Final Essay

For this essay I am going to discuss how preparing a good meal can make you feel. The meals that I prepared throughout my quest were all knew and exciting compared to the usual boring meals that I make. I want to discuss how making an excellent meal makes me feel worthwhile.

It is important to me that I please the people that are close to me. A way for me to complete this task is to provide them with tasty meals. I love to prepare meals that they love and that I love. It is fun and makes me feel as if I have done something good for others.

Everyone loves a women that can prepare a good meal. This quest has provided me with a few more great meals that I could pop out when I need to impress.

Comparison Essay

Would Have, Could Have, Should Have

My quest was about my love for making good wholesome meals for people, and how it makes me feel good about myself. During my quest I made new and interesting meals that I had never made before I started this quest. The ultimate goal was to learn how to create more interesting and extravagant meals then what I normally make. When I first started this quest, I was very excited because it was a little different and quirky. After completing the quest there is a quest that I wish I had done instead.
What if I had done a quest about gambling? I thought about this quest when watching an episode of “Thirty Days.” A lot of the quests that are done of that television show are about negative things. My grandmother is addict. She is addicted to gambling and has recently started to seek help with her addiction. My quest could have been to gamble everyday for thirty days. It would have been far more interesting then my current quest.
Although I am happy with some of the outcomes of my quest, it would have been interesting to do a negative quest. The more I think about the two different quest, the more I ponder how much I would have learned from a gambling quest. After gambling for that many days in a row, how money do you think that I would have lost? It would have been really interesting to write about how it feels to gamble, and what drives people to keep spending the money.

If I had done such a negative quest, would it have been hard for me to stop after the quest was to be complete? I believe that it might have been hard for me to stop spending money on scratch tickets after the thirty days was up. That is why my current quest was the better choice. It may be boring at some points to read about food, but I am far better off this way.

Homemad Salsa

A good garden and fresh veggies is the most important part of making a good homemade salsa. My fiance and I experimented with this last year. We used tomatoes and peppers from my moms garden and added spices.

It was simple to make a good salsa. We simple added tomatoes, onions, green peppers, and jalapenos to a food processor. After that was mixed we added a little cilantro and garlic. It tasted fresh and delicious.

Salsa is an excellent appetizer or snack because it is full of veggies. The only thing that you have to be careful of is the calories that lie within the chips that you are using. Try to use chips that are whole grains.

If I could stay at home all day and cook then I would!

My dream in life would to be a stay at home mother although that is not going to happen. It would be a joyful experience because I would be able to spend all of my days with my children molding them everyday and making them wonderful meals.

What is in a meal? It is what you make of it. If I was a stay at home mother, I could make delightful meals for my children and teach them what I am doing and why I am doing certain things in the kitchen. It would be easy for me to let them get involved in the meals and teach them the importance of a good meal.

If only I could be a stay at home mom!!!

Lasagna

I started by bowling a box of lasagna noodles while browning a pound of hamburger meat. To the meat I add a cup of chopped onions and a cup of chopped green peppers. I then add a teaspoon of garlic to the meat. After the meat is cooked I add it to a can of my preferred spaghetti sauce. I mix it well and let it get warm on top of the stove.

When the noodles are ready, I lay a layer of them and then put about three tablespoons of ricotta cheese and smooth it out. Then I spread a layer of the sauce. After that is spread, I put a layer of mozzarella cheese. I make these same layers over and over until I get to the top. When I get to the top of the pan I use a finely shredded mozz. and parm cheese mixture. This mixture of cheese makes a great topper to the lasagna.

It should be cooked for about thirty minutes at 350. This meal would be great if served with garlic bread and a salad. Enjoy a wonderful recipe that I learned from my mother as a child.

Dellllllicious Lasagna

My next meal is an amazing lasagna. I am very excited to make this meal because I love Italian foods. This meal is simple and sweet. It fills you up and leaves you wanting more. The most important part of a lasagna is the crusty cheese on top. That cheese is in fact the kiss of an angel on top of a delicious cheese filled meal.

