My Quarantine Dinner from Alinea!!!

       In these past months of quarantine, I have baked and cooked A LOT! Seriously, I think we are all going to come out of this with the Covid 19lbs. I've tried a ton of new recipes: my search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, I learned to roll my own sushi, plus I just taught myself how to make homemade canola from the shell to the ricotta filling all from scratch (post of those coming soon). Not only have I learned new recipes and techniques, but my mom and I have a quest to try restaurants we may not have had the opportunity to before. In April, we made the 2 1/2 hour trip to Chicago for the inaugural box of Stephanie Izard's goat-ceries (if you follow my instagram @mykookiekitchen you will see many of my food adventures). Plus we always make a stop at some of our standard favorite restaurants like Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba. Recently I was on a telemedicine call and my doctor in Chicago mentioned Alinea, a 3 Michelin star restaurant, had carryout. My mom and I just had to check it out! So yet again, we set forth to conquer another culinary feat, this one a 7 course molecular gastronomy feast at our own dining room table.

       Alinea was founded in Chicago in 2005 by Chef Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas. Their menus typically range from 18-22 courses, can you even imagine?!?! All of their food is inventive, new, and creative! They are known for how unconventional their meals are, and trust me their cost reflects their prestige. Their prices range from $285-$345 PER PERSON!!!! On top of that, if you can swing the cost reservations take months to get in! This is the prestige of prestige restaurants.

       Now I mentioned before that Alinea has 3 Michelin starts, what is that? Let me tell you all about it! The Michelin Guide first came out right about 1900 by a French industrialist Edouard Michelin, shocker I know. However, the first guide was about automotive because they wanted to create the demand for the tires that the Michelin company manufactured. It included information about the tires they manufactured; the bicycle was much more popular than the car at this point, with only about 300 cars in France. The guide included maps and information on tires, as well as lists of restaurants, gas stations, mechanics, lodging accommodations, and more. The first guide was even given out for free! The guided evolved with the world, and in 1926 the star rating began. However, it wasn't until 1931 that the Michelin start rating became the scale of today:
                          1 star- a very good restaurant in it's category
                          2 stars- excellent cooking, worth a detour
                          3 stars- exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey

Over time it has built its prestige, similar to an actor winning an Oscar today. This isn't just a restaurant this is an experience, which might sound kinda cheesy but it is accurate.

       My parents, as well as my brother and I, were really ecstatic to get home and try this, and my sister was excited for the KFC she ordered (yeah....I know). My mom and I unloaded the food, got some of the food in the fridge to chill, and started to look at the mies en place (prep work) we needed to do. The first course was a Blis Char Roe. It was a melon bavarois, which was somewhere between a melon flavored mousse and melon jello. Next to the bavarois was the champagne gelee, essentially, as my mother put it, a champagne jello shot. On top of the bavarois was the was the char roe, which is a type of caviar. Garnished with herbs and an edible flower (which yes, we all ate). This dish was so different from anything I had ever eaten before. It was sweet but also very tart; it had a light and luscious texture, but also had a salty bite from the fish. With such a strong start we thought it would be hard to beat...boy were we wrong.

       The second course was absolutely mind blowing. It was a Chilled Carrot Soup, it reminded me of a gazpacho, but so different! Let me start this introduction by saying that the picture doesn't do it justice. You see, my mom and I aren't as precise at plating as the directions explain. In a bowl (you were supposed to be able to see the toppings but, again, Mom and I can't plate as well as Chef Achatz), we placed the cardamom cubes bathed in a coconut and honey cayenne jelly, carrot and pineapple chutney, and a mix of herbs and an edible flower in the bowl. Then we slowly poured in the carrot soup, but we assume our bowls were too deep so they didn't look so pretty. However, the soup tasted delicious!!! It was soft and delicate, but with such strong flavors. It was silky smooth, but also had a bite from the chutney. I wasn't sure how I would feel about it, but after I tasted it, oh my gosh I changed my mind really quick.

       The third course, might have been my favorite, Poached Atlantic Scallops. These were pre-cooked in a sauce with peas, ham, and fennel. What was super interesting about these was that in the oven, warming, they were warmed with a fragrant combination of salt and herbs. The fragrance was on the shelf below the scallops, they were able to absorb the flavor of the floral aroma mix. These were silky smooth and cooked like no scallop I had before. The sauce was sweet and the peas definitely added to the sweetness. I know that fennel isn't everyone's cup of tea but the fennel was very tender and paired so nicely with the seafood.

       The next course was a prime beef short rib. It was cooked in a gravy with roasted apple, celery root, and celery branch. The horseradish sauce was placed over top of the beef with herbs to garnish. I didn't eat these because, well I'm a pescatarian. However my family told me the short rib was tender and had great depth of flavor. My brother was particularly impressed with the gravy. He said it took hours for them to develop that depth of flavor.

