Tuesday, January 17th 2012

I had a wonderful time cooking today

When we arrived at the kitchen, bright and early, Dr. Sloan had already cut up the beef to make the beef stock. He Waited to cut up a whole chicken in order to show us the techniques he uses. After he finished he asked if anyone wanted to cut up the second chicken. Nobody was really willing to do it, so I reluctantly volunteered. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The worst part was having to hear the bones and cartilage break. Once all of the meet was separated we began to make beef stock, light chicken stock, and dark chicken stock by boiling the meats separately with water and onions.

While the stocks where boiling we were given the option to bake two stuffed chickens with potatoes. The first chicken was stuffed with a mustard based mixture and the seconds chicken was stuffed with a chipotle mixture. The mixtures were put under the skin of the chicken to make the skin crispy and incorporate the flavors into the meat. We placed the potatoes under the chickens in a separate chamber so that the juices from the chicken could drop down and cook the potatoes.

When the stocks were finally done, we decided to make beef barley soup, chicken and rice soup, and chicken and dumplings soup.

I worked with James and Caroline G. to make the beef Barkley soup. Here's our recipe:



2 TBS olive oil
1 Onion chopped
4 Carrots chopped
16 oz. oc mushrooms sliced
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
2 qt. of fresh beef stock
2 1/2 cups of chuck roast cooked and cubed
1/2 cup of pearl barley
salt and pepper


Use a Dutch Oven to heat 1 TBS of the olive oil. Add onions and carrots and sautè (5 minuets). Add the other TBS of oil and mushrooms. Cook for 5 minuets. 

Add the beef stock, meat, thyme and barley to the Dutch Oven. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer 1 1/2 hour or until barley is soft. Salt and pepper to taste.


Next, we decided to use left over cheese: Gouda, Manchego, and Havarti and panera bread to make grilled cheese sandwiches to accompany the soups.


After about 3 hours of cooking, we were all ready to eat! First, I tasted the roasted chickens. I really like the zest of the mustard chicken and the spice of the chipotle chicken. I don't think I've ever had an apatizing chicken and dumplings soup,but the one we made was excellent. The beef and barley soup was wonderful and the meat was very tender. The chicken soup was wonderful as well. We had a really successful time in the kitchen.