Chop, Stir, Mash. On Wednesday October 4, 2023, Ms. Randy’s advanced culinary class cooked up a flavorful dish of meatloaf and mashed potatoes with an Espagnole gravy drizzled on top . They were able to prepare the dish over the course of two days and served it up for the class to try.
Orange kitchen chefs Daniel Ortiz, Savannah Perez, Maranda Perez, and Isaac Cruz shared their experience. These four students were very determined to make a dish that their peers, as well as themselves would enjoy.
S. Perez says, “ The gravy was the most challenging because we had to work together to make sure we got it right.”
The class was able to make a special Espagnol gravy sauce to pour on top of the meatloaf and mashed potatoes. The gravy consisted of brown stock, tomato puree, butter, flour, vegetables and many seasonings, which successfully created a flavorful taste.
Ms. Randy states, “The students cooked the veggies into the sauce and we left it overnight for more flavor.”
Junior S. Perez explains how to make the meatloaf and in order to make it you need to add “meat, eggs, salt, pepper, paprika, union, celery, carrots, and garlic.”
S. Perez also explains what goes into making the perfect, buttery mashed potatoes. Their group did face some challenges along the way,
having the smallest potatoes in the class.
Ms. Randy explains why this could be difficult for the group. She shared that the consistency of the mash could be thrown off when using smaller potatoes. Them all using the same amount of milk yet different amounts of potatoes threw off the recipe. However, these students persevered and worked with what they had.
Overall, the delicious dish contained many different layers of flavoring. It was seasoned well, had a perfect texture and a hint of garlic. The sauce added a unique kick to it that was a successful addition to the well rounded dish.
The way the group presented their dish showed how hard they worked. With the meatloaf sitting on the creamy mashed potatoes with the Espagnole sauce adding an extra aspect to the dish.
Moving into the future, all four students agreed that they took the class to help prepare themselves for the future. Learning these skills at a young age allows them to create healthy meals further in life for their families and themselves to enjoy.
