Author: asantini

I recorded my computer screen while I explained what I showed in the video. This was helpful because I could stop and start whenever I needed to. It was easy to explain each of my assignments while I was looking at them. The first screen of my video is an image I made in Google Slides. I wanted to have the questions there for the viewer at the beginning so they can understand how I am judging myself throughout the video. I then took all of the videos and put them in iMovie, which I then downloaded onto Youtube.

Today I wanted to share a recipe that I found a few years ago. I found it from thecozycook.com. One day, I was looking for a Panera mac and cheese recipe, and I randomly picked one. I ended up really liking the recipe and continued to use it. Panera mac and cheese has a very specific flavor and I was interested in trying to make it myself. This recipe included mustard, so I think that is what makes it different from usual mac and cheese. 

Ingredients:

1 lb. of medium pasta shells

¼ cup of butter

¼ cup of flour

3 cups of Cracker Barrel Vermont White Cheddar (preferably shredded). 2 blocks.

1 cup of heavy cream 

2 cups of milk 

¾ teaspoon of salt

½ teaspoon of pepper

1 teaspoon of dijon mustard

Step 1: Shred the 2 blocks of cheese.

Step 2: Boil water for the pasta.

Step 3: Measure out the butter, flour, heavy cream, milk, salt, pepper, and dijon mustard.

Step 4: Melt the butter in a saucepan. Pour in flour. Stir until it turns golden. This is the roux.

Step 5: Pour the heavy cream and milk into the saucepan. 

Step 6: Mix in the salt, pepper, and dijon mustard.

Step 7: Gradually add the shredded cheese. Mix until consistently smooth.

Step 8: Mix in the boiled pasta.

Find the original recipe at https://thecozycook.com/panera-mac-and-cheese/

Today, I decided I did not want to make a dish. Instead, I wanted to share a meal from a local restaurant in my town. Wild Willy’s is a burger place in York, Maine. I got the ‘Wicked Good’ burger which has cheddar cheese, sauteed onions, and grilled mushrooms. I used to go there all of the time after soccer practices, but I haven’t had a chance to go recently. I also got a chocolate and vanilla milkshake and fries. Something that I started doing was dunking my fries into the milkshake. There are so many options for burgers, but I chose something simple. 

My burger was cooked medium well. Overall, it was very yummy and I was happy I chose a minimal toppings burger. I always mix ketchup, mustard, and mayo to my burgers. I also had fries so I was able to dip the fries in the sauce as well.

They have a specific menu for their location in York, Maine, so if you are ever in town I recommend stopping by!

Every once in a while, I would wake up to the smell of banana bread. My mom used to make it for me for breakfast. I’m not a breakfast person, so I had to find other things to eat in the morning. It was usually made out of a mix of banana bread. Today, I chose to use the Pilsbury Quick Bread mix.

Step 1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Step 2: First, add the dry mix in a bowl.

Step 3: Add 2 eggs, ⅓ cup of olive oil, and 1 cup of water to the mix. 

Step 4: Mix with a spatula and add chocolate chips.

Step 5: Add mix to a glass loaf pan.

I like using olive oil instead of vegetable oil. I also like adding chocolate chips. It is also very yummy if you add actual bananas.

Today I wanted to make a pasta dish. Tortellini are so good because they are pasta filled with cheese. While ravioli is my favorite cheese-filled pasta, tortellini were perfect for this dish. I made fresh pesto with tortellini and shrimp. I was inspired to make a fresh pesto because the restaurant I work at, CREW Ogunquit, has an amazing fresh pesto with pine nuts. 

Ingredients:

Fresh basil

Pine nuts

Parmesan cheese

Garlic

Salt and pepper

Tortellini

Frozen shrimp (whatever size you’d like)

Olive oil.

Step 1: Boil a pot of water. At the same time, start boiling the shrimp in a saucepan with water. Wait until the shrimp turn pink. Drain the shrimp and put off to the side. It should only take about 8 minutes for the shrimp to cook.

Step 2: Add tortellini to boiling water. Cook for about 6 to 8 minutes.

Step 3: While you wait for the pasta to cook, add basil, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan, salt, pepper, and olive oil into a food processor (or whatever kind of blending device you may have). Wait until it has all blended into a consistent paste. Taste the pesto to see if you need to add any more of the ingredients listed above.

Step 4: Add tortellini, pesto, and shrimp into a pan and put on low heat to reheat the whole dish. Add salt as needed. 

Step 5: Plate and add some more parmesan cheese if you feel like it. Enjoy!

