Cooking Basics 101 Class – Session 3 and Dining in Cape May, NJ

Post Date: 20 May 2015

Cooking Basics 101 Class – Session 3 – May 21

For our final session this Thursday night, May 21, we will be stretching ourselves a bit.  We will be making an Irish Potato soup, which will give us ample opportunity to work on knife skill, and preparing a Roux for the soup.  The main course will be Sautéed Broccoli Florets and Salisbury Steak with mushrooms.  For this dish we will see how to make a pan reduction sauce.  This time we will be baking a dessert, a Lemon Olive Oil Pound Cake.  Please be sure to bring plenty of containers.

 

Dining in Cape May, New Jersey

Last weekend my wife Teresa and I went to Cape May for a few days to celebrate our anniversary, and I want to share with you the low end and high end dining experiences we had (both good).  I’ll save the high end for last.  As is usual on our first night there, we had pizza at Brothers II, a pizza joint (in the true sense of the word) at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Broadway.  With the exception of the last day, breakfast was at another joint, the Bagel Time Café beneath the Hotel Macomber at Beach Avenue and Howard Street.  Despite its size, it has quite an array of excellent breakfast dishes and a patio to eat outside.

On the high end, for our anniversary dinner we went to the Blue Pig Tavern in the Congress Hall Hotel and had excellent meals.  Teresa had a wonderful Baked Salmon with Risotto and I had Pappardelle with Bolognese Sauce.  What made the sauce unique was just a hint of cinnamon.  For dessert there was Banana Cream Pie with some caramelized bananas on the side. 

For our last breakfast there we like to go to the Sea Salt Restaurant in the Ocean Club Motel on Beach Avenue between Madison and Philadelphia Avenues.  The food and service is always excellent.  Teresa had a ramekin with three baked eggs topped with goat cheese.  I had a cheese omelet with home fries and a fruit bowl on the side.  The only downside was that due to the weather we were not able to sit out on the patio, but as is the past it was a fine dining experience.

 Upcoming Classes

Here are the upcoming classes I will be teaching for the rest of the spring term.  The summer schedule has been published and my classes are listed below...

May 31 and June 7 – Sunday Afternoon – Beyond Biscotti – Plum Center

June 11, 18, and 25 – Thursday Night – Cooking Basics 101 – Woodson High School

July 11 – Saturday Morning – Beach House Brunch – Plum Center

July 19 and 26 – Sunday Afternoon – Summer Desserts – Plum Center

August 15 – Saturday Morning – Lunch Along the Mediterranean – 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

 

 

Cooking Basics 101 Class – Session 2 and a Dinner Party Menu

Post Date: 12 May 2015

                                                                 Panzanella Salad

Cooking Basics 101 Class – Session 2 – May 14

This week we will be making a Panzanella Salad, which will give us plenty of opportunity to practice knife skills; Pan Fried Chicken Italiana, for which we will do an egg wash; and Broiled Zucchini and Tomato.  For dessert we will be making another no bake one with Marscapone, another soft Italian cheese, and macerated Strawberries. 

 Dinner Party Menu

Last Saturday night we did a dinner party for 2 couples in Herndon and I just wanted to share with you the menu we put together.  For an appetizer we served strawberry sandwiches filled with basil leaves and a small slice of prosciutto with balsamic vinegar on the side for dipping.  The soup was creamy artichoke, followed by a Panzanella salad.  The main course was Pork Tenderloin with a port wine reduction sauce and grilled asparagus.  Dessert was a Strawberry Pavlova, mentioned in an earlier post.

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 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

Cooking Basics 101 Class, Curried Shrimp with Sautéed Vegetables, and Frozen Orange Vanilla Pie

Post Date: 4 May 2015

Cooking Basics 101 Class – May 7, 14, and 21

This class begins Thursday, May7, at 6:30 PM at the Plum Center in Springfield. As in previous versions of the class, students will prepare a 3 course meal consisting of salad or soup, main course with a vegetable, and a dessert.  We will also be covering safe food handling and knife skills as well as essential kitchen equipment and spices.

The course is designed to build confidence in the kitchen using the P.O.F. (Preparation, Organization, Focus) method.  Recipes are easy to follow and written in a way to reinforce the P.O.F method.  In addition to the dishes made in class, participants will receive supplemental recipes to try on their own at home.

 

Curried Shrimp with Sautéed Vegetables in Teriyaki Sauce

We prepared this dish in my recently concluded Quick Weeknight Dinners.  I came up with it after one of the students had asked about doing a dish with a dry rub.  To keep with the spirit of the class title, “Quick,” the recipe calls for few ingredients and can be prepared in about 30-35 minutes.  The shrimp, of course were purchased deveined and peeled in order to save time.  The rub consisted of salt, black pepper, ground coriander, and curry powder.  One team in the class wanted to kick up the heat, so they added crushed red pepper flakes to the rub.  They succeeded very well in their goal.

We sautéed the shrimp in vegetable oil for about 4 -5 minutes, then removed from the pan, and added to the pan chopped shallots and zucchini.  We cooked them until the zucchini was of the tenderness you get with a stir fry, then added some Teriyaki sauce, stirred to combine and served over white rice with the shrimp around the outside of the plate.  We also had a bowl of Teriyaki on the side for dipping the shrimp.

Frozen Orange Vanilla Pie

I was looking through some back issues of Food Network Magazine the other day and in the June 2014 issue I found the above recipe which my wife had checked off.  It looked kind of interesting, plus it is a no-bake dessert, which I have been getting into lately, so I bought the ingredients and assembled it.

The estimated time from start to eating is about 4 and a half hours.  Mine took a little longer because in lieu of the store bought Graham Cracker crust I made my own and let it chill in the fridge for an hour before pouring in the filling.  The filling consists of plain Greek yogurt, sweet condensed milk, vanilla extract, orange juice, lemon juice, and salt, then topped with orange zest.  We had a very late dessert last Friday night, but it was well worth the wait.

Here is where you can find the recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/frozen-orange-vanilla-pie.html

 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