Plate Presentation

Presentation is very important part of the dining experience because we eat with our ‘eyes’ first. Sometimes, presentation is more important than how the food actually tastes. If plate presentation is sloppy and is not appealing or pleasing to your eyes, then you are more critical about how the food actually tastes. Without good plate presentation, it is difficult to enjoy food. Here are some tips for good plate presentation:

• Choose a big, shallow, white plate.
• Use appropriate portion of each item while serving food.
• Everything on the plate should be edible
• All food items must be properly cooked and presented at right temperature
• Start arranging food in the center of the plate and build outward
• Arrange food in artistic manner, avoiding symmetry
• Place most attractive item in the front part of the plate
• Add height to the place but do not just stack items over one another
• Add colorful garnishes to increase eye appeal
• Make sure that all the items in the plate are seasoned well

Pasta

Pasta is every body's favorite dish in my house. My daughter likes her pasta with red tomato sauce (Ragu), my son likes it with home-made white sauce (alfredo) made with butter, heavy whipping cream, Parmesan cheese and milk powder. He wouldn't eat pasta with any other sauce.

My husband and I usually prefer home-made basil pesto. I make a spin-off of conventional basil pesto by adding green chillies and black pepper to make my pesto zesty. I make pesto sauce with fresh basil, olive oil, garlic, pine-nuts, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, salt, green chillies and cilantro.

Poached Pears

I tried making poached peras the other night. They are very easy to make. All you do is poach (simmer) a hard, almost raw, pear in sugar syrup, flavored with vanilla, saffron, cinnamon, or cardamom (or any other flavor or spice of your choice). After pears become tender, take them out with the help of a slotted soon and serve them as is or along with some cake or ice-cream. I think, you can poach almost any hard fruits but I think when it comes to poaching, pears are very popular because they retain their shaper and firmness even after poaching (do not get mushy). You can garnish poached pears with dry fruits or small fruits such as cranberries, grapes, blue berries (fresh or dried).

Coq Au Vin

This week our homework assignment for Culinary Foundations course was to make "Coq Au Vin" at home. Coq Au Vin means cut up marinated chicken. It is a French braised chicken cooked with red wine (typically burgundy), lardons (or bacon), mushrooms, onion (white pearl onions), optionally garlic. Thyme, bay leaves, salt, black pepper, and parsley are typically used for seasoning this dish.

Although the word "coq" in French means "rooster", most Coq Au Vin recipes call for capon or chicken. Tough birds with lots of connective tissue benefit from braising,

Rooster is used in the classic version of Coq Au Vin but if it is not available, one can use thigh and leg meat, which is high in fat and connective tissue.

The juices are thickened either by making a small roux at the beginning of cooking. I thickened my red wine sauce by adding flour to it while simmering.

You will find many recipes on the Internet, including one by famous Chef Julia Child. I saw Alton Brown’s 11 minute show about Coq Au Vin on U Tube. It was very informative. I was little nervous at first but instead of following the recipe verbatim, I decided to memorize the main steps and decided to eye-ball all the ingredients (instead of measuring). I used chicken thighs, white diced onion (in place of pearl onions), bacon, diced raw tomatoes, chopped garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, bay leaf, chicken stock, and red wine.

I browned my bacon first, followed by onions, and then mushrooms. They were set aside in a dish with raw diced tomatoes. Then I braised chicken thighs (seasoned with salt and pepper) in the same pan using extra butter. Later I deglazed the pan using red wine and chicken stock to which I added fresh thyme, bay leaf, and simmered it for 5 minutes. Then I thickened the sauce by adding some flour and butter. Braised chicken, onion, mushrooms, bacon and tomatoes were returned to the pan and simmered for another 10 minutes.

This recipe turned out pretty good. Kids loved it too. We enjoyed this chicken dish with garlic bread and spinach salad.

Fried Catfish

Last week I cooked some fried catfish dishes. I like cooking fish for two reasons, one it is easy to cook and the other that fish is healthy alternative to meat. However, when you make fried catfish, you defeat second purpose. Any ways--here are those recipes.