Mussels is one of my favorite seafood dishes. My mom has a recipe that she used to always make for me. She introduced me to a lot of yummy foods, which I am very grateful for. I am more adventurous with my food choices because of the people in my life. My dad, my Nonna, my grandmother, and my mom all have shown me so many delicious foods, and I enjoy sharing my love for food with you all.

Ingredients: 

Bottle of white wine 

Fresh live mussels 

Fresh herbs

Onion

Olive oil

Butter

Salt and pepper

Bread

Step 1: Add olive oil and butter to a large pan. 

Step 2: Chop up an onion and your herbs. Add them to the pan and let them saute.

Step 3: Wash your mussels to get any sand or debris off.

Step 4: Place the mussels into a pan and make sure not to crack them. 

Step 5: Pour your bottle of white wine into the pan and steam the mussels. 

Step 6: Toast some bread for dipping. I enjoy dipping toasted bread in the white wine sauce. 

Today I wanted to share a favorite food of mine. Pizza. Pizza is definitely one of my comfort foods. I enjoy going out to eat pizza, but there is something special about making your own pizza. I will not go as far as making my own dough, but I will put my own twist on a caprese pizza. A caprese pizza is also known as a margarita pizza. 

Ingredients:

Portland Pie Company dough (they have different options; basil, garlic, plain, etc.)

Rao’s pizza sauce (my favorite sauce!)

Mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese

Tomatoes

Basil

Pesto

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. 

Step 2: First, thin out your dough in a circular shape, a pizza shape. Add olive oil to the dough.

Step 3: Then add your sauce onto the dough. Add your mozzarella cheese and tomatoes.

Step 4: I added basil, balsamic vinegar, pesto, and salt and pepper to my pizza 

Step 5: Put the pizza in the oven. Cook for about 20 minutes.

Step 6: Take pizza out and let cool

Enjoy!

I enjoy eating different types of meat; chicken, fish, and steak. The past few posts have been about chicken or fish, so I thought it would be nice to switch it up and make some steak. I personally enjoy steak that I do not have to cut up myself, so I chose to buy steak bites. This also allows the steak to cook faster. For this cooking session, I decided to cook for some friends. They all suggested steak as well, so that made it easier to decide what to cook!

Ingredients:

1 pound of pre cut steak bites

2 sweet potatoes (I chose sweet potatoes as my side, but you can choose whatever you like)

Balsamic vinegar

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Butter (I used dairy free butter because one of my friends is lactose intolerant)

Step 1: Prepare a pan with butter and turn onto low heat. 

Step 2: Marinate steak in a mixture of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, along with salt and pepper.

Step 3: Add marinated steak to the pan and cook evenly to your liking (I prefer medium well/well). 

Step 4: While your steak is cooking, turn on the oven and cook your sweet potatoes (or whatever side you choose). 

Step 5: Once the steak is cooked through, plate it and add your side. There are many more options for sides as well; I enjoy having spinach, rice, quinoa, etc.

Enjoy!

This week I decided to make a dish that I usually ordered from a sushi restaurant back in St. Augustine, Florida. I used to attend Flagler College, and once a week I would go to Kazu Sushi to get a poke bowl. It is pretty much like a sushi burrito bowl. My favorite combination was white rice, fried chicken, cucumbers, avocado, red onions, sesame seeds, and spicy mayo. I used this to make my own version. Instead of chicken, I used salmon for my protein. You can add any other ingredients you would like, these are just my preferences. 

Ingredients needed : 

Sticky which rice

Salmon (1 pound for 2 people)

Avocado

Red onion

Cucumber

Spicy mayo (I bought a bottle of spicy mayo, but there are many recipes for making your own spicy mayo)

Olive oil

Soy sauce

Step 1: Pour 2 cups of water with 1 ½ cups of rice into a pot and let soak for a few minutes. Then turn onto low heat and cover.

Step 2: While the rice cooks, prepare your salmon. Set your oven to 400 degrees. Cut the skin off of the bottom of the salmon (I usually prefer no skin). Put salmon in a bowl, add olive oil and soy sauce to the bowl and let it marinate for a few minutes. 

Step 3: Place salmon in tin foil and put on a pan. Place tin foil pan with salmon in your oven. 

Step 4: While your salmon cooks, cut up your ingredients; mine were avocado, cucumbers, and red onions.

Step 5: Stir rice consistently to even the cooking. Once the rice is fluffy and there is little water left, take off heat. 

Step 6: Check on salmon. Cook for about 30 minutes. It depends on how you like salmon cooked, so the cooking time is varied. 

Step 7: Put your poke bowl together. I usually add the rice first, then the toppings; red onion, avocado, and cucumbers, then my protein; salmon. I then add spicy mayo on top of the whole bowl.