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Food

Next Food Network Star (7/12)

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So Next Food Network Star is going to Miami! I wonder who is going to shine and who is going to sink this week.

So Ted Allen meets our friends at JFK with the fine dining chef for that part of the airport. They each got assigned a restaurant and they had to cook a dish appropriate for the restaurant. During the assignments my 4 year old wants to know where Katie is. But anyway. They have 30 minutes. The knives are tied down in this place!
Jeffrey got the Italian place and decided to go with bruschetta. Jamika got the sushi place and was doing a seared rare tuna salad. Michael got French and decided to do oysters but they didn’t have a shucking knife. So he went with clams and shrimp. Melissa got the tapas bar and decided to make chicken a la plancha. Debbie got the modern American cuisine/steak place and decided to a spinach salad.

Jamika did ok but she started talking about not eating anything to heavy because she doesn’t like airplane bathrooms. Eww, gross. The Debby talked about women wanting a salad to watch their weight. Susie didn’t care for that at all. I think Susie was just miffed that Debbie didn’t make her a steak. The last person who talked about “women” got tossed. Jeffrey shared about his ethnic background and that was new and interesting. Melissa did really well sharing her background and her food. Michael did ok. He didn’t really add anything other than what is on the plate. He didn’t execute the dish well. Jeffrey’s dish won and Michael’s dish lost.

Then we are off to Miami. The hotel was pretty. Ted Allen was waiting for them in the lobby. They had to work as a team to cook for a cocktail party. They each need to create 2 appetizers and as a group have a signature drink. Jeffrey gets to assign tasks to everyone as his prize. Michael is going to be the bartender. Debby is going to be in charge in the kitchen due to her catering experience. They got 2 hours to prep and cook before the party. They all seemed the mess in the prep kitchen. I don’t know if anyone caught this but Debby says that her dish is a marinaded chicken then grill the chicken and then soak it in the marinade. Does she mean clean marinade? If she is putting it back into the marinade she used, she can get someone sick! Debby was also going to head up the kitchen during service and she doesn’t seem aware of much beyond her own dishes.

Then onto the party. Michael is on the bar and Jeffrey was serving. Then Jamika went out to serve and that left just Debby and Melissa to make everyone’s food. The judges weren’t impressed with Jeffrey’s food. They thought Jamika’s jerk was to mild but liked her shrimp. Melissa ended up with 5 dishes, Jamika was doing a couple peoples and Debby was only doing her own food. The judges liked the flavors in Melissa but didn’t think they came together well. The judges thought the drink wasn’t spicy as promised. The food was coming out slowly so Bobby goes in the back to see what is going on. Then Michael goes into the kitchen to help. Then Michael comes out with food and totally drops everything on the judges and runs. Then Michael told the judges he doesn’t like the camera. They didn’t care for his food. Then Debby came out. The judges liked her food the best.

The judges didn’t like the fact that the food didn’t come out. Jeffrey got hit on his crab tostada. While Michael was the big host he wasn’t the favorite personality. The judges couldn’t taste the marinade on his salmon. Jamika let the judges she how flustered she was. They thought her jerk was bland. They liked Melissa’s vegetable dish. They loved Debby’s food. Debby said that she was doing what ever she could to get the food out. Debby said that she was being selfless. Melissa said she did 5 dishes on her own. Then the judges did the math and realized Debby only did her own 2 dishes.

Then the judges sent everyone back. Then Jeffrey and Debby started fighting in the back. No one is going to let Debby play the martyr. So did Debbie’s good food balance her team failing? Jamika and Melissa were the first saved. Then it boiled down to Michael and Debby. They called Debby on not owning up to her mistakes. But as was predictable, Michael was cut. But Michael was surprised and was sure we are surprised. Well, surprise Michael but I am not surprise.

So who will make it another week? I think Jamika may be the next to go unless Debby shows another lack of judgement.

education, Homeschoooling

Charter Schooling: A Better Homeschool?

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Since it is summer, everyone starts thinking about what kind of schooling they want to do. This is the time to decide between public, private and homeschooling. Well, I have recently been asked what I think about charter schooling as a form of/alternative to homeschooling.

First, lets talk a little about what a charter school is. A charter school simply refers to the funding and oversite issues that apply to theses special public schools. Some are traditional schools and some are offsite schools. Not all charter schools are offsite schools. What I mean by offsite schools is that kids don’t attend every day (some once a week, some once a month, etc) but they still have a teacher. Sometimes they will still have sports and clubs. Sometimes not. They have homework assigned and every so often check in to make sure it is getting done, to get tested and (I assume) help if they need it.