Blackened Catfish fingers with creamy tomato sauce : This dish was made by our Culinary Foundation's instructor, Chef Jeff Snow. He made that dish in our kitchen on the fly! This tasty dish is simple and easy to make. Cut catfish fillets lengthwise to make fingers. Coat presentation side of catfish with some blackening seasoning (consisting of salt, onion & garlic powder, and ground spices such as paprika, oregano, thyme, balk pepper) and sauté on medium heat in a shallow pan. After catfish fillets are all fried/sautéed, deglaze the pan using white wine; add some butter, tomatoes, spinach and some black pepper and salt to this pan. Add some heavy whipping cream and let the sauce simmer for 2-3 minutes. Pour this sauce over fried catfish and serve



Mint Chutney Marinated Catfish: If you like green herbs and hot green chili, you will love this dish. First make chutney using fresh mint leaves, cilantro, green chilies, garam masalam (Indian spice blend of containing cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, red pepper, black pepper, cumin and coriander), some olive oil and salt to taste. Coat catfish fillets with this green mint chutney and refrigerated for 1 hr (to marinate).

Prepare a breading mixture with rice flour and cream of wheat (I also add some salt and red pepper to this breading). Coat marinated fish with this breading on both the sides and sauté on medium heat. Rice flour makes crust very crispy. It is our favorite dish which goes well with white rice and curry/thin sauce made with coconut milk and raw mango extract (which has distinct tart flavor). I also add ginger and garlic paste to Coconut milk & mango, which is then tempered with hot oil, curry leaves, mustard seeds and later garnished with fresh cilantro leaves.

Mithai (Indian Sweet):

Mitahi is an Indian sweet or confectionary made with sugar, milk, condensed milk etc and nuts or fruits are often added to this confection. These sweets are used for deserts or give away-snacks during celebratory functions.

Ingredients:
1 can of Condensed Milk
1 stick butter stick
2 cups nonfat dry milk

½ cups chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans and/or almonds)
1 pinch saffron
Thin edible silver film

Method:
Melt butter in a nonstick saucepan on low heat.
Add condensed milk and keep stirring until it starts simmering.
Add nuts, saffron, nonfat dry milk and continue cooking and stirring until it forms a nice loose, lump.
Pour this cooked mixture in a greased baking dish and smooth over using a spatula or pat down using butter paper.
Carefully apply thin layer of edible silver film over mithai and let it cool.
Cut square pieces and serve.
Leftovers can be refrigerated for a week or two.

Arzak Egg

Arzak egg, also known as “flower egg” is a signature dish that was popularized by a very famous spanish Chef called Juan Mari Arzak.

Arzak employs an unusual method of poaching an egg which looks like a flower after cooking. In this method raw egg is gently placed in plastic wrap seasoned with truffle oil and duck or goose fat.

This plastic-wrapped egg is then gently poached in simmering water until egg whites are set and inside yolk is tender and runny. After cooking is completer, plastic wrap is opened and poached egg now looks like a flower. This beautiful poached egg flower can be used to garnished with breadcrumbs, parsley and some sauce

Roasted Eggplant (Bringal Bharata):

Eggplant Bharata is a very simple and tasty dish my mom used to make using all fresh ingredients. All these ingredients are easy to find and recipe is very quick and easy to make.

Ingredients:
1 Large dark purple Eggplant
1 big red onion
3-4 Green Chilies (sliced lengthwise)
1 inch Ginger minced (or ½ tsp paste)
2-3 Garlic cloves minced (or ½ tsp paste)
1 Tbsp Oil
1 Tsp Black mustard seeds
½ Tsp Asafetida
½ Tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp cilantro/coriander leaves (chopped)

Method:
1. Generously slather oil on eggplant and roast it over an open flame on gas stove or grill, rotating it every 2 minutes until all sides are cooked or charred. When eggplant is cooked, it starts peeling and becomes mushy. Remove cooked eggplant from the flame and let it cool for few minutes. Remove the stems and charred peels of eggplant carefully. Mash cooked eggplant with potato masher or fork to make pulp and set it aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan or wok and add asafetida. Add mustard seeds, when they start making spluttering, add turmeric, green chilies and onions. Sauté until onions are soft, and transparent, and golden brown in color.
3. Add eggplant pulp, ginger, garlic, and salt and continue cooking on medium heat for 5 minutes.
4. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with chapatti or flat bread.

