Chef Kevin's Cooking Classes: March 2015

Monday, March 23, 2015

Pi(e) Day, A Beer and Dessert Pairing, and Upcoming A.C.E. Classes

Post Date: 23 March 2015

This week I will begin with what I made for Pi(e) Day (3-14-15) and then discuss a unique beer and dessert pairing and my classes scheduled for April.

Pi(e) Day Recap

For Pi(e) Day, I made a straightforward Blueberry Pie, pictured above. I used a recipe I found in The Complete Book of Pies by Julie Hasson (Robert Rose, Inc., 2008). This is an excellent book, with recipes for both sweet and savory pies and may different types of crust. I plan to return to it many times over the next few months as we start getting fresh fruits available.

An Interesting Beer and Dessert Pairing

A while ago my son Dan brought over a six pack of Sweet Baby Jesus Beer which is a porter flavored with Chocolate and Peanut Butter. I liked it and put a few bottles in the fridge. Over the next few weeks, when preparing dinner and thinking I might prefer a beer rather than wine with the meal, I would open the fridge, see the bottle of Sweet Baby Jesus, and think, “No, that taste is not going to work with this meal.”

Then, the other day, when hiking with my friend John Treacy, the conversation turned to beer, as it inevitably does. I mentioned my quandary about what to pair this beer with and he had a brilliant suggestion, “Tiramisu!” Now it just so happened that I had a tiramisu in the fridge that I had made as a demo in a recent cooking class. John further suggested that it be just a small glass of the beer, no more than a third of the bottle (picture below). Well, I tried it for dessert that night and the pairing was perfect.

But wait, there is more. I had a box of cannoli shells I had ordered for a class, so I made a batch of cannoli filling and tried pairing cannoli with the beer. Once again, excellent. We have dessert wine, why not have dessert beers as well?

Next A.C.E. Classes on My Spring Schedule

My next class in entitled “Dinner in Dublin” on Saturday April 4^th. No corned beef and cabbage or boiled potatoes here though. I am still finalizing the menu, but the main dish will probably be salmon.

On Thursday, April 9, we have “Date Night Cooking for Novice Cooks” in which we will prepare a simple yet romantic 3 course meal – salad, main course with vegetable, and dessert.

On April 13, 20 and 27 we have “Quick Weeknight Dinners.” The class will feature nutritious meals that are easy to get to the table quickly after returning home from work. We will focus on salads and main courses while looking at the most efficient ways to manage your cooking time. Details about registering are below.

Upcoming Classes

The A.C.E. Spring Schedule is out. Here are the classes I will be teaching:

April 4 – Saturday Morning – Dinner in Dublin - Plum Center

April 9 – Thursday Evening - Date Night Cooking for Novice Cooks – Woodson High School

April 13, 20, and 27 – Monday Evening – Quick Weeknight Dinners – Plum Center

May 7, 14, and 21 – Thursday Evening – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

May 31 and June 6 – Sunday Afternoon – Beyond Biscotti – 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

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Dinner in Rome Class vs WInter, Pavlovas, and Pi(e) Day

Post Date: 8 March 2015

Dinner in Rome Class vs Winter

Winter is currently winning, 2-0. Class was cancelled due to snow on the original date, February 26^th, and moved ahead a week to March 5^th. An even bigger snow storm on March 5^th has moved the class to the following week, Thursday, March 12^th. Here’s hoping the third time is the charm. Fortunately I was holding off on buying the perishables until the morning of the class, so I did not have any ahead of time to worry about. Menu remains the same, Minestrone, Fettuccine Chicken Alfredo, and Tiramisu.

Pavlovas

I made this dessert for the first time last week. A photo of it leads off this post. It is named for the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova and it was created in Australia or New Zealand in honor of one of her tours there (or at least according to Wikipedia).

It is basically a baked meringue ring topped with whipped cream and strawberries. I got the recipe from Food Network Magazine for January/February 2015. Here is the link:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/chocolate-pavlova-with-strawberries-and-cream.html

You need a lot of time to make this, as the meringue bakes in the oven at a very low temperature for 2 hours, then cools off in the oven for 3 more hours, with the door slightly ajar. The low temperature is needed so that the meringue does not burn while the moisture is slowly baked out.

Happy Pi(e) Day

My mathematician friends tell me they celebrate March 14^th (3-14) by eating pie. And this year is a very special one, as the date is 3-14-15, and 3.1415 represents the first five digits of Pi, so it is being called the “Pi Day of the Century.” To celebrate I plan to make a Shepherd’s Pie, a fruit pie, and maybe a quiche (I know, not technically a pie, but it has a crust, so what the heck.) And in case you really want to get your geek on, here is a link to Pi carried out to 1 million digits:

www.piday.org/million/