Cookies, Cookies, Cookies

Post Date: 23 December 2015

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2016.  For our Christmas dinner we are planning on serving Roast Beef and Baked Salmon as the main dishes, with a Tuscan White Bean Salad Red Skin Potatoes, and Roasted Butternut Squash.  I have been busy trying some different cookie recipes from Food Network Magazine, Orange Ricotta Drop Cookies, Peppermint Biscotti, and Meringues with Lemon Curd Filling.  They were all excellent, but my favorite is the biscotti.

This will be the last post for 2015.  See you all next year.

Orange Ricotta Drop Cookies

The recipe actually calls for Tangerines, but says you can substitute Oranges instead.  Since I had oranges in the fruit bowl, that is what I used.  They are soft cookies, and you finish them off with a sugar glaze.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/tangerine-ricotta-drop-cookies.html

Meringue Sandwiches

 

These require 3 hours in the oven at 250, but the results are well worth the time invested.  The meringues are made with the usual suspects, egg whites, cream of tartar, salt, and confectioner’s sugar, then piped onto parchment paper in 1 inch rounds.  For the filling, I made a Lemon Curd.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/meringue-sandwiches.html

Peppermint Biscotti

These cookies get a double dose of peppermint flavor – extract in the batter and crushed candy topping.  After the biscotti have cooled completely, you melt 4 ounces of white chocolate and drag the top side through the chocolate.  Then you crush peppermint candies and sprinkle the pieces on top.  In my experience I have found that the round peppermint candies have a stronger peppermint flavor than candy canes.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/peppermint-biscotti.html

 

 

Reminder - Instagam

Follow me on Instagram at #senseichef.  I look forward to your comments on my posts.

Upcoming Classes

Here are my upcoming classes for the winter term.

January 14, 21, and 28 – Thursday Evening – Cooking Basics 101 – Herndon High School

January 23 and 30 – Saturday Morning – Delectable Desserts – Plum Center

February 12, 19, and 26 – Friday Evening – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

March 1, 8, and 15 – Tuesday Evening – Quick Weeknight Dinners – Plum Center

March 4, 11, and 18 – Friday Evening – Cooking Basics: One Step Further – 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                                                           

 

 

More Himalayan Salt Block Cooking, Some New Recipes

Post Date: 10 December 2015

More Himalayan Salt Block Cooking

In the last post I described cooking pork chops on my Himalayan salt blocks.  Last Sunday I used them again to cook eye round steaks and zucchini (see pictures above).  For the steaks I first marinated them in olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic salt and pepper.  I cooked them first, then placed them in a warming oven while the zucchini cooked.  I used a mandolin to slice them into long strips, but I made them a bit too thin, so next time I’ll set the mandolin to cut thicker slices or do them by hand.   However, on a positive note, the steaks were excellent, with the marinade giving them a nice flavor.

 

New Recipes

With my busy teaching schedule this fall and our preparations for Thanksgiving, I did not have time to try new recipes. However, in the lull now between Christmas and New Year’s, I’ve had some time to look through the cooking magazines I subscribe to and found some recipes to try.

 

The first was Lemon Chicken with Butternut Squash (above) from Food Network Magazine (link below).  It was fairly easy to make and tasted delicious.  The squash is peeled and cut into cubes, then mixed with lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper and roasted at 450 degrees.  The chicken is first salted and peppered, then fried in an oven proof skillet on just one side.  You flip them, then finish off in the 450 degree oven for 5-7 minutes.  I timed things so that when the squash was done I took it from the oven and let it sit in the warming oven while I placed the chicken in the oven.  When done, the chicken goes back on the stove and garlic, oregano, and lemon juice are added to the skillet.  You cook it for a minute or two, spooning the juice over the chicken.  Here is the link to the recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/lemon-chicken-with-butternut-squash.html

 

