Cooking Basics 101 Classes at the Plum Center, Spaghetti Carbonara, and another “Cooking Live” Internet Cook-Along Show

Post Date: 17 February 2016

I have one class this week, Session 1 of Cooking Basics 101 at the Plum Center in Springfield on Friday evening.  Last Saturday afternoon I once again followed along with Cooking-Live.com internet cooking show, and I made a Spaghetti Carbonara for Sunday dinner.

Cooking Basics 101 at the Plum Center – Session 1

Currently the score stands: Winter 1, Cooking Basics 101 0.  However, we have a revised schedule.  Session one meets this Friday evening, February 19, with sessions 2 and 3 on the following 2 Fridays, February 26 and March 4.

As mentioned in my previous post, for the first night we will be making a meal of Caprese Salad, Fried Chicken Italiano with Blanched Asparagus, and a no bake dessert, Blueberry Ricotta Parfait.  Future entrees will include fish and beef.

One of the basics we will be covering in class is knife skills.  The January/February issue of Food Network Magazine has an excellent article on basic skills and cuts, including the ones we will be covering in class.  Here is the link to the article.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/articles/knife-skills-101.html

Spaghetti Carbonara

 

Like many Italian recipes, there are many variations on ways to prepare this dish, one of the constants being pork of some type.  Some call for bacon, some for ham, and others Pancetta.  I decided to go with Pancetta, cut into small strips and then sautéed in olive oil until crisp.  I drained the oil and grease from the Pancetta pan before adding the drained spaghetti and egg-Parmesan mixture.  I made enough for 4 people, so there was plenty left over.  Reheated it was still wonderful the next day;

Cooking-Live.com Dishes from February 13

 

Among other items, this week’s lesson with Chef Patrice Olivon had a Basil Aioli (pictured above) and Chocolate Soufflé.  I had just bought Asparagus, so I sautéed them in Olive Oil and spread the Aioli on top.  The Aioli was made with 1 egg yolk, garlic, basil, Dijon mustard, parmesan, both olive and vegetable oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper, all together in a food processor.  It was quite easy to make.  I had some left over and it was still good the next day on a fresh batch of asparagus.

 

The soufflé above was a lot of fun to make and tasted great.  And it was not that hard to make.  As my colleague Fanny Gaston in the ACE cooking program says, “French cooking is not that hard.  You just need to make sure you follow all the steps exactly.”  What was particularly good about this recipe was the timing.  You can make the base of milk, eggs, sugar, and flour in advance and then set aside.  It takes about 14 minutes in a 425 degree oven, so you can time things so that they come warm out of the oven when you are ready for dessert.

Reminder - Instagam

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Upcoming Classes

Here is my upcoming class for the winter term.  Spring catalogue will be out soon.

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