Food as we know it.

Superbowl game day, baby showers, house warming parties, or even during family game night: you can bet there will be something to munch on. As i write this I'm working on finishing up a bag of Sour Gummy worms. No, its not allowed on this new diet I'm trying...I don't wanna talk about it.

I think as Americans, we are guilty of consuming things that in about 10 years from now will be illegal for human consumption. No matter, food will always equal comfort. What makes something like a Deep fried Oreo sound amazing, yet sound so terrible at the same time? 

Like a lot of other people, I hope, I get a thrill when it comes to going to a party. Not only is it fun to people watch and catch up with friends, but there will always be food. Well at least there will be if its a party worth going to. If its not you can always pull a," My daughter has a fever, I got to get going," or a "We have to meet up with the guy doing the landscaping on our house.''Yes, I'm aware that its 10pm." Then drive as fast as you can to the nearest Jack in the Box for an Ultimate Cheeseburger and curly fries. "Why yes, I would like to make my meal a large for a quarter more."

My family cannot have a get together without forcing me to make my Queso. My dad will sit there and say that its the worst thing in the world for you, yet it doesn't stop him from polishing off half of the pot before the end of the night. I think that its not terrible to indulge a little bit here and there. That's why parties and special occasions happen every now and then.We do NOT want to end up like the characters on the Pixar movie Wall-E. We're already pretty much there when it comes to electronics, so I hope that we dont take it to the next level.

Today I enjoyed a large bowl of Pho from a local restaurant in Albany, I have a bowl at least once a week. That's right, once a week. The waitress has my food order written down before I let her know what I want to drink. This is one of the few instances where I don't mind being basic, Pho is insanely perfect. The flavors of the broth; garlic,ginger, onion and sometimes cinnamon,just to name a few is what makes this Vietnamese soup a gem. The bean sprouts, rice noodles, and Thai basil don't hurt it either. The only thing that Sam City could do better is adding Cilantro to the mix, This Latina loves her cilantro and it really gives the soup a better flavor. Maybe asking for a bunch of cilantro on the side wouldn't be a terrible idea, although it may effect my basic ways. I'll just shove some into my purse from home before we head to church so I'll have it ready for Sunday lunch. I'd smell like a giant bowl of Salsa during worship, Genius. 

 Pho is fantastic, and with the right amount of Sriracha (insane amounts) it can be transformed into something incredible. My love for Sriacha is real. I think I've found the one, Wouldn't you agree we make an adorable couple? Who wouldn't love the spicy and sweet flavors that come out to greet your taste buds all at one time, Sriracha in itself needs its own blog post, Stay tuned folks. 

As I was saying before, food is comfort. Cajun food, Mexican food, Vietnamese food, or even the always delicious Cooler Ranch Doritos. Food as we know it is forever evolving. We will always search for the next best thing to have our senses going,"WOW!" I will say that I'm not a big fan of the bacon flavored lollipops, those just need to disappear faster than the Purple ketchup did in the early 2000's.

I've shared my famous queso recipe with only a few people, but I would absolutely LOVE to hear what you make for your family get togethers or big events, Summer is still here, and there are many parties to be attended, So if its not a secret, please share it with the class. 

As I polish off this bag of gummy worms,coincidentally I'm now craving ice cream. ITS A CURSE!! 

So if someone had a healthy recipe they'd like to share, I'd be more than happy to try it out. 

But if its not so healthy for you, I'm not opposed to you sharing it either, Obviously. ;)

Til Next time.

<3Ariel Renee

Another Year older, with matured taste buds

So before I graduated Culinary School, I had to complete some internship hours. I knew that I wanted to travel, and I knew that I had a few aunts living up in Oregon.
I started to look through some of the better food critic websites, although I wont name them, ;)and just when i was about to give up and settle for a restaurant in the huge city of Austin, Texas, I found Sybaris Bistro.
A beautiful restaurant in downtown Albany, Oregon ,with one goal in mind ;Keeping food interesting, delicious, and classy.
I read into the restaurant and found some amazing reviews. The Chef had received no less than 4 stars on anything he had prepared!
I was so excited to read about him being nominated  for Best Chef Northwest in 2011 and 2012 by the James Beard Foundation. Not once, but twice! " What an honor" I thought!

Once I met him, Matt told me something I'll never forget, "Don't walk into a kitchen and try to be the next Bobby Flay, cause you'll fail."
I couldn't agree more. Your food is what sets you apart from another chefs creations.
When I worked with Matt and got him to peel back his layers He became one of the best people I've ever had the privilege of knowing. His food speaks for itself, and I'll share a few photos to show you what i mean.

My Birthday this year was so wonderful. Being a single girl, there's not much you can do on your 23rd birthday than treat yourself to an amazing dinner cooked by one of the best Chefs ever!
I decided that I deserved a night to dress up and be fancy. The second I sat down I was immediately brought a delicious glass of  Kir Royale by the restaurants amazing waiter Jesse. It was sparkling champagne with just the right amount of Chambord that wouldn't spoil a meal, but more compliment every thing I would be tasting that evening. Jesse did good. He brought me out a bread bowl with 2 different types of delicious bread. One has a hint of lemon zest, I remember helping with the bread when I did my internship with him. I had always admired the placing of the butter on top of a stone, it was so unique. I couldn't stop gobbling up the bread, but I figured I should, considering after looking at the menu, my mind went bananas! I couldn't decide what I wanted, so I went with 4 courses just to be on the safe side.


For my first course I decided to go with the Scotch Egg, Because you cant go wrong! Chef Matt did not disappoint with this scotch egg. Amazing venison sausage with SPAM of all things. See what i mean about the creativity of different Chefs? lol The egg was perfect and the apple chutney was a sweet but not overwhelming touch! The ingredients complimented each other so well! The amazing romaine lettuce and balsamic reduction was nice and refreshing after taking a bite of the warm egg. I couldn't get enough of this appetizer! I was lucky enough to package one up to go with a bit of chutney to enjoy for breakfast the the next morning.