You can also broil or bake (combination works the best) eggplant in oven at 400 F for an hour if grilling is not an option.

Arzak Egg

Arzak Egg, also know as "flower egg" is a signature dish popularized by a famous spanish Chef called Juan Mari Arzak.

Arzak emplyes an unusual method of poaching an egg which lools like a flower after cooking. In this method, a raw egg is cracked and gently placed in a plastic wrap, seasoned with truffle oil and duck or goose fat. Egg used for preparing Arzak egg shoudl be very fresh. When cracked egg is placed in the plastic wra egg yolk should be firm egg adn evenly surrounded by egg whites.

The plastic wrapped egg is then poached in simming water until the egg whites are set and inside yollk is tender and runny.

After cooking is complete and when plastic wrap is openen, poached egg looks like a flower. This beautiful poached "flower egg" then can be garnished with bread crumbs, parsley and some sauce (like cauliflower sauce).

Onsen Tamago

Onsen Tamago means eggs cooked in hot springs. Onsen means ‘hot spring’ in Japanese. Onsen Tamago is a gorgeous egg dish commonly served as a breakfast item at hot springs hotels in Japan. The temperatures of the hot springs (ie below boiling point) are perfect for poaching these eggs so lightly that egg whites are soft and yolks are slightly hardened.

In this hot spring cooking method the eggs are ‘poached’ inside the shells. When ready, crack open cooked egg and gently slide it in a bowl of dashi/soy sauce mixture. You can garnish it with thinly chopped spring onions.
You can make Onsen Tamago at home using rice cooker. After rice is cooked, these rice cookers are switched to “keep warm” mode. Wrap egg in a paper towel and put it on top of cooked rice in the rice cooker and let it steam-cook at low temperature for about an hour. Always use fresh eggs to make Onsen Tamago or poached egg yolk is nicely surrounded by egg white.

Interview of a Chef

Interview with an Executive Chef

Chef Karl Marsh is an executive Chef and Culinary Services Manager at Omaha Steaks for past seven years. I have known him for over two years through my work. Omaha Steaks buys spices from the company I wok for, International Spices, so Karl and I are always in touch with each other talking about his projects, and send e-mails etc. However I never got chance to meet him personally until today. Chef Karl showed me his kitchen and sensory lab. I didn’t get a chance to see him “in action” while cooking but had a good time chatting with him. Here is his response to the questions I asked him during his interview.


Q. 1) What level of education did you obtain to get a career as a chef?

Chef Karl: I attended a 2 year culinary program from a non accredited school. In the early 80’s there were very few culinary schools that actually offered degrees.

Q. 2) Why did you choose this career?

Chef Karl: My first job as a teenager was cooking in a restaurant. I fell in love with the restaurantbusiness and always preferred the back of the house. When I graduated from highschool I already had several years of cooking experience and I decided that I wanted to make a career of it.

Q. 3) Would you say there are a good amount of jobs in this career?

Ckef Karl: Yes and no. Executive Chef positions are out there but it is hard to get the break needed to make the jump to the Executive Chef level. There are plenty of cooking jobs and Sous Chef jobs out there.

Product development Chef / Research Chef jobs are even harder to come by. Most require large amounts of experience in the field. It’s hard to get the experience if you can’t get the job.

Q. 4) Does this career offer a good annual salary?

Chef Karl: Yes and no. It depends a lot on experience, location, and volume. There are plenty of 6 figure Exec Chef jobs out there but it takes a proven track record and lots of experience to get them. The average Exec Chef makes in the 50k-70k range.

