Garde manger class

The school year is over.  As usual our school year ended with Garde Manger.  The students did a great job in class.  The ice carvings came out great!  Chef Bland did a great job with the class.
The following pictures, from the class, are in alphabetical order.

Here is a shot of Adrian concentrating on his cuts.  Adrian developed some of the best knife skills of the whole class!

A dynamic trio if I ever saw one:  Alicia, Allen and Yvonne with one of their platters.

This angel fish ice carving was done by the team of:  Maria, Rebekah, and Rachel.  It was judged to be the best of the class by an outside judge.  You can see it displayed as a part of the class end of year buffet in the following photo.

An open face bacon and lettuce sandwich.

Roast beef and cucumber canape.

Buffet platter with chicken wings and stuffed mushrooms.

 Crudite with dip.

Fruit platter with fruit kabobs

More to follow

The rest of principals of healthy cuisine bon appetit

here is the 2nd installment today.  This should finish Principals of Healthy Cuisine.  There photos are posted in no particular order.  I hope you enjoy!

 As a part of the class we do a pizza night.  The cheese pizza, pictured above, is gluten free and vegan.

We also made a really delicious gluten free fried chicken.

Of course what is life with out dessert?  One of the desserts we made in this class is this fruit strudel with red wine sauce.

We know that Popeye was strong because of spinach; this spinach dish featuring lemon, garlic and mushrooms.

This salmon dish was quite nice.  It was pan smoked for a couple of minutes for flavor and then finished in the oven.  Yum!

Well this the end of the photos from Principals of Healthy Cuisine.  I hope you enjoyed them.  The class did a really good job of dispelling the myth that healthy food tastes like cardboard!

Until next time.
Happy Eating
Chef Leslie Bartosh
Faculty Chair, Culinary Arts
Alvin Community College
3110 Mustang Road
Alvin, Texas  77511
281.756.3949
chef@alvincollege.edu

More of Healthy Cuisine

I know these photos are coming up in spurts and dribbles.  Life has been busy.  With the end of school rapidly approaching I should be able to get the rest of the photos from  Principals of Healthy Cuisine and Garde Manger posted in the next week or so.
As a part of Healthy Cuisine we made one dish that was a fusion dish if you will.  We made chapati bread with no added fat.  We griddled falafel in stick shape instead of deep frying it.  And we made a jicama lime cilantro slaw.  We combined the three of these in a wrap.  I don;t have a picture of the wrap but do have pictures of the three components.  The combination works quite well.

Our fat free chapati or roti

Our griddled falafel

and last but not least our jicama cilantro lime slaw

This was really a pleasing combination of flavors and textures.

Until next time.
Happy Eating
Chef Leslie Bartosh
Faculty Chair, Culinary Arts
Alvin Community College
3110 Mustang Road
Alvin, Texas 77511
281.756.3949
chef@alvincollege.edu

Principles of Healthy Cuisine

Healthy Cuisine.  To some people those words bring images of cardboard food.  Food that has no flavor.  Well I am here to tell you that you can have healthy food and flavor too!
Over the next few days I will be posting photos from our class:  Principles of Healthy Cuisine.  I hope the photos will be able to convey just how good the food was.  Each section of photos will be posted alphabetically.
I hope you enjoy!

 Country Style Shrimp Etouffee:  Rebekah did an outstanding job on this dish.  I enjoyed it enough that I think this will be dinner tonight!

 Pearl pasta with peas and corn.  A nice use of Israeli couscous.

 Potato vegetable hash.  Nice comforting flavors.

 Roasted pepper soup with oven dried corn bread croutons.  Spicy and nice.

Stewed White Bean Soup.  This white bean soup used house smoked turkey necks and onion with some tomato.  The smoked turkey necks and onion replaced any pork products that you might normally use and gave it a really great flavor and aroma.  Very nice!

