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
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Courtesy of ARA Content
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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
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Crockpot Cooking - Advantages and Disadvantages

by: tony buel
In my 'un-biased' opinion, the crockpot / slow cooker is one of the most
convenient and easy to use appliances in my kitchen. The time savings
features of the slow cooker and the delicious dinners that have resulted
more than offset any minor drawbacks.

Before I list my top reasons why the crockpot is the most useful appliance
in any kitchen, I will list a few of the areas where it does not perform
as well.

- Large cuts of meat such as boneless prime rib or leg of lamb are still
best when oven roasted.

- Except for stews and chowders, the slow cooker does not cook fish very
well.

- The slow cooker collects a lot of the juices since the steam does not
escape during cooking and these juices can become diluted and watery,
which can affect the flavoring of the food.

- If not careful, a slow cooker can overcook food -especially some of
the more tender meats and poultry.

These drawbacks are relatively minor compared to the positives which
I will list now.

- The slow cooker needs virtually no tending while it cooks, freeing you
up to do other chores or recipes.

- The slow cooker will tenderize less expensive, tough cuts of meat and
make great stews out of them.

- The slow cooker allows you to be out of the kitchen for extended periods
of time -sometimes even all day.

- Burning your food is rarely a problem. The slow cooker will make many
dishes for you better than any other appliance -especially those that tend
to stick to the bottom of a pan.

In my opinion the slow cooker is one of the most under-utilized and yet
superior of kitchen appliances. When used for what it does best, you will
find that you are able to prepare great dishes in less time than you thought
possible!

About the author:
Tony has been working diligently to provide
free cooking related resources for the chef
in all of us. His website 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!