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Gooseberry Mods (goosemods) wrote in gooseberry,
@ 2016-11-04 08:03:00

Entry tags:

! bonding activity, ! ic/ooc, philippa nightingale

SOPHOMORE BONDING: November

SOPHOMORE MONTHLY BONDING

On this chilly November afternoon, the sophomores meet in the kitchens for a bonding activity with Prospero, assisted by his companion elf, Ambrosia.

Students are broken up into pairs or groups of three, and they're given a basket of secret ingredients that they must make a dessert out of. They have exactly 90 minutes, after which their creations will be judged by Quinn Cunningham, Theresa Noble, Magdalen Gillis, Robin Youngblood, [Senior/Junior Volunteer E]. The volunteer judges won't know who made what dessert. (OOC: Please allow players who do not play a sophomore to have first dibs on volunteer slots. If there are still open spots by 10 PM Mountain Time, then anyone may volunteer.)

Prospero is his usual gentle, supportive self. Meanwhile, Ambrosia keeps giggling affectionately at the proceedings, and seems very excited to watch the volunteers try the (likely questionable) results of this game. There are other house-elves in attendance, ready to assist the sophomore contestants.

Everyone's basket of secret ingredients contains:

Bananas
Candied ginger
Dark chocolate (vegan)
Maple syrup
Curry powder

Each dessert creation must use every ingredient in the basket. House-elves will retrieve any other requested ingredients (e.g. flour, eggs, sugar, avocados), but Prospero will be on the lookout for anyone who is rude or makes unreasonable demands. Contestants are allowed the use of magic, assuming they are responsible with it, and are given access to all the equipment in the kitchen. House-elves will help students with equipment they don't understand, or with anything they feel unsafe doing (i.e. knife use).

The sophomore pairings are as follows:

Hayley & Regan	Joanna & Susana	Solomon & Frances
Gabriela & Micah	Cole & William & Estella	Calvin & Philippa

Please give your character's cooking skills a rating from 1 to 10 and discuss with your partner(s) what your characters are going to make! The results will be calculated with help from the RNG, but volunteer input/reaction may be taken into account.

The winning team gets to pick the menu served to the whole school on Monday for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

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	COOKING goosemods 2016-11-04 10:05 am UTC (link)
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Cole/William/Essie

magitechnically
2016-11-04 10:28 am UTC (link)

Essie is already bouncing on her heels when they get brought to the kitchens and when the actual event is revealed, her excitement only escalates. She's seen Iron Chef before.

When the ingredients are presented to them, she takes a moment to taste a tiny bit of the chocolate, ginger, syrup, and curry powder. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

"We could maybe make a spicy chocolate and dip the bananas in it? Or cupcakes? What do you guys think?"

Essie's cooking skills are probably a solid 7. She can follow recipes and instructions and does well with presentation.

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Re: Cole/William/Essie

notacad
2016-11-04 03:43 pm UTC (link)

William looks at the ingredients, thinking. Man, it just makes him hungry.

"I feel like cakes might be obvious, though they'd taste good. Maybe use the maple syrup to candy the bananas, then like you said, spicy chocolate dip - we could make those chocolate dipped fruit chips!" Will grins, because Essie's idea is good, but he thinks his is too.

Will is definitely more like a 6. He is capable of cooking, but he's more an ideas man so he doesn't have fine technique and he's more about flavours than presentation.

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Cole/William/Essie

colemoss
2016-11-05 11:33 am UTC (link)

Cole...doesn't know much about cooking and he looks back and forth between Essie and Will as they discuss the possibilities and the flavor combinations. Honestly, his preference would be cupcakes because they're much more visually appealing, but he's not inclined to protest and nods and 'yeahs' along with both of them. Clearly, he won't be any help in making the decision and he's more than willing to play second (or third?) fiddle on this one.

When it comes to the actual work, Cole is a shaky 5. He doesn't cook and isn't familiar with the techniques or the tools, but his artistic eye will help the team when it comes to plating and presentation.