On the other hand Product development Chef’s do make excellent salaries. Most are 6 figure jobs but they are hard to come by.

Q. 5) What things you like and dislike about your job?

Chef Karl: In my current position as Executive Chef of Omaha Steaks I am very blessed. I really enjoy creating in the test kitchen with very little pressure. I really enjoy doing product development, recipe development and being a spokesperson for the company. I also enjoy the people I work with. There really is not anything that I dislike about my current job.

When I was the Executive Chef or restaurants and hotels there were plenty of things I disliked. I really disliked dealing with personnel issues and working on every holiday. There was a time in my life when I loved working in restaurants but that time has come and gone.

Q. 6) What kind of foods do you usually cook?

Chef Karl: In my current position I get to cook foods from the whole spectrum of ingredients and geographical cuisines. That being said I probably cook beef more that anything else.

Q. 7) How do you design your own menu?

Chef Karl: In my current position my menu is really our catalog. The level of sophistication that goes into a marking piece like that is way beyond the detail and thought that goes into writing a restaurant menu.

That being said every dish I ever had on my menus were first and foremost things that I really liked and was passionate about and secondly things that sold well and were popular. I always spent a fair amount of time seeing what the competition was doing and staying abreast of the current trends.

Q. 8) Where do you get ideas to create new recipes?

Chef Karl: I just draw off of things I have made in the past, scene in the past or in the present. I do a lot of research and I follow the trends closely.

Q. 9) Do you think it helps to have science background to become a good food product developer?

Chef Karl: Absolutely. At the end of the day, cooking is chemistry and really helps if you understand the science behind why things taste the way they do. The ideal product development chef is someone who has a good balance of cooking ad science skills.


Q. 10) In your opinion what are three main things you need to become a successful chef

Chef Karl: 1- Passion 2- Creativity 3- Good organizational skills


It was nice to meet Chef Karl Marsh and ask him some questions about his work as a Chef at Omaha Steaks-manufacturer of gourmet steaks. It gave me better idea about a Chef’s work. I sure enjoyed the visit!

Biography of Rachael Ray

Rachel ray has a very magnetic personality! I began watching her show “$40 a day” about 6 yrs ago and got hooked immediately. She is a very down-to-earth simple person who assures you that it is ok not to know how to cook from scratch. You can actually relate to her. I never liked ‘Martha Stewart’ like people who are so unreal and annoying! I know some celebrity Chefs don’t give Rachael Ray due respect and credit that she deserves but the truth is that no body ever made cooking show so interesting for common audience before. Rachel Ray uses simple, canned or boxed ingredients, which can be found at the local grocery stores. She giggles and makes funny comments while cooking. She also tells stories about her family and gives her personal touch to the show. She is very entertaining and fun to watch and that is what people like about her show. Her ‘30-minute meal’ is such a hit TV show that I know some people actually following those recipes on daily basis! I myself have bough her 30-minute meal cookbook.

Rachael Ray was born in Cape Cod, Massacutees, where her family owned a number of restaurants. She grew up in an environment where cooking and food were a major part of her life. She says “Everyone from both sides of her family cook”. She always refers to her grandfather when it comes to authentic Italian cooking. Later, her family relocated to upstate New York, where her mother went to work as the food supervisor for a chain of restaurants.

Rachael's professional career started at Macy's Marketplace in New York at the candy counter. She was then promoted to manager of the fresh foods department. After Macy's, Rachael was involved with opening Agata & Valentina, the celebrated New York gourmet market, where she was the store manager and buyer. Later on she worked in Cowan & Lobel, a large gourmet market in Albany, as a food buyer and chef, she began holding classes called ‘30 Minute Mediterranean Meals,’ which caught on so quickly that soon she was giving them weekly on a local evening news show there. By 2001 ‘30 Minute Meals’ had premiered on the Food Network, followed by ‘$40 a Day in 2000', ‘Inside Dish in 2004’, and ‘Tasty Travels in 2005’. Author of numerous cookbooks, editor-in-chief of her magazine, ‘Every Day with Rachael Ray’, and host of a daily talk show, Rachael Ray has become a famous TV personality! She even has her own line of cookware.

