I can’t believe it. Genius Hour is coming to a close, and all that is left are presentations. If I am being honest, I am quite nervous to present. This has been an extremely interesting journey with many bumps along the way, but I truly do feel that this project did help me learn a major life skill, and that being cooking.
Week 12 meant that it was time for the final cook-off, and I was truly ready for it, but I ran into a few obstacles. Over the past couple of weeks my parents have been extremely busy and have been traveling for certain events, meaning there hasn’t been a whole lot of time for cooking nor preparation for the final cook-off. So, when Thursday came, I knew that the cook-off probably wouldn’t happen. Sadly, my speculations were correct, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t still accomplish my goal. Instead of going head to head against my dad, I simply cooked dinner for my parents Thursday night. I cooked the Italian Chicken and Mushroom Pasta like I was going to for the cook-off. Also, like the cook-off, I didn’t receive any assistance whatsoever from my dad. I wanted to try something new to the dish, so I added a little bit of Italian cheddar cheese to the sauce. The cooking went off without a hitch, and I truly enjoyed knowing how to create a meal all by myself. It was so rewarding to have the opportunity to cook for my parents after all of the years that they have been doing it for me. I was quite nervous however that even though nothing went wrong, it could still not taste good. This worry only grew because I added cheese to the sauce, and that wasn’t part of the recipe that I had in mind. Luckily, my parents told me that it tasted delicious, and after I tried it, I too agreed with their thoughts on the meal. Genius Hour has been quite the rollercoaster of stress, fatigue, delight, and rewarding, but overall, I do think that the project was good for me. I had always wanted to learn how to cook from my dad, but I had just always procrastinated when I was going to actually get into the kitchen with him. I always said that I have a while before I move out and go to college, but now I am a sophomore in high school, and so I really don’t have a lot of time left before that time comes. I was truly excited that I completed my goal of putting a dish up to the plate that I had zero assistance on, and it was a bonus that the dish tasted amazing as well.
0 Comments
Wow… it’s actually week 11 of genius hour. That means that next week is the final week of genius hour. Honestly, I can’t wait for this next week because I have been wanting to see just how far I have come by having my final test. This journey’s been not only extremely fun and practical, but also rewarding and fulfilling.
This week I have simply just continued practicing and attempting to decide between the two dishes that I want to make for the final cook-off. The two dishes are the Italian Chicken and Mushroom Pasta and the homemade Fried Chicken Sandwich. I know that they are both chicken dishes, but I feel the most confident with these two. There are definitely some pros and cons to each based on my execution of them. First up is the pasta dish, and this is the one that I am leaning towards because I feel more comfortable with its preparation and simplicity. Of course a simple fried chicken sandwich is also simple, but I just don’t feel as if it would truly demonstrate my growth. I have completely mastered the seasonings and cook times, but I sometimes struggle with the consistency of the sauce. I also sometimes have difficulty with keeping an eye on all of the ingredients. There are a lot of components cooking at the same time, and so it makes it quite challenging to know what needs attention when. This dish is definitely a little more shaky than the chicken sandwich, but I enjoy it nonetheless. Secondly, is the fried chicken sandwich, and this meal is way easier to cook, and that is of course a bonus, but I almost feel as if I would be cheating myself if I were to go with this option for the final cook-off. I have worked so hard, and to simply cook an easy dish feels wrong. I want a challenge party because I like making things difficult for myself, but also to further prove my progress. I have zero struggles cooking with the fryer, and it’s honestly quite fun, but I think I should go with my first option. Well, I guess there I have it… my final dish for genius hour will be the Italian Chicken and Mushroom Pasta! Honestly, this project has flown by without me even truly noticing. I feel as if I have grown so much, but at the same time, it feels as if I started the project last week. Looking back to Week 1, I have truly seen my improvement, and I very much believe that I am almost ready for the final cook-off!
