January 17

Today was another kitchen day for Team A. We started out learning how to make stocks, broths, and soups from the stocks. The first step was to cut up the chicken. This is something that would be easy enough for me to do on my own but, personally, I'm going to get out of it if at all possible. For some reason, I have no idea why, I have an aversion to fat on my chicken. This is a very weird quirk on my part, but it has bothered me since childhood. With this being said, of-course it was me that got selected to strip the fat off the chicken and stuff the seasonings in-between the fat and the chicken . . . . Thanks Dr. Nowatka! Joking aside, it really wasn't as bad as I thought. And it tasted great at the end! The fat was so crispy and flavorful that I really couldn't tell that it was fat. Furthermore, the meat under the fat was juicy and tasty as well. I am glad that I learned that technique because I am so picky about chicken that it is hard for me to find new dishes. 

The second pair of chickens were cut up and thrown into hot water to make the stock. We started the clear stock but never finished it because it would have been many more hours before it was finished. But the other stock was used to make the chicken and dumplings and chicken and rice soups. Even though I am from the south, I think this was my first experience with chicken and dumplings. It is my grandmother's favorite dish and the world, but I have always refrained from trying it. However, this time I tried it and loved it. The liquid part of it was thick and tasty (almost like a gravy) while the dumplings were both tasty and had a great texture that I can't even describe. I am so excited to go home and make this recipe for my grandmother! The chicken and rice was very good too. This was a dish that Anson and I made, so I'm a little biased, but I thought it came out really well. It was a very simple dish were we added rice, stock, chicken, carrots, and celery, and let it stew until the rice was done. The final dish was the beef and barley stew. I had no idea what barley was until I tried this dish but it was really good! I'm not sure how barley is supposed to taste, but it was a little crunchy (I think it was just served early because of the time restraints). The soup overall was really good because of the blend of flavors and the flavor of the beef. 

It all came together nicely into a great meal. It was almost a shame that no one from team B showed up to sample our work. But then again, it didn't bother me much because there was more for us! The only downside to today was that I was stupid and burnt my tongue really bad on the soup. This must say something good about our food if I still thought it was outstanding despite the fact that I couldn’t feel my tongue! I learned a lot from today and thought than these were definitely dishes that I plant to make again, and that I can make my own variations to them.