The recipe that I used is one that mother would always make growing up. I took it and added my own little twist to make it more of my style.

Cheese is my favorite food to add to any meal. This is how I spice my moms lasagna up. I simply add a lot more cheese and different types of cheese. My mom uses cottage cheese and I will be using ricotta cheese. I will also be using two types of mozz cheese.

Giving, Giving, and Giving

My mom is like a giving tree. She is constantly giving to others and not thinking about what she wants for herself. Her cooking is a prime example of her unwillingness to be selfish. It is always what dad wants or what the kids want for dinner.

My goal for myself is to be learn to be selfish. My mom has taught me to cater to men because that is what Southern women do. Although I love making foods that my fiance requests, sometimes I just want to make the foods I crave.

My fiance is not the pickiest person in the world which makes it easy for me to complete my goal. He often likes the meals that I create better than the meals that he wanted me to make.

Cooking is a RELEASE

Most people think of dinner as something that just needs to be made so everyone can eat and the night can continue on. I think of dinner as a time for me to release myself. Cooking is enjoyable for me because it allows me to spend time by myself in the kitchen preparing something delicious.

Growing up I cooked all the time because it was part of my daily routine. My mother always made me help her in the kitchen. I learned a lot about what makes a good meal from her, but I also learned how pleasing other is important. My mother is always given to others and her cooking is proof of that. She always makes what others want and never seems to make what she wants.

If cooking is going to be fun for me, then I need to make the foods that I want to make. It takes a little bit out of the joy of cooking when you are forced to make a meal that you do not really want to make.

Wine Pairing

An important part of creating a fabulous meal is the wine that you pair with the meal. Many upscale restaurants build their entire menus off of certain wines. If upscale neighbor hoods can drink good wine with their meals, why can't middle class people?

Pairing wine is very easy. For the most part red wines go with your bolder tastes such as steak. White wine goes with lighter foods such as chicken. It is important that if you are having wine with a meal that you pair a wine that is not going to overpower the taste of your creation.

I have attached a website that describes what foods go with what wines.

http://www.winewebcentral.com/winepairing/

What if I had done a different quest?

This week I have really been thinking about my quest and what I did do compared to what I could have done. I chose to do a positive quest rather than doing something negative for a month. What if I had done a negative quest? What would I have learned and would it have been more beneficial for those reading my blog?

If I were to do a negative quest, it would have been about gambling. I was thinking about how I would have spent a certain amount each day on gambling in some form or another. This quest would be very interesting to read about, but it would not be beneficial for me.

Although I chose a boring quest, I chose a quest that I have learned a lot from. It has taught me about myself, and how I define myself as a woman.

Ideas for Meals

I have decided that I am going to start taking ideas from you guys for my last meal. So comment on what you think would be a good idea for a different and interesting cuisine for me to make.

You could post your favorite meal or maybe a meal that you have never had but would like to try. It will be interesting to hear what everyone has to say about ideas for meals. Just let me know and I will keep it in mind for my next meal.

The more interesting and out there the better. I am always up for new experiences and so do not be afraid to give me off the wall ideas.

Lettuce Wraps Recipe

http://www.recipezaar.com/Pf-Changs-Chicken-Lettuce-Wraps-137175

Here is the recipe that I used for my lettuce wraps. It came off of the website listed above which does copy cat recipes from certain restaurants.