Week 2 was all about sharpening my technical skills with a knife and other kitchen tools. Now handling a knife in the kitchen feels natural, and effortless. I have learned special techniques with how to slice and cut certain vegetables and fruit, such as tomatoes. Week 3 I began working with the fryer, and that week was honestly the first struggle. Working with an appliance that I have never used before was enjoyable, but also a little intimidating. That week I created one of my favorite dishes, and that being a homemade fried chicken sandwich. I had a ton of fun that week because of how much I enjoyed the end result of the meal. On to Week 4 in which I cook chicken in a more traditional way. Baked chicken was the highlight, and during that week I learned about basting and how to better gauge cooking times. Skipping to Week 6 and perhaps my favorite week because of how well the food came out, and how I did almost all of the cooking. During this week I made Italian chicken and mushroom pasta. I learned how to create a sauce, and improved my pan frying and pasta cooking skills. As of right now, I plan to re-create this dish for the final cook-off. During Week 7 I tried cooking one of the hardest meats to cook on a grill. Salmon is an extremely brittle fish, and attempting to turn and flip it on a grill comes with its obvious challenges. In the end I figured out a rhythm to the procedure and was able to improve on the grill in Week 9. Grouper was my fish of choice for that week, and was much easier to cook than the salmon. Grouper is a lot less brittle, which makes it easier to cook with. By this point I felt quite good with my grilling abilities. This week frankly I have simply gone back over and practiced a little bit of everything. I wanted to take the time to further each skill that I have learned, so that I can choose the best meal to cook for the final cook-off. I can’t wait till the time comes, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. This week of genius hour was a lot more productive than the last. I spent more time grilling and using the pressure cooker. At this point, I am almost fully independent with both of these tools. I like to have my dad stand over me and watch, just in case. I got to cook fish again on the grill this week, and it was way easier than my first attempt.
The fish that I cooked this week was grouper. Grouper is a lot stronger than salmon, so cooking it was a lot less stressful. To start, I first had to season the fish. I seasoned it with seasoning salt, pepper, and a couple more spices. Afterwards, I began heating up the grill to start cooking the fish. Once at an appropriate temperature, I placed the pieces of fish sideways onto the grill. I let them cook for two minutes before rotating them, and then another before flipping them. The first two pieces were thicker than the third, so I didn’t place it on till the others had been cooking for four minutes. With all three pieces on, I let them cook for another two minutes before rotating them. Then another before flipping them once more. This was repeated two more times before the time increment switched to three minutes, and that was repeated twice. The hardest part was next, and that was placing the grouper on its side to finish cooking. Luckily, the fish was big enough, so it wouldn’t fall through the grill, but trying to keep uneven fish on its side is quite challenging. After a little struggle the fish was cooked, and ready to let it rest. Like I said earlier, since grouper isn’t as fragile as salmon, flipping and rotating it wasn’t nearly as difficult, but I definitely had a couple of scares. While the fish was cooking, I was also grilling squash and onion on a skillet. This just requires occasional stirring, so that the vegetables don’t burn. The vegetables were done about three-quarters of the way through the cooking of the fish. Overall, this week felt almost natural, and I am almost to the point of taking on my dad in the final cook-off! This week was quite slow because of Spring Break, and the actions & activities that go along with it. I gave myself a slight break this week, but I still made sure to cook, and continue my progress. The main focal point of this week was helping cook for an Easter party, at a friend's house. It's a tradition to go over there every year for a get together, and to just enjoy each other's company.
My family brought skewered shrimp & scallops, deviled eggs, and cheese dip. Each of these are quite simple to make. I only had to season and skewer the shrimp & scallops because they needed to be cooked at the party, rather than at home. This was done to make sure the seafood stayed fresh. They were seasoned with seasoning salt, pepper, and seafood seasonings. Deviled eggs are also quite simple, and I also only seasoned these because I wanted to mainly make the cheese dip. Cheese dip on the surface is one of the easiest foods to create, but the one my dad makes is a little more challenging. However, it is still quite simple. To start, the cheese is melted with some half and half added in. American cheese was used. While this is happening, seasonings begin being added. I used seasoning salt, and a couple of other seasonings. At this point whilst continuing to stir, more half and half, cheese, or cream can be added in to thicken the dip. Now some peppers are added to the cheese. It is important to keep the dip on low heat, so that the cheese doesn’t burn. This is cooked together for about 10 minutes. That is about it for making cheese dip. Once again, sometimes getting the right consistency, and trying not to burn the cheese can be hard, but always continue to stir. I was able to pick up some speed again during this week. I created quite a variety, so I don't have a particular favorite from this week. I'll quickly go through some highs and lows from two meals this week.
