Culinary Arts Potfolio

Hey guys! Here is a portfolio of all of my cooking assignments for my Culinary Arts class. Hope you enjoy!

Meringue

One food item I was required to create is meringue topping for pies. It was actually super fun!

Meringue is simply eggs whipped with sugar (as well as cream of tartar and vanilla). The whipping action breaks down the eggs and the sugar crystals get mixed in created bubbles. But then you keep whipping until the bubbles break down further and further, until the bubbles become so tiny the mixture stiffens. It's actually really cool. 

Fried Chicken

Next was frying two pieces of fried chicken in a pan. 

This was a simple recipe where I took the chicken thighs and patted them down with a flour mixture of flour, paprika, salt, and pepper. I was tasty, but I think next time I would add a little more paprika to give it an extra kick. My brother enjoyed this as well 'cause he was allowed to eat one of them. 

Shrimp

This next one I didn't enjoy very much. I do NOT like fish (except salmon and tuna). I especially do NOT like handling it. But, you gotta do what you gotta do!

Although I didn't like handling it though, my family does like shrimp, so it is good I know how to cook it. After it was shelled, deveined, and boiled, it actually looked quite good!

Breakfast Casserole

This was basically French toast with sausage and cheese in a casserole. And my family and I did eat it with syrup. 

This was fun to make, because it was easy. I literally threw all of the ingredients together into the casserole dish, and baked it. It's a nice idea, but I did not like the taste of it. I'd rather just make the French toast. 

Ginger Snaps

Okay, this one was my absolute favorite cooking assignment, because I love baking!

It was SUPER fun making this one. I have never made Ginger Snaps before, and I think now it is my favorite cookie. It was interesting using ingredients I've never used before, like molasses and ground ginger. My family enjoyed these as well. Personally, I think this was my best cooking assignment. 

And that is it for my portfolio! I enjoyed doing them and I hope you enjoyed reading about it! The recipes were super fun. I did encounter different problems with each assignment, but everything turned out to be okay. I also had fun using new and old techniques to cook food, and figuring out the best way to make food. This Culinary Arts class has really been fun for me.