Rice the right way.

I have to admit that after the last week, I was slightly terrified to come back to class in fear of another epic fail. As I was explaining to my mother, cooking in this school/commercial kitchen is nothing like cooking in the comfort of my own…but I’m gaining ground I think and familiarity is starting to fall into place.
The class shrunk just like Chef said it would. I couldn’t believe it. It was a much calmer day than last Tuesday. It didn’t quite have the “bunch of chickens running around with their heads cut off” feel to it.
This week was rice cookery, and honestly, I’ve never cared a lot for rice until this class. My problem was trying to make my rice out of a box. It always tasted like nothing to me. Once again, I was doing it all wrong. I will NEVER buy instant, out-of-a-box crap rice again. Well, I never really bought it anyway, because I thought it tasted awful. But now, I’m certainly going to look into investing in some jasmine and basmati rice. * Family and friends who are reading this, please, go buy a bag of jasmine rice now. Leave the computer, and find a respectable store that actually sells it from a valid location (Texas doesn’t count)… you haven’t lived yet. I was just born this past Tuesday. *
Our group made Chicken and Shrimp Jambalaya, Risotto with Mushroom Broth, and Brown and Wild Rice Fruit Pilaf. I had the pilaf, and this is something I feel like I need to have on hand at all times. I don’t think I could ever get tired of it. I did manage to mess it up in class though. As usual. But I perfected it at home. I didn’t even think about soaking the wild rice beforehand…so it turned out undercooked, but had great flavor. Chef tried to help me by putting it in the steamer, but the steamer wasn’t having one of its best days so our attempt failed. It was still very pretty to look at and I ate it anyway.
I really enjoyed Laney’s risotto. I had never had risotto before, and it was heaven in my mouth(…I’m getting a little cheesy aren’t I? Ha. Well, there WAS parmesan). I enjoyed Barbara’s Jambalaya as well.
Aside from all of that, I went to visit my best friend Emily at UNL yesterday and I told her we had to try somewhere different to eat. She was up for it, and I wanted to try Thai since I love it and haven’t had it since I was back in Tennessee. We found a place called Blue Orchid and had a great experience. It was a great atmosphere, our waiter knew the menu front and back and described different flavors to help Emily get an idea of what she wanted. She ordered the Thai Basil and I ordered their signature “Orchid Chicken” which was served in half of a carved out pineapple. They were both SO spicy (of course I ordered a side of chili paste), but wonderful.
Here are some pictures for everyone to enjoy!



And I have some from mine and Emily's experience at Blue Orchid but those will come later.