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Cole/William/Essie

magitechnically
2016-11-05 11:41 am UTC (link)

With two artists and zero actual cooks, Essie thinks Cole may be right about going with cupcakes and hoping they'll make it through on presentation. Or maybe they can drizzle something on the fruit chips to make them prettier? (Or are cupcakes too easy to mess up?????)

Essie is mostly just here to have fun, so if Will has a strong idea of what direction they should head, she is also happy to be put to work!

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Solomon and Frances

keepmarchingon
2016-11-04 10:38 am UTC (link)

I'm awake at an unreasonable hour so i'm doing this early.

Solomon isn't bad at cooking for a fifteen year old, but there's a view ingredients there that aren't native to Honduras, that he's never cooked with. or tasted.

He's very hands on, very open and patient and kind to the house elves and his partner. But he's also insistent on tasting everything before and after adding it. He's also super free with ideas and suggestions. The easiest thing to make to incorporate all the ingredients would be a cupcake. And if Frankie wants to go for something more exotic, he also offers a few local desserts to Honduras that could possibly work.

Solomon's cooking ability is about a solid seven because he hasn't used all the equipment or ingredients before, but he's clearly comfortable in that kind of setting and seems to have an idea of what he's doing.

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Solomon and Frances

anadem
2016-11-04 03:44 pm UTC (link)

YES. THE SONG OF HER PEOPLE IS CALLING HER.

Ahem.

Frankie's momma is a baker, so she's kind of got this one, dudes. She also watches a borderline unhealthy amount of Chopped. And Cake Wars. So much Cake Wars. It's all honestly a bit unfair.

So Frank's already going into this one incredibly stoked. But she's ready to listen to Solomon's ideas and to very happily work off of that. Because, seriously, cupcakes are never a bad idea. And they could kind of combine the idea of the desserts from his home into a cupcake? And maybe make the frosting based on Chili Hot Chocolate? Or ... maybe just make Chili Hot Chocolate to serve on the side? Or both?

She's also very happy to show Solomon how any of the more unusual equipment works and is patient and thorough when explaining. Because baking's awesome! And so is the decorating part.

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	Re: Solomon and Frances keepmarchingon 2016-11-04 04:09 pm UTC (link)
	(Cough cough you forgot her score cough) But Solomon is STOKED by her enthusiam. They are gonna be the best team clearly. But half of it probably does turn into her showing him how to do things and him asking her questions. And him randomly complimenting Will obvs. "You know who else likes cupcakes. Will likes cupcakes." Best wingman ever. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Solomon and Frances

anadem
2016-11-04 04:23 pm UTC (link)

(I TOTALLY KNEW THAT. YUP. >> Also, it's 42 probably floating around between an 8 and a 9, but she definitely Full Disclosured her abilities being a bit advanced to Prospero. Y'know, just in case. She doesn't want to be unfair.)

They really are going to be SO GOOD at this. But, yeeeeeah. Definite pauses for geeking out over baking equipment and techniques and different ideas they could have gone with instead. Maybe next time! Clearly Magic Baking Club should be a thing.

A+ on that wingmanning, Solomon! Though Frankie is totally more than happy to compliment Will and very cheerfully reply, "Yeah, I know! I've given him some before. He seemed to like it! I mean, at least I think so?"

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	Re: Solomon and Frances notacad 2016-11-04 03:46 pm UTC (link)
	Will is like PUT IN A GOOD WORD FOR ME, BRO when he sees how the pairings work XD (Reply to this) (Parent)

Calvin & Pippa

evercreep
2016-11-04 11:46 am UTC (link)

Calvin is nervous about this team-up. He's going to be trying hard not to make things difficult, especially since Pippa seems sensitive right now. CAN HE MANAGE IT? WE'LL SEE.

