Brony Chef Project #21: Cheerilee's Spring Jubilee Salad

With Winter Wrap-up finnally commenced yesterday, Spring has finally sprung. With a brand new season and warm weather on the horizon, there should be something new and fresh on the BCP. Maybe something that is crisp, happy and celebrates the bright and fresh outlook of Spring itself. Maybe it is time to introduce, one of the very few teachers of Ponyville that fits in with all these descriptions. Allow me to introduce you class to Mrs. Cheerilee.

From "Call of the Cuite" episode 12, Season 1: Mrs.Cheerilee teaching her class about "cutimarks".

 

Mrs. Cheerilee is the school teacher of Ponyville Elementary Schoolhouse and one of the very few characters that became a side character from being in the background early on in the series. Her first "official" appearence started in out in Call of the Cutie as the school teacher of Appleblooms school. She was a bit down played from the speaking role after her second appearence in Show Stoppers, but she did recieve her own episode in season 2 with "Hearts and Hooves Day" with Big Mac. Although since then, she kind of pops in and out though out the whole series with some speaking roles that kind-of involves the plot but not directly referencing to the current situation. Yet, she is still a lovable character despite her lack of screen time, and her character is the perfect fit for the "voice of reason" without sounding cynical.

From "Hearts and Hooves Day" episode 17, Season 2: Cheerilee's and Big Mac's awkward date.

 

To celebrate Cheerilee's Cheerful attitude and positive out look of education, I decied to create a salad that transitions from winter into spring with some small hints of summer. It starts out with some crunchy Kale to provide a seasonality between the Winter months of Febuary to the early crisp and green weather of March. Then some spring vegitables come in to symbolize her blooming disposition with some bright colors. Then I add some sliced chicken glazed with dark cherry jam, red wine vinigir, and some ginger to give it balance in flavor and substance. Finally, the red wine dill vinigerette brings every thing together with its smooth consistancy and verity of color that Sping and Summer could bring together in harmony.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheerilee's Spring Jubilee Salad

 

Serves 2

 

Glaze

 

2 Tsp of Black Cherry Jam

 

1 1/2 tsp of Red Wine Vinegar

 

1/4 tsp of freshly ground ginger

 

Pinch of salt

 

Chicken

 

1 lb. of Boneless Chicken Breats

 

2 Tsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

 

A pinch of salt and pepper

 

Salad

 

3-4 Kale leaves chopped

 

1/2 of a red onion, cut into thin rings

 

1 Roma Tomato cut into 6 wedges

 

6 thin slices of Granny Smith apple

 

Dressing

 

1 tsp of Dijon Mustard

 

1/4 cup of Red Wine vinegar

 

1/4 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

 

1 tsp of Dill Weed

 

 

1. Preheat the oven at 350 F and create the Glaze in a very small bowl by combining all of the Glaze ingredients. Set them aside for later.

2. Take the raw chicken and rub the oil, salt and pepper until completly covered. (Remember to also wash your hands immediately after handling raw poultry.)

3. Take out a medium size sauté pan on medium high heat and drizzle a very light coat of extra olive oil (to prevent sticking) in the pan. Place the chicken in the pan and cook until the chicken is golden brown on both sides. Once done, set them to the side and let it rest for five minutes.

4. Take out a sheet pan wrapped in foil and spray some non-stick spay on the pan. Place the two browned chicken breasts on the sheet pan and brush on the glaze that was made earlier with a basting brush or spoon. Then bake the chicken for 13-15 minutes.

5. While the chicken bakes, create the dressing by adding the mustard and vinegar first to the small bowl. Then add the oil in a slow steam to the vinegar/mustard mixture while whipping with a whisk until fully incorperated. Add the dill at the end and stir.

6. Once the chicken is done, let the chicken cool for 5-10 minutes. Then cut the chicken breasts into strips and set aside. (If the chicken is still pink in the middle, broil the chicken on high in your oven for 1-2 minutes or until fully cooked.)

7. Assemble your salad by tossing the chopped vegetables in a bowl with some of the vinaigrette and placing the sliced chicken on top or you can set the kale on the plate and decorate the kale with the other ingredients to create your own Cheerilee Salad. Serve it Family Style or on Individual plates.

This salad is perfect for any occation for a lunch or dinner setting. Weather you want to have a nice, fresh salad to celebrate the Spring or have a nice school lunch if you want something besides tuna fish sandwich and cheez its for the millionth time. (Disclaimer: I absolutly love Tuna Fish sandwich with Cheez-its. I'm just using this as an example of repetitiveness.)

