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