Cooking Basics 101 continues; Cooking Basics for Young Adults concludes; Bourbon Ice Cream and Strawberry Gelato; Fall Class Schedule

Post Date: 28 July 2016

My summer dessert project continues with two dishes this week, Bourbon Ice Cream and Strawberry Gelato, the difference between ice cream and gelato being that gelato uses more milk and less cream.  I had found both recipes in Bon Appetit magazine several years ago and came upon them when looking for items for my project. 

The Bourbon Ice cream uses heavy cream, half and half, and 5 tablespoons of Bourbon.  It tastes great served with a dollop of honey, as suggested by The Flavor Bible.


Cooking Basics 101 – Session 2

The second session of Cooking Basics 101 meets this Sunday afternoon at 1:00 PM at the Plum Center.  This week we will be making a Vegetable Soup, Baked Salmon with Mustard, and a Marscapone Strawberry Dessert.  The vegetable will be Broccoli.  We will also be discussing how long to keep spices and different types of salt.  Pictured above are three takes on a Caprese Salad from session 1.

Cooking Basics for Young Adults Concludes

This class concluded with a Tuscan White Bean Salad (pictured above), Salisbury Steak, and Roasted Vegetables in Parchment Paper. For dessert we baked a Lemon Olive Oil Pound Cake.

 

Reminder – Instagam

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

Upcoming Classes

Here are my classes for the fall term.  The catalogue will be out soon.

October 15 and 22 – Saturday Morning – What’s for Breakfast – Plum Center

October 30 – Sunday Afternoon – Bistro Lunch – Plum Center

November 6, 13, 20 – Sunday Afternoons – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

December 6, 13, 20 – Tuesday Evenings – Quick Weeknight Dinners – Plum Center

 

To register for these, 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 for Young Adults and Cooking Basics 101 Classes; Bastille Day Dinner; Recap of Farmhouse Dinner in Provence Class; Strawberry Clafoutis

Post Date: 16 July 2016

 

Continuing with my summer desserts project, I made Vanilla Ice Cream (pictured above) and a Strawberry Clafoutis for dessert for our Bastille Day meal.  I have 2 Cooking Basics classes coming up in the next 2 weeks, which will finish out my summer schedule.

 

COOKING BASICS FOR YOUNG ADULTS CLASS AND COOKING BASICS 101

This month I have 2 Cooking Basics classes.  The first one, Cooking Basics for Young Adults, is in a “boot camp” format, running on three consecutive evenings, Tuesday July 19, Wednesday July 20, and Thursday July 21 starting at 6:30 PM at the Plum Center in Springfield.  The Cooking Basics 101 class runs on Sunday afternoons July 24, July 31, and August 7 starting at 1:00 PM, also at the Plum Center in Springfield.

Dishes to be prepared in the first session are a Caprese Salad, Pan Fried Chicken Italiano with Blanched Asparagus, and a no bake dessert with blueberries and ricotta cheese.  Each session we will also be covering knife skills and safe food handling techniques.  In session one we will cook on the stove top, session 2 in the oven, and session 3 start on the stove top and finish in the oven, three basic and essential cooking methods.

 

Bastille Day Dinner

 

For our Bastille Day Dinner I prepared Poulet a la Diable (pictured above) and a Strawberry Clafoutis (pictured and discussed below).  The chicken recipe is from French Country Light Cooking by Evelyne Slomon (Putnam Publishing, New York, 1993).  You prepare a mixture of Chopped Shallots, Dijon Mustard, Cayenne Pepper, Worcestershire Sauce, Chicken Broth, and Dried Parsley.  I poured this into a zip lock bag, then added 2 boneless skinless Chicken Breasts to coat them with the mixture.  I then poured everything into an 8 x 8 pan which I had brushed with Olive Oil, added a chopped Zucchini, and placed under the broiler.  Dessert was the Strawberry Clafoutis.