These photos are the start.  I hope you enjoyed them.  There were so many good dishes it is hard to choose what to post.  Ultimately, I wind up posting the photos that came out best.
Until next time.
Happy Eating
Chef Leslie Bartosh
Faculty Chair, Culinary Arts
Alvin Community College
3110 Mustang Road
Alvin, Texas 77511
281.756.3949
chef@alvincollege.edu

The last photos from International cuisine 2011

Here is the last batch of photos from this years international cuisine class.  We were in Asia for the last three days.  These photos are being posted in alphabetical order rather than by country.


Char Sui aka Chinese BBQ, sweet and delicious


Gui Cuon:  Fresh Spring Rolls

Kakiage:  Mixed Tempura


Khao Pad Pong Kari - Thai Fried Curried Rice

We made Kimchi in four flavors this year.


Our 2nd flavor of Kimchi


Our third flavor of Kimchi

And the fourth version of Kimchi


Mie Goring; Indonesian Fried Pork with Noodles

Nua Pad Prik: Thai Chili Beef

 And last but definitely not least: Suki Yaki

The students did a great job on the food in this class.  I hope that my photos can give you some idea of exactly how tasty the food was.
Thanks for taking a look.
I will start working on photos from Principle of Healthy Cuisine soon.
Until then.
Happy Eating
Chef Leslie Bartosh
Alvin Community College
Faculty Chair, Culinary Arts
3110 Mustang Road
Alvin, Texas 77511
281.756.3949
www.alvincollege.edu/culinaryarts/
chef@alvincollege.edu

more international cuisine photos

As we went through Latin America a couple of dishes stood out.

                                                Sweet corn Fritter.

                                                     Porotos Grandos:  Grand Chilean Bean Stew

More photos to come.
Hope you enjoy.

Until next time.
Happy Eating
Chef Leslie Bartosh
Alvin Community College
Faculty Chair, Culinary Arts
3110 Mustang Road
Alvin, Texas  77511
http://www.alvincollege.edu/culinaryarts
chef@alvincollege.edu
281.756.3949

more photos from International Cuisine - Spain

As our journey through Europe continued we had a brief stop in Spain.  The following photos are some of the highlights of our visit.

Crema Catalana:  traditionally the sugar topping on this dessert is caramelized using a heated iron.

Lecho Frito:  Fried Milk.  The two photos show the Lecho Frito fresh out of the oil and then topped with sugar and cinnamon for service.  This dish is a nice play on textures.

And of course what would a trip to Spain be without Paella Valencia?

And in acknowledgment of the role that pork plays in the cuisine of the Iberian peninsula: Solomillo de Cerdo Ibericao

I hope you enjoyed these few photos of the food of Spain.  There were many more photos taken but these were some of the best.

I should have more photos from International Cuisine and Healthy cuisine posted the near future.
In the meantime:

Happy Eating
Chef Leslie Bartosh
Faculty Chair, Culinary Arts
Alvin Community College
3110 Mustang Road
Alvin, Texas  77511
281.756.3949
Chef@alvincollege.edu

International Cuisine Photos Continued

here are three more from our journey through Europe.

A nice mushroom stuffed Pierogi from Poland.

And as we passed through Scandinavia we had to try the lockdolmar (stuffed onion rolls) and

the Swedish Almond Caramel Cake
They were all great!

Until next time.
Happy Eating
Chef Leslie Bartosh
Alvin Community College
Faculty Chair, culinary arts
3110 Mustang Road
Alvin, Texas 77511
281.756.3949
chef@alvincollege.edu

More photos from 2011 International Cuisine

As promised here are few more photos.  I will have more posted soon.  The file of photos is so large that I feel like I can keep a little better organized if I process and post a few at a time.

Here you go.  As always, I hope you enjoy.

On our last night in France we made Bouillabaisse which turned our quite good.

After France we kind of wandered around Europe for a little bit.

In Austria we had a simply wonderful Apfel Strudelfulle, pictured above.
It followed a delectable meal including Wiener Schnitzel.

