Food

Brownies: Listening To Others

I spoke with Jake Love the head of sage and asked him questions to gain general knowledge about cooking. When I asked him about sharing a kitchen with others, he said it is very important to be courteous to others and always stay calm when talking and listening. He also stressed the importance of listening to others especially when they know more than you. 

I decided to make a box of Betty Crocker brownie mix I paid 1.97 for from Randall’s. First, I measured out ⅓ cup of vegetable oil as well as a ¼  cup of water and grabbed my egg. Then I grabbed my brownie dry mix and I combined everything together in a mixing bowl.  Then I mixed it all together to form a batter.

After mixing it all together I poured it into a greased pan. After I transferred it to the pan, I added the caramel sauce to the top of it and mixed it in to create a wavy texture. After putting this in the 350 degree oven for 40 minutes, I was left with an amazing result.

During the process of cooking the brownies, I relied heavily on Betty Crocker's advice and her instructions she left on the box. I took her advice and the result of it was an amazing result that I got for under $3 dollars of ingredients.

Beef Tacos: Be Creative

At the end of my interview with Jake Love, he told me about his love for Legos and how he loves creativity. He told me "I love the opportunity to be creative. I love when people love my food and I was the one who came up with everything. When it works out, it is the best feeling.” This quote inspired me. I went into the store without any clue of what I wanted to make. The first thing that grabbed my attention was the butcher counter where they had a New York strip steak for 6.99 a pound. Once I saw that, I knew exactly what I wanted to make.

Before I left, I picked up an avocado, a lime, an onion, and some corn tortillas for a total of 13 dollars. I then went home to prepare my steak tacos.

First, I prepped the steak by trimming off the fat and dicing it up.

Then, I diced the onions and then cooked them over the stove.

Once everything was ready, I cooked the steak with some lime juice and when done, I added the meat to a corn tortilla where I topped it off with some onion and avocado.

Grilled Cheese: Back To the Basics

Being able to come up with something on the fly that ended up being delicious was a great feeling. The only issue is it took me over 20 minutes to prep everything and then another 30 to cook everything. Sometimes when you are cooking, time is a big factor especially if you are busy. I asked Chef Love about what his favorite basic meal was. He told me “You can never go wrong with grilled cheese with smoked gouda.” When he told me that, I knew I had to make one. 

First, you grab the bread and cheese and put a piece of cheese on each slice of bread.

Then you put it on a pan or a panini press.

Once done, it’s done. It’s as easy as that!!!

Blackened Shrimp Tacos: Be Willing To Take Risks

When talking about strategies and how not to fail, he told me “If you are going to fail, fail at full speed. If it comes out bad, then it comes out bad.” When he told me this, the first thing that came to my mind was blackened shrimp. To blacken the shrimp, you have to use a lot of spices to add flavor as well as a blackened look to the meat. I decided to take the risk and give it a try. 

To start this recipe, I had to thaw out the shrimp in the sink under cold water. 

Once thawed, I added the shrimp to a bowl with a lot of spices to combine them.

Once combined, I added the shrimp to the stove to cook it. 

When the shrimp is cooked, you add it to a taco and add some avocado– and you are finished!

One Pot Pasta: Be Simple

When I was talking to Chef Love about the most important thing for somebody to remember when they start to cook, he told me two words: “Be simple.” He also instructed me to use as little dishes as possible to avoid having many things to clean up. When thinking about how I could use this advice for a meal, I decided pasta would fit this category the best. This is the grocery haul I made for this recipe. 

To start, I boiled some water and then added pasta once it was in a boil.

Once finished, I set the pasta aside for later.

To start the sauce, I first added pancetta to the pot to cook it.

Once cooked, I added some arugula. 

Once the arugula lost its volume, I added the mascarpone to it.

When the mascarpone is melted, add the pasta back and boom! It is done.