SERVES 4 -6 (change servings and units)
MARINADE

* 1 teaspoon cornstarch
* 2 teaspoons sherry wine or red wine
* 2 teaspoons water
* 2 teaspoons soy sauce

FILLING INGREDIENTS

* 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced small
* 5 tablespoons vegetable oil or peanut oil
* 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger or grated ginger
* 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
* 1/2 cup green onion, minced
* 1 cup shiitake mushroom, minced

* 1 (8 ounce) can bamboo shoots, minced

* 1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, minced

* 1 (6 ounce) package chinese cellophane noodles, cooked to pkg. directions

COOKING SAUCE

* 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
* 1 tablespoon soy sauce
* 1 tablespoon sherry wine or red wine
* 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
* 2 tablespoons water
* 1 teaspoon sesame oil
* 1 teaspoon sugar
* 2 teaspoons cornstarch
* lettuce leaf, washed and taken off the head but left whole

Directions

1.Mix all ingredients for "cooking sauce" and set aside.
2.In medium bowl, combine marinade ingredients and mix well. Add chicken and stir to coat thoroughly. Stir in 1 t. oil and let sit for 15 minutes.
3.Heat wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 T. oil, then add chicken and stir-fry for about 3-4 minutes. Set aside.
4.Add 2 T. oil to the pan. Add ginger, garlic, and onion and stir-fry for a minute or so. Add mushrooms, bamboo shoots and wter chestnutsl stir-fry an additional 2 minutes. Return chicken to the pan. Add mixed cooking sauce to the pan. Cook until thickened and hot. Break cooked cellophane noodles into small pieces and cover bottom of serving dish with them. THen pour chicken mixture on top of noodles. Serve along side lettuce leaves for everyone to take what they want, and then spoon into lettuce leaf and roll (like a burrito) individually themselves.

Lettuce Wraps

The lettuce wraps turned out to be good, but not what I was looking for. I ended up using a different recipe which is a copy cat of the PF Chang's recipe. They were a really tasty meal, but they did not taste completely like they make them.

The sauce did not have the same flavor as what the restaurants sauce did. It was also thin and runny when their sauce is a little more think. My fiance loved the meal, but I am finding that he is not a good judge on my food. He loves just about all kinds of food and therefore is not a good food critic because he thinks that it is all great.

If I were to make this meal again then I would make the sauce a little more thick.

A Strong & Inspirational Women

As a girl that grew up in the South, when I think of a cooking show, there is only one that comes to mind. Paula Deen is hands down one of the best Food Network stars out there. Her passion and spunk are inspiring to young women that are just trying to create wholesome meals. It is not just Paula’s show that is inspiring. The story of her life and how she got to where she is right now is truly motivating.
When people think of Paula Deen, they most likely think of a stick of butter and a home cooked meal. Although these are words that are excellent descriptors of this lady there is much more to her then her spunky southern attitude and butter. Paula was born and raised in Georgia and is a self-made success story. Her love for home cooking began in her grandmother’s kitchen as a child. It is in this kitchen that she learned the basics of southern cooking, and how much fun preparing a meal for the family can be.
Hard times hit Paula early in life as she lost both of her parents before the age of twenty five. From the time she was little, Paula struggled with anxiety. By the time Paula was forty her husband had left her with two little boys to raise. She struggled to start her own catering company which turned into an amazing restaurant business.

A Self Made Success

As a proud Sputhern women I am a huge man of Paula Deen. This strong women from Georgia had to overcome a lot to get to the place she is today. She used the power of good home cooking to heal herself. A few things you might not know about this spunky lady is that both of her parents died before she was 23 and her husband left her and on top of all of that she struggled with agoraphobia which is a fear of public places. She has worked hard to open her resturant and write her cookbooks. This women sets a great example for young women out there.

paula dean

Paula Deen is one of my biggest idols. She has worked hard to get where she is today and I hope that one day I will be as successful as she is today. She is the person that I have decided to do mt research essay one because her food is amazing and easy to relate to. Although she does not make food that is extremly crazt her recipes are total crowd pleasers.

Yummy Morsels

These Crab Ra Goons were so easy to make and amazing to eat. I simple cut the egg roll wraps into fours and but a teaspoon of cream cheese followed by a half of teaspoon of shredded crab meat. I then fried them in about two cups of vegetable oil for about two minutes. I served them with La Choy's Sweet and Sour Sauce. They were delightful.

