Tuna What?

For my final cooking project I wanted to make something that holds a special place in my heart, and stomach. While growing up, my mom had to feed my twin brother and I along with my older sister all by herself. She worked as a kindergarten teacher for twenty years and was always busy with lesson plans and making sure she did the best she could at her job and so she didn't always have time to make big elaborate meals. What my mother became a professional at during her childhood was making simple, but large, quantities of food for her seven brothers and sisters taste like gourmet meals. The tuna salad I made was not her original recipe that she made my my brother, sister, and I but was pretty close with a few alterations. I love tuna salad and nearly anything with a fishy taste but then again I love nearly all food and am one of the most adventurous eaters I know =]. I feel like I followed in her true spirit with this recipe because I was able to improvise with what ingredients I had at my disposal and produced a meal that was not only tasty, but could be re-eaten the next day, and the next day, and the next day.....

Shaming my ancestors in the Mabee kitchen

So in high hopes I set out to recreate my great grandmother's delicious sheath cake. This cake is the greatest creation of all kind, with its heavy almost not cake-like chocolateness. I really wanted to share this piece of heaven in food form with the world, so I was determined to make it perfectly. Don't get me wrong, I've made this by myself before for various classes and people in years past. It made so many people happy, I was excited to do this again here. So, with the copy of my mom's recipe hastily written on her trig homework from when she was 16, I set out to make this cake. I thought everything was going fantastic; I had the cake in the oven and the ingredients for the icing on standby. Then I looked at my recipe and realized I had put in something like 1 tablespoon of baking powder instead of 1 teaspoon. I flipped out and was then told it would explode, which made it all okay. To my (and I think everyone there's) disappointment we did not have an explosion in the kitchen that day. The cake just turned out really weird, with a not so chocolatey taste and lots of air holes. Look how ugly it is in the picture! Ughh I hated it, and was too embarrassed to bring it out for our FYS brunch. Now that I've bragged on the recipe so much, I really should make it right sometime really soon (like this weekend). You are all more than welcome to have a piece!

Cake balls are sooo the new cupcakes.

One day, as I procrastinated, I came across this new book all about these wonderful things called cake pops. They were beautiful, and, from the recipe, they sounded ridiculously simple (in one of them her 1st grade daughter was doing most of the work. I mean come on). I showed Rachel and we promptly decided to make them. I ordered the book off of Amazon and didn't really think about it for a few weeks until I got this email saying it wouldn't be here until November. I had no idea these things were so in demand! Anyways I then ordered it from Target and got it within a week (which just so happened to be the day before our final class). Rachel and I excitedly flipped through the book and found the perfect recipe: pirate cake pops. With this in mind, I ran to Gucci B and gathered all but the sticks and colored candy coating (just in case you ever want to do this, go to a craft store for these two). I returned and Rachel made the cake (it was a Paula Deen mix; sooo good). After the cake had baked and cooled, I crumbled it up and threw some white icing in the mix. The cake balls were molded and placed in the refrigerator to firm up. Rachel and I then awkwardly dipped them into the melted white chocolate candy coating with a spoon and tried our best to make them look pretty. What mattered more than anything was how they tasted, and oohh were they good. We'll definately have to make them again really soon.

Cracked Cheesecake

I have been making cheesecakes ever since I was around ten years old. I have to they turn out to be pretty good but I always have the same issue. They crack. I dont know why or how they're always so pretty when I take them out of the oven but give them twenty minutes and boom there's this huge crack in the middle of my once perfect cheesecake. Ive heard rumors of different things you can try like surrounding the cake in water while it cooks or turning the temperature down and maybe one day I'll try one of these things but for now I guess I will just have to accept that my cheesecakes just aren't perfect.

Making Cake Balls

Like trendy cupcake and frozen yogurt shops, cake balls are one of the recent food fads that people have gotten all excited about. One day as my roomate Michelle and I were procrastinating we came across a cookbook online for cake pops. For those of you who aren't as up to date on your food trends, cake pops are simply cake balls on a stick. Now, this cookbook made making cake into works of art look like, (no pun intended) a piece of cake. Thus, Michelle and I decided to embark on this adventure to make them for the FYS potluck lunch. The recipe book had pirate pops, yes cake pops that looked like pirates, that we decided we had to make. Problem number 1 came when we discovered there isn't a single stick to be bought in the city of Georgetown. We decided to not get to frustrated about, we'd just make cake balls... who needs a dumb stick anyway? For our cake balls we made a 13 x 9 chocolate sheet cake and let it cool completely. Then, we crumbled the cake into a bowl and added a little more than half of a container of frosting. We formed the mixture into little spheres and set them in the freezer to harden for about 20 minutes. Then it was time to dip them into the melting white chocolate candy coating (or whatever that stuff is made of). This was not pretty. I don't know how the chick in the book made those things look so freaking perfect, but ours did not. And then the food markers we got... those don't work, complete rip off. So, we got creative and went for a "rustic" look. They weren't the most beautiful, but they were tasty!

