Why I Cook - Not JUST For The Holidays!

If you were to ask my immediate family...or even the few people who have lived with me...they will tell you I DON'T cook. HILARIOUS isn't? Most people judge me, most people think I'm lying, most people think I'm just a joke. 

Well, if truth be told...when I'm home alone and living what currently feels like my pre-planned, revolving, predictable life; I just eat to stay alive (these days I'm making a point to make my consumption's more healthier). But I would be lying to if I said I cooked a gourmet meal every night, every other night, or even every week. 

As ridiculous as this may sound....the reason I don't cook much at home is because I'm an extrovert. I feed off of other peoples energy. The thought of people coming together, jolts my inner "Joan" (you have to watch Girlfriends to get it but if you don't you can just use "entertainer"). I want to pull out all my All-Clad pots that I don't have, my tricks, the recipes I've saved, a bottle of wine and turn the music UP! This is who I am although many people just don't get my logic. 

Not that I had ANY intentions on changing who I am...my feelings and thought process became justified a few weeks ago. One day, I opened my mailbox and screamed that my December edition of Bon Appetite came! (this scream/squeal....occurs monthly). Finally...taking a moment to crack it open and suddenly....BOOM!!!

I landed on a Swanson advertisement that explained who Chef Ce....REALLY IS. These are the VERY EXACT reasons WHY I COOK and NOT JUST for the holidays. So there....I'm not so crazy after all....even Swanson made an advertisement about me! :-) 

I'm weeks late but I will call this my Thanksgiving post. I've shared some pics from Thanksgiving Week (its NEVER just a Day with a foodie).

The week began with some friends coming over for a pre-Thanksgiving meal. My roommate and I thought it would be a cute and fun way to share some love. I will admit, I didn't do much cooking on this day but I'm a good overseer and food rescuer (aren't I Ades???) While the Baked Mac and Cheese and Herb Crusted Cornish Hens were baking in the oven...I decided to help create an atmosphere for ENTERTAINING!! 

Old-school jams played in the background, candles were lit, and I attempted to shuffle a new deck of cards (its not a party if Spades isn't involved). And that random book you see in the background.......is a Busboys and Poets menu that was accidentally taken from the restaurant...(SORRY ABOUT THAT)

Anyone who knows my Daddy....KNOW'S about "Major's Brew". It's ONLY the BEST Iced Tea known to man lol. So I decided to be a little creative and swap out Lipton for my favorite tea, "Tazo Passion". It is still a work in progress but we are off to a GREAT start!

FINALLY....Feast Time!!! Cornish Hens, Broccoli, Mac & Cheese, Stuffing, Whole Wheat Rolls, Salad w/ Fig Basalmic. Served on our cute Ikea table, paper plates and real silverware! What a fun filled night! It was great to create new memories and celebrate a big holiday in my own apartment....this is definitely something I want to remember!

After a CRAZY drive home to NYC for the holidays BUT before going out with my friends....I made time to make some pate sucree (shortbread-cookie-like-pie-crust) for my pear and almond tart (an FCI lesson turned into a family favorite). I had to take a picture of my kitchen aid in action! It made making pie crust a BREEZE. My mom's old mixer would have overheated and started smoking by now (hahahaha j/k mom).

AAHHHH the ORIGINAL crock pot....it's my mother's. It's 4 am on Thanksgiving day and I just walked into the house. Before crawling into my bed....I came up with the idea of waking my family up to some spiced hot apple cider. I filled up the crock pot with apple cider and half of the seasonings in my cabinet (cinnamon sticks, star anise, allspice, nutmeg...uummm I think that's all lol). By 9 o'clock, I rolled out of the bed and whipped up some sweet potato biscuits and sausage to accompany the hot spiced drink. Already, I had my families taste buds prepared for DINNER YUUUMMMM!

AAAAHHHH the Cranberry Sauce! Just washed the cranberries and threw it in the pot. Added a cinnamon stick, sugar fresh orange juice and orange zest. Placed it on the back of the stove, turned it on low, and went about my merry way. Such an EASY dish. MY PEOPLE...leave that canned garbage alone!

Another super easy dish, Roasted Vegetables. This dish is like a blank canvas. No recipe needed. Go to your favorite supermarket and find the freshest veggies that are in season. Wash and cut them up in bite sized pieces. Add a few garlic cloves and chopped onions, sprinkle with salt and pepper. For an added touch drizzle some Blood Orange Olive Oil!! Toss in a bowl, spread out in a cookie sheet, bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes and VOILA! (this pic was taken before the roasting). Roastings adds such a beautiful flavor to food. Many people want to go OVERBOARD ingredients. Sometimes its good to stick with the basics and let your cooking techniques add the flavor that your want to your food.  

