Chef Kevin's Cooking Classes: January 2017

Thursday, January 26, 2017

A.C.E. Class Soups and Stews for a Snowy Day Concludes; A Dinner Party Menu; Desserts Class Coming Up; Some Soup Cookbooks

Post Date: 26 January 2017

January is National Soup Month, so I was lucky that my Soups and Stews class was scheduled for this month. Below I discuss 2 soup cookbooks which are my go-to for all things soup. In the concluding session of Soups and Stews for a Snowy Day, we’ll be visiting Italy, Japan, Manhattan, and Boston for our dishes.

A.C.E. Soups and Snows for a Snowy Day Concludes

This 2 session class concludes this Sunday afternoon January 29. In this session we will make Pasta e Fagioli (sometimes pronounced Pasta Vazool), Dashi and a Miso Soup, and feature a Battle of the Chowders; half the class will make New England style and half Manhattan. The New England