       The midway point was a Sweet Garlic - Corn Orzo. By this point we are all getting full, and this is the heaviest dish of the meal. All we had to do for this was empty the prepared orzo into a pot and warm it up. This was so thick and delicious. I was so full at this point, but I was determined to get through all 7 courses. The corn was super sweet, as well as the sauce, but it had grape tomatoes that have a nice savory flavor to them. This was a fantastic dish, with amazing flavor.

       The next to last course was roasted mushrooms and zucchini. This was served at room temperature. It was zucchini and mushrooms in an olive-oil, herb, pistachio sauce. It was super interesting! It was sweet from the fresh spring zucchini, but also very savory from the vinaigrette.

       Finally, the big kahuna, DESSERT! I included a picture of what this was supposed to look like, but remember when I told you Mom and I couldn't plate, you're about to really believe me. The first thing you do is place food-grade acetate on your table, and then you gather your different components. You are supposed to delicately spoon sauces onto the acetate, but Mom and I pretty much had a small-grade food fight. Then you place the dark chocolate mousse cakes, sprinkled with chocolate shavings and crispies. Next to that you place what we think was a banana nut cake, a whipped cream concoction, and a bit of peanut butter fudge thing that we can't quite figure out. Around the sauces we so delicately flung, was some granola and mango pieces. This was FREAKING DELICIOUS! There were so many textures that all paired so nicely. Soft, smooth, crunchy, creamy, airy, dense. All of this in one bite, and on top of all that, it was FUN to prepare. We had to do minimal work, but it was a blast to do!

       Overall, this was a bucket list meal that we got to have for a fraction of the price. I miss going to restaurants but I am so glad that I got to have this experience. All of the courses were amazing, and everything was so different! I have decided to give it 3 Sophie Stars, not as prestigious but it'll get there ;). Let me know what course you think you would've enjoyed the most and do you like these posts? This is very different from anything I've ever done!

Starting a Garden!

       So, similar to many teens, I love plants. I have many in my room, around the house, and have a hydroponic garden in my family room. We have a nice flower garden in our backyard, but because my amazing mother has a black thumb, we've never really been able to do much with it. This year for 4H I decided that I wanted to start a garden in raised beds. After doing some research my dad thought he was going to be able to build me beds. I was telling my grandpa, who has an amazing green thumb, all about my plan, then HE GOT ME SOME RAISED BEDS!

       I've been keeping some starts on music stands in front of windows in my house, and just the other day I filled my boxes! I put compost, moist soil on the bottom of the beds, then some fertile black dirt on the top. After, I fully saturated the dirt, and let it sit overnight. Then I got up the next morning and saturated them again. I waited about two days after, for the boxes to fully settle and dry. If you can squeeze the dirt and make a mud ball it's still too wet, but if the dirt crumbles from your hand, it's time to plant.

       So flash forward a couple days and I PLANTED!!! I planted lettuce, cabbage, radishes, sweet onions, and broccoli in one raised bed. Then I planted, sweet peppers, basil, parsley, thyme, lemon thyme, potatoes, and peas in another! My grandpa, aka gardener extraordinaire, came up and helped me get it started! It all looked so nice and, if I'm being completely honest, it wasn't that hard of a process. The next couple of days it rained so I didn't really have to worry about making sure they had enough initial water.

        From today, It has now been a week since I planted (if you want to see videos of my process check out my tik tok @sophieschneblin)! My pea starts have been doing great!!! PLUS I have starts of radishes popping up!!! I did have some initial wilt in my cabbage and basil, primarily, but my papa did tell me that was going to happen so I have faith that they're going to come back strong! This process has been so exciting so far, and I can honestly say that I can't wait until everything is ready to harvest! I am so excited to take you guys on this journey with me. Please, please, please let me know in the comments if you guys like to see this kind of unconventional stuff on here, and what else you would like to see! I have a ton of ideas if you want to see them!

Don't Need a Reason because It's Technically Not Cake, Chocolate Chip Muffins

       I am down for ANY reason to eat dessert first thing in the morning. Seriously give me ANY occasion and I'll serve up pie at 7 am. With these amazing chocolate chip muffins you! (I mean it's pretty much cake for breakfast, that you'll want to make 1,000 times over).

       In a stand mixer, combine 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 3 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, until completely combined. Then I tossed in about 1 cup of chocolate chips until they were completely coated in the flour mixture. This will help the chips to not sink down into the muffins when baking.

Next combine your wet ingredients, in a small bowl. 3/4 cup milk, 1/3 cup oil, and 1 egg. I whisked this together until it was completely incorporated together. 

       I added this to my stand mixer until a batter was formed, and everything was mixed together. After that, I grabbed a cupcake pan from my cupboard and greased it, but you could also use cupcake liners. I scooped in my batter until each well was about 3/4 full. I lightly sprinkled on cinnamon sugar on the top of each of these before putting them in the oven. 