First, toward the beginning of the week, I made Grilled Salmon and Grilled Mushrooms & Onions. Attempting to de-bone the salmon was extremely difficult because you don't want to destroy the fish in the process. Actually grilling the fish and vegetables wasn't very difficult. The only party challenging aspect was flipping the brittle fish, but even that wasn't the hardest. Watching everything required a lot of attention, but that's just part of cooking. I seriously enjoyed cooking with the grill, and I can't wait to cook more with it. Second, I made potato and leek soup. This is one of my favorite meals because of how easy and delicious it is. Once again, this meal was mostly easy. The only challenge with this meal is adding all of the ingredients at the right time. Stirring is a must with this meal, but it can get quite tiresome because of how much it is required. I enjoy chopping all of the vegetables, and simply cooking in a massive pot. Once again peeling the potatoes was a struggle, but I definitely improved from my previous attempts. For this meal, I had to make a lot of it because my parents invited some of their friends over for dinner. This made me very nervous because I was now having to cook for other people, not just my parents. However, I was told by parent's friends that the meal tasted delicious. I had a bowl as well, and I enjoyed it as well. This week felt almost natural, and hopefully by the end of next week, I can be fully independent! My favorite dish this week would easily be the Italian Chicken & Mushroom Pasta that I made. This is due to the fact that I not only did most of the cooking by myself, but also because of how delicious the meal was. My dad was only there to guide me on what I was doing, but I did every aspect of creating the dish.
To prepare for this meal, my dad and I marinated the chicken in Italian dressing. Sadly, the chicken only was able to marinate for a little under a day rather than multiple days, but it still came out fine. To actually begin cooking, I put the chicken into a pan with butter and a little olive oil. Next for the side dish, I washed some asparagus and put it into a separate pan with olive oil and butter as well. The chicken was seasoned with garlic and seasoning salt, as well as some Italian seasoning, while the asparagus was seasoned with seasoning salt, garlic salt, and a little bit of pepper flakes. I began to baste the chicken in the melted butter and some of the marinate. This was repeated three times separated by three minute intervals each. I would also flip the chicken during these times. After, I let the chicken rest on a plate, and put some mushrooms and onions into the pan where the chicken had been previously. After sauteeing them for a little, I added the chicken back in, and let them continue to cook together. Once again, the chicken was basted and flipped multiple times. During this time, I also had to stir the asparagus in the other pan. While letting the chicken and asparagus cook, I started bringing a pot of water to boil. The water was seasoned with salt and chicken bullion. With the chicken and asparagus about done, I added the noodles into the boiling water, and let them cook for four minutes. With everything finished cooking, I first placed the noodles on a plate then set the chicken, sauce, and mixture of mushrooms and onions on top. Then I placed the asparagus beside it. This week I began to truly see my progress, and was extremely proud of myself. This meal was one of the best tasting yet, and gave me a major confidence boost for the weeks to come. This week was yet another challenging week, due to the many setbacks along the way. However, I was able to persevere through and continue my learning in the vast world of cooking.
