Albert D. 10/21/12 Mrs. Hoagland These are Swedish brownies that my mom makes whenever we have leftover caramel that we have to use. The brownies have white chocolate chips in them and caramel on the top for more flavor. The other times we would put scorebar or what we call in Sweden diam (dee aum). How we learned about this brownie is when my mom was getting sick and tired of making normal chocolate brownies she spent about half an hour looking around on Swedish websites when she found this brownie. This is a brownie without the scorebar and has white chocolate chips instead. Brownies are really good with different types of toppings but normal brownies are just never amazing and people can't really eat too many. But I am able to eat about 5 of these brownies or any brownie with any topping to it but I can never eat a normal brownie.

On October 13th, 2012, I made an amazing batch of mashed potatoes for my family. I managed to get 15 potatoes and shave them all down, square them off and then slice and dice em' up! I took the potatoes and put them in some water to keep bacteria from getting to them. After I finished dicing all the potatoes I let the potatoes cook/boil for about 30 minutes. I also made a buttermilk from scratch, and put that in for flavor when I was mixing the potatoes. The food was served with bacon bits and gravy on top and my family was very proud of the mashed potatoes I was able to make. This was my very first complex food made from scratch! -David B

So the food experience that I picked was when my friend Cyrus and I were at his house one afternoon. We hadn't had much to eat and the very few ingredients that we had was also lacking. But we made do with what we had. As we set up a pot of boiling water and threw pasta in it, we buttered up a pan to prepare our sauce in. Now this was the tricky part, we didn't have much to make the sauce with, but Cyrus had a trick up his sleeve. I watched as he threw in some milk, mayo, flour, hot sauce, bacon, cilantro, garlic, various seasonings, and a couple other ingredients that I do not remember. He mixed and stirred and cooked up the sauce as I watched, bewildered by this concoction that he had created. Nevertheless I trusted him and continued to dump the water in the pot. We buttered up the pasta, split it amongst our bowls, and then poured Cyrus's strange creation on top. When I finally sat down to eat my food, I was slightly disgusted, yet intrigued by the strange mixture that he had just developed. I was slightly turned off by the way there was hot sauce in it, because I am NOT a fan of spicy food at all. But having high hopes and diving in face first, I pulled a piece to my mouth and took a large bite of the very poorly put together meal. Believe it or not, it was probably the most delicious meal I ever had. This was not your ordinary sauce, it was slightly spicy, sort of thick, and punched you in the mouth with a sweet taste every so often. I mean in a good way of course, otherwise I would not have eaten any more. Before I knew it, though, I had torn through my meal and finished it off with a glass of milk. This was definitely one of the most interesting and strangest meals I ever had. But it will be a food experience that will stick with me for the rest of my life, because I learned that even the strangest of ingredients can go together so well if you just know what you're doing. Alex H.

“Come Back Charlie” is the name, and don’t forget it. This name came from a wife who wanted her husband to come home after he had left her, so she cooked up this delicious meal which brought him back. This is a very thick and hearty stew, it includes ground beef, onion, flour, water, milk, and big potatoes, some seasonings for the stew include salt and pepper. You are serenely going to be full after this meal, it is usually served with cottage cheese, tomatoes, bread, or I recommend a little hot sauce, and then you are in for a real treat. – Sinclair S

Matt Villamana Culinary Mrs. Hogland 16 October 2012 Blog Entry This past week I had the pleasure of going to Sal e Pepe Restaurant on South Main in Newtown. When I first got there we were greeted by very friendly service staff and were quickly seated at our table. On the table was a basket of delicious fresh made bread. It seemed to be fresh made and was crusty on the outside and warm and soft on the inside. They provided a garlic and herb dipping oil for the bread which was slightly salty, but still went well with the bread and the saltiness was not overpowering. With the bread we also were given salads with fresh ground pepper. The salad was mixed greens which were crisp and fresh. The balsamic vinaigrette was tangy and sweet. For my main course I ordered the Chicken Parmigianino with spaghetti. The dish arrived quickly and was very well presented. The chicken was well cooked, not too chewy or tough, but tender. It was served with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. The pasta was handmade and tasted fresh. It was al dente, tender with some bite, but not too soft. The meal was served with a red tomato sauce that went well with the pasta and the chicken. The sauce was tangy and had a little bit of spice to it. The restaurant itself was well organized with an efficient service staff. The waitress was very polite and attentive and provided great service. The owner came over during our meal and was very engaging. Overall I had a wonderful experience.

There are many traditions in my family that involve food. One of the more special traditions for me, however, are the ones I have for Christmas Eve. My grandparents live in New Hampshire and every year for Christmas Eve they come to my house for a special dinner together. Each year my grandmother slaves to make enough homemade pierogis so everyone can enjoy as many as they want. These pierogis are a special tradition to me because they are one of the foods that I most enjoy on Christmas Eve and it makes it even more special knowing they are homemade. Along with my grandmother’s special pierogis, my mom, my younger brothers, and I all make cookies together for a whole day before Christmas. It is so much fun to be able to bake and decorate all different types of cookies. Beyond being delicious, these cookies are a special part of Christmas for my younger brothers because, before they go to bed, they get to pick out the cookies that they think Santa will enjoy the most. This has been a very special tradition to my brothers and it makes it even more special knowing that they won’t always do this in the future. Knowing this I will always cherish the times I have with my family during Christmas, and the food that brings us together. Casey D

Sushi-and More The title speaks a thousand words. This summer, when I was at Disney World, I probably had the best sushi I had ever had in my life at a restaurant called California Grill. You’re probably thinking the normal Sushi with crab served with soy sauce. But you are very wrong. This sushi wasn’t even served with a soy sauce. Imagine the best sushi you could ever eat in your life, covered with a thick and creamy spicy hot sauce. When you bite into this sushi, you are immediately hit with the amazing flavor of the hot sauce head-on. As you continue your bite, you start to hit all of these flavor components that you wouldn’t even imagine together as they cool you down, after that hot sauce. Afterwards, you bite is finished with a little spiciness at the end, topping it all off. But that wasn’t the only great thing during that meal. The entrée was even better. I order the chicken with a creamy corn sauce, green beans, and a corn patty (Almost like a potato pancake but with corn). It was amazing. The rustic, home-style chicken prepared with the creamy, comforting corn sauce and patty was a dynamic duo. Dessert. Imagine you’re trapped inside a molten chocolate volcano and the only way out is to break it open. That was my dessert; a molten chocolate lava cake with a side of extremely delicious raspberry ice cream. It was like the dairy farm met the orchard in a single bite. And the chocolate cake was a firm but extremely delicate outer shell with tons of molten chocolate inside. If this doesn’t sound good to you, I don’t know what will. Jackson C.