The rest of my Spring Break... good times!!!

Okay, I know it's been awhile... sorry all!!!  I've been more and more busy as I am getting settled here in MI, which of course is a great thing!  I have many pictures to share, so let's get started...
The rest of my Spring Break was really great!  I worked a little bit, but mostly did some fun stuff and visited family and friends in Cleveland.

Here are a few meals that were prepared at home with a friend...

Filet with balsamic reduction and horseradish sauce and baked potato

Chicken and black bean enchilada-ish casserole

Yummy salads and an amazing pizza with chicken, artichokes and fresh mozzarella

Also, had a great meal at my great aunt Mamacs' house!

Here is a great rubbed pork tenderloin

Side dishes from the back forward: cooked red cabbage, cauliflower with cheese and bread crumb topping, and roasted red potatoes.  A great Hungarian feast!!

Then, of course I went out a few times and had some great food, too!!

Sushi night at the pub down the street from my apt.  It has some spicy tuna, shrimp tempura, avocado, and tomato salad on top.  Looks like a mess, but seriously delicious!

Went to Sushi Rock in downtown Cleveland (if you didn't know this I LOVE sushi!!) with my sis, Abby and Johnnie for a really great meal and wonderful conversation!!

Lettuce wraps

Abby and Johnnie hadn't had really good sushi before, so we pigged out a little =)  Nena got the most non-traditional roll on the far right... cooked filet steak and asparagus and a couple fabulous dipping sauces

Made a stop at Aladdin's with my cousin, my favorite cheap Mediterranean restaurant!  This is a pita pizza with hummus and eggplant

A really cool place in GR (Grand Rapids) called The Green Well.  They have a really cool menu!  Here is the Cuban sandwich and in the back the baked goat cheese appetizer.

Some non-food related happenings...  I went to a really cool indie rock concert and saw Minus the Bear (check out their website/watch their latest video and see what you think!) and it was totally awesome!!  Unfortunately, I took a face plant on the sidewalk just walking outside!  Not really that surprising since I am kinda clumsy, but I hurt myself pretty bad.  Cut up my face and sprained my right wrist and had to wear a splint up until this week.  It's still hurts, but at least it's not broken!!  And then, Jasmine chewed her front paw and gave herself an open wound, so she had to be wrapped up so she wouldn't mess with it!  

Here we are all beat up!! 

Then, Jasmine wouldn't stop messing with her paw, so she got "the donut".  She was thrilled, let me tell you...

A group of students from school helped out at a chef cook off event in Muskegon.  Here we all are after the event enjoying some pizza and wine!

Finally, went to the Pet Expo in Grand Rapids and held this cute duck!

I am in my new class which is also going really well!  I will have pictures from that soon.  The trip to New Orleans is happening this weekend for the American Culinary Federation conference.  I am SOOO excited to be there and see and eat amazing food!
I hope everyone is doing great!!  Miss you all!

Finals-DONE!

Hello ya'll!!  Well, I made it through my second lab class!  It was a such a great experience, and I got the A-!!  Chef told me it's the highest grade any of his students have earned in long time.  Totally awesome feeling!!

Here are the pictures of my final baked goods...

Bear claws (puff pastry dough filled with almond cream)

Croissants

Side note:  For both of the recipes above I used Plugra butter.  Regular butter has 80% butterfat, about 16% water and the rest milk solids.  Plugra butter has 82% butterfat, which doesn't sound that much different, but it is!!  First of all, it is twice the cost of regular butter (so the school only got a case of it to use) and because it has less water, it results in more flavorful and flaky product (like with puff pastry and danish or croissant dough).  I don't know if it is available in the regular stores, but if you find it, try it out for a pastry recipe and see if you can tell a difference!

Gluten-free cheese bread (I had a little too much of a crust on the bottom, but the chef was happy with the flavor and the adjustments I made to the recipe)

Pumpkin quick bread (didn't have as much flavor as past times I made it, might have been the pumpkin I used that was about 6-7 days old after opened from the original can, which is about the limit)

Rustic bread (mix of bread, whole rye and whole wheat flours).  I tried to make clovers as my design since it was close to St. Patty's Day =)

So, now I am on Spring Break for two weeks (I know, I'm totally spoiled!!).  I have been working at the hospital at the end of the week, but otherwise been hanging out and enjoying my time off.

Went out on St. Patrick's Day and had a few of these bad boys!

Had some sushi over the weekend at this really good restaurant in Grand Haven called The Harbor (about 10 minutes south of Muskegon).  They have a great menu (check it out!)

Also, made an amazing dinner at my apartment with a friend over the weekend.  Here's what we created!

First, had some wine!!  It's from Cali and I swear I've seen this rock before at one of the parks off Highway 1, so had to get it!!

Some of the wine went into our homemade red sauce with roasted garlic and basil.  Then, in the front is my mushroom filling for ravoli

Making the raviolis

The final product-it was SO good!!

That's it for now!  I'll have another post soon!