Happy Holidays and Getting Past Pasta Class – Session 3

Post Date: 18 December 2014

Season’s Greetings to all.  I hope everyone has a great holiday season.  This will be the last blog post of the year.  I will be back in early January to report on what dishes we made over the holidays and to provide a preview of the “Dinner in Rome” class which runs on January 22 (please see below for more information).

Getting Past Pasta – Session 3

The third and final session of Getting Past Pasta is this Saturday, December 20, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the Plum Center.  This week, in preparation for the upcoming winter cold, we will be starting off with a Minestrone.   There are many different ways to make this; we will be doing it just with vegetables.  But like other recipes done in class, it can be used as a starting point to add meat, like pancetta, or different vegetables as desired.

We will also be making Spicy Meatballs, or not so spicy, depending on your taste preferences.  Now when we hear the word “meatballs,” we automatically place the words “spaghetti and” in front of it, which of course makes a fine dish.  However, what I am going for here is to prepare meatballs that can be enjoyed on their own, without any sauce.  They can be cooked in a frying pan or the oven.  We will be doing them in a frying pan.

Since we already did a pesto, and the technique is the same, instead of doing another one, one of the supplemental recipes will a bit outside of the box, an Asparagus Pesto.

 

Upcoming Classes

The winter classes start in January, and I have one class in January and two in February.

January 22 - Thursday Evening – Dinner in New York – Woodson High

February 1, 8, and 15 – Sunday Afternoons – Cooking Basics for Novices – Plum Center

February 26 – Thursday Evening – Dinner in Rome – Plum Center

To register for this class, 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.

Till next time, keep cooking.

Contact Chef Kevin at: KJBrady@fcps.edu

Recent Beta Test and Getting Past Pasta Class – Session 2

Post Date: 10 December 2014

Recent Beta Test

Last Sunday I conducted a final test of the Frittata recipe we will be doing this week (please see section below for more information).  The two testers each made one.  Picture above is one of the finished products.  The test was particularly helpful in getting the exact measurements of the ingredients set and in finalizing the final printed copy of the recipe.  The testers had a few twists and good ideas which have been incorporated into the final version.

Getting Past Pasta – Session 2

Second session of Getting Past Pasta is this Saturday, December 13, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the Plum Center.  This week we will be doing a Frittata and two fish dishes, one with salmon and one with tilapia.  The Tilapia dish is baked with Italian seasonings, and I’ve found that it works best if it is done in two steps.  In the first step we will season the fish then let it sit in the refrigerator for about 90 minutes while we prepare the other two dishes. This wait time allows the seasoning to sink in and really enhances the flavor of the finished product.

We will be doing a Vegetable Frittata.  A Frittata is an Italian dish that differs from an omelet in several ways.  Like an omelet, a frittata is started on the stove in a skillet, but the frittata is then finished in the oven.  An omelet is folded over whereas a frittata is not.  And an omelet is usually a single serving, whereas a frittata is cut into wedges and served to several people

In a previous blog I had referred to my recipe as a “Kitchen Sink Frittata,” and basically I put in whatever vegetables I had on hand; e.g., asparagus, broccoli, squash, onion, marinated artichoke hearts, etc.  However, in order to give some structure to the class recipe, we will be using specific items and measurements and it has been renamed to a “Vegetable Frittata.”  But the recipe can also be used as a starting point to add whatever other ingredients you wish, including sausage, pancetta, or other meats.

For the final dish, we will be doing a Sicilian Style Salmon with Citrus (Lemon and Orange), substituting White Grape Juice for White Wine due to school rules.  It will also have a little red pepper to give it a little kick.

 Upcoming Classes

The winter classes start in January, and I have one class in January and two in February.

January 22 - Thursday Evening – Dinner in New York – Woodson High

February 1, 8, and 15 – Sunday Afternoons – Cooking Basics for Novices – Plum Center

February 26 – Thursday Evening – Dinner in Rome – Plum Center

To register for thess class, 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.

Till next time, keep cooking.

Contact Chef Kevin at: KJBrady@fcps.edu

 

 

A.C.E. Cooking Classes This Week and Thanksgiving Recap

Post Date: 2 December 2014

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  In this post I will be discussing the two A.C.E. classes I am scheduled for this week and one of the dishes we had for Thanksgiving

 Two A.C.E. Classes This Week

On Thursday evening, December 4^th, I will be teaching a No Bake Desserts class at 7:00 PM at Woodson High.  On Saturday morning, December 6^th at 10:00 AM at the Plum Center, I will have the first of 3 sessions (6, 13, 20 December) of Getting Past Pasta, a class featuring Italian main dishes, and some sides and sauces as well.

For the No Bake Desserts, we will be making an Apricot Cheese Cake, Tiramisu, and Cannoli.  For the cannoli, I will be providing the shells and the class will make the filling. For the ricotta cheese in the filling, we will be using both store bought ricotta and ricotta I will make for the class so we can compare the two.  One of the supplemental recipes will be how to make ricotta.

For Getting Past Pasta, we will be doing a Quick Fire Chicken Parmesan made entirely on the stove top.  We will also make a Marinara Sauce to accompany it, as well as a Pesto to take home.

Thanksgiving Recap

I am not going to bore you by presenting a litany of the dishes we had last Thursday; they are most likely the same as what you had.  Instead, I’m going to discuss just one dish which not only tastes great but is an excellent choice for serving with a large, complex meal – Asparagus in Mustard Sauce.  Now I cannot take credit for this; it is from the cookbook Essential Pepin by Jacques Pepin (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston and New York, 2011, page 411).  What is especially appealing about this recipe is how it relates to timing your dishes for serving.  Things can get pretty hectic when you have dishes going in the oven and on all the burners and trying to get the timing right so everything is done at the same time.  This dish is served at room temperature, so it can be made 60 minutes or so ahead and allowed to cool.  The asparagus are blanched, then drained.  The mustard sauce consists of Dijon Mustard, Canola Oil, Olive Oil, White Wine Vinegar, and salt and pepper.  The sauce can be made ahead as well and then spread on your asparagus when ready to serve.

Upcoming Classes

The winter classes start in January, and I have one class in January

January 22 - Thursday Evening – Dinner in New York – Woodson High

To register for this class, 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.

Till next time, keep cooking.

Contact Chef Kevin at: KJBrady@fcps.edu