Calvin knows how to cook on a very basic level. Lots of irresponsible siblings and overworked parents means he had to figure out how to feed himself and his little brothers periodically. However, he's very utilitarian about it. He's around a 6 for skill.

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Calvin & Pippa

orangepip
2016-11-04 04:55 pm UTC (link)

Pippa has MIXED EMOTIONS at having to ~bond~ with Calvin, but she really enjoys cooking, and the challenge of using secret ingredients sounds kind of fun, so... let's do this? [INSERT WARY GLANCE HERE] Pippa has had a lot of practice with experimental vegan baking, and she likes making the effort to pretty up a finished dish, but the end result usually looks rustic rather than refined. Her skill level is about 7.

"You can make vegan ice cream out of bananas and maple syrup," she tells Calvin. "We could chop up the ginger and chocolate and add that in. But I don't know where the curry powder comes into it?" She sometimes adds sliced bananas on top of curry, but would a curry banana ice cream work with chocolate and ginger? Should they do something more advanced, like a banana bread? Oh dear. This is starting to feel like a puzzle she doesn't know the answer to.

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Calvin & Pippa

evercreep
2016-11-05 05:18 pm UTC (link)

Calvin narrows his eyes at the competition. For better or worse, this is bringing the Slytherin back out in him.

"No, they're all doing ice cream. We have to stand out." And he's just taking the vegan thing as one more goal they are going to meet and impress everyone with. He likes the idea of a banana bread, and asks with serious focus how you make vegan bread. He has no idea how this works.

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Calvin & Pippa

orangepip
2016-11-05 05:34 pm UTC (link)

Pippa is surprised but grateful that Calvin goes along with the vegan thing. She explains that mashed bananas are used as an egg substitute when you bake, so with banana bread you just... add more bananas...

"We'll need flour, sunflower oil, sugar --" Pippa stops, and looks at their ingredients. "I guess we could use the maple syrup instead of sugar?" Chunks of chocolate would also make a nice addition to banana bread, and probably the ginger would work too, but that still leaves them with the curry powder. Does Calvin have any ideas, or are they going for a curry-flavoured banana bread...?

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Calvin & Pippa

evercreep
2016-11-05 05:56 pm UTC (link)

Calvin chews on his lip. This is way beyond throwing together an ugly but edible dinner.

"I've heard that you can make curry chocolates. I've never had it, personally, but we could gamble on a curry chocolate glaze for the banana bread." He looks over at Pippa, kind of intense, but he's just thinking reeeaaally hard about how to say the right thing. SHE'S SO SENSITIVE. "Do you know how to do that?"

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Calvin & Pippa -

orangepip, 2016-11-05 06:12 pm UTC

Calvin & Pippa -

evercreep, 2016-11-06 03:42 pm UTC

Calvin & Pippa -

orangepip, 2016-11-06 06:14 pm UTC

	Ree and Hayley reehobbs 2016-11-04 02:52 pm UTC (link)
	Sadly, Ree's cooking skills are average at best. However, "ginger and dark chocolate tastes fucking amazing together. This can't be that hard," she decides. The curry powder does stump her a little, though. Thoughts, Ferris? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

tinyrebel
2016-11-04 04:26 pm UTC (link)

Don't worry Ree, Ferris is here! She's been cooking since she was little and between her mother, aunt and grandmother plus the many hours of cooking tv she watches, Ferris has this in the bag.

Ferris, in her typical way, would have taken over and explained her idea quickly. She'd explain that there is an easy way to make banana ice cream by freezing the bananas and adding ginger and curry in moderation would actually work really well. Plus maple dark chocolate bar on the side. Which she would totally help Ree out if she wanted to go that way but it's Ferris, sorry, she's not the most team player of people.

