Quick Weeknight
Dinners – April 27
The Quick Weeknight Dinners class finishes this coming
Monday with the third session. For this
class, I have not yet decided on the whole program, bit I am considering
Salisbury Steaks, a pork chop dish, and/or perhaps seafood. Plus there will be a surprise. 
Bruschetta
I had not made this in a while. The subject came up in the last Quick
Weeknight Dinners class, so I decided to make a batch. Like many Italian recipes, there are quite a
few variations on this dish, although one common thread is tomato. I start mine by cutting the tomatoes into
wedges, then scooping out the pulp and skin and discarding them. I then mince the tomato pieces and place them
in a bowl with 3 cloves of minced garlic.
I then add salt, pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and chopped fresh
basil leaves. Sometimes I add some
mozzarella, cutting the small cherry sized mozzarella balls into quarters and
mixing them in. I chill the mixture for
at least 2 hours before serving,
I serve the bruschetta in one of two ways, both using a
baguette. In the first way I slice the
baguette into then rounds, brush them with olive oil, spread on some minced
garlic from a jar, and toast under the broiler.
This is convenient because everything can be done ahead of time, so when
the guests arrive you just set everything out.
The second way I serve it is a bit more labor intensive and
time sensitive. I cut the baguette into
4 to 5 inch pieces, then cut in half lengthwise and discard the soft inner
dough. As with the baguette rounds
above, I then spread olive oil and garlic on each piece and toast under the
broiler. Since what I am going for here
is the give the guests the sensation of the warm bread and the cold bruschetta
mix, as soon as the baguette slices come out of the oven, I spoon the
bruschetta onto them and serve immediately
Ribeye Steak with
Wine Reduction Sauce
This is a recipe from Food Network Magazine which my wife
had marked for us to try, so we made it last Sunday evening. Here is where you can find the recipe:
The reduction sauce includes port wine, dry red wine, and
veal stock, so it takes quite a while to get the sauce reduced down, but the
final product is well worth the wait. It
also includes shallots, mushrooms, and as the name implies, your choice of
blueberries, blackberries, or huckleberries.
We used blueberries. As regards
the steaks themselves, they are started on the stove top then finished in the
oven. Some blue cheese was sprinkled on top before serving. Overall, this one is a keeper.
Upcoming Classes
Here are the upcoming classes I will be teaching for the
rest of the spring term. The summer schedule
will be out soon.
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
