Cinnamon Rolls! Holllerrr!

I made cinnamon rolls today. They were successful. I ate 3 of them. I was going to stop at 2, but in the midst of being frustrated by my mom I ate a third, and now I'm feeling pretty sick. Almost the story of my life.

Here are pictures as I have promised. Enjoy!
I didn't take into account how cinnamon rolls can puff up in the baking process, so my pan got a little overcrowded. Also, while i was squeezing out some cream cheese frosting onto the cinnamon rolls to make it pretty, the ziploc bag i was using exploded. So I was left to slather the sugary, cheesy goodness all over the top.

Week 3

This week consisted of a lot of cooking. Rather than complaining and becoming an annoyance like that of the previous post, I am just going to update you on what happened this week.

Monday.
Nutrition class. 7am-2:30pm. I woke up at 5:30 and left at 6:30 because I thought it was important for me to eat breakfast. I was tardy to class. Oh well, that isn't too bad, right? Wrong! So incredibly wrong. 2 tardies=1 absence. 2 absences= F. You do the math. We went over 4 chapters from the book. I was dying during that part. Next, we actually cooked. We were separated into groups and were assigned different things to create. Sorbet, pizza, pilaf, etc. We were assigned the pilaf. It wasn't that great. The only delicious item was the buttermilk sorbet. It was smooth, it was creamy, and it was absolutely fantastic. Later on, I got a huge stomachache. I dont think that's particularly a good thing.

Wednesday
I made some Korean braised short ribs. Those were actually pretty delicious and almost fall-off-the-bone tender! I also made another spicy rice cake dish. I kind of added too much pepper, but then again I like black pepper. So those who liked Black Pepper, really liked that dish. Those who didn't, I dont really care about what they thought. Sorry, no pictures!

Tuesday & Thursday
Who knew making stock was such hard work? I thought you just threw everything in the pot, bring it to a boil, and let simmer until all the flavors release. Apparently that is not the case.
Let me fill you in if you're interested on how to make beef stock CORRECTLY. First, you get some beef bones and you roast them. Yes, you roast them bones. You roast them until they look completely tan (like the color of cinnamon sticks). In the meantime, make a sachet, which is a bag you make out of cheesecloth filled with some peppercorns, parsley stems, bay leaf, and thyme. Then, you are going to collect some fat given out from the bones and slather the bones with some tomato paste. Sound weird, but just do it. And you continue roasting until the tomato paste turns black, NOT burnt, just black. WTF, right? I asked Chef what the difference was between black and burnt, and he said you can smell it. And if it's burnt it was still chipping off. So, it's all in your best judgment I suppose, as long as you don't burn the product. Burning it will make your stock taste burnt. After than you need 2 parts onion and 1 part carrot and 1 part celery. Roughly chop them into large pieces because you are going to be simmering for over 6 hours. Now, with the fat that you've collected you are going to put that into a hot pan and sautee the veg until they are nicely browned. Now you're going to throw the bones into a pot and fill it with COLD water until it just covers the bones. Bring it to a boil and reduce it to a simmer. The 3rd hour in throw in your veg and sachet. Total cooking time should be 8-12 hours for best result. And then you're going to cool it down in a water bath if you're going to be storing it. (throwing it in the fridge afterwards is going to solidify the fat, making it easier to remove the fat.) The funniest dialogue of the night:
Chef: So, what do we do with the fat?
(People are yelling out different WRONG answers, but one in particular struck me as hilarious)
Anonymous: (with confidence) You put it on a hamburger, Chef!
Chef: (Wtf-ed) A HAMBURGER????

We used the stock to make an espagnole sauce (A brown mother sauce using the brown stock we made above) for the steak we were given. Chef said ours wasn't quite there yet, but to me it tasted pretty, darn awesome. It was velvety, flavorful, and SEXY! If you want, I can let you know how to make it! Just let me know! So delicious with some beef.

That night, I went home and decided to make a Korean Snack. It's like a bread with cinnamon sugar and peanut filling. When it's nice and hot, it's pretty divine. For these, I DO have pictures! Hoorah!





I took a bite out of the one on top (or 2 bites) after eating four myself. I made more than ten, but when it comes to eating my family can be a BEAST! So these were completely gone by the end of the night. I made these at night, by the way. Now, I'm going into the kitchen to make some cinnamon rolls. If it is successful I will be sure to post pictures up of my creation.

Chopped and SCREWED. T Pain of having sucky knives.

UPDATE
title change was inspired by Sabina. (do you get what i added there, sabina? i know. I'm a Jeanius. What? I just did it again!)
After i sent a delightful email of complaint to the company that sent me the knives, they responded speedily. I might have received the demo, thus explaining the craptastic nature of the knife set. They claimed they had never received a complaint on this product and that the knives should come sharp. I returned the product and they should be sending me NEW knives (which it better be or i am going to blow a fuse. a huge fuse). Meanwhile, i bought a knife sharpener from IKEA. YEAYUH! (i <3 ikea) it's for insurance just in case the new knives suck and i dont want to deal with the whole returning and complaining ordeal again. I felt better the next day after i sent the email btw. I dont stay upset for long. =] Thank you all for listening to me rant!

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Today was the first day in the kitchen.
My hands reek of onions.
We chopped, diced, julienned. It was fun. Hooray, right? No, because I sucked and my chef's knife sucked even more. Even if i tried to suck as much as my knife did I couldn't. It would be an impossible task. So, currently I am frustrated and angry. The chef's knife (which is the most important knife) that I purchased that came in a set was complete CRAP. The blade is far from straight. It is crooked, dull, and everything lame and stupid! I was trying to saw through an onion and it couldn't even do that! Yes, "saw" because it wouldn't even chop through the onion if i tried. frustrating! Some of the knives have handles with scratches and knicks on them. WTF! This was my first time using them. I called the site where I ordered the knives. It was passed business hours so I got the answering machine and of course I left a message. I checked the website and I'm supposed to report any damages 2 days after deliver. I received it on Tuesday, but I wasnt home when it was delivered. So as of my 2 days are over! FML! FML!FML! The "sucky" knife at home is like the best knife ever compared to this crap chef's knife. I've never been so irritated in my life. This also came with a vegetable peeler, which doesn't peel but butcher everything. So technically it's a vegetable killer. what a piece of crap!

Moral: They say money doesn't buy happiness. Well, let me assess this statement. If I had more money I would have been able to buy a knife of fantastic quality, where even the slight motion of the knife can cut through 10 bricks. Thus as a result I would have been happy. In other words, Money would have bought be happiness. The lack thereof bought me anger, frustration, murderous thoughts, hatred, and a bad mood.

Abestkitchen.com, this is for you. I HATE YOU.

Food Porn: Explicit Material

To all you perverts who thought this would be regarding sexually explicit acts with food you need to get your head out of the gutter in addition to getting some psychiatric help. And for those of you who are still wondering, what the heck is food porn??? Let me tell you. Food porn consists of pictures of food that make you drool and lust after the opportunity for a taste, but alas you cannot. It's a tease! But a beautiful, probably delicious tease. I made a collage of dishes that I had made in the past. I haven't taken pictures of food in general for a while now, but now I feel the need to pick up the hobby again. Actually, now that I think about it, picture taking was never really a hobby of mine. Nevertheless, I have decided that now it should be. What do you think?


If you've created some good eats of your own share your food porn with me! Let me have a look so we can both marvel and bask each other's drool-inducing art and talent. But beware, when you are viewing food porn on an empty stomach this behavior can be hazardous, dwindling on the fringe of self-torture. I am telling you this out of experience my dears.