I’m enjoying every bit of my experience at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, and  I know for a fact that I have made the right decision. I’m such a food enthusiast, and it’s perfectly normal for me to dream about food whenever I’m home or whenever I’m anticipating a demonstration by the chef at school.  At the moment Chef Vasquez is my facilitator, who has made my learning experience an extra special one. Maybe it’s because his demos are usually dishes that I don’t  create at  home, or it could be that he is just a darn excellent chef. Either way, it’s been a pleasurable experience thus far.

Chef Vasquez made a totally awesome clam chowder. The minute I tasted it, I knew that I had to hurry up and get home and recreate this dish. ….MY WAY.  So I set out to find the clams in the juice. I couldn’t find the giant size can of clams like the one we used in school, so I settled for some wild caught clams in the frozen food section, and I purchased the clam juice separately.

I really wowed myself. I wanted to make it exciting and interesting, so I decided to add some root vegetables, instead of just the plain potatoes. It was a seafood lover’s delight, which includes shrimp, rutabaga and butternut squash. My grandma  has never made this kind of soup before, and she didn’t hesitate to devour the bowl that I placed before her. I think she is really enjoying all of the fabulous new dishes that I have been recreating, and I feel so blessed and honored to be serving her.