There were many other side dishes that accompanied Thanksgiving Dinner but being the chef and the photographer was a bit much for me, so unfortunately many dishes got left out. BUT the main star took a second for his photo-op! For starters...I'm a brine-er! Knowing I wouldn't make it to New York until the day before Thanksgiving, I had my sous chefs (thanks mom and dad) put my bird in his nice, cool, salty, apple cidery, herby (okay, I'll stop now) bath for 2 days. Following Anne Burrell's advice in her Brined Her-Crusted Turkey w/ Apple Cider Gravy recipe...I took the turkey out of the brine the night before, rubbed the herb butter under and over the skin and let it sit the fridge overnight, uncovered. Thanksgiving morning, I cut up some mirepoix, added some stock and apple cider and let him bake away. Hope you like my before and after pics! (For the record, I also made Anne's Sausage Cornbread Stuffing as well! AWESOMENESS).

I couldn't move on without posting a Thanksgiving consumption after-math. PRICELESS!!!! (love you bro-ham!!!)

A couple of GREAT friends (more so family) and I went out to a chocolate & wine bar we discovered a year ago, out in the village. It's called Ayza. Small and quaint place. Never ordered a meal but their wines and desserts have NEVER disappointed me. I finally ventured out and suggested we order the chocolate fountain. Wellllll I kind of thought it was going to be a chocolate fountain....but it was more like fondue. BUT it was awesome nonetheless. Bananas, strawberries and even pretzels dipped in chocolate is a GIVEN but MY favorite combo is pineapple and chocolate *drools* 

The following day, my family and I celebrated a milestone birthday for my Aunty! We went out for brunch on the Spirit of New York cruise and had an amazing time. Delicious food (as you can see) and even some dancing! #goodtimes #family&food

Lastly....I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF...I had to post this super cute pic of my parentals at my Aunt's shin-dig! LOVE THEM!!! You guys are my biggest supporters and I can't wait to experience the love that you two have!

WELL GUYS....THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME OUT TO READ MY BLOG. WISHING EVERYONE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY HOLIDAY!!!

(there is no better way to show holiday love...than offering it from NYC!)

UNTIL NEXT TIME!

*smooches and dueces*

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE FOOD!!!

Is that a Chinet commercial embedded in my blog post???!!! YES, YES IT IS! Why, you may ask...well simply because it expresses EVERYTHING I stand for.

If you do not mind, let's back up for a moment.

I will start by making the disclaimer that I cannot speak for every culture or household when I make this statement but...by the time most children turn 18 they are expected to have a plan. What college are you going to? What will you major in?? What do you want to do after college??? What is your purpose???? What is your life time goal?????

*ssscccrrrreeeeeccccchhhhhh* WAIT...HOLD UP A MINUTE. A plan? I'm 18 years old, all I know about life is going to school and you want me to tell you my life long plans?? I barely know myself, let alone my purpose. If you ask me, 18 is just way too young for people to make a definitive decision on what they want to do for the remainder of their ENTIRE LIFE. Not to mention, these questions not only suggest but cultivate young minds to think that you can only do ONE thing in life...and I beg to differ.

Sometimes I feel like we make up something, anything, just to appease the people around us. Or, we make up something, anything, to make us appear to be more grounded, established, or mature than what we really are. We've created a facade of this GREAT life but on the inside we don't even know who we are anymore. Suddenly we wake up and realize that we have boxed our selves into a life that we are constantly screaming to get out of but we are to scared to do so. "I mean....What would others think??" People will think I'm unstable and can't make up my mind. What about the money my parents spent OR the "mortgage-size" amount of student debt I have hounding me EVERY month. How are you supposed to explain the degree you never used. The money and time you feel you "wasted". What do you do when you find out your true desire is to be a musician, a model, a chef, OR pack up all your belongings to become a missionary in a third-world country.

We constantly drive our lives according to other peoples thoughts or even desires for us. It's like we HAVE to follow a certain protocol or timeline. Point being, we do not have to search for cookie cutter pathways to live our lives...let YOUR passion drive you...WHATEVER it may be, DARE to be different. Do not let other peoples thoughts and opions hinder you but instead, take a chance, be ECLECTIC and be AMBITIOUS! 

College is SO MUCH MORE than the piece of paper you receive 2 weeks after graduation, that recruiters and hiring managers in the "real world" could care less about. College offers a GREAT growing opportunity to discover who you are, what makes you tick and more importantly what makes you happy...thus beginning to unveil your purpose(s) in life.