I wanted to create something that could be a lunch that is perfect for any teacher or student to enjoy durring the school day that wants something different. I would go on how this dish is represented and how This represents Cheerilee, but I think I would save that for a "behind-the-scenes" post or make a video of the experimentation process. Although for now, I think I summed up Cheerilee quite nicely.

That's all for this post of the Brony Chef Project. Stay tuned for more recipies, ponies and many other culinary adventures with yours truly, Kyle Hedlund. Although for now, I bid you all a-do.

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Brony Chef Project #15: Octavia

This the first post I ever did for a background pony. I want to tell you that this would be difficult to really explain what she did for the show and the fan base, since she only apeared in only two episodes. Although, it dosent mean that she is insignificant to the Bronies. In fact this is the perfect opertunity to talk about one medium of Brony culture that hasn't been discussed on here yet. But before we begin, allow me to introduce one of my favorite backgroud characters and a major influence to Brony music, Octavia.

The story of Octavia ussually differers from the various fan-fiction and musical poems but in terms of the show, she first appeared in the first season finale "Grand Galloping Gala." She was the cellist of a small ensemble in Canterlot at the time and appeared once again in Season 2 in "Sweet and Elite". Although the story didnt really end there.

After Octavia's appearance, she became a "fanon character" (See Chrysalis Post) and soon popularity spead of this sophisticated Canterlot earth pony. She was also part of a fanon duo with the electronic Dj unicorn known as Vinyl Scratch and started to develope a certain "classical style" of not only her music but with her temperment with life in general. She was considered as awkward and some what stuffy twords others that are below her social scale, but her passtion still burns like Beethoven's symphony No.5.

Yet there were times where she brake some of the rules that society placed before her. Sometimes she wants to break barrier but not become completely out of control as Vinyl. (future post coming soon) Although, as a fanon character, she does break boundries by becoming something she is not. I say that because before the internet, background characers become forgotten and never been seen again. Yet over the past decade, more and more caracters are getting more recognition not by the role they play in the show but by the inspiration they give to the fans.

A good example of this is through music. Most of the music that Brony musicians and artists create are mostly inspired by characters that have a "movable story" that is not static from the plot. Most of the music that is created tells different stories with very drastic contrast from other artists. Some peices of music might be calm and classical to describe her sophisticated background and passtion through music; while others might have a mixture of electronic and classical genres to show her innovation with Vinyl. Heres an example from the artist Yourenigma.

The music described mostly about about the "fanized" relationship of Octavia and Vinyl but the begining paints a pretty discriptive picture about where Octavia comes from. When the second part came in, it combined Vinyls innovative and punk like tenacity with Octavias smoothness to create a solid foundation of who they are as caracters. It really makes you think about how music can be made and heard by different people and how others interperate. Although enough about music. Lets get to the recipie.
The idea behind this recipie was mostly driven by the idea of passion. I have been obsessivly watching Kitchen Nighmares UK and trying to learn as much as I can from Gorden Ramsey. At first, I was afraid to even thinking about working with him, but after whatching his show and reading his books: I slowly realized that he truly expresses passtion for bringing good food to everyone. With that idea in mind, I decied to make Octavias dish a canvas were passtion can be expressed by technique and combination of certain flavors with classical flare.

Octavias Spring Chicken Risotto

Serves 4

Risotto

1 1/4 cups of Arborio Rice

2 tsp of olive oil

Herb Infusted Broth

4 cups of Chicken Stock

1 Sprig of Rosemary

1 sprig of Cilantro

Base

1/4 lb. of Shreded Chicken, Cooked

1/4 cup of Cilantro

2 Tsp of Chive

1/2 Red Bell Pepper, Diced

Pinch of salt

1. Combine the broth ingrideints in a bowl and place it in the fridge from 1 hour to overnight for maximum flavor.

2. Take the Broth out and transfer to a sauce pan. Make sure to remove herbs before boiling. Bring it up to a boil and then let it simmer.

3. Comibine all the base ingredients in a bowl and leave it on the side.

4. Take a large sautee pan and coat the bottom of the pan with the olive oil. Heat the olive oil on medium-high heat until warm. Add the rice to the pan and coat the rice in olive oil. (Make sure you read the instructions on the rice to check for proper cooking instructions.)