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	reehobbs 2016-11-04 04:34 pm UTC (link)
	Eh, Ree is easy and knows when she's not super great at something. She's fine with Ferris being in charge. Plus curry ginger banana ice cream sounds pretty cool. Plus maybe they could make, like, a chocolate maple fudge sauce for it? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

tinyrebel
2016-11-04 05:15 pm UTC (link)

Ferris nods in agreement about this fudge sauce and totally hands over the chocolate and maple syrup to Ree and told her to start chopping and then looked miserably at the idea of trying to freeze the bananas but that seemed like the hardest part so far and asked for extra milk. She would have explained to Ree how to take frozen bananas and blend them up with a tiny bit of milk to make ice cream which of course needs a bit longer freezing time but whatever they have this.

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	reehobbs 2016-11-04 05:22 pm UTC (link)
	Ree is totally enthusiastic and into this. Though she may eat more chocolate than she should. Oops. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

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tinyrebel, 2016-11-04 05:28 pm UTC

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reehobbs, 2016-11-04 05:40 pm UTC

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tinyrebel, 2016-11-04 05:42 pm UTC

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tinyrebel, 2016-11-04 06:46 pm UTC

	Gabi and Micah gabiflor 2016-11-04 02:59 pm UTC (link)
	Gabi is a decent cook, probably a 7 or 8. Bananas are similar to plantains (kind of,) and she's familiar with those, so she suggests using the maple syrup and candied ginger to kind of caramelize them. The dark chocolate can be melted and drizzled over them, and the curry powder...ok, she's stuck there. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

auteur
2016-11-04 03:06 pm UTC (link)

Micah loves monthly bonding activities. LOVES THEM. He is all set for an exciting two hours of WHATEVER THEY ARE DOING which turns out to be cooking? Amazing. Astonishing. Awe-inspiring. Also Micah is recording the kitchens because he's never seen them before. Imagine the cool scenes they could film in here!!!!

OK, right, they've got to make dessert. Sadly, Micah has zero experience with baking or cooking of any kind, so he's not going to be a ton of help here. (Give him a 3? He's not an outright disaster, but he has no idea what he's doing here.) But he is VERY ENTHUSIASTIC about being paired up with Gabi, and will gladly go with any ideas she has. Plantains, yes. Caramelize, of course. Drizzling, THAT'S PERFECT.

"Add some ice cream and this would make a totally awesome banana split," Micah announces. "Is there such a thing as curry ice cream????"

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	gabiflor 2016-11-04 03:09 pm UTC (link)
	"That is a wonderful idea!" Gabi decides. "We can make it be curry ice cream!" She is happy enough to do the cooking while Micah films things. THEY CAN PRETEND IT'S A REAL COOKING SHOW. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

auteur
2016-11-05 05:57 pm UTC (link)

GABI. GABI. THAT IS BRILLIANT. YOU ARE BRILLIANT. THEY ARE SUCH A GOOD TEAM, GABI.

Micah attempts to help by asking house-elves for the stuff for ice cream. Unless they just... want to mix some vanilla ice cream with curry power because how could that possibly go wrong. OH MAN OH MAN LET'S PUT SOME COCONUT MILK IN THERE AND IT CAN BE COCONUT CURRY ICE CREAM????

This is Micah in a nutshell. Lots of enthusiasm and creativity, not a lot of focus. Until he remembers he has his video camera in which case yes, THIS IS NOW A COOKING SHOW. Let's push in close to see the beauty of the caramelization. That smells uhmayzingggg. Explain to the audience your process, Señorita Flores~~

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gabiflor, 2016-11-05 06:00 pm UTC

Joanna and Susana

fillefidele
2016-11-04 03:51 pm UTC (link)

Joanna's parents run a restaurant and deli so she is SUPER excited for this one. Susana, the two of you had better bring it!

Studying the ingredients, she suggests they try and think outside the box a little. Her suggestion is to make a basic ice cream, by using eggs, milk and sugar to make a custard and adding the ginger, maple and curry powder, and topping it with chopped bananas and a chocolate sauce. Growing up around a kitchen, she's a pretty solid 8.

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