So the pluses are that you don’t have to keep all the records and all the books are free. Some off extracuricular activities that don’t cost anything. You have a trained teacher to assist you as you go. Typically you can move along at your own pace be that faster or slower. You can minimize anything in the curriculum that you don’t agree with. If you are homeschooling for social reasons it pulls your children out of the typical school society and you can protect them a little more.

The cons (and this is the side I sit on) start with the fact this isn’t homeschooling but public schooling at home. You answer to the public schools, as you should because they are paying for it. While you can minimize certain subjects/issues that you don’t agree with, you can’t just choose to not teach them at all. Now some allow you a little latitude in what you teach but not complete control. So you also have to fit within the traditional education theory and are not going to be allowed to do a classical education, unschooling or even eclectic. Your kids will still need to take the standardized testing that the public schools have. Personally, I find the tests a gigantic waste of time and effort so I don’t want to have to do that. You do have a teacher that you answer to. And you have attendance rules of how many days and how many hours you kid has to do school.

I think it really boils down to the fact that it is public school and that comes with strings. The leash may be looser but it is still there. It is a good option for someone who has no qualms with the public school other than social and religious issues. I think there are better options but that is my humble opinion;).

life

Magic Marker Monday: VBS Art

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One of the big events for the NerdFamily kids in the summer is always VBS. The kids get to go and be loud for a week. They hear about God, play until they drop, sing and dance. Also they get to do lots and lots of crafts. These are but a few of the many crafts that were brought home VBS week.

TV, Video

Warehouse 13

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NerdDad and I watched the new SyFy (I don’t like that moniker one bit) show Warehouse 13. It was pretty good. I like things that reference odd historical legends so right there it had a good start. It was also pretty family friendly spare a couple words I didn’t care for. Hulu has this behind the scenes clip that is really good. It has some background information I wished had been on the show. Maybe the creators have it in a future episode. Check it out!

Food

Oven Poached Salmon

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First off, I take horrible pictures but anyway… Here is my recipe for easy oven poached salmon.

Ingredients:
4 Salmon Fillets
Parsley to taste
Pappy’s/Seasoning blend to taste
1/2 cup Chicken Stock
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place fillets in 9×13 baking dish. Pour Chicken Stock in dish around fish. Sprinkle both fish and stock evenly with both Parsley and Seasoning Blend. Cover with foil. Cook for 20 minutes.
Yes, that really is it. You can serve it over a simple cousous with some broccoli! It is good for you, cooks in 20 minutes and is really easy. What else do you want?

education

Why Schools Cost So Much

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I get asked if homeschooling can be as effective as public schools because we don’t have the financial resources. I have asked them what they are getting for the money? Sure there is lab equipment and some art supplies but does that add up to thousands of dollars a year for each kid? Well, San Diego has paid 56 “educators” over the last 6 years to not work. They have put them on administrative leave for periods ranging days to years. This is how the San Diego schools deal with educators they don’t want having contact with the students instead of … I don’t know, firing them. Maybe this is why we are having state and federal money issues. I understand that this isn’t all the money in the system but hey it is a big chunk of change. I wonder if Fresno area schools do that too? Read the article, it was really interesting.

Food

Top Chef Masters (7/8)

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So here we meet again. I am feeling a poorly so I am not going to be tracking with to much detail. More snark though;). Let us see who are chefs are this week!

We have Mark Peel (name is familiar), Douglas Rodriguez, Anita Lo (who I have seen on stuff, maybe Top Chef), and one of my favs John Besch!!! I really thought John Besch was going to be the new Iron Chef. Anita always looks tough and a little angry.
The Quickfire is the egg challenge. They had to cook them with 1 hand behind their back. Gail is back as one of the quickfire judges. If Mark’s is edible he should win just because he made a pasta. John was a total mess. I don’t understand why his egg wasn’t cooked.
Mark: 2 1/2 stars
John: 1/2 stars
Douglas: 3 stars
Anita: 5 stars
So the Elimination Challenge is to make a dinner for Neil Patrick Harris and some friends. They have to make a dish based on the aspect of magic they each got (mystery, spectecle, illusion and surprise). I had no idea that John Besch was a Marine right out of high school! I really have my doubts about John’s tableside horseradish sorbet. I like that Tom was in the kitchen talking to the chefs. He needs to do that every week. I like having Gail Simmons back as a judge.
I think Mark’s en pappiotte was a success. John’s horseradish and creme fraiche seemed to go well. I think Anita’s illusion worked well but the plate just seemed off to me. Maybe it is just that so much of her sea scape was hidden. Douglas’s plate was just dangerous. I think if there was going to be flame element but it should not have been a slow burning flame.
Taste wise I think that Mark and Douglas might have done the best. But I think for concept I think Anita did hit it on the head.
John: 12 stars
Mark: 18 1/2 stars
Anita: 22 1/2
Douglas: 13 stars
So Anita is moving on! So what did you all think?