Pizza Critique

Pizza Critique

We did a pizza taste test which consisted of homemade,pre-made,and frozen pizza. I tasted all three of the pizzas and gave them a rating depending on there taste,texture,and aroma.

Homemade Pizza:  The first kind of pizza that I tried was a homemade pizza. This pizza was very aromatic and made me want to eat it right away. From appearance the was nice and fluffy and had a pretty look. The smell of the pizza looked fresh and the cheese looked good. When I tasted the pizza the cheese and the tomato sauce tasted fresh and the crust was soft and a little crusty. If I could give this pizza a rating I would give it a rating of 10/10.

Pre-made Pizza:  The second pizza that I tried was a pre made pizza. This pizza was similar in texture with the homemade pizza but was a bit more doughy. I didn't like the taste of the this pizza as much as the homemade pizza because its taste wasn't as fresh a the homemade pizza. I also didn't like the crust because it was all doughy and not crunchy. The sauce had a weird taste to it and didn't taste natural and fresh. If I would give this pizza a rating I would rate it 5/10.

Frozen Pizza:  The last pizza I sampled was the frozen pizza. This pizza tasted like it wasn't fresh but had a different taste that was tasty as well. This pizza didn't have much sauce and the flavor of the sauce was good and not to overpowering the whole pizza. The cheese tasted normal but not fresh, the cheese was also not melted and stretching,The cheese was staying together in one shape. The crust wasn't soft as much as the other pizzas but it was crunchy and its taste went well with pizza even though its taste wasn't flavorful. I would give this pizza a rating of 8/10 according to appearance,texture,and taste.

Overall:  In conclusion the pizzas were very different when I compared them. This surprised me because I never thought that the pizzas would have much of a difference. But when I compared the pizzas I realized that they are very different in there taste,appearance,and texture. I learned that pizzas have different tastes according to the way they are paid.

Blog # 1 (Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie)

Hung Dang

Hour 1

Foods 2

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:  

First Step - Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Step 2 -  Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

Step 3 -   In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

Last Step -  Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Review: I personally liked the Cookies! The appearance of the cookies were very big in Size & had a golden brown color to it. The aroma of the cookies were delightful, a sweet chocolate smell. The taste of the cookies were very sweet,  but as much as I wanted to keep eating them I couldn't, too much chocolate makes me feel weird. The texture of the Cookies were soft and chewy as if I was biting into air. I would recommend these to anyone who can eat a nice big cookie without feeling weird after while. 

French Silk Pie

Ingredients:

For crust:

• 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) chilled, salted butter
• 1/3 cup pecan halves
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
•  1/4 teaspoon salt

For filling:

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) room temp butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• Whipped cream for serving 
• Chocolate curls for serving

Directions:

1. Make the crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees, butter a 9 inch pie plate, set aside. Grind pecans in a food processor, or chop very finely with a knife. In a medium bowl, combine flour, pecans, sugar, and salt. Cut in cold butter with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press firmly into prepared pie plate. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

2. Make the filling: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With machine running, gradually add melted chocolate and the vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating at medium speed for five minutes after each addition. Pour filling into cooled pie crust. Cover with plastic wrap, and transfer to the refrigerator to cool for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

3. Just before serving, top pie with whipped cream, and decorate with chocolate curls.

Preparation Method:

The method that I used for making the pie crust was the biscuit method. I did this by combining the dry ingredients in one bowl and then after it was all mixed I cut in the fats which was the butter. This recipe does not call for any liquids, however the dough was a little dry when I was making it so I added in some water, about a tablespoon and a half, not all at once, but gradually. This pie was made with a pie shell. This means that first the pie crust is baked, then the filling is added. This method is most common with cream pies and lemon pies. It is extremely important to know which kind of baking method to used for your pie, since this could mess the pie up if done wrong. 

Critique:

This french silk pie was extremely delicious. The crust was buttery and flaky and perfectly cooked so the sides were a little brown but not overdone. The aroma of this decadent pie was sugary yet sweet. The appearance of the crust was light brown, just done to perfection. The chocolate moose was smooth and made the pie look some kind of fancy. The chocolate curls on the top are just like cherries on top of ice cream. The texture was mixed just perfectly. The crust was falling apart in my mouth and mixed perfectly with the smooth texture of the chocolate filling, and the lightness of the whipped cream on top. Although all of these were amazing, the best part of the pie was the taste. The flaky crust was buttery and delicious. This went along perfectly with the richness of the filling, it bursted with sweetness in my mouth. The sweet taste of whipped cream pulled all of the tastes together. 

Assessment:

This recipe was absolutely amazing and I would make it a million times over again. It was sweet and rich and savory all at the same time. Although I have had the frozen Marie Calenders French Satin Pie, which is very similar, I think this pie definitely tops any of those frozen ones. For some reason, homemade pies always taste better than store bought ones. I learned that if you want your recipe to be done correctly and turn out delicious, you have to improvise if something doesn't work out the first time. 

