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

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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