Working on Perfecting My Next Meal

I took my mothers idea and I started working on smaller recipes during the middle of the week. We were making Stir Fry last night so I decided to make Crab Ra-goons with the meal. You would be surprised at how easy these tasty little morsels were to make. I got the idea while at the grocery store so I just got the ingredients I thought that I would need without looking at any recipes. I made a very simple crab Ra goon. It was a simple egg roll won ton pastry with a cream cheese and imitation crab meat center.

Interview Essay

Mama Knows Best
If anyone would be able to help me on a cooking quest it would be my mother. My mother is not only a good cook, but she will not be afraid to give me her opinion on my meals. She is woman that loves to give to others, and she is always willing to help me in anything that I might need. After this interview I hope to gain an insight on how good my first meal was and tips that I could do to improve my culinary quest for a simple delectable and unique cuisine.
My first meal on my quest for the perfect meal was that of famous French Cuisine. The main dish was Ratatouille. I always pondered what this dish was after watching the movie. My quest started by examining many of the recipes of this famous dish from many of my favorite chefs. After doing some research, I decided that Emerill Lagasse’s recipe looked like it was for me.

Emerald’s Ratatouille Recipe:
Ingredients
• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more as needed
• 1 1/2 cups small diced yellow onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 cups medium diced eggplant, skin on
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 cup diced green bell peppers
• 1 cup diced red bell peppers
• 1 cup diced zucchini squash
• 1 cup diced yellow squash
• 1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Set a large 12-inch saute pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the onions and garlic to the pan. Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until they are wilted and lightly caramelized, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the eggplant and thyme to the pan and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is partially cooked, about 5 minutes. Add the green and red peppers, zucchini, and squash and continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, basil, parsley, and salt and pepper, to taste, and cook for a final 5 minutes. Stir well to blend and serve either hot or at room temperature.
After finding my recipe and inviting my mother over for dinner. I began working on making the perfect meal. There were a few things on the recipe that I tweaked a little bit, but overall I used the same recipe. The first thing that I changed in the recipe was the way that I cut the vegetables. I cut them the short way so they made pretty circles rather than long strips. Instead of cutting, seeding, and peeling my own tomatoes I used a can of diced tomatoes. I also added a couple cloves of freshly chopped garlic. My meal was served with cheesy garlic biscuits and a chocolate mousse.
My mother absolutely loved the French dish. She had never had the dish before, and she said that she was surprised at how easy it was to make. “This dish has an original and fresh taste.” She rated the taste as a four because she thinks that it should have been served with some form of meat. Then she said that she was completely full after eating the meal and that she would rate it at a five for filling. “I would love the recipe for this dish because it is healthy and tastes wholesome,” were her words after the meal was complete.
After eating my meal and discussing things that were great and things that I need to change, we talked about things that I could do to improve my quest. She began by asking me why I chose this quest. After reading my proposal it was hard for her to determine why it is that I want to complete this task. I explained to her how important I find cooking to be in my life which she understood very well since she is my mother. The reason that I came up with is very simple. My cooking is often boring and predictable, and I want it to be extraordinary and surprising.
While discussing my reasoning behind doing this quest, she made a few suggestions to help further me along in my quest. Her first suggestion is that every recipe that I make should be one that I have never even attempted before. For example it is really easy for me to make pies because I grew up making pies, but I have never made a creme brulee.
She also suggested that instead of making just one meal a week, I should make small items throughout the week. By making these small items such as appetizers and desserts, I can gain a better understanding of multiple different recipes. Her main idea and by far the best idea for my quest was for me to compose a recipe book when my work is complete. The recipe book will have all the excellent crowd pleasers in it, but it will have the side notes of what I changed to make it my own. This will make it very easy for me to pull these recipes out later on in life when I want to make something surprising rather than boring.

Just Thinking Out Loud

My mom had some pretty inspirational things to say to me during our interview. She made me feel that this was a worthwhile challenge that I could complete. Her ideas really got me thinking about what I want to gain from this challenge. The most important thing is that I have fun while I am completing this task. I want to be able to create foods that are surprising rather than the usual boring foods that I currently make. I want to be able to have people over and make foods that they have never eaten before, but most importantly I want to leave them captivated. I want people to get enjoyment out of the meals that I make. People tell me that my food is good now, but I want them to tell me that it is great.

