Galbi Jjim (Beef Short Ribs) : I applied what I have learned in school

For last night's dinner I decided to cook Galbi Jjim (Korean dish). This dish needs a lot of time for marinating and cooking (depending on the beef you bought) but the whole process of it, you will soon realize why it's a great food to serve for holidays. 

Letting my Galbi Jjim simmer

Nothing makes me more happy than seeing the people I cook for likes what I prepare for them even sometimes it lacks taste and flavor. I know I still have more to improve and through this I'm learning. I'm enrolled in a culinary class but I don't want to just depend on our chef. So when I have my free time I cook or bake. It's really different when you discover, explore and learn from yourself in the kitchen. You get to actually see it for yourself what you're making. 

From what I learned, as a culinary student, you should not be afraid to make your own decisions (of course, there will be mistakes but they are great teachers), do whatever you are told to do (when you're in the real world already, the environment is 20x more stressful) and lastly, whatever you do be passionate. No matter how hard and rough things are, if you do it with passion and determination you will conquer the challenges and problems. Don't give up easily. 

These are the few things I learned so far for the past five months. I'm still learning and I will keep learning.

Welcome Home Dinner

My dad just got back from London and I'm very happy that he enjoyed his time there and made a safe trip back home. And of course he bought me jelly bean, postcards, bags and other souvenirs. Thank you dad!

So as planned, I cooked our dinner though it's not his favorite but I know he will like it. I also want to make his Welcome Home Dinner special by baking Cream Cheese Cookie Dough Brownies since I have some cream cheese left and I have all the ingredients needed for this desert so why not bake, right? 

If you read my previous blog, this is my second time blogging pasta but this time it's white sauce. I also cooked Iberian Chicken a month ago. It's usually served with marble potatoes on the side. It's a Spanish dish I learned from my school (something went wrong with my camera so I wasn't able to take a picture of it).
Here is a sample picture from dessertcomesfirst.com:

To quote, Lori (Food Purveyors) from dessertcomesfirst.com

"Iberian Chicken has many variations but the version I know and love is simply chicken roasted low and slow in a bath of extra virgin olive oil, cosseted in cloves of garlic (LOTS of garlic!), onion, herbs, and pocked with peppercorns."

I think this version of Carbonara is quite different because I used heavy cream, a can of creamed mushroom soup, and an evaporated milk for the sauce. I know most people just make bechamel and add what they want but the version I tried is worth trying. It's creamy and has a different dimension of flavors from the heavy cream and evaporated milk. It's topped with bacon and ham or you may use tuna for this. I will definitely cook this in the future and serve it for my guests and special friends/relatives.

So here is the recipe I hope you will also try it and let me know if you liked it or not. I'd be so happy if you will share your favorite pasta recipes! Enjoy!