I'm a firm believer that God has equipped me to do a lot of things...and none of them align with the life-long plan I wrote down during my freshman orientation class in college lol. But that is okay, I needed those experiences to get to where I am now.

After undergrad, I went to culinary school to pursue my passion. I walked in kind of blind, I wasn't absolutely sure what I wanted to do with my degree in culinary arts but somehow, once again I began to feel the walls closing in on me. The constant questions of "Do you want to work in a restaurant?" "Do you want to cater?" "How about pastry?" "Wow! you spent all that money and you're still not working in the industry?" OMMMGGGGG PLEASE STOP THE MADNESS!!!

A couple months ago I had the pleasure and honor of catering a house warming for a good friend of mine. In the middle of the party, as I was placing more honey teriyaki chicken skewers on a platter, I took a moment and scanned the open room. It was filled with her family, friends, co-workers. Various people who have never met each other before that day and they all came together to celebrate a huge milestone and blessing for someone they all cared about. Moreover, the room that had all the food, is the same room that strangers began to become acquaintances. Chatter and laughter filled the dinning room as they all placed their favorite bites on their plate. At that moment, it hit me. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE FOOD! Food brings people together. The holidays are filled with gatherings but it always comes together when food is involved. A girls night out of town, an anniversary dinner, a group of almost strangers wanting to experience a new restaurant, whatever the case may be....you can ALWAYS get a group of people to gather together when food is involved.

Entertaining has become such a lost art as we become so consumed with our own lives. The advancement of technology has taken away the simple pleasures in life; like having a few neighbors gather in your house to enjoy a delicious meal and each others company. I desire to bring it back. This is what I am passionate about!!! Chinet so eloquently puts it as "discovering the lost art of getting together".

I decided to post a few pics that were taken at the party! Take a look! AND if you have not pressed play on the above Chinet commercial...please do. They are NOT paying me to advertise but I just think the commercial is awesome! 

AND feel free to leave your own thoughts about your Eclectic Ambition, I would love to hear about it!!

Stay tuned for more to come!

*smooches & dueces*

~Cece~

NEW BEGINNINGS

Hey everyone...WOW its been almost a whole year since I've neglected my blog (think I can say the same for a couple of other people *sideeye* get that together). Nonetheless, I'M BACK AND HERE TO STAY!!!


For the longest while I wanted to write on here but didn't know what to say or where to start, mainly because in my mind, I dedicated this blog to my culinary journey. Since that has been put to a slight halt (DON'T WORRY, I DID GRADUATE), I figured my blog was just DONE, FINISHED, OVER! I mean, I could just delete this one and start over so I can talk about other things besides cooking...but why, this blog meant a lot to me, I enjoy sharing bits of my culinary journey. But I don't have much more to say about  my journey, I'm not working in a kitchen or a catering hall, I'm not even focused on cooking (besides what I do in my own home) because I'm so involved in EVERYTHING else that's going on in my life during this season, and that EVERYTHING else is what I REALLY want to share!  


Ssssoooooo what exactly is the problem again?? THERE ISN'T ONE!! Do I love to cook? OFCOURSE! But there's so much more. Therefore, I would like to refocus my blog, just as I did my life.


People love to attach themselves or others to ONE thing. Oh you're an amazing author, a great musician, a lovely singer, a powerful speaker....but what about EVERYTHING ELSE! There's usually so much more to a person then what you see on the surface, so don't succumb yourself or anyone else to a box. Look at your life, your desires, your God-given talents, look at every assignment given to you by God....don't become overwhelmed believing that you can't do it all...smile at every plan He has for you and go after it...ALL OF IT!


Chase after every goal, accomplish all that you can, when you wake up every morning think of what you can do productive today, think of how you can affect others positively, check in with God to see what's on your "to-do" list and pray for the strength to do it all.


I no longer just want to be Ceceilia with the B.S. in Finance or Ceceilia the Chef, I want to be all that and more. So, please feel free to follow me and my multifaceted post, enjoy the recipes, the advice, the opinions, the stories and everything else that is to come!!!!


Here are the dishes I made at home for my menu project, my theme was seafood!

CRAB CAKES WITH SPICY REMOULADE

BLUE SNAPPER, GREENS, W/ RASPBERRY VINAIGRETTE 

SEARED SCALLOPS W/ VANILLA BUTTERNUT SQUASH PUREE AND LEMON, BUTTER HERB SAUCE

BITTER & BLANC (white chocolate bread pudding) TOPPED W/ SWEET SABAYON (courtesy of Carnival Cruise lines)

AND THIS...THIS IS GRADUATION DAY!!!!

My favorite Chef!