Ideas 4 My Chinese Meal

Barbecued Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps
By: Rachel Ray

• 2 cups, 4 handfuls, fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 pounds thin cut chicken breast or chicken tenders
• 2 tablespoons light colored oil, such as vegetable oil or peanut oil
• Coarse salt and coarse black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 inch ginger root, finely chopped or grated, optional
• 1 orange, zested
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced small
• 1 small tin, 6 to 8 ounces, sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 3 tablespoons hoisin, Chinese barbecue sauce, available on Asian foods aisle of market
• 1/2 large head iceberg lettuce , core removed, head quartered
• Wedges of navel orange -- platter garnish
Directions
Remove tough stems from mushrooms and brush with damp towel to clean, Slice mushrooms. Chop chicken into small pieces.
Preheat a large skillet or wok to high.
Add oil to hot pan. Add chicken to the pan and sear meat by stir frying a minute or 2. Add mushrooms and cook another minute or two. Add salt and pepper to season, then garlic and ginger. Cook a minute more. Grate zest into pan, add bell pepper bits, chopped water chestnuts and scallions. Cook another minute, continuing to stir fry mixture. Add hoisin Chinese barbecue sauce and toss to coat the mixture evenly. Transfer the hot chopped barbecued chicken to serving platter and pile the quartered wedges of crisp iceberg lettuce along side. Add wedged oranges to platter to garnish. To eat, pile spoonfuls into lettuce leaves, wrapping lettuce around fillings and squeeze an orange wedge over.


This is my idea for my next meal. I did not have time to make my meal last Friday because I was out of town for a funeral. So I will be making two meals this week. This is the first of the two. I am thinking about making this with my play of Egg Drop Soup and Crab Ra goons.

My First Meal- Ratatouille

Ratatouille
Recipe by: Emeril Lagasse
• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more as needed
• 1 1/2 cups small diced yellow onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 cups medium diced eggplant , skin on
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 cup diced green bell peppers
• 1 cup diced red bell peppers
• 1 cup diced zucchini squash
• 1 cup diced yellow squash
• 1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions: Set a large 12-inch saute pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the onions and garlic to the pan. Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until they are wilted and lightly caramelized, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the eggplant and thyme to the pan and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is partially cooked, about 5 minutes. Add the green and red peppers, zucchini, and squash and continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, basil, parsley, and salt and pepper, to taste, and cook for a final 5 minutes. Stir well to blend and serve either hot or at room temperature.

There are a few things that I did differently when preparing this meal. To begin with I used a little more garlic about a teaspoon and a half total. I peeled the eggplant before I diced it. I used canned diced tomatoes because it is a lot easier than peeling a tomato yourself. It is not important that the tomato is seeded. I also cut all of the veggies in circles rather than the long way.

This recipe was excellent. It has a great taste and it made for excellent leftovers. I actually used the leftovers to make two different meals because it made a lot. I used the left over juice to pour over some penne pasta which I added a few of the leftover veggies to. I also grilled a piece of chicken and added it to my contraption. I topped it off by baking it with a handful of mozzarella cheese on top of it.

My fiance gave the meal an 8 on a scale of 1-10 for taste. He said it would have been better if it had chicken in it. Overall he thought it had a great taste. He also rated it a 9 on fullness and an 8 on presentation. He thought the chicken would make it more filling.

How My Meals Will Be Judged

The judging part of my recipes was not one hundred percent figured out when I started this quest. After thinking about this point of my quest and reading comments from others, I have decided on how things will be judged.

There are many areas that are important to think about when preparing a meal. The first and most important is the taste of the meal. Other areas that can make a meal more desirable are how filling it is along with the was it is presented. After considering all of these areas, I have come up with my rating system.

