My Project

What is this blog all about?

So I have taken it upon myself to try and cook a 3 course regency feast as historically accurate as possible. The feast is in January and I began my research about a month ago. Its time to start trying out the mass amounts of recipes that I have found. Not all the recipes have been changed to suit modern ingredients so I will have a chance to play around. I am very excited about this project. I will also be cooking for two balls prior to the feast so I may be able to try out dishes for those as well.

Here is a little of my history:

I basically grew up in the kitchen... my mother has been my biggest inspiration when it comes too the culinary field. Through out the years while visiting my grandma Diane I was always in awe of her cooking and baking... it was always so beautiful. She made me strive to make things as beautiful as they tasted. My mother taught me that anyone can follow a recipe but it would never turn out the same as when you poured your heart into it. I am now a firm believer that your emotions go into the food you are cooking.

I remember begging anybody and everybody to have free rein in the kitchen. One time I made "muffins" out of the most random ingredients (Tabasco included). The excitement of watching them bake in the oven was very hard for me to contain. Still to this day I am inpatient to see the outcome. Lets just say only one person was brave enough to try the muffins made by a aspiring 5 year old chef. He was sweet enough not to spit out the disaster! I was given my first "real" kitchen set at the age of 7. It included cookie sheets, spatulas, wooden spoons, and pot holders. I will never forget how excited I was! I made my first batch of cookies all by myself while my mom looked on. When I was in third grade I entered my first cake into a cake walk at school for Halloween (I will try and find the picture and post it). I was very proud of myself and determined to improve my skills. I was already cooking dinner for the family by that time and loved every minute of it. I spent the summer of 96 in Florida with my grandpa who sadly isn't the best cook in the world. I had to rescue him from eating out all the time and begged him for the "New Junior Cook Book" by Better Homes and Gardens. I fell in love with this and cooked my way through it... I will never forget my grandpa's look of pure pleasure when I made the peanut butter and honey cookies... he said they were the best pb cookies he had ever had and that meant a lot to an insecure little girl. Cooking had become a passion of mine and I never let anyone forget it. I did my first wedding reception all by myself during the summer between 7th and 8th grade. I was so proud of myself and had so much fun running the show and being put in charge of making sure everything ran smoothly. I took my first cooking class in 8th grade and found that it was not enough of a challenge and ended up doing demonstrations for the class. As high school came to a close I was cooking food for cast parties, fundraisers, and special dinners. I decided that I wanted to be an elementary school teacher so enrolled in college in Southern California. I panicked a few weeks before high school graduation and decided that I wasn't ready for college. A little over a year later I got a call from The Culinary Institute of America asking me if I was interested in starting school in 10 days. I was a little unsure but decided what the heck. I packed my life up and was soon on a plane with my mom. The next day my mom dropped me off at school and was gone in less than 30 minutes to catch her plane home. I was terrified but so excited. I had decided to pursue the pastry arts instead of the culinary arts because I didn't want to butcher animals and I wanted to have more of a creative and scientific outlet. I learned a lot from the many chefs and classmates I had while attending. I graduated with a AOS in the Baking and Pastry Arts in November of 2007. After graduation I started Sweets By Stephanie. I have had a blast making cakes and catering events!

Well its off to the kitchen... I'm making 400 cupcakes, a princess first birthday cake, and my first historical recipe tonight.