While in the Czech Republic we had a simple but quite delicious Bramborova Poleka or Potato Soup

there are more photos to come.  I will try to post a couple of more before my afternoon meeting starts.

Until then:
Happy Eating
Chef Leslie Bartosh
Alvin Community College
Faculty Chair, Culinary Arts
3110 Mustang Road
Alvin, Texas  77511
281.756.3949

Photos

Well, at long last i am starting to process photos from International Cuisine.  In the next few weeks, I hope to finish posting photos from International Cuisine and Principles of Healthy Cuisine.  We sure had some good food.  I hope the photos will do it justice.
To get things started here are the first 3 photos from International Cuisine.  I hope you enjoy.

              Coq au Vin, one of my favorite dishes from the class

                                                                  Pate de Campagne
This particular recipe had a little more liver in it than the class liked.

                                                                      Soupe au Pistou

If you haven't guessed yet these are some of the photos from when we were in France.

There are more to come.
Hope you enjoy.

Until next time.
Happy Eating
Chef Leslie Bartosh, CEC, FMP
Alvin Community College
Faculty Chair, Culinary Arts
3110 Mustang Road
Alvin, Texas  77511
281.756.3949
chef@alvincollege.edu

Guest speaker at ACC culinary arts class

Earlier this week, Derek Courtney came to visit with the culinary arts class here at A.C.C..  Derek is en route to his  new job in Germany.  Derek was one of the first students to complete our A.A.S. degree.   Our current events students asked Derek many questions about his career path and his future goals.
Overall, a good time was had by all.
Thank you Derek for sharing some of your experiences with us.

Until next time:
Happy Eating
Chef Leslie Bartosh
Faculty Chair Culinary Arts
Alvin Community College
3110 Mustang Road
Alvin, Texas 77511
281.756.3949
chef@alvincollege.edu

Photos and principles of healthy cuisine

Spring break is over.  It flew by too fast but the end of the school year is in sight.  I have not had the opportunity to process the photos from International cuisine, but I did process a photo from Principles of Healthy Cuisine.  I did this photo to be a part of my slide show that I use for open houses and recruiting events and thought it might make a nice post here.
So, here it is

This is a vegan/gluten free curry that we did as part of class.  Light coconut milk was used as a base for the curry and brown rice was used for the fried rice base.  It was yum yum.
Hope you enjoy.

Until next time:
Happy Eating
Chef Leslie Bartosh
faculty chair culinary arts
Alvin Community College
3110 Mustang Road
Alvin, Texas 77511
281.756.3949
chef@alvincollege.edu

Southwest Regional Jeune Commis Competition

Last weekend one of our students Steven Vale competed in the jeune commis (young chef) competition hosted by the southwest region of the Chaine des Rotisseurs.  The competition was held in San Antonio, Texas.  The competition is a mystery (market) basket competition where the chefs are given a basket of ingredients that they must use in creating a three course menu.  They have 30 minutes to write their menu; followed by a three hour window to cook their menu.  The chefs must produce four plates of each course.  It is mandatory that they utilize at least 50% of each ingredient in their basket.  At the end of the three hour cooking window the chefs have thirty minutes to plate their creations.
Steven did not win the contest but he did very well.  We are all proud of his efforts.  Steven has the opportunity to compete two more times in this competition.

           from left to right:  Chef Bartosh, Steven Vale, Chef Mary Bass
Chef Bass was the primary coach for Steven as he prepared for the competition.

Until next time, Happy Eating.
Chef Leslie Bartosh, CEC, FMP
Alvin College Culinary Arts
3110 Mustang Road
Alvin, Texas  77511
281.756.3949
http://www.alvincollege.edu/culinaryarts/
chef@alvincollege.edu

the rest of the menu from international cuisine

A few weeks ago I posted the menu from the first nine days of international cuisine.  So here is the rest of it.
I do have all the photos from the class downloaded but have not yet had the opportunity to process them.  I hope to do so shortly.  Here is the remaining menu.  I hope it gives you some idea of what we do in the class.