Rachael Ray probably never went to any formal cooking school to become a Chef but has created simple, delicious and easy to cook recipes, which are not only quick to make but are very inexpensive too. She is a self-taught ‘Chef’ who has real passion for food and enjoys teaching common people how to cook and enjoy tasty meal on a budget.

At home cooking experience

At Home Cooking Experience-By Lalita Kunte: 4/11/2010

Last Wednesday we made pizza for dinner from scratch but it didn’t occur to me to take pictures then to put on my blog. So today I decided to make another dish and take pictures so I could use it for my blog. I had never cooked stuffed ravioli before but decided to take up this adventure for my “At home cooking experience” assignment Any ways---I am going to write about two recipes here, pepperoni pizza and spinach ravioli. These recipes are very simple and very common but I gave a little “spicy” twist to the pepperoni pizza.

Recipe: Pepperoni Pizza-with herbs

I like pizza made with fresh pizza bread because of its fermented and freshly baked aroma. Pizza crust is rather bland and has no taste or visual. So I prefer any kind of topping rather than eating just plain cheese pizza. My kids are very picky eaters and don’t like to explore new things. They like just plain cheese pizza. However, occasionally they eat pepperoni pizza. Pepperonis bought from supermarket are tasteless most of the times.

I like spices and herbs. So I though of adding little “pizzazz” to plain old pizza crust by adding some dry herbs such as, basil, oregano, thyme and minced garlic. I work in a spice company where I had made this “tomato–herb pizza topper seasoning” by mixing different dry spices, and dehydrated tomato, onion and garlic flakes. This pizza topper seasoning can be sprinkled on top of a freshly baked pizza for more flavor and eye appeal. Here is my pizza recipe:

Pizza Crust: Mix 1 tsp dry yeast + 1 tsp sugar and ½ tsp salt. Add this to 1 cup of warm water and set aside for 10 min. Once the yeast is activated, add 1 tbsp olive oil and 2 and ½ cup of all-purpose flour, 1teaspoon dry basil, ½ tsp dry thyme, 2 tsp dehydrated minced garlic. Knead the dough with hand and add more water if needed. Cover the dough with wet cloth and keep it in warm place for about 30 min. The dough should almost double in size. Then punch the dough stretch it. Work the dough until you it is elastic. Make a ball of dough with your hand and flatten it down on a lightly floured cutting board (or any other clean surface) until you make a nice round pizza bread/crust. This recipe will make 2 pizza breads). Cut some holes with fork in the crust to prevent it from rising during baking. Bake the crust at 400 F for 10-15 min (do not over bake it becomes hard).

My pizza crust turned out beautiful and had lot of flavor because of added herbs. I spread homemade pizza sauce (added some oregano, basil, black pepper, olive oil, sugar and salt to tomato sauce, and tomato past and cooked for 5 minutes) on my pizza crust, and topped it with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. Pizza was baked for 12 more minutes until the cheese was melted. After that I added my ‘tomato-herb’ pizza topper, which really made pizza further tasty. Sweet fennel and crushed red pepper nicely complemented flavors (or lack of flavor) in pepperoni, while tomato, thyme, garlic, and basil gave more ‘Italian’ flavors to my pizza. Try this at home folks. I can send you my signature “tomato-herb” pizza topper if you like!



Recipe: Spinach Ravioli

This is my daughter’s favorite dish. But I never tried making this at home until today. It was labor intensive and little messy but it turned out good in the end! I followed this recipe, which I found on the website http://www. thecookcity.com”. I used rolling pin and ravioli cutter instead of pasta machine to make my ravioli triangles.

Pasta Dough:

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt (use a finer-grain salt, not coarse sea salt)

Making the Pasta Dough
Place all ingredients into a food processor and combine until the mixture begins to form a ball.
Remove from the processor and place on a floured work surface. Knead by hand, adding flour if necessary, until the dough become smooth and elastic.
Flatten the dough with rolling pin and cut about 3 inch wide strips

Spinach Filling:

Ingredients:
1 and 1/4 cups ricotta.
1 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese.
1 cup finely-chopped spinach
1 egg yolk
Generous pinch of salt and several grinds of fresh pepper. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and set them aside until you are ready to make ravioli.

Egg Wash:

2 egg whites with 2 tablespoons water, combined well with a fork to fully emulsify

Assembling ravioli:
1. Lay pasta strips on a flat surface.
2. Using a spoon place a heaping teaspoon of spinach filling on the strips, each about 3-inches apart. Be consistent in the amounts for each ravioli.
3. Using a pastry brush, brush a light amount of egg white wash around the ricotta filling.
4. Place another strip of pasta dough on top of the one with the filling and using your fingers, gently press around all the edges and in between the mounds of cheese filling. Don't push the cheese filling out. Your goal is to seal each pocket without tearing the dough.
5. Using the serrated edge of your ravioli cutter, cut each pocket into its own separate parcel, trimming each edge to fully seal it.

Final Cooking:
1. Bring a very large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Cook the ravioli about 3 to 4 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain carefully.
3. Serve with a favorite tomato sauce, chopped fresh tomatoes, a basil pesto, or just some grated Parmesan and freshly ground black pepper.
However, we modified the 3rd step as per our taste. My kids like dry-fried ravioli instead of wet-soggy kind. So we added this step.
- Add little olive oil to a large hot skillet and fry cooked ravioli. Garnish it with grated parmesan cheese, and dry oregano leaves. Sprinkle some ‘Italian seasoning’ on top and serve hot! This friend ravioli is way more tasty than usual soggy one!

Book Report

Name of the Book: Healing with Whole Foods
Author: Paul Pitchford

Review: 'Healing with Whole Foods' book brings together traditions of oriental medicine with research on healthy vegetarian diet. ‘Healing With Whole Foods’ teaches us how to choose healthy, healing foods easily available in nature, and motivates the reader to embrace vegetarian diet. People in western meat-based culture are not familiar with lot of vegetables and other foods mentioned in this book but author has described them very well. It is not difficult to find these foods in local health food stores.
You are what you eat and if you choose foods wisely, it is not difficult to maintain good healthy body and mind. Food fuels your body as well as mind/soul. Studies show that two thirds of all deaths are directly related to improper diet and poor eating habits. Coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, atherosclerosis, and some cancers are caused by high calorie diets, diets rich in fat, sugar, salt, and by eating highly processed foods which lack essential nutrients.
Food itself can not cure disease but it sure acts as foundation of medicine. If diet is used correctly for prevention and treatment, medicines will have better effect on your body. This book will allow readers to self evaluate and learn which foods and diets are best for his or her particular constitution and health condition.
In the western world foods are categorized or recognized based on their major components such as fat, carbohydrates, protein, and other minor nutrients. These are clearly important dimensions of food and they are also recognized by the oriental culture. However, oriental culture also focuses on other dimensions of food such as warming & cooling values, ability to moisten, strengthen energy, calm mind etc.
This book is divided into five parts. In the first part (Part I) the author talks about roots of diagnosis and treatment. He discusses yin and yang concept (complementary opposite such as fire-water, heat-cold, light-dark, excess-deficiency) applied to food. Part II of the book is dedicated to different nutrients such as water, protein, vitamins, sugars, minerals etc. Effects of these nutrients on our body and foods rich in these nutrients are described. In this part, author also talks effect of fasting on body purification and foods for children. Part III of the book is called ‘Five element and organ systems’. It talks about seasonal attunement of human body due to climate change and suggests certain foods suitable for consumption in particular season. This section also describes therapeutic use of five flavors such as pungent, salty, sour bitter, and sweet. Part IV deals with disease ad their dietary treatment. Author has described which foods to use in order to cure disorders and diseases such as diabetes, blood deficiency, bleeding, asthma, skin diseases, mental illness, hair loss etc. The last part (Part V) has very useful recipes using whole grain and vegetables, nuts, sprouts, salads, soups. Apart from recipes this section has very good information on all these ingredients, their benefits and therapeutic values. I enjoyed this book!

Dining Experience-Cheesecake Factory

Last Saturday I told my family that we were going out to dinner for my School project. Kids were really amused by that. They like the idea of going out to eat but didn’t like the fact that I was going to choose the restaurant. I have a ten years old son and thirteen years old daughter. Needless to say, kids always fight when it comes to picking a restaurant but they both agree upon going to Olive Garden. My husband and I like that restaurant too but we like to try different foods. My husband had always wanted to go to Cheesecake Factory for long time so I chose Cheesecake Factory for my ‘dining experience’ project.

Easting at Cheesecake Factory was a wonderful dining experience for our entire family. The cheesecake factory offers a unique experience in upscale fine dining. I didn’t know this until I went to that restaurant yesterday for the first time. I am glad that I chose Cheesecake Factory for blogging my dining experience. Part of the experience is enjoying its outstanding décor. When we got there we were really impressed by the exterior of the building. I was equally impressed with the giant wood door at the entryway and beautifully painted huge Egyptian columns. The beautiful colored floral murals on the walls and ceiling with dim accent lighting set the mood. You feel special to be in such a special place!

The Cheesecake Factory offers extensive menu with large portions. I learned that they have 20 menu items made from scratch every day! No wonder their food tastes so fresh and delicious! My daughter ordered the New Orleans Shrimp dish. It had shrimp in a sweet soy sauce, sautéed vegetables, and white rice. She loved it very much and finished that huge portion by herself! My son and husband ordered steak. It was good too (may be nothing extraordinary). I think my dish was the best of all! I ordered Pecan crusted catfish, which was on the special menu that day. It was the most delicious and flavorful dish I ate in a very long time! Main dish was sautéed catfish (coated with crunchy pecan seasoning) floating in flavorful butter-garlic sauce, with two sides of mashed potatoes, and corn succotash. I never thought I could eat that big portion but I finished my dish and enjoyed every bite of it! Though we were all full after eating big-portioned dinners, we shared one delicious strawberry cheesecake together. I can’t wait to go back to Cheesecake Factory to enjoy this wonderful dining experience again!

Zuppa Toscana

Olive garden is our family's favourite restaurant. We go there almost every month. My kids eat only Zuppa Toscana at Olive Garden. That's their only favourite dish. I always thought of making that soup at home. How difficult would that be? It seemed to have potatoes, Italian sausage, kale and heavy cream. But I never tried it until I found one recipe on the Internet. My kids are my biggest critics. They think that I can't cook (and they say that now that I have joined a culinery school, I am proving their point!). I didn't want to make the soup only for kids to make negative comments such as...."This does not taste like Olive Garden Mom" or "It doesn't look right". So, I decided to take a different approach this time. I asked them to help me in the kitchen. We bought the groceries together and made Zuppa Toscana. Kids loved it! Here is that simple recipe. Try it...you will love it too!

Ingredients
1 lb Italian sausage (I choose mild sausage for kids)
2 large russet baking potatoes or red potatoes, sliced in half,and then in 1/4 inch slices
1 large onion, chopped
Bacon bits (I microwave 3-4 ready to eat bacon strips for this)
2 cloves garlic, minced (I use less garlic as my kids don't like garlic much)
2 cups kale, chopped
2 cans chicken broth
1 quart water
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:
1. Cook sausage in a 300°F oven for approximately 30 minutes.
2. Drain sausages on paper towels and cut into slices.
3. Place onions, potatoes, chicken broth, water, garlic in pot, and cook on medium heat until potatoes are done.
4. Add sausage and bacon.
5. Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Simmer for another 10 minutes.
7. Turn to low heat.
8. Add kale and cream.
9. Heat through and serve.

Try this recipe and let me know how it was!