5. Add one ladle of broth to the pan and stir until the liquid is abosorbed. Keep repeating this step until you used up all the broth (15-18 minutes of continuous stiring).

6. Once the rissoto is al dente (to the tooth), add the base and stir until incorperated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

7. Transfer to bowls and garnish with slices of red pepper on top if desired. Serve.

If your intimidated by Risotto, it is really simple to do. Although, it does take concentration and patience to make it correctly. Just make sure to pay attention and you will be just fine. Its perfect for when you want to impress your family with your new cooking skill or make a hearty meal for your self after a long day. It also tastes good with red wine. (Note: you must be 21 or Older to drink wine.)

I would like to thank http://adlynh.deviantart.com/ for the artwork. Interesting fact: She made this peice during a livestream for the Bronies in France. Pretty amazing work for a livestream. Check out her gallery for more.

I have to admit. It was a long post but thank you reading. I also want to tell you that I am on the Cloudsdale. (a social chat network for bronies to hangs out, chat and have fun.) I will be makeing a "cloud" for the project to take in suggestions and other news. So be on the look out for the Brony Chef Project on Cloudsdale that will be coming out soon.

You can also reach me on twitter @chefkyro and #bronychefproject for more. Thanks again for reading and enjoy the summer guys.

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The Brony Chef Project #3: Rainbow Dash

Whats interesting about this character is that she is a symbol of the growing Brony fandom and the message of "love and tolerance" behind the fan base. She is bold, adventurous and would never back down from a challenge. Shes is the new and improved, Rainbow Dash. Shes the one that puts the "Pow!" in the current pony generation and makes it more action packed then your average T.V show for little girls. She is the heroine of the Bronies and the most courageous out of any other character.

Rainbow Dash is a pegasus who is athletic, determined and somewhat reckless to be the best flyer of all of Equestria. She represents the element of Loyalty and she's willing to stay with her freinds until the very end. Although sometimes she may become lazy but she does have determination to follow through on her promises. Her dream is to fly with the Wonderbolts, a team of elite flyers similar to the Blue Angles in air shows around the country. Her loyalty not only focuses on her dream to become a Wonderbolt, but on her friends as well: especially to Fluttershy.She is always there to help her friends for anything and will always follow through her promises.

For this dish, I decided to go simple but bold for Rainbow Dash. Actually, this dish was inspired by the episode "Sonic Rainboom" (season 1 episode 16) where she redifined all odds to perfect not only her potential but gain the motivation to go above and byond. I want it to reflect her courageous nature and the fire within herself by adding many spices and the Teriyaki sauce for a sweet and spicy combination for her to be bold but approachable. I also made it healthy for her athletic nature and simple for anyone to make it for a great meal at a low cost.

"Sonic Rainboom" Stir fry

Serves 6

 

Stir fry

3-4 Chicken breasts, cut into cubes, cooked (Leftover cooked Chicken breast works as well)

1 Zucchini, chopped

1 yellow squash, chopped

1/2 an onion, roughly diced or chopped

2 green bell peppers, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

Extra Light olive oil

Spices

Dry

a pinch of cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon each of paprika, curry powder, and chili powder

Wet

1/4 cup of Teriyaki Sauce

 

1. Chop the vegetables into a rough, even chunks. Combine the vegetables into a plastic bag and store into the refrigerator until later use. You can store this mixture for up to 3 days.

2. Combine dry spices into a small bowl. Adjust seasonings to your liking.

3. With a big wok or a large non-stick pan, sauté the vegetables in olive oil until soft. Then add the chicken and fold it into the vegitables until mixed in.

4. Add the dry spices into the stir fry and stir until incorperated.

5. Add the Teriyaki sauce into the pan and stir until fully incorperated.

6. Serve warm and steaming.

This recipie is also perfect for anyone who wants to start cooking simple and healthy meals on a budget. All you need is a stove top or a hot plate and a good sautee pan to create this one of a kind stir fry. You can take some left over chicken you have in your fridge and remake it into something bright and healthy. Plus you can change the vegetables, the spices or the meat to create your own vertion of "the Sonic Rainboom."

The artwork is provided by http://nethear.deviantart.com/ and by Deviant Art, the #1 choice of independent art website The Brony Chef Project. Check out the gallery and the website for more artwork and so much more.

I hope enjoy this newer edition of the Brony Chef Project. For now I bid you a-do and a big brohoof to all for all my readers.

 

 

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