Making Beignets and This Week’s A.C.E.Class – Dinner in Rome

Post Date: 24 February 2015

This week I will begin by discussing Beignets and then what we will be preparing in the Thursday’s Dinner in Rome A.C.E. class.  

Making Beignets

I had not made these in a long time, but with the snow starting on Presidents’ Day, I decided to try out my new deep fryer and make a batch.  I had a recipe I had received from L’Academie de Cuisine but decided to try one I got from a French culinary newsletter, 750 Grammes.  It made quite a lot of dough, so I only used half of it, then froze the rest to see if it could still be used.  The next day I thawed it out on the counter for a while, and made another batch which was just as good as the original one.  An interesting fact about French recipes, which you may have already observed.  The measurements are given by weight not by volume; e.g., 500 grams of flour vs 1 cup, or 10 centiliters of liquid vs 1 teaspoon.  This should not present a problem, though, as there are plenty of websites where you can perform the conversions easily.

A.C.E. Cooking Class - Dinner in Rome

We will be will be spending an evening at a trattoria on Rome’s Via Veneto to prepare and enjoy a three course meal.  Dress is casual, and I promise not to sing any opera.  We will be making a Minestrone, Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, and a traditional Tiramisu.  The Minestrone will be vegetable based, but we will discuss ways to add meat to the soup.  On the flip side, the chicken can be omitted from the Fettuccine dish to make a meatless Fettuccine Alfredo.  We will divide into teams and each team will make the soup and the fettuccine.  However, each participant will make their own tiramisu.

 Upcoming Classes

I have one more class in the winter session, in March.

March 21 – Saturday Morning - No Bake Desserts- 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