My next course really set my taste buds on a roller coaster ride!
I enjoyed some delicious and sweet corn cakes! They were tastier than any corn cake I've ever had. The corn that Chef Matt used was from some local farmers in the Willamette Valley area. If there's one thing i admired most about Sybaris Bistro, its the fact that they always used local resources for anything. Not to mention their constant involvement in their little town during events, but that's a different story. Lol. Its just a constant reminder to me that whatever you need isn't always far from your reach when it comes to ingredients. The lime sour cream is what had me raving! it was a perfect shock to your tongue after tasting the sweet corn cake! The roasted peppers on the bed of greens were a great addition as well, not only for color but the flavors were of all varieties. Needless to say, I didn't take any of this delicious dish home to enjoy later on. I couldn't help but eat it all. I regret nothing.

             

I was one glass of Kir Royal down, when Jesse brought me out another one to enjoy with the beautiful Halibut plate he was about to place on my table. I loved staring at these amazing pieces of Fish. It was surrounded by a delicious corn chowder and tomato puree. The fava beans gave it a nice pop of color. The fish was seasoned with just the right amount of  salt and pepper. It didn't take away from the amazing flavor that the fish already packs. I remember Chef Matt telling me that he was all about buying from local suppliers except when it came to his Halibut. Matt was into buying it from Alaska because the fish lived in colder waters thus making the flavor of the fish being out of this world perfect.  I pretty much inhaled the fish into my stomach but I was able to save 1 filet to enjoy with my scotch egg the next day. I didn't want the courses to end, but like all great things I knew it was coming. 

 

Matt knew I was a Texas native, and moving up to Oregon had been the most spontaneous thing I'd done in my 23 years of life. So in knowing my families background, and the Mexican, Spanish, and Indian decent that comes with me, he brought me out this amazing plate as a dessert. Mexican chocolate tart, with local corn kernels on top with a side of raspberry and cayenne sorbet. I must admit that this looked so odd when it first came out! I love trying different things, so I wasn't shy to take my first bite. My mouth was exploding with flavor the second that the sorbet hit my tongue! The spicy sweetness was so interesting that I had to keep taking more bites to decide how I felt about it. By the fourth bite, I realized that I kept trying it because I couldn't get enough of it.  The chocolate tart reminded me of the chocolate i used to drink when I was younger in my grandmothers kitchen, and the corn was the nicest twist to it all. Native flavors to the max with this dish. I enjoyed it till the last bite, and until this foodie was all fooded out!


I had a world class birthday and the service that Jesse provided with each dish was nothing short of amazing.
I couldn't have asked for a better Chef to intern for. I absolutely cannot wait till Halloween Day, when i have my next reservation at Sybaris Bistro.

Any questions or comments y'all may have, feel free to ask. I'd appreciate the feedback!!

Till next time, Stay Hungry
Ariel Renee

Dreaming of the future...... With sugar on top..

Hello Friends!
My names Ariel Renee Fuentes <3
So I guess like every great blog I've ever read, the blogger starts out with some information about themselves.
I'm 23 years young and I love food. I have always had a fascination with cooking. When I was little I was far more interested in what it took to make tortillas instead of playing tag outside with my siblings. Ever since 3rd grade I was obsessed with watching culinary art shows on food network. Sara's Secrets was my absolute favorite! I enjoyed watching how she would take something ordinary and turn it into extraordinary. I kept up the different shows on the network and I fell in love with Anthony Bourdain! He was such an inspiration and he also had my dream job. Traveling the world and treating himself to the worlds best food and telling the world about it. If it's in the Lords will for me we'll see what happens in my life! I went throughout all of my high school years very upset because we didn't have a culinary art class as an elective. My principal informed me that it was simply because a few years ago they came to the conclusion that people go out to eat when they want a nice meal. My only question was, "Who will be cooking for the people who go out to eat if there are no culinarians in the world? " I decided then that going to culinary school was my best bet right after high school. I looked around so much and finally found a small school that was named after the KING OF CHEFS! Auguste Escoffier. He was the man that started it all in my opinion.
"This has always been our belief, cookery will evolve - as society itself does - without ever ceasing to be an art"
-Auguste Escoffier

Without a doubt, that will forever be one of my favorite quotes,
Escoffier's great grandson is the owner and founder of the great school i was able to attend.
It wasn't until i went to school and really started getting into the action of cooking that i had the type of respect as i do for every single chef that work exhausting hours day in and day out to put the most amazing dishes on the plates of many people. I also realized as i plated every dish that cooking in fact was an art, and forever will be one.
I quickly came to the conclusion that being a great chef at a restaurant was not gonna happen for me,
But it didn't stop me from realizing that i did belong somewhere in this industry.
I was always so interested in the types of foods and ingredients that each individual chef brought to the table.
"There always has to be a reason you place an ingredient on a dish.",  I remember my chef telling me.
Keeping that in mind I wasn't afraid to ask questions and discover just how Chefs came up with the finished product on a dish.
I know that food blogging is where I belong, and after graduating, I'm glad i was able to expand my knowledge about food a little more. What i love is that every person is unique, so when it comes to their food, you can expect it to be equally as unique as they are. So here I am, working 40 hours a week as a teller at Wells Fargo, hoping to turn my food blogging dreams into a reality. When I get the chance, I try to hit up as many restaurant as I possibly can and if its possible to meet with the chef, i'll do it! Food is forever changing, and I hope to be there every step of the way to bring my readers new and exciting ways to see food. After all, Food is the new black ;)

Till next time <3
Ariel Renee