Hell’s Kitchen (Teacher’s Version)

 By Melek Z., Grade 9 

I interviewed four MIS teachers to find their favorite recipes. I think that people can really bond over their food preferences and the stories that are behind their favorite recipe. I even tried making 2 of the recipes myself. It was a fun journey and I got to know more about our teachers!

Ms. Borbe

I learned that Senior School Math teacher Ms. Borbe’s favorite baked good to make are Chocolate Chip Cookies!

“I grew up with these cookies and they remind me of home.” Ms. Borbe says.

Here is Ms. Borbe’s recipe:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (500 gm)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 cups Oatmeal

1 bag Chocolate chips

1 bag chopped almonds (100 gm)

Method:

Cream the butter and both sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Mix in flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.  Add chocolate chips, oatmeal, and almonds.Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes at 190 degrees.

I tried out Ms. Borbe’s recipe and  it was absolutely amazing! It was an easy process and even though Ms. Borbe uses the ingredients she brings back from the US, I was able to find most of them at REWE.

 

I definitely recommend Ms. Borbe’s recipe and it was even better with a cold glass of milk!

Ms. Gumus

Senior School Math Teacher Ms. Gumus loves apple crumble! It reminds her of her childhood. She recommended this recipe from the BBC:

Apple Crumble

For the filling:

• 70g/2½oz unsalted butter
• 100g/3½oz brown sugar
• 6-8apples (a mixture of cooking and eating varieties), peeled, cored, cut into 2cm/¾in chunks

For the topping:

• 300g/10½oz plain flour
• 200g/7oz cold butter, cubed
• pinch ground cinnamon
• 150g/5oz demerara sugar
• 100g/3½oz porridge oats

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/160 Fan/Gas 4.

• For the filling, place a casserole or flameproof baking dish over a medium heat. Add the butter and the sugar and stir until melted and well combined.

• Increase the heat and continue to cook until the mixture has darkened in colour and started to caramelise (take care you don’t burn the mixture or it will taste bitter).

• Add the chopped apples and stir to coat them in the mixture. Continue to cook for 6-8 minutes, or until softened, over a low heat then return the heat to medium and keep cooking until the apple chunks are completely tender. Set the caramelised apples aside to cool while you make the topping.

• For the topping, put the flour in a large mixing bowl. Using your fingertips, rub the cold butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Gently stir in the remaining topping ingredients until well combined.

• Sprinkle the crumble mixture evenly on top of the apple filling. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the filling is piping hot and the crumble is golden-brown all over. Serve with custard or cream.

She advised using oats because it “which gives the crumble more crunch”. She also says she eats it with custard.

Here is my attempt at her favorite recipe!

 

I tried it out for myself on a Sunday during the February break. It was going well until it wasn’t. I had my ingredients ready and the recipe in hand. To make this recipe, I needed a flameproof baking dish to melt the butter and sugar over the stove.

I started cutting my apples as the sugar caramelized with the butter in the baking dish. It was going smoothly until I noticed some liquid leaking all over the stove. I tried to clean it up, but it kept getting worse. I eventually took the baking dish off the stove and set it aside. As I tried to clean up the mess, I realized the spot I placed the baking dish on was in the same situation. Soon, using my amazing deduction skills, I figured the cause of all this mess. The baking dish I had bought was leaking from the bottom.

This meant that all the melted butter and sugar was all over the stove. It was challenging to get rid of the oily concoction this stupid baking dish had made. What was even more challenging was attempting to wash the baking dish. Because, if you didn’t realize, I was melting sugar in there and when I set it aside to clean the stove, which means off the heat, the sugar froze to the bottom of the baking dish.

I scrubbed that f*****g baking dish for an hour with oily hands and teary eyes. Frankly, I was so angry by the end of it, I threw the baking dish in the trash and went to bed. Now I have no baking dish, an oily stove and a fridge full of apple slices. It was an utter failure for me, and I barely made it to step two as you can tell from my two pictures.

Mr. Lee

Next, we have Senior School Science teacher Mr. Lee. His current favorite recipe is Mob Kitchen’s Gochujang Tofu Rice Bowl.

“Where I live in Munich it is difficult to find good Asian food and this recipe can satisfy that craving whenever it arises,” Mr. Lee said. “The reason I first made this recipe was for some friends who were visiting that had worked in Korea. I wanted to make something with Korean flavors (hence the gochujang) and had remembered seeing this recipe online and decided to give it a try.”

He says that it is a delicious dish full of flavor that is easy to make in large batches for gatherings!

I, myself have yet to try this dish out as I don’t have any good Asian stores near me but once I find one, I’ll definitely give Mr. Lee’s dish a try!

If you want to try it out for yourself, here is the process of the recipe provided by Mr. Lee:

Gochujang Tofu Rice

Start by making the pickled vegetables as they require time to marinate. Start by adding sugar, water, and apple cider vinegar to a pot and heating to a simmer. Let this cool as you continue with the rest of the vegetable prep. For the veggies, cut them into small sticks (carrots and cucumbers) or thin slices (radishes) and then place them in a jar. Pour the sugar/water/vinegar solution over the veggies in the jar until it is full, close the lid, and leave it to pickle while you cook the rest of the food. This is also a good time to start cooking the rice.

For the tofu, make sure to buy it as firm as possible so that it holds its shape when cutting/frying. Cut the tofu into small pieces, bread them using a cornstarch/garlic powder mixture, and then fry in oil until golden brown. I do this in small batches and keep them warm and crispy in the oven (set to the lowest temperature) until they are all done.

For the sauce the method is straightforward. Simply follow the recipe and add all the necessary ingredients into a small saucepot then heat, mixing occasionally. I would strongly recommend making a 1.5 or double recipe as the sauce is the best part. If you know you like spice, you can also increase the volume of gochujang.

Once the sauce and tofu are finished, simply mix them together in a large bowl until all the tofu is well coated. Plate the rice, tofu, and pickled vegetables together on a plate and garnish with thinly sliced spring onion and sesame seeds.

Mr. Bowerman

I learned one of the favorite dishes of Mr. Bowerman, a PE teacher in MIS, is Chicken Tetrazzini. He said it ishis favorite pre-race meal, meaning that he had it the night before he raced and competed.

“It is a meal full of flavor, nutrients, and simply a feel-good food,” Mr. Bowerman said.

I unfortunately haven’t been able to try it out for myself yet, but I can’t wait to do so!