WWWWAAAAYYYYY OVER DUE!!!!

Ironically, I recently became terribly sick...which caused me to take a day off of work. While laying half dead on the bed and my head feeling like it's about to burst, Julie & Julia came on. I began to feel horrible and nonetheless...convicted about my neglect to my blog.

For the past 3 months I've been interning at the NYC Department of Probation, in hopes to accelerate with my degree in Finance. Unfortunately, that has not happened. Am I mad? No, I know God has a better plan, so I'll just trust Him.

As I began to put life in perspective, I realized how much I dislike sitting behind the desk. My internship has allowed me to gain a large amount of experience but on the same note, I'm genuinely happy in the kitchen. And since I am spending $37,000 to be professionally trained in an industry that I love, why am I allowing time to pass me by and not work hard to pursue my culinary career? Because I want a larger paycheck? Pure foolishness, some may judge, but this is my life, and I intend to live it to the fullest, have joy in my heart and a smile on my face.

I look forward to the day when I will make quite a few PRETTY pennies, while waking up and doing what I love, doing what doesn't feel like a job!

With that said let me give you a quick catch up on my school experiences:

Level 3 was quite intense but I loved every minute of it. It has a "restaurant like" set up with a gardemanger, poissonier, saucier, and patissier station. We rotated sections daily, and rotated menu's every 4 classes. This level teaches time management, sense of urgency, using skills you've learned thus far, and allowing you the opportunity to be more independent and creative.

At the end of level 3, you take a midterm, and you have to cook two dishes that you've cooked during the whole level, but it's picked out of a quart container, lol...SURPRISE!! Good thing my chef was nice enough to give us 4 possibilities, so that made things less stressful.

On to level 4…I started first in Family Meal....WHICH I LOVED!!! It teaches a lot about large quantity cooking, but what made things even better was my chef was extremely creative and love to throw new things on the menu for the night!!!!

Then off to Buffet....what an experience.....9 people bunched up in a TINY, HOT KITCHEN!!!! It was stressful, and we constantly got on each other nerves, but we tried to keep the peace and produce a good, no-theme, buffet LMBO!!! BUT IT WAS STILL GOOD!!! Luckily, after attending a student rep meeting the other day, I was informed that the structure of level 4 will change in May, and it will be placed on the 5th floor, which equals a bigger space, so new students....LOOK FORWARD TO IT!!!

The last section in level 4 is production, where you butcher meat and fillet fish for the restaurant....this section is turning out better that expected. This is the section I am currently in, and in a couple of days I'll be on to level  5. L'ECOLE!!! I'm amped!!!

So below I have a couple of pics: stay tunned, I am going to try my darndest to be more dedicated to writing about my experiences, because things are about to get EVEN MORE INTERESTING!!!!

A picture with my deans!!! TRUE INSPIRATION...and they are hilarious!!!

Level 3..plating "Boeuf Bourguignon"

Don't mind that plate of chicken, it was already presented to th chef, so we just piled it on one pate wit intentions of eating it later lol

A most recent pic of me, this is production, and I had the joy to filleting this humongous sea bass!!

HOPE YOU ENJOYED! SMOOCHES AND DUECES!!

IM MAKING ANOTHER APPEARANCE!!

I know...these blogs are becoming farther and farther apart lol

So, I'm currently half way through level 2 and things are on the up and up. I'm getting used to the kitchen, cooking, standing and being hot lol but I LOVE IT ALL!!!!

The beginning of Level 2 we cooked a couple of things, chicken, beef stew...perfecting technique...then we had a lesson that took a turn for the worst....ORGAN MEATS!!!...Liver, Kidney, tongue, sweet breads (google it) lol yea...quite interested and disgusting...not my cup of tea...but the main point is for me to know how to cook it, if a customer wants it, I have to give them what they WANT...

fried sweet breads on top of creamy polenta (i make them look tasty huh)

After that, things got sweeter, literally,I've been doing pastry for the past couple of weeks....cakes, pies, tarts, doughs, ice cream, sorbet, souffle, moose....EVERYTHING AND MORE...here are some pics

CREME CARAMEL (FLAN) TOPPED WITH BLUEBERRIES 

BAVARIAN CREAM, MADE INTO A CHARLOTTE (STRAWBERRIES AND LADY FINGER CAKES AS THE BASE) 

 APPLE TART

 WHOLE EGG FOAM BASED CAKE, LAYERED AND COVERED WITH AMARETTO FAVORED BUTTER CREAM, AND GARNISHED WITH ALMONDS

 CREPE SUZETTE...ANOTHER NIGHT WITH FLAMBE!!!