Cooking my first meal

For my challenge dish, I cooked an entire meal for my family, which is something I have never done before in my life. I decided to go with something everyone enjoyed and used a very old family recipe for meatloaf and for sides I made rice and green beans. The green beans and rice were simple enough, I either used the stove and a pot to heat them or tossed them in the microwave for a few minutes, but the meatloaf was pretty difficult as I had never really done anything like it before. The first problem was attempting to decipher the cursive written on the little recipe card that had been stained from what appears to be more than half a century of use. The next challenge was thawing out the meat which was a process that had to be carefully monitored or the meat would get nasty and it would ruin the dish. Then I mixed the meat with tomato sauce, onions, rice, salt and pepper and formed a loaf. After this, I poured the sauce on the meatloaf. I never actually knew what was in the sauce until now and was somewhat surprised at what went in it: mustard, more tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and brown sugar. Then I popped the whole thing in the oven and an hour and half later it was ready to eat. I was proud of the results. It wasn't as good as when my mom makes it, but it was pretty good for someone who has never done it before. I think that the greatest challenge overall for me was trying to make sure everything was ready at the same time, which is something I could definitely work on. I misjudged the time it would take for the meatloaf to finish so I cooked the rice too soon and it had to be reheated, I cooked the green beans a little to late so everything had to sit for some time while the beans finished. However I had a lot of fun cooking and hope that I get to do this some more, it was definitely a good first experience.

Garden Salsa!

Although Pollan's scavenging experience was rediculous, I have to admit I was pretty impressed at the meal he put together by only scavenging. So in lew of making food without hitting up heb, I decided to make something from the garden. Basically we just took every type of pepper we could find there...a nice medley of color: red peppers, yellow peppers, green bell peppers, jalapenos, ect. We also diced a few cerry tomatoes from the commons. Our dicing skills gave it a pretty chunky consistancy, it was more like pico de gallo to be honest, but nevertheless delicious! In my opinion a few too many of the jalapeno seeds ended up in there; it was super sicy!!! To take the edge off we squeezed one of the tangerine lemon hybrid fruits(the fruit that looks like oranges that are growing in the court yard in the middle of the library) which also gave it a nice kick of citrus flavor. We walked to wag-a-bag and picked up some tortilla chips and brought it to seaks potluck dinner. Feedback was all positive: ) but yes, I realize there may be some bias in how tasty it was considering college students tendency to appreciate free food and my love of peppers; I'm still proud of our creation.

Sorry I don't have a picture.

-Allie

I LOVE BREAKFAST.

As many of you probably know because of the close quarters we reside in, I wake up rediculously early every morning. My motivation? Breakfast. Everyday after cc practice its strait to the commons or maybe for the best, and biggest meal of the day. My favorite is Friday breakfast because some other cc runners come over and we make pancakes for them. I always whip out the almond butter(I'm hopelessly addicted to that stuff), beat a bananna into the batter, and toss in some blue berries...my dads recipe, so delicious! They're rediculously filling. Not only does this food/tradition remind me of home, but it has also once again proved the power food has to bring people together. I find this social aspect that food brings to the table really interesting and what is even more interesting is how often it is over looked. Yes, a protein shake may be the best breakfast in terms of nutrition, but will it bond you with your friends? Nope...I'll stick with my pancakes.

-Allie

Family Food

For fall break I returned home to a lovely time spent with family. As with most, my family bonding evolves around food. I helped my grandma prepare fresh guacamole with avocados and tomatoes we picked from her garden. Then I helped in eating it! Another night at home I grilled burgers with my dad. But not just any burgers. We like to call these "oozy burgers." We make a yummy ball of butter and many spices to put into the center of each meat patty. As they're grilled, the delicious flavors ooze into the whole patty, so every bite is filled with the taste. I always look forward to going home for the warm, homey food. But now it's even more rewarding to be a part of both the eating and cooking experience.

Having reached the point in the semester at which my head feels like its going to explode, I've recently picked up an old habit from high school which summer had done its best to crush. Insomnia is a noun which describes the inability to obtain sufficient sleep, and difficulty in falling or staying asleep; sleeplessness. The insomniac's affliction, however; is not necessarily applicable to my sleeping habits. I love sleep, I sleep whenever possible and appropriate and sometimes even when it's not possible or appropriate; my problem is that it is impossible for me to fall asleep at any time that I have the tiniest worry on my brain. Having these two divergent problems-one which requires me to sleep and the other which refuses to allow sleeping-I devised a plan during my junior year to provide some cohesion between my issues. One of the rules of baking is that you must be attentive to the food inside the oven: the perfect stimulant for a fatigued worrier.  In the event that you are awake at this time, you may find me in the kitchen of Mabee Two fretting over Chapters 8, 9, 12, 13, and 14, although I'm sure you'd be more interested in the still-warm chocolate chip cookies.