Day 10 Spain

Aceitunas Negras Alinadas  (Marinated black olives)

Ajo Blanco (chilled almond and garlic soup)

Albornia (eggplant, peppers and tomatoes with cumin and cilantro)

Almogrote de la gomera (red pepper, cheese and garlic spread)

Andalusian meatballs

Brazo de Gitano ("Gypsy's Arm" Rolled Sponge Cake)

Champinones al Ajillo ( mushrooms)

Crema Catalana 

Gallina En Pepitoria (Chicken Cooked in an Almond and Saffron Sauce)

Gazpacho Andaluz

Gazpacho de Garbonzos ( garbanzo gazpacho)

Lecho frito

Paella Valencia

Pepper Salad, Cadiz Style

Platanos al horno (Baked bananas )

Portuguese sweet bread

Queso fresco (blanco) (1 gallon milk)

Solomillo de Cerdo Ibericao en Adobo Exremeño (Iberian Pork Loin in an Adobo (Spice Paste) from Extremadura

Tortilla de Patata Jose Luis

Day 11 Latin America

Arroz brasileiro (Brazil style rice with tomatoes and onion)

Arroz de huacca )oxala’s rice)

Botanas de Cameron seco (dried shrimp fritters)

Cebollas rojos ec escabeche ( pickled red onions)

Chilaquiles de guajolote

Empanadas de nelly

Flour tortillas

Ibis escabechados (yucatecan pickled lima beans)

Papas escabechados (yucatecan pickled potatoes)

Picadinho carne ( Minced meat Brazilian style)

Porotos Granados (Grand chile stew)

Salsa pico de gallo

Sope de camote picante

Tres leches

Day 12 Latin America

Aji de carne

Arroz con pato (Braised duck with coriander rice)

Budin de hongos (mushroom pudding)

Calbacitas rellenos (stuffed zucchini squash)

Carne guisada (stewed beef)

Chimi churi (argentine spiced parsley sauce)

Corn tortilla

Green rice with poblano

Northern pork filled tamales

Platanos con creama natilla

Sweet corn fritter

Torrejas de Maiz Tiero  (Fresh corn fritters )

Tortilla soup

Tostones

Day 13 Chinese Monday

Steamed rice

Ch’un chuan (egg roll)

Char sui

Fried bananas

Chinese fried rice

Fried unleavened bread

General Tso’s chicken

General Tso’s chicken II

Chung yau bang (Scallion pancakes)  

Shao mai (steamed dumpling)

Sour and hot soup

Stir fried fibrous vegetables

Sweet and sour pork

Won ton soup

Day 14 Southeast Asia

Cha gio (fried spring rolls)

Char mee siem (rice vermicelli with chicken, tofu, and spicy sauce)

Chicken adobo

Chicken curry with coconut milk

Egg noodle soup with chicken

Goi cuon (fresh spring rolls)

Khao pad prik kring (fried curried rice)

Kim chi

Kluai buat chi (bananas cooked in coconut milk)

Mie goring (Indonesian fired noodle with pork)

Nua pad prik (chili beef)

Num pachok char tofu (vegetarian stir fry noodles with tofu)

Nuoc cham (fried dipping sauce)

Nuoc leo (peanut sauce)

Satay (skewered chicken or prawns)

Shrimp and green curry soup

Steamed rice

Roti

Day 15 Japan Wednesday

Gohan (Japanese steamed rice)

Horenso hitashi (spinach with sesame seeds)

Ichi bon dashi

Kaki age (Mixed deep fried pancakes)

Namasu ( daikon and carrot in vinegar dressing)

Niban dashi (cooking stock for vegetables (part of horenso hitashi)

Nigiri zushi (vinegared rice and fish sandwish)

Odamaki mushi (somen noodles in steamed custard)

Shrimp and veg tempura

Soba tsyu  ( Mirin and soy dipping sauce for tempura and noodles)

Suki yaki (Beef and vegetables simmered in soy sauce and sake)