The other new recipe I tried was a Baked Lemon Tilapia (above) with a mayonnaise and panko crust, also from Food Network Magazine (link below).  The recipe called for serving the fish with an Apple-Beet Salad, but as the picture above shows I opted for green beans instead and had a spinach salad on the side.  The recipe calls for either Tilapia or perch; I used Tilapia.  To prepare the fish, in one shallow bowl you mix salt and pepper, light mayonnaise, lemon zest and lemon juice.  In another you combine panko breadcrumbs (I used Italian Panko), capers, and chopped flat leaf parsley.  You coat just one side of the fish; first through the mayo and lime mixture, then the panko-capers-parsley.  This is a very nice recipe, and the lemon flavor really comes through well and enhances the fish.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/baked-fish-with-apple-beet-salad.html

 

Reminder - Instagam

Follow me on Instagram at #senseichef.  I look forward to your comments on my posts.

Upcoming Classes

Here are my upcoming classes for the winter term.

January 14, 21, and 28 – Thursday Evening – Cooking Basics 101 – Herndon High School

January 23 and 30 – Saturday Morning – Delectable Desserts – Plum Center

February 12, 19, and 26 – Friday Evening – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

March 1, 8, and 15 – Tuesday Evening – Quick Weeknight Dinners – Plum Center

March 4, 11, and 18 – Friday Evening – Cooking Basics: One Step Further – 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                                                           

 

 

Himalayan Salt Block Cooking, Making Cannoli, My Next A.C.E. Classes

Post Date: 1 December 2015

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and a wonderful start to the holiday season.  The other afternoon I made stock with the remains of the turkey and the kitchen smelled great.



Himalayan Salt Block Cooking

In a previous post I mentioned that I received these salt blocks as a birthday present from my son and daughter.  This week I finally got around to trying them out, and the result was excellent.  I cooked pork chops seasoned only with black pepper and apple slices with ground cinnamon.  They both picked up the salt nicely from the block.

You can heat and use the block in several ways.  One is to heat in the oven, then remove and cook on it.  I used mine on the stove.  As the picture above shows, I placed each block on a separate burner.  I started with the flame on as low as possible, and over the next 40 minutes gradually increased the heat until the block was hot to the touch.  I left the blocks on the flame while I cooked the chops, but as an alternative you can remove the blocks to a heat proof surface and cook there.  It took about 2-3 minutes per side for the chops to be done.  Clean up is quite easy.  After the blocks have cooled, just use warm water and a soft sponge to wash them clean.  As the Salt Block is naturally antimicrobial, it does not need a cleanser.

Cannoli

My sisters-in-law brought plenty of desserts for Thanksgiving, so we had the Cannoli with afternoon coffee on Friday after putting up and decorating the tree.  I made the Ricotta Cheese for the filling before Thanksgiving, then let it sit in the fridge for a couple of days to allow any additional whey to drain out.  I made the filling by mixing sugar, vanilla extract, zest of one orange, and mini chocolate chips into the ricotta, then chilled for a few hours.

MY NEXT ACE CLASSES

My next A.C.E. class is Cooking Basics 101 on January 14, 21, and 28 at Hendon High School.  The next class is a Saturday one, January 23 and 30, at the Plum Center in Springfield called Delectable Desserts.  As in my previous dessert classes, we will be making both baked and non-bake desserts, but not limiting ourselves to Italian ones as in my last desserts class.

Reminder - Instagam

Follow me on Instagram at #senseichef.  I look forward to your comments on my posts.

Upcoming Classes

Here are my upcoming classes for the winter term.

January 14, 21, and 28 – Thursday Evening – Cooking Basics 101 – Herndon High School

January 23 and 30 – Saturday Morning – Delectable Desserts – Plum Center

February 12, 19, and 26 – Friday Evening – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

March 1, 8, and 15 – Tuesday Evening – Quick Weeknight Dinners – Plum Center

March 4, 11, and 18 – Friday Evening – Cooking Basics: One Step Further – 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