grill (broil) until the skin blisters. Cool (in brown paper bag), and then peel.
  2.	preheat oven to moderate heat 350 degrees F.
  3.	Grease 1.5 liter (48 fl. oz.) terrine and line with baking paper..
  4.	Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil and cook the potato for 10 minutes. Drain and cool. Cut into 5 mm slices.
  5.	Melt the butter in a large saucepan and cook the garlic for 30 seconds. Add the spinach and toss. Steam, covered, over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until wilted. Cool slightly and place in a food processor and process until smooth. Squeeze out any excess liquid, put in a bowl and stir in the cream and egg.
  6.	Heat a chargrill plate over high heat and brush with some of the oil. Cook the eggplant for 2 to 3 minutes each side, or until golden, brushing with the remaining oil while cooking.
  7.	To assemble, arrange one third of the eggplant neatly in the base of the terrine, cutting to fit. Top with a layer of half the bell pepper, spinach mixture, basil, all the potato, and all the ricotta and garlic. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, finishing with the eggplant (spiegelbeeld).
  8.	Oil a piece of foil and cover the terrine, sealing well. Place in a baking dish and half-fill the baking dish with water. bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
  9.	Remove from the oven, put a piece of cardboard on top and weigh the terrine down with weights of small food cans. Refrigerate overnight, then turn and cut into slices (http://web.me.com/alanhen7/page15/page15.html)

Should look a little something like this :)

Vacation.

Who knew vacation was such a great time for watching so much TV that I feel my brain coming out of my ears? Literally, that is all I have been doing. I went to the library to get a bunch of books, but all  I have done is watch a bunch of Christmas movies and half a season of Gossip Girl. I don't even like that show. It is just so addicting.

Anywhooo besides my TV watching habits, my family has a New Year's Eve party every year. This year, it's going to be a little bit bigger because my sister Tanvi just graduated from University of Maryland (Wooo!!) (and she already got a job!), and so she decided to make the party into somewhat of a graduation party as well.

[Ok, before I continue, I have to sidetrack. My sister had the most AMAZING week last week. It was her birthday, she graduated, and got a job. I hope I at some point have a week as great as that!]

Anyways, let me continue. So I do have a lot to do so that I can help my mom with prepping for the party. I am meant to make an eggplant dish. I am not sure what I am going to do. I guess I'll just make it up as I go along. Don't tell my mom though haha (she thinks I know exactly what I am doing). I think I started talking about the New Year's Eve party because I had a funny story....but this is not funny. Sorry.

So I have been looking at eggplant dishes, and I found a few that look good. I think I am going to combine a few recipes. I am pretty sure there are some procedures to cooking eggplant so that it is not bitter that I don't know.....

For my cool thing, I will share a recipe (of eggplant) that I thought sounded delicious from the foodnetwork website:

It's called Eggplant Rollatini.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/eggplant-rollatini-recipe2/index.html

I usually am not a huge fan of Giada (She over pronounces EVERYTHING. We get it. You're Italian. Goodness Gracious), but this looks reallllyyy good.

I would have to make some modifications thought since I am making it for a party. I am probably going to skip the cheese mixture, cut up to eggplant into little pieces and roast them and then put the tomato sauce and reduce it a bit and then melt some cheese on top. Ok. That is a completely different recipe. haha oh well. Good starting point. But I think I will make this at some point.