       I put these in a 400-degree oven for about 20-25 minutes. Or until they are golden brown. These are SO GOOD! I any even begin to describe. They are best warm, trust me on that. They have a crunch on the outside, but are soft on the in. The chocolate is all melty and delicious, and trust me, you don't need an occasion to make these. I hope you guys love my Don't Need a Reason because It's Technically Not Cake, Chocolate Chip Muffins.

Luscious Lemon Scones

       With coronacation is FULL swing, I am baking every day, mainly out of boredom. I've made cakes, cookies, muffins, brownies, ect. seriously, the list goes on and on. Arguably one of my best creations so far, are these lemon scones. They are yummy, crisp, soft, sweet, tangy, and so so delectable. Here is my recipe for luscious lemon scones, with a lemon glaze drizzle. 

       The first thing is to, as per usual, grab a bowl can combine dry ingredients. 2 cups of flour, 1/2 sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt all in a bowl together, and mix it on up.

       Then take 1/2 cup of cold butter and cut it into little cubes. Take a pastry cutter (or a fork if you don't have a pastry cutter) and blend that sucker up. Until it's all combined, close to the consistency of course meal. 

       After you've got that, grab a small bowl. In that mix an egg, 1/2 cup half and half (heavy whipping cream or buttermilk with also work), 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and the zest from 1/2 a lemon. Whisk that together, until completely combined. Make a little well in the bowl with the dry ingredients, pour the liquid ingredient into that bowl. Then mix together until a dough has formed. 

       Once you've got the dough mixed, DON'T OVER MIX IT, place it on a piece of parchment. Cut the ball of dough similar to cutting a pizza; in half horizontally, vertically, then diagonal until you've got 8 triangles. Then sprinkle each one with a little bit of sugar, before popping them in the oven.

       Cook in a 425-degree oven for about 12 minutes until they are golden brown. While these are cooking, in a bowl combine about 1/2 cup of powder sugar, the juice from 1/2 lemon, and the zest from half a lemon. Whisk until completely combined, should be runny. 

Once the scones have cooled a bit, drizzle on one glaze. I let them sit overnight for the glaze to set, (I also made these at like 9 at night), so we had these for breakfast. These are SO SO SO GOOD!!! You will not regret anything if you give these a try! 

Make your own Mocha so ya don't get Corona

       So, I absolutely adore coffee. I love making and getting coffee. Being quarantined with the siblings and father also means that I need A LOT of caffeine. Since this winter, my mom and I have been determined to figure out how to make our own, delicious mochas. Well let's be honest, my mom did it the first couple times with me, but I am now the Mocha Master.  These are a sinch to make, and so tempting, warm, and inviting.

       The very first thing you need to do is pick a hot chocolate. I like to pick good quality hot chocolate, usually, consisting of chocolate shavings or this SCRUMPTIOUS salted caramel powder mix that I got from the grocery store. I used salted caramel today, I usually just figure out what I'm in the mood for and go from there. You can make this in the microwave, there is nothing wrong with that. However, I really like to make it on the stove, I think it tastes better, but if you're in a pinch the micro will work as well. Depending on how many mochas I'm making depends on how many people want them, but I usually go with about 3/4 cup of milk per mocha.

       I let the milk get to a simmering point before I had about 1 1/2 Tbs of my mix (or I just add chocolate shavings until I think there's enough). I stir until it's all combined, and then pour/ladle it into my mugs.

       Next is kinda tricky. I have this AMAZING princess tea cake coffee that I really like to use with regular hot chocolate, but it's not espresso sized, so I just switch mugs halfway through (when making 2 mochas) so each mug gets the right amount of coffee, or you could just use more hot cocoa. However, I find it easier to just use an espresso shot. It provides the perfect amount of coffee flavor and caffeine level. That's what I did today, and it's so so yummy with the salted caramel hot cocoa.

       The final touch, for me, is to add some whipped cream/cool whip/whip some heavy cream with a little bit of sugar. This is such a nice topper because it melts into the mocha (if you don't eat it off the top), and is just so dang delicious. I also got some caramel and dark chocolate sauces to drizzle on top because I'm extra like that. I hope you guys love these as much as I do, because seriously, I have one every morning, and I have no regrets.

One-Bowl, Delicious, Fudgy, Ooey-gooey, Overly-chocolaty Brownies

       Let's establish a couple of things right off the bat. I love chocolate so freaking much! When I make cookies, I don't measure the chocolate chips, I just keep adding until the mixer can't mix anymore. With Coronacation in full swing, I need something to keep my mind off of everything. My cousin, Rory, from Minnesota and I have video-chatted every day and we make dessert or dinner, and just have a ball. This has allowed us to make sure we are doing something productive every day, other than the 1-2 hours of homework we have. So today, I decided to make my One-Bowl, Delicious, Fudgey, ooey-gooey, overly-chocolaty Brownies. These are so so so easy, soft, chocolaty, and might just change your life. I have some VERY important tidbits on how to make brownies on my Instagram, @mykookiekitchen.