The people that will be eating all of my meals will be my fiance and me. He will judge the taste, presentation, and fullness of the meal. I will judge how hard it was to prepare. I will also blog about the things that I changed in the meal to make it more of my own taste, and if I think that I will create the meal again.

So Many Recipies Yet So Little Time

One thing that I feel that I left out of my first posting is the reason behind my quest. Well there are many reasons that I want to begin on this journey, but the main reason is to improve my culinary skills.

The reason that this is important to me is because of my heritage. Often a women is judged on how well she can prepare a meal in the South. You may think that this sounds stupid, but I believe this is true. I find it very important that any meal that I serve to someone other than myself has to be one hundred percent perfect. There are many recipes that I can pull off without a hitch, but I want to be able to create recipes that are not your usual day to day meals. That is why I am going to try recipes from many different cultures.

My Quest 4 The Perfect Meal

In my English class, my teacher assigned our class the project of completing a quest and writing about it throughout the semester. She began the assignment by having us watch Super Size Me by Morgan Spurlock. Super Size Me is a documentary about a man that eats McDonalds for every meal for a whole month. The documentary discusses how eating fast food on a regular basis can harm your body dramatically.

After watching the movie, all I could think about was cooking rather than going out to eat. When I first started thinking about this project, I thought of trying something new, exciting, interesting and unique. Maybe I will try to lose ten pounds given that I have a wedding dress to fit into next yea?. Exercising at least four times a week would be a great idea. Then I read over the assignment and there were a few details that really got me going. She described our quest as needing to be wacky, surprising, and something not everyone else is going to do. After reading these words, I thought about things that make me happy and spark my interests.

Cooking has always been an interest that I love. Growing up in the South means that as a young girl you are not only taught how to cook, but expected to know how to cook shortly after you learn to walk. Southern girls all know how to take a potato and make it into a whisked slice of carbohydrate heaven soaked in butter or bacon fat. My quest is to create meals that I have never even thought about before this project. Not only do I want to create meals that are crowd pleasers, but I want each meal to be inspired by a different culture. After cooking meals from many different cultures, I hope to be inspired to flare up my own dishes with inspiration from cultures around the world.

When I first came up with this idea, I thought about all the recipes that I would love to start making. There were hundreds that popped into my head, but there is no possible way that I could make hundreds of recipes because it is not practical or feasible. After pondering my quest idea, I came up with the wacky and surprising twist to my quest for the perfect recipe. Why not create the perfect meal and put my own southern belle touch on things? Chefs do it all the time across the world. They take cuisine from other countries and put their spin on things and it turn it into this entirely different taste from the original.

You are probably wondering how exactly this project is going to play out. For starters every Friday night I will be making a complete meal. By a complete meal, I mean a main course with a side dish and a dessert. My fiancé and I always make dinner on Friday nights and most Fridays we have friends over. I hope to please my guests with my meals inspired from countries around the world. Each week I will feature a different culture such as Asian culture. My meal will be inspired from dishes typical dishes of that culture.

It will be judged on a scale of one to five in three different areas. The areas being judged will be taste, presentation, and how filling the meals made them feel. Taste is always important when eating a meal and an easy thing for people to make a decision on, but many people have different tastes for different things so therefore the meal had to be judged in other areas. Presentation is a very important part of cooking because how food is presented can persuade people to take the plunge and try new cuisine. Another area that is important when making a meal is how well it fills you up. I always love to eat light meals, but when you are feeding a family you want everyone to fill as if they received a proper meal. It is never a good feeling when you are hungry an hour after eating.

After this experience is over, I hope that my love for cooking will only grow deeper. I anticipate to gain an understanding of other cultures by simply cooking the way that they do. For example people in the South live life in slow paced world; therefore Southern cooking usually takes a lot of time. The most important thing is that I have fun making these meals and that you enjoy reading about quest. Maybe after completing this project I won’t always make the same dishes each week for supper because I hope to have a greater understanding and awareness of cuisine.

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