Today I went to Mansur's on the Boulevard. My server's name was Erin. She was very nice.

For appetizers, I had a spinach dip with tortilla chips. It tasted really good. It had a cheesy flavor and with the chips even better. Second I had char-grilled oysters. It was buttery and moist. Then I had All That Jazz, which is three soups on one dish. It had crawfish and corn soup, duck and andouille gumbo, and crab and brie soup.They were all very tasty. For my entre I had grits and gillades. The grits were very creamy. It also had two pieces of veal that tasted really good! They were tender with a rich demi glace.

I would definitely go back. Thanks to Ms.Cathy for showing me the kitchen!

Hey everybody this past weekend I made my first seafood gumbo. It tasted great. I made my own roux to start the gumbo. My dad helped a bit by chopping. I also like listening to music while cooking. :) We passed it around to relatives. It got an A+! The recipe is below, try it one day.




Michael’s Kid-Friendly Gumbo (Mom & Dad can help prep)

½ cup flour
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup diced onions
¼ cup diced celery
2 Tbs minced garlic
¼ cup green onions
1 bay leaf
1qt seafood stock (box)
1 lb crab meat
1/2 lb shrimp (frozen)

Time – 1 hour
Serves - six

Mix flour and oil to make a “peanut butter” colored roux (remember to keep stirring so it doesn’t burn). In a separate pot, heat stock to a boil. Add onions, celery, and garlic cook for about 2 minutes to soften. Add stock one ladle at a time and continue stirring. After all of the stock is in, add bay leaf and seasoning to taste (I use salt, pepper and Tony Chachere’s). Let simmer for about 15 minutes. Add crab meat and shrimp then bring it to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. We usually get the frozen shrimp in a bag from Sam’s. Add green onion and serve with rice.

Today I went to Young Chefs Academy. It was called the "Best of the Best Camps". We made six recipes from Baton Rouge area restaurants. While I was there I made a Wendy's frosty,I made some Olive Garden breadsticks, and made some Great American Cookie Company snickerdoodles. It is a cookie. I had a great time. I also made a cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. I'm going tomorrow to taste it because it had to cool down.