This week in our lab, we made Chicken Cacciatore and Shrimp Creole. The objective of making Chicken Cacciatore was to learn about moist heat cookery, while the object for the Shrimp Creole Lab was to learn about cooking seafood. Both of my dishes turned out well. The fun part of the Chicken Cacciatore lab was to break down a chicken, which we did last week. The recipe itself was ok. It's hard to make a tasty tomato dish using canned tomatoes in such a short time. You need to cook canned tomatoes for a long time to bring out the sugar and have a deep yummy tomato-y flavor. The Shrimp Creole was ok, as well. I am not a fan of shrimp. I think it is rather flavorless and rubbery. My shrimp was cooked well, according to my instructor, but I still thought it tasted rubbery and bland. The sauce and the rice were pretty good, but not something I'll make again at home. For Intro to Hospitality, we had to attend the Iowa Hospitality Convention and Expo. This event is held for local restaurants to meet local restaurant suppliers. It was interesting to talk to the different Des Moines restaurant suppliers and see all the fantastic food that is available. I had a good time. It was the last week for Gourmet Dinners. Hooray! I survived. While this wasn't my favorite class, it did help me to solidify that I am not interested in the restaurant industry when I graduate. This class was hard. I was so exhausted each night. I have so much respect for people who work in the industry. It's really really hard work! Next week I have the whole week off for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I am sure it is for most cooks since it's so food-focused.