Surviving the Heat of the Kitchen

by: ARA
(ARA) - You’ve seen aspiring singing idols, survivors in the wilderness and gold-medal athletes. Now meet the Best Teen Chef in America Patricia Homma, who sautéed, roasted and whisked her way to the top award in a national high school Culinary Arts scholarship competition sponsored by The Art Institutes, a leading educator in design and culinary arts nationwide.

After an intense two-hour cook-off, competing with 17 other high school seniors from around the country, Homma, an honors student at Wheeler High School in Marietta, Ga., was awarded the gold medal and a $30,000 scholarship to attend The Art Institute of Atlanta. The competition was held at The Art Institute of New York City.

Homma dreams of having all her family and friends celebrate every holiday at her home, the way it was at her mom’s house growing up in Brazil. After she moved to the United States in 1997, Homma began to watch cooking shows on television after school and was inspired to try some recipes and start cooking for her family. She’s been cooking ever since, for her friends as well. Although busy with work and a local youth group, she still finds time to watch Food TV, where her current favorites are “Iron Chef” and “30-Minute Meals with Chef Rachael Ray.”

Each contestant submitted a three-course menu as part of the entry requirements. Homma’s menu was titled “Tropical Sensations” and featured spinach and mango salad and grilled salmon (recipes below).

Now in its fourth year, The Art Institutes Best Teen Chef in America competition is an annual scholarship program that seeks to spotlight and recognize the most promising young culinary talent in the country. Eighteen high school seniors and would-be chefs were selected as finalists at regional competitions held in March at each of the Art Institutes where Culinary Arts programs are offered. More than $190,000 in tuition scholarships was awarded to the top nine finalists.

Next year’s Best Teen Chef 2004 competition will take place at The Art Institute of California - Orange County on May 22. Deadline for entries is Feb. 13, with local cook-off competitions taking place March 27. To receive information, register at www.artinstitutes.edu/today.

First through third place winners received $30,000 scholarships from The Art Institutes. In addition to Homma, second place finisher Lauren Cianfrani, representing The Art Institute of Philadelphia and Jenny Winiecki, representing The Art Institutes International Minnesota, who finished third, received $30,000 scholarships.

Courtesy of ARA Content
About the author:
Courtesy of ARA Content
Circulated by Article Emporium

Read more!

Converting a Recipe for your CrockPot

by: tony buel

Crockpots vary but the low setting is typically around 100
degrees and its high setting is around 300 degrees.

Knowing this, it is fairly easy to convert most recipes for
use in your slow cooker. Some adjusments to cooking times
will be a judgement call on your part, but some simple
guidelines should help. Just follow a few simple rules
and you're on your way.

You should decrease the liquid since it does not boil away
in a crockpot.

Add cheeses and other milk product towards the end of your
cooking since they tend to break down if they are cooked
for too long.

Brown any ground beef before adding to the crockpot. It
will taste better and have better texture this way.

Add rice and noodles at the end of your cooking as well.
They will turn mushy if they are cooked too long. You can
cook these separately and then combine them when it's time
to serve.

Add your spices at the end.

If a stovetop recipe calls for 15-30 minutes, the crockpot
should cook it for 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hrs at a high temperature
and 4 - 8 hours at its low temperature setting.

If a stovetop recipe calls for 35-45 minutes, the crockpot
should cook it for 3-4 hrs at a high temperature setting
and 6 - 10 hours at its low temperature setting.

If a stovetop recipe calls for 50 min to 3 hours, the crockpot
should cook it for 4 - 6 hrs at a high temperature setting
and 8 - 16 hours at its low temperature setting.

Following these guidelines will allow you to be
able to convert a stovetop recipe to its delicious
slow cooking counterpart!


Tony
http://www.my-crockpot-recipes.com

About the author:
Tony has been working diligently to provide
free cooking related resources for the chef
in all of us. His website http://www.my-crockpot-recipes.com
is a labor of love which provides delicious and easy
to make crockpot recipes and related tips and advice.
www.my-crockpot-recipes.com
Circulated by Article Emporium

Read more!