Christmas Cookie Series

If life is a cookie, friends are the chocolate chips.
- Unknown Proverb

While we wait for the holiday season, we counted down the days in cookies. From roll cookies, bar cookies, delicate cookies and sandwich cookies, we baked our way through twelve days of christmas cookies. As a special last post of the year before our winter break, I'll leave you pictures of our christmas creations:

 

Simon's Snowflake Cookies, each of them unique and alluring.

 

 

My Peanut Butter Nanaimo Bars in the division.

 

Individually delicious, with chocolate, peanut butter, and coconut, chopped almonds.

 

 

Joon's Christmas Macaroons, colouring our kitchen.

 

 

Row upon row of potential.

 

 

Wendy's Strawberry Chocolate Stackers, resting on a tray.

 

 

Strawberry icing sandwiched between chocolate cookies.

Eggnog Bundt Cake

All the world's a birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much.
- George Harrison

Food is a medium that can carry the tidings of a holiday, particularly of christmas season. Thus, we welcomed the holidays with festive eats like these:

 

Eggnog Bundt Cake in the pan moulds, prepared with grease and flour.

 

 

The bundt cake on a plate, with orange glaze for the festive days.

The Tale of the Gingerbread Lane

Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is a progress; working together is a success.
- Henry Ford

Even in food, there is an art in its creation, and it is ever so evident in gingerbread. Every year, our foods class participates in the Hyatt Hotel's gingerbread contest, where gingerbread creations are displayed in the halls for three weeks. Our unit was in charge of plotting and creating the milieu of our gingerbread village.

With the gingerbread houses of the Foods Art class and the commitment of our unit's duty, we completed the village and carefully brought it to the hotel, where it is now on display.

Here is our tale in pictures:

 

The intital planning stages of the village with the centerpiece idea.

 

 

With the idea of the 'magical' theme, Wendy created these blue trees from ice cream cones and icing.

 

 

The plotting stage of the village, the addition of the oreo road and the magic tree centerpiece.

 

 

A village taking shape, with magical trees.

 

 

Simon and Wendy creating snow and blue lamp posts.

 

 

The completed village, with magic all around.



Pork Wellington with Grainy Mustard Sauce

Not eating meat is a decision, eating meat is an instinct.
- Denis Leary

Meat is one of the richest parts of our diet, and tender meat is a luxury. In this dish, we create a simple-to-make, but elegant dish of pork tenderloin wrapped in puff pastry.

Rather than explain through a recipe, I'll show the process through pictures:

 

The tools of our trade.

From left to right: pork tenderloin, puff pastry, tongs, meat thermometer, assorted herbs, grainy mustard. and shalots.

 

 

Ms. Moon's wrapped Wellington, with a leaf decoration.

 

 

Our baked Wellingtons out of the oven, each with their own decoration.

Clockwise from top left: Wendy's heart, Ms. Moon's leaf, My braided bread, Joon's lattice, and Simon's band.

 

 

Me watching over the sauce, reducing the liquid for a rich flavor.

 

 

The plated Wellington, easily the best meat dish I've ever made.

Halloween Series - Four Recipes, Two Weeks

The Halloween season brings along its own batch of scary treats. The four of us researched and created our own stream of Halloween eats. Over the course of two weeks, we sculped, baked and set our own unique creations.

In the pictures:

 

Joon's Bloody Witch Fingers, (with strawberry gel for blood).

 

 

The Fingers in the oven. Thankfully, they're only shortbread.

 

 

My Pumpkin Bunt Cakes, with a layer of brown sugar syrup.

 

 

Simon really liked the syrup, then again, he really likes everything we make.

 

 

The Pumpkin Cakes out of the oven, already a few taken off the sheet.

 

 

The innocent start of Simon's Bloody Cupcakes.

 

 

The massacre begins.

 

 

Not for the easily squemish.

 

 

Wendy`s Pumpkin Fudge.

 

 

This was probably the sweetest creation of all the recipes we made here.