PUFF PASTRY FILLED WITH PASTRY CREAM, TOPPED WITH ASSORTED FRESH SEASONAL FRUIT!

HOPE YOU ENJOYED, LEAVE A COMMENT STATING SO LOL..AND ILL KEEP YOU POSTED, WE ARE MOVING ON TO NUTRITION NOW...funny right, pastry then nutrition...lol

*SMOOCHES AND DEUCES*

MAJOR CATCH UP!!!

HEY GUYS!!!

I know I am wwwwaaaayyyyyy behind but these past few weeks have been hectic, trying to balance school and a new job (that I'm about to quit) lol. But any who, I have time now so let me try to give you a short synopis of what I've been doing. Since my last blog, I've learned how to fillet fish and cook various fish dishes.

I've made lobster, mussels, scallops, escargot and learned a whole lot about sea food (which I love so I am so happy).

I've cooked chicken, duck, quail, filet mignon, beef medallions, pork chops, pork loin, lamb chops, lamb stew....I think that's all lol it's jut been so much!

Here are some more pics (sorry I dont have more, but sometimes I'm on a time constraint, and I just dont have enough time to take a pic.

I also volunteered at my school for this event called the New York Culinary Experience. This is like a weekend conference where normal people come and are taught various recipes by well renowned chefs. I volunteered with Bill Telepan and Ben Pollinger.

Below are my stalker pics of Morimoto and Marcus Samuelsson.

Yesterday evening I just took my final for Level 1 AND I PASSED, OFFICIALLY MOVED ON TO LEVEL 2 AND I'M SO EXCITED!!!!

DISCLAIMER, I WROTE THIS LAST WEEK AND REALIZED I NEVER POSTED IT!!! I CURRENTLY JUST FINISHED MY 4TH DAY OF CLASS IN LEVEL 2!! (ill post more by the weekend)

FOOD PRESERVATION AND SALADS!!

HEY GUYS!!! I'M HERE, EXCITED AND READY TO WRITE!!

I thought about writing about Tuesday's class but I felt like there wasn’t much to write so I decided to combine Tuesday and Thursday’s class!

Tuesday was about food preservation, salting, curing, brine's, canning and everything in between. Its funny how back in the day what people discovered as food preservation for droughts and famines, we now use because IT TASTE GOOD!!! Well, in any sense, we owe it all to Nicolas Appert, who first discovered canning and sterilization (aka appertization). So on the menu tonight included gravlax and duck confit. Gravlax is cured salmon, and duck confit is cured duck that is later cooked slowly in its own fat. The duck taste amazing: I didn't try the gravlax on Saturday, it’s still curing. Then we preserved jardinière vegetable and lemons (two separate recipes. Lastly we made brandade and codfish fritters; both these recipes included salted codfish but in the brandade it’s mixed with mashed potatoes and for the fritter recipe its mixed in a batter and deep fried…again BOTH WERE GREAT!!!

TO MAKE CANING SOUND EVEN MORE INTERESTING (and if you love summer fruit and alcohol) read this link, a classmate (thanks Rebecca) sent it to me and you might find it interesting: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/dining/22appe.html?_r=1

BTW…I can’t remember if I stated that last week I misplaced my ladle…IT WAS FOUND YAY!!!

So for Thursday’s class….aaalllll about salads, believe it or not but it was an intense lesson. We learned about simple salads, mixed salads, and composed salads, we learned about various lettuces, salad greens, and several salad components such as beets and bell peppers. I have pictures of 2 or the 3 salads me and my (new) partner made (we changed partners again today and I love her, she’s so sweet!)

This is a cooked vegetable salad: carrots, turnips, peas, & string beans, tosses in a mayonnaise and basil puree dressing, topped with a tomato fondue, on top of cucumbers

This is sweet and bitter greens with tomato and herbs, tossed in sherry vinaigrette

Hope you like them!!! (disclaimer, the third salad tasted really good but my presentation wasn’t the best, so I didn’t take a picture, but it’s called salad niçoise: tuna, anchovy fillets, plum tomatoes, red skin potatoes, hard boiled eggs bell peppers and haricots verts, boston lettuce, drizzled with vinaigrette

Unfortunately classed ended with a classmate almost chopping her finger off and having to go to the hospital…WE LOVE YOU MAURA!!! GET WELL SOON!!!

On my way out of the classroom and making good with the bread people, I was able to take home a French baguette, a loaf of rye bread with flax seeds, and another bread with raisins and nuts (apologize for not remember the name) but my family and I are enjoying the free bread!

So that was my week at FCI, looking forward to tomorrows class, all about potatoes….and a class outing after class, should be interesting!!!

*smooches and deuces*