I decided to focus on knife skills this week. The perfect meal that is not only simple to create, but encompasses a wide range of ingredients that need to be sliced, diced, or chopped is grilled chicken salad. To start this meal, chicken breasts need to be coated in olive oil to allow for the seasoning to stick, and for some moisture. Next seasonings were added onto the coated chicken. I used seasoning salt, garlic powder, and drunk chicken seasoning. After, the chicken was placed on the hot grill to cook. While my dad was watching the chicken, I wanted to cut all of the vegetables. I first sliced some tomatoes into bite size pieces. This was the hardest because the tomatoes were obviously round, but also it easily folds and smooshes with any pressure added onto it. However, I did a way better job than I did in week two. Next was to cut the lettuce into smaller pieces. This was by far the easiest vegetable to chop because there is no need to be neat since the lettuce isn’t in a uniform shape. All that is required is to chop it across then turn it, and then chop it across once more. After I sliced the cucumber into thin pieces. I cut it in half down the center then vertically all the way through. This wasn’t challenging and neither was dicing the onion. Like the cucumber, I sliced it down the middle and then cut vertically all the way across. Now that all of the vegetables were cut accordingly, it was time to take the chicken off of the grill. The chicken had to rest before being sliced, so that it would retain all of its flavor and juice. Once it was done resting, I sliced the chicken vertically and placed it in bowls along with the rest of the salad ingredients. This week, I really strived to be the one doing most of the work in the kitchen, and I think this meal truly represents that. The only work that my dad did this week was to watch the chicken while I worked with the vegetables. I am excited to continue pursuing my goal to become fully independent in the kitchen. This week was a little different and slow because I was sick Wednesday through Friday, but then didn’t help cook Saturday, just in case. Therefore, I didn’t accomplish as much as I wanted to. However, I still was able to learn and continue improving my cooking skills.
Surprisingly the easiest meal to cook this week was baked chicken. At first I thought the meal would be extremely tedious and challenging. However, I was completely wrong. There are very few steps to baking a chicken, and in fact there are just three. Step one is just to simply season the raw chicken. My dad and I seasoned the chicken with seasoning salt, garlic powder, and drunk chicken seasoning. We also added olive oil to help baste the chicken later. Step two and three are intertwined. Step two is to put the chicken into the oven and let it cook for a little. Step three like I mentioned above is to baste the chicken after it has cooked for about an hour. Basting is quite easy since all you have to do is use a spoon to scoop some of the seasoned olive oil and juice in the tray, and then pour it all over the chicken. There isn’t an exact amount of scoops, but the requirement is to just do it enough to where the entire chicken has been covered. After, simply repeat step two by cooking the chicken for an hour. The sides for the meal were mashed potatoes and sauteed green beans. The green beans were simply seasoned with salt and pepper, and a little garlic powder was also added. The hardest part of the meal was peeling the potatoes. I have a very hard time peeling potatoes, and so I volunteered for the task. I was surprisingly able to peel them well and in good time. After the potatoes were cooked. Now that they were done, it was time to mash them. Once mashed we added seasoning salt, pepper, sour cream, half and half, and a little bit of cream cheese. Once this was added, it was stirred and mashed further. Hopefully next week I am able to be more productive now that I am feeling better. I accomplished much this week, but my favorite night of cooking was when my dad and I created homemade fried chicken sandwiches and french fries. However, there is a lot of prep work that goes into this type of meal. First and foremost, the chicken needs multiple days to marinate in seasonings within the marinate. My dad and I made the marinate on Monday night using flour, half and half, as well as seasoning salt, and other seasonings. This allows all of the flavor from the seasonings to soak into the chicken.
Now that the chicken was properly marinated, it was time to put it into the fryer. While the chicken was cooking, we started on the fries. I had the task of cutting the potatoes into shapes that resemble fries. This was quite difficult because the potatoes aren’t perfectly symmetrical. If I didn’t cut them into equal size and shape then the fries wouldn’t cook evenly, and some could possibly burn. After they were cut, we seasoned the potatoes a little and got ready to put them into the fryer. First, however, we had to wait for the chicken to finish cooking. Once this was done, we took the chicken out and placed the fries in. We set the freshly cooked chicken down in a tray on some paper towels to absorb some of the oil and cool. Now all there was left to do was to wait for the fries to finish cooking. Once this was done, all there was left to do was to wait for them to cool before eating. This week I learned how to operate a fryer, and I improved my knife and seasoning skills in the kitchen. Next week I hope to start working with the grill, and maybe even start on the pressure cooker. |