MAGIC CUSTARD CAKE

                       TOTAL TIME: 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES                                                                                                                                                                                                         KASSIDY  HR. 2

The name of my product is The Magic Custard Cake. It turned not the way I wanted it to be. The Taste was sweetish because it had a little sweet taste to it. The Texture was spongy because it looked like sponge cake kind of . The Appearance was mushy because it looked like it could of been in the oven a bit longer.I learned how to cook different things. I loved how we made the  Magic Custard Cake, it turned out to be good all though I made a couple mistakes. But that is part of cooking. It was difficult to make the Magic Custard Cake because people kept bickering and i didn't like it. But people do that in life.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted Butter
• 2 cups (480ml) Milk
• 4 Eggs, separated
• 4 drops White Vinegar
• 1 1/4 cups (150g) Confectioner's Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon (15ml) Flour
• 1 cup(115g) Flour
• 1 teaspoon (5ml) Vanilla Extract
• extra confectioner's sugar for dusting 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly butter or grease a "8 by 8" baking dish. Melt the butter and set aside to slightly cool. Warm  the milk to lukewarm and set aside. Whip the egg whites and sugar until light. Mix in the melted butter and the tablespoon of water for about 2 minutes or until evenly incorporated. Mix in the flour until evenly incorporated. Slowly beat in the milk and the vanilla extract until everything is well mixed. Fold in the egg whites, 1/3 at a time. Repeat until all the egg whites are folded in. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-60 minutes or until the cake is barley jiggly in the center. If the top browns too quick before the minimum of 45 minutes, then cover with aluminum foil and cook for remainder of time needed. Allow cake to completely cool before cutting and then dust with confectioner's sugar. For faster cooling you can place the cake in the fridge. Even after fully cooled, it will still be slightly jiggly because it's custard layer cake.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Ryan Daake

Ingredients

1 cup A.P flour

1 T sugar

1 t baking powder.

½ t baking soda

¼ t salt

1 cup buttermilk

⅙ cup milk

1 egg

⅛ cup butter

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together buttermilk, milk, eggs and melted butter. Keep the two mixtures separate until you are ready to cook.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. You can flick water across the surface and if it beads up and sizzles, it's ready!
3. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, using a wooden spoon or fork to blend. Stir until it's just blended together. Do not over stir! Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/2 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Overview

Pancakes are like america's breakfast pastime. The main reason I chose pancakes is because I loved the idea of making pancakes as homework. I’ve been eating flapjacks for as long as I can remember so I felt pretty comfortable with making them.

One change I had to make was to cut down the size of the recipe, the original was 3 times the size and yielded 12 large pancakes. I ended up making 5 smaller pancakes. One thing I learned in class that I kept in mind while making them, was that you should flip it once you seen bubbles begin to burst through the center. Ms. Wilson also told me that overflipping can cause pancakes to lose volume and affecting the texture of the product.

All in all, I am very proud of the pancakes I made, and I would definitely do it again. Even though I prefer the crispiness of a waffle, I think a nice light a fluffy buttermilk pancake can just hit the spot sometimes. If I had to change something I think I would decide to add some toppings, I bet some strawberries would taste good!

Blueberry Banana Bread

Ryan Daake

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 3 small loaf pans.
2. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.
3. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color. Add 1 egg and allow to blend into the butter mixture before adding the second egg along with vanilla extract. Beat mashed bananas thoroughly into the mixture. Add flour mixture in small increments while beating until just combined into a thick batter. Fold blueberries into the batter; pour into prepared loaf pans.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Overview

This recipe was easy and something I have had experience with before. I really like banana bread but never have tried it with blueberries, so I thought I would give it a go.

I chose this particular recipe because it was something I could do in a timely matter and could do well. I remember Ms. Wilson told me that quick breads are made by using the muffin method, which is both fast and simple. I started out by mixing the dry and liquid ingredients separately, and then incorporating them with each other in the electric mixer. I actually I may have slightly over mixed the batter, because the bread didn’t have as round of a top as I would have liked. I do remember Ms. Wilson talking about how you still want some chunks in the batter.

After I had the batter made, I had to use a rubber scraper to fold in the blueberries before panning. I remember hearing in class about having equal portions so it would bake evenly, so I made sure to get all 3 pans as close to the same as possible. I also made sure to space them evenly in the oven for the same reason.

Although it didn’t go perfect, I ended up with a product that tasted good and my mom was proud. If I were to redo this, I would be absolutely sure not to over mix the batter, to make sure I have light and airy bread, with an appealing round top. All in all I would recommend this recipe to a lot of people because it’s easy, quick, and delicious.

Brownies

Ryan Daake

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter

8 ounces fine-quality milk chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Directions

1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch square baking pan.
2. Melt butter and half of chocolate in a 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring, until smooth. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm. Stir in brown sugar and vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, until mixture is glossy and smooth.
3. Whisk together remaining ingredients, then stir into chocolate mixture. Stir in remaining chocolate.
4. Spread batter in pan and bake, 25 to 30 minutes.

Overview

Mhhmm, brownies.. Whether you prefer the chewy center or the crunchy corners, it seems to be impossible to eat just one. Brownies just seem to be taken for granted, never appreciated enough and often thought to be second to the chocolate chip cookie. But in my opinion, a good brownie is far superior a good cookie.

One of the reasons I chose to make brownies is because it is fast and I had all the ingredients at my house. After the oven has been preheated and the pan has been greased, you have to melt the butter and some of the chocolate in a sauce pan, I remember talking about how easily butter can burn and how it’s necessary to stir very often. After combining the other ingredients I almost went to taste the batter, but I remembered I learned about the danger of salmonella in raw eggs. Ms. Wilson also taught me that to check if it’s ready, all you have to do is stick a toothpick in the center and see if any batter sticks, if it comes out clean the brownies are done!

After removing the brownies from the oven, I was letting them cool before cutting when my 12 year old little sister decided to eat out the center of the pan. I wasn’t too mad because I prefer to side pieces anyways. But all in all, the brownies turned out amazing, I think if I were to recommend this recipe to anyone it would be my mom, because it seemed like these brownies weren't as sweet as most and my mom is always saying deserts are too sweet for her. My little sister also said cannot wait to start taking foods classes in highschool.