       First thing is first, the wet ingredients. Take 1 cup of melted butter, BUT make sure the butter is cool, to your mixing bowl. It's important that the bowl isn't too small. then 1 cup of granulated sugar, 1 cup TIGHTLY packed brown sugar, 4 ROOM TEMPERATURE eggs, and 1 Tbs of vanilla extract.

       A very important thing about brownies is to not over mix them, you want to make sure they are completely combined, then turn off the mixer.

      When you're done with the wet ingredients, you add the dry. Sift 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of cocoa powder into your wet ingredients. It's important to sift them because you want all the brownies to be light and fluffy from the air, that sifting gives it. You can add 1 tsp of instant espresso powder if you have it, but it's self-quarantine time, no one is worried about the instant espresso. Let's be honest during an epidemic no one is going to try your brownies and ask if they have any espresso powder in them.

       Now that you have your batter all combined, GENTLY fold in your chocolate. I like to use nice chocolate in big chunks that I can cut, but again there is a pandemic, and I can't run to Kroger to get some chocolate. So, I had to use chocolate chips. About 1 cup, but let's be real, I used at least 1 1/4 cups.

       Then, I put the batter into my pan (first I sprayed it with Pam, then lined it with parchment). After that, I sprinkled about another 1/4 cup of chocolate chips on top of my batter. I put that pan into a 350 degree oven and cook for about 25 minutes.

       It is kinda difficult to determine when brownies are done cooking. The pan will remain very hot even once you've taken it out of the oven. For yummy, fudgy brownies, you want to pull them when there are still some crumbs on your toothpick. They will finish setting up once you've pulled them. Either before you put the pan in the oven, or as soon as you take them out, I like to sprinkle a little bit of flakey salt on top of the brownies for a nice sweet-salty thing happening.

       I hope you guys love these as much as I do. They are such a fun, quick treat to make, especially while in self-quarantine.

take ten minutes, it's so easy and delicious, I should really be doing my math homework, weeknight cherry pie

So let's get real here. I love pie; it is one of the great loves of my life. (not that I'm dramatic or anything). I've loved pie all of my life, sometimes I had a birthday pie instead of cake growing up. This year I have really gotten into making pies. I got this GREAT new pie book for my birthday, "The New Pie Book" which is AMAZING! Though the only downfall is that these pies are complex and brilliant and take all day to make. When I come home and want to make a pie, that is not gonna be the book I turn to. I have also recently discovered my LOVE for the Broadway musical "Waitress". I received tickets in September and actually got to see it in February. It was so gorgeous I can't even talk about it. As my mom and I were sitting in the theater before the show even started, someone told us about the Waitress pie book "Sugar, Butter, Flour", so naturally, we ordered it from amazon, before the show even started! Last night, I made one of the pies from it. It was so easy and delicious, plus I think it only took me about an hour. I came home from school today, and POOF it's all gone! Which, typically, would be flattering, but I wanted some pie! So, here is my take ten minutes, it's so easy and delicious, I should really be doing my math homework, weeknight cherry pie.

I have an overwhelmingly strong urge to make a pie, a lot. The only issue is, the urge usually comes after school, so I have no time to make my own crust properly. So to solve this unfortunate problem, my mom and I started keeping premade dough in the fridge! It's still delicious and cuts the work in HALF. No joke, you'll be making pie every night if you take my advice. I pull that baby out of the fridge and let it come to room temp for the top lattice of my pie. I happened to already have a bottom pie crust.  It is a locally made crust found in the freezer section of my grocery store, but there wasn't a top, that's why I needed to grab the premade dough.

All I had to do for the filling was empty a can of cherry pie filling into the bottom crust! I love this because it tastes delicious, and it takes 45 seconds. Cherry pie filling is very easy to make, but cherries aren't in season right now!

After you have to go through all the work of emptying a can into the pre-made crust, it's time to work on the lattice. Roll out your dough into a pretty thin width. Then I like to cut all of the cracked edges off with a pizza cutter until I have a nice, even square. After that, all you have to do is cut strips. Once you have your stripes, you place 3-4 lengthwise. When you start to place them width-wise, you have to lift every other strip to go over-under over-under. Then you put the strips you lifted down, and lift the strips you didn't lift before. This creates a lattice structure.


Once your lattice structure is done, pop it in an oven, that has been pre-heated to 425, for 40-45 minutes until the crust is nice and golden brown, and the filling is nice and bubbly.

Then slice, maybe add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and enjoy! I hope you enjoy my take ten minutes, it's so easy and delicious, I should really be doing my math homework, weeknight cherry pie!