Session 2 Cooking Basics 101 Classes at the Plum Center, Session 1 of Quick Weeknight Dinners at the Plum Center, Poached Salmon, and Girl Scout Cookie Cheesecake

Post Date: 24 February 2016

I have two classes coming up, Session 2 of Cooking Basics 101 at the Plum Center in Springfield on Friday evening February 26, and Session 1 of Quick Weeknight Dinner on Tuesday, March 1, also at the Plum Center.  Last weekend I tried out two new recipes – Poached Salmon with Ginger and Jalapeno and a No Bake Cheesecake made with Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies.



Cooking Basics 101 at the Plum Center – Session 2

This week’s menu will be my take on the Classic Waldorf Salad, Sautéed Broccoli, Baked Tilapia, and a no bake Strawberry Marscapone Dessert.  We will continue to practice knife skills.  The Waldorf Salad is a healthy version, featuring plain non-fat Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise.  It is served as a wrap, so can double as finger food on your appetizer plate.  Last week our main course was cooked on the stove top; this week we will be using the oven.  For the dessert, we will use the technique called “macerating” to extract juice from our berries, and using Marscapone, another soft Italian cheese.  The handout will include a recipe for homemade Ricotta Cheese.

 

Quick Weeknight Dinners – Session 1

This 3 session class begins on Tuesday evening, March 1, at 6:30 PM at the Plum Center.  The class will feature quick nutritious salads and main courses with vegetables that can easily be prepared after a day at work.  In addition to the recipes done in class, each handout will include additional quick recipes to be tried at home.  Desserts, however, will not be covered.  For the first night we will be making 2 salads, a vegetable, a chicken dish, and a fish dish.  At the time of posting I am still deciding which recipes to start with.

 

Girl Scout Cookie Cheese Cake

One of the members of my Sumi-e painting group has a daughter in girl scouts, so I was able to stock up on thin mints.  I decided to modify my no bake cheesecake recipe to use the thin mints.  The crust was the same, Graham Crackers, melted butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract.  For the cake itself, I crushed up some of the cookies and mixed them in with the cream cheese, then covered the top with more crushed cookies.

Poached Salmon with Ginger and Jalapeno

 

I got this recipe from the January/February 2016 issue of Food Network Magazine.  The link to it is below.  It was quite easy to make, with the poaching taking only 5 minutes.  Ginger and jalapeno are in the poaching water. The sauce is made in the poaching liquid with Soy Sauce, Scallions, Lemon Juice, and Sesame Oil.  The recipe includes a side of Quinoa, also cooked with ginger and jalapeno.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emilia-cirker/salmon-with-sesame-ginger-quinoa.html

 

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Upcoming Classes

Here are my upcoming classes 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