CHEF KEVIN'S A.C.E CULINARY CLASSES

 

Post Date: 22 September 2014

Welcome to the second installment of my cooking classes blog.  Today I’ll be discussing the testing process I go through for new recipes which I develop.  Also, I’ll be writing on the Italian cookies called Brutti Ma Buoni (Ugly but Good) which I am testing out as candidates for my Beyond Biscotti class in November.  Please see my first post for the full schedule of fall classes.

BETA TESTING RECOMMENCES

Last year, borrowing a page from the software development industry, I began preforming “beta tests” on recipes I had developed and tried myself (the alpha tests).  What I did was invite friends over on a Saturday afternoon, two at a time.  I gave them all the ingredients and equipment they needed, and copies of the recipe.  I sat off to the side and observed and made notes, as well as timed each major step.  When they were done, we repaired to the dining room to eat what they had prepared and critique the recipes while they provided valuable feedback.    For each session, I prepared a dessert for the group.

For my classes coming up later this fall, I have been developing some new recipes and will start a new round of beta tests, probably in October.  Some of the dishes we will be testing are Chicken a la Normande (chicken with apples), Orange Pork Chops, and a new take on an Italian favorite, Chicken Piccata.  Since I have 2 dessert classes this fall (Beyond Biscotti and No-Bake Desserts), we will also be beta testing some of the desserts for these classes, like the Italian cookies called Brutti Ma Buoni .  See below for more information on these.

BRUTTI MA BUONI

 

These cookies, which originated in the north of Italy, are exactly as their name says, “Ugly but good.”  They are flourless cookies which have just 3 basic ingredients, chopped hazelnuts, sugar, and beaten egg whites.  They are quite good made with just these three ingredients, but as a Google search on “brutti ma buoni” will show, every chef has a riff on this so that no two recipes are quite the same.  My version adds orange zest and mini chocolate chips.  

After folding the wet ingredients (the beaten egg whites) into the dry (sugar and hazelnuts), I folded in the zest of one medium orange.  Then I put everything into a medium saucepan over a very low heat for 8 minutes, stirring almost constantly, then removed from the heat and let rest for 10 minutes. 

Now here comes the cool part.  Usually when adding chocolate to your batter, you need to melt it first in a heat proof bowl over a pot of simmering water.  But not here.  Even after the 10 minutes the batter is still warm, and you are using tiny chocolate chips, so as you fold them into the batter they melt right away and blend in.

They are baked on parchment paper. A mistake I made on my first try was to attempt to remove the cookies to a cooling rack before they had really cooled.  What happened was that most of them were still sticking to the parchment paper.  So now when they come out of the oven I leave them for 30 minutes on the pan and then they just slide right off.

 

Have a question for me?  Or is there a topic you would like discussed?  Please email me at:

KJBrady@fcps.edu

or

chefdujour4u@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to Chef Kevin's A.C.E. Culinary Classes

CHEF KEVIN’S A.C.E. CULINARY CLASSES

Post Date : 9 September 2014

Welcome to Chef Kevin’s A.C.E. Culinary Classes blog.  This blog provides information and resources associated with the cooking classes I teach through the Fairfax County, Virginia, Public School Adult and Community Education (ACE) program.  I will be discussing class topics and recipes, cooking techniques, upcoming classes, etc.

This blog is in no way associated with the Fairfax Country Public Schools or the ACE program in any way.  With the exception of the class schedules and registration information, all comments and opinions are strictly my own.

WHAT’S ON TAP

My next ACE class is “Beyond Biscotti,” a two session class starting on Sunday morning, November 2, at 10:00 PM at the Plum Center in Springfield.  We will be doing some no-bake desserts like tiramisu and cannoli (see the “What’s Cooking” section below) as well as baked ones like cakes and cookies.  As usual, additional recipes will be given out for you to try on your own at home, such as granite

Following “Beyond Biscotti” will be a one session class titled “Date Night Cooking for Novice Cooks” on Thursday evening, November 6, at Woodson High.  In this class we will prepare and enjoy a salad, main course, and dessert, just right for a romantic evening in.  In addition, supplemental recipes will be provided for participants to try at home.  Safe food handling and basic knife skills will be incorporated into the session. 

Here is my fall schedule and how to register:

November 2 and 9 - Sunday Mornings - Beyond Biscotti - Italian Desserts – Plum Center

November 6 - Thursday Evening - Date Night Cooking for Novice Cooks – Woodson High

December 4 - Thursday Evening - No Bake Desserts – Woodson High

December 6, 13, and 20 - Saturday Mornings - Getting Past Pasta - Italian Meat and Fish Meals – Plum Center

To register for these, or any ACE cooking classes, please go to:

http://www.fcps.edu/is/ace/specialinterest.shtml and scroll down to the Culinary section

While there, be sure to check out the other culinary courses offered by ACE’s excellent chef instructors.

WHAT’S COOKING

Whether pronounced the ka-no-lee or ga-nole, just about everyone loves cannoli.  However, making the shells from scratch requires special equipment (the cannoli tubes) and preparing the dough and then deep frying can be a time consuming practice.  However, I noticed that Giant has begun to carry Bellino Cannoli Shells (6 per box) in their Italian section.  So I bought a box to check them out.  When I opened the box and took a whiff, the smell took me back to Lamarca’s Bakery in downtown Jersey City.  So they were more than acceptable.

I have been working with various cheese combinations for the filling, keeping the other ingredients (sugar, orange zest, vanilla extract, and mini chocolate chips) constant.  I used ricotta by itself, marscapone by itself, and a half and half combination of ricotta and marscapone.  Flavorwise there was no real difference among the three combinations.  However, the filling prepared exclusively with marscapone had a much thicker consistency.

We will be making cannoli in my “Beyond Biscotti” class that runs on Sunday mornings November 2 and 9, just right to take home for Sunday dinner dessert.

Till next time, keep cooking.

Contact Chef Kevin at: KJBrady@fcps.edu