Farmhouse Dinner in Provence Recap

 

Pictured above are some of the student dishes form the Farmhouse Dinner in Provence class, Lemon Basil Aioli, Salade Nicoise, and Chicken Provençale. We had a very ambitious menu, making 5 separate items (the three shown above, a White Bean and Olive Tapenade, and a Peach Clafoutis), but everyone did a great job and we got through all 5 successfully.  In keeping with the French theme, in the fall I will be giving a one session class called Bistro Lunch on Sunday, October 30.  For the winter session I am thinking of a Dinner in Normandy class.

Strawberry Clafoutis

When we made the Peach Clafoutis in the Farmhouse Dinner in Provence class, there was discussion about what other fruits you could use. Cherries are the usual one, but we discussed pears and strawberries.  I got to thinking I had never made one with strawberries, and since they were looking pretty good at the store, I decided to try it.  I did things a bit differently from the Peach one.  After hulling and cutting the strawberries into smaller pieces, I placed them in a bowl, added a tablespoon of sugar, covered the bowl, and placed them in the fridge for a couple of hours to let the sugar draw out some of the juice.  I used a slotted spoon to remove the strawberries from the bowl and placed them in the baking dish, reserving the juice.  After combining the wet ingredients of milk, eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract, I added the strawberry juice before putting in the flour and salt.  The resulting dish, pictured above, was delicious.

 

Reminder - Instagam

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

Upcoming Classes

Here are my classes for the summer term.  The Fall 2016 list will be in the next blog post.

July 19, 20, 21 – Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Evening – Cooking Basics for Young Adults – Plum Center – different format, 3 straight evenings.

July 24, 31, August 7 – Sunday Afternoon – Cooking Basics 101 – 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                                                           

 

 

 

4th of July Menu; Farmhouse Dinner in Provence Class; More Ice Cream Making; Apricot Compote; Quick Weeknight Dinners Class at the Plum Center Concludes.

Post Date: 7 July 2016

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July.  Continuing with my summer dessert project, I made Coffee Ice Cream, Chocolate Ice Cream, and an Apricot Compote (pictured above).  Coming up later are a Strawberry Gelato and a Guinness Stout Ice Cream, and maybe going old school with a Vanilla.  For the ice cream making I am working with Bruce Weinstein’s great book The Ultimate Ice Cream Book, which is available on Amazon. 

 

The Coffee Ice Cream (above) is right out of Weinstein’s book and is very interesting.  Instead of adding brewed coffee, you heat the cream, sugar and vanilla, then add in one cup of whole coffee beans and let cool, then refrigerate overnight.  Before making the ice cream, you discard the beans. What results is a white ice cream that looks like vanilla with a subtle coffee taste.  When you take a spoonful at first there is no coffee taste, but then it slowly sneaks in.  When people try it for the first time, they immediately say, “I don’t taste any coffee,” and then, Surprise!

4^th of July Party Menu

 

We hosted the family again this year and made a variety of dishes.  To start there was a Panzanella Salad (pictured above), followed Dijon Hamburger Sliders and cold Chicken Provençale served in Pita Bread with Lemon Basil Aioli. As a side we served Tricolor Pasta with Sautéed Vegetables (below).

Farmhouse Dinner in Provence Class

This one session class meets this coming Saturday, July 9, at 10:00 AM at the Plum Center in Springfield.  Pictured above is the dessert we will be making, Peach Clafoutis.  We will also be making a White Bean Tapenade, a Nicoise Salad, and Chicken Provençale and Vegetables with a Lemon Aioli.  I will also be giving out a recipe for a “Quick Aioli.”

Quick Weeknight Dinners Concludes

We had the final session of this class last week.  Pictured above are 2 of the student dishes, Dijon Hamburgers with a quick Lemon Aioli and Cacio e Pepe with Roasted Lemon Thyme Carrots.  The next iteration of this class will run on Tuesdays December 6, 13, and 20, 2016, at the Plum Center.

Reminder - Instagam

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

Upcoming Classes

Here are my classes for the rest spring and the summer term.  The Fall 2016 list will be out soon.

July 19, 20, 21 – Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Evening – Cooking Basics for Young Adults – Plum Center – different format, 3 straight evenings.

July 24, 31, August 7 – Sunday Afternoon – Cooking Basics 101 – 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