Sumashi

Sumashi wan (clear soup with chicken)

Sushi rice

Ten tsuyu (mirin and soy dipping sauce for tempura and noodles)

Tori gohan

Zaru soba (buckwheat noodles)

Until next time:

Happy Eating

Chef Bartosh
Alvin Community College Culinary Arts
3110 Mustang Road
Alvin, Texas  77511
281.756.3949
chef@alvincollege.edu
http://www.alvincollege.edu/culinaryarts/

new faculty member

I am pleased to announce that Chef Franchesca Bland has agreed to join us as an adjunct faculty member.  Chef Bland will be teaching Garde Manger and Fundamentals of Baking.  She brings years of experience in the industry and in the classroom to our program.  Welcome Chef Bland.

Soup for a Cold Winters Evening

I hope you enjoy.  This is one of my favorite soups.

Potato Soup
Yield:  Six main course portions

4 large russet potatoes (3.75 lbs)
1 medium yellow or white onion
4 ribs of celery
12 cups chicken stock or broth, seperated
2 bay leaves

1/4 tsp ground white pepper
salt to taste
1 cup heavy cream
For garnish (optional)
2 large carrots
2 1/2 ribs of celery
4 green onions, whites and greens

Peel the potatoes.
Cut the potatoes and vegetables into 1 inch pieces
Combine all vegetables with 8 cups of stock.  The stock should just cover the potato/vegetable mixture.
Add the bay leaves, white pepper and salt as needed.
Bring to boil and reduce the heat so the mixture simmers.
Simmer for 25 - 3o minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
Puree the mixture, in batches, in a food processor or blender until smooth (see caution notes at end of recipe)
Strain the mixture back into the soup pot and return to the heat.
 Add the remaining four cups of chicken stock to dilute the mixture to soup consistency.
Add the cup of cream.
Bring to a simmer and adjust seasoning as needed.
The soups is ready to serve.
If you wish to make the optional garnish:
Cut the celery and carrot into matchstick size cuts.
Cut the white of the green onions into 1/4 inch size pieces and combine with the carrot and celery.
Cut the green part of the green onions into 1/2 inch diagonal pieces and reserve separately.
Saute the carrot, celery and green onion mixture in a 1/4 stick of butter until just tender and stir the mixture into the soup.  Allow the soup to simmer for five minutes.  Sprinkle the green onion tops into the soup when ready for service or sprinkle on top of the soup when served.
Notes:
You do not have to peel the potatoes.  The recipe works well without doing so but it does change the appearance and flavor.
Your can substitute red or white potatoes for the russets.
If you are using canned chicken stock or bouillon crystals or cubes you may not need any salt at all.
CAUTION:
The soup is hot.  It will burn you if you are not careful!
If you use a blender to puree the soup you must vent the cap. 
Otherwise the steam will blow the lid off of the blender container and soup will fly everywhere.

Until next time.
Happy Eating
Chef Leslie Bartosh
Faculty Chair Culinary Arts
Alvin Community College
3110 Mustang Road
Alvin, Texas  77511
281.756.3949
chef@alvincollege.edu

A rapidly ascending star

On December 20, 2010 I wrote about some of my stars, students who have gone on and achieved after their schooling at A.C.C..  One of "my stars" Pat, sent me an email this week.  In his email Pat updated me on some career changes in his life, very positive I might add.  He also passed on some very exciting news about his catering company.  His company, Southern Elegance was voted "Best Caterer" in the 2nd Annual Friendswood/Pearland Journal contest. 
Having had Pat in class and knowing first hand his enthusiasm, drive and desire to excel, this award comes as no surprise.  The only surprise is that it took so long for other people to come to recognize his level of expertise.

Way to go Pat! 

Until Next Time

Happy Eating
Chef Leslie Bartosh
Faculty Chair/Culinary Arts
Alvin Community College
3110 Mustang Road
Alvin, Texas 77511
281.756.3949
chef@alvincollege.edu