They are enjoying the food they prepared in cooking class. Looks like fun doesn't it. The University of Tennessee offers non credit classes every semester. It is a hands on class and after the food has been prepared they sit down together to eat. As I've often remarked, it is amazing that they all have the same recipes but each one turns out a little different. I always point out that recipes are simply guides and can be changed to suit your own taste.
The fun comes when you make it your own by adding a different spice or vegetable or by browning the food a little longer during the sautéing process. We had a great example of this with the Butternut Squash and Bourbon Bisque.
This is my recipe for butternut squash and bourbon bisque. One of the students in the class is from Louisiana and he decided to spice it up a bit with cayenne pepper. It did add a kick to the final dish and it was excellent.
The ladies had a great time making sure everything was prepared to perfection.
We had many great chefs in the kitchen that night each with their own style.
There was one mushroom soup that caught my attention. It was a little darker brown that the others and the flavors were rich and delicious. I believe they caramelized the mushrooms to deepen the flavors, they reduced the soup more to concentrate the flavors and they seasoned the soup more to enhance the flavors. Their soup was very flavorful.
Roasted Wild Mushroom and Rice Soup
You must always keep a close eye on the food when cooking on high heat.
The final recipe was a raspberry soup with white chocolate and brownie croutons.
The soup base is made by cooking the raspberries with sugar, then straining to remove the solids. The white chocolate is melted into cream and swirled into the raspberries, making a beautiful presentation.