Heather

On Wednesday, my friend Kati and I happened upon a French restaurant at the corner of Church and 7th called La Maison. BEST DISCOVERY EVER. While the price column was a little shocking to our collegiate budgets, our selections(a seafood gratin and chocolate mousse) delivered a similar shock to our gustatory organs(yes...taste buds.) Inspired by our delicious meal, I searched for and found a recipe for Gratin Aux Fruits de Mer and Mousse au Chocolate in Julia Child's cook book The Art of French Cooking. Having reached the level of anxious boredom(never underestimate how quickly the charms of being at home crumble under the ennui of having absolutely nothing to do!) required by my impatience to involve myself in the complicated matters of the kitchen, I educated myself in the art of French cooking. While the culinary experiment resulted in something recognizable and edible, the prices at La Maison suddenly seem a little bit more reasonable....

Heather

Making My Mom's Mashed Potatoes

Tonight I made mashed potatoes the same way that my mom does. They came out of good but not the same way they do when my mom makes them. I took me about an hour and a half to make them. I used 8 potatoes, evaporated milk, butter, and salt. I was interesting trying to make them the way my mom does because I thought it would be easy but I realized that my mom has a magic touch because my mashed potatoes came out lumpy and hers do not. Everyone who tried them said that the mashed potatoes were good. In the future I am going to try and make them again and see if they come out any better. I definitely learned that making mashed potatoes the way my mom does takes some time and it a little harder than I thought. All in all I had fun making mom's mashed potatoes.

Adventures in Blueberry Coffe Cake

I will be the first to admit that this culinary reflection is more than a bit belated. But, let's travel back in time (an incredible leap of two weeks) to the blueberry coffee cake I brought to class, perhaps you remember it? Anyhow, this coffe cake is somewhat of a staple at the DeLong home, guaranteed to appear when Tom Thumb, Albertson's, Kroger, or any other supermarket has blueberries on special (my dear Polish, coupon-cutting mother cannot resist a deal). Have I mentioned that no one in my family actually likes blueberries? Though, when presented in the context of coffe cake, the blueberry is transformed from inedible to otherworldly. Surpringly, this recipe didn't come from an ancient book of alchemy, rather from the 1984 (or maybe 1982) edition of the Southern Living cookbook (a series of cookbooks that my mother collects). This seemed the perfect dish to attempt for FYS considering I've watched my mother make it hundreds of times and I also happened to be craving it pretty badly. I called my mom for the recipe, and several days later a photo copy of the recipe covered in little tips from my mom found its way into my mailbox (old-fashioned, I know, but asking her to email it would have been like asking a five-year-old to solve a page of quadratic equations). I then made my way to the HEB (ghetto-B, to be specific) for ingredients. The most important on the list was, of course, blueberries -- only fresh blueberries, frozen blueberries DON'T work, they produce one freaky mess of a coffe cake. As I strolled through the produce department I had the sinking feeling that it may be a little to late in blueberry season for my endeavor. When I finally found the blueberries, I knew I was right, and the eight dollars I had to spend on those pathetic blueberries went against everything that this coffee cake stands for. Well, maybe that's an overstatement, but nonetheless it was a bit shocking. After my sticker shock subsided, I took my supplies up to the Mabee kitchen. Things in the kitchen went smoothly; I've always enjoyed baking and am no stranger in the kitchen, so this really wasn't a huge challenge. I doubled the recipe to make two coffee cakes so there would be enough for everyone, and both cakes turned out fine. A tad too brown around the edges, but nothing to complain about. Despite my success, I have to say my mother makes it better, but I think I might enjoy hers more because I'm not the one who had to do all the work. That's what moms are for, right?

Baking Cakes from Scratch

On Saturday afternoon and evening Corinne, Michelle, and myself baked three different cakes from scratch. We also made the icing for the cakes from scratch and we decorated the cakes ourselves. This was a very labor-intensive project but I had so much fun learning how to make cakes and icing from scratch. We started making the cakes at around 4 in the afternoon and it took us about 25 minutes to bake the chocolate cake and the yellow cake in the oven. It took us another 25-30 minutes to bake the orange chiffon cake in the oven. After we had baked all of the cakes we waited until about 10 p.m. to start making the icing and decorating the cakes. We did not finish icing and decorating these cakes until about 1:30 or 2 in the morning. We did about 3 or 4 layers of icing on all of the cakes and then using different colored icing we made a rose for the top of the cake and then made the stems and the branches. My favorite cake out of all three was the orange chiffon because it had so many flavors. In my opinion the hardest part was the decorating because we had to make sure that the icing for the branches looked neat and we had to make sure that the pink rose was right in the middle of the top of the cake. I had so much fun making these cakes and I am so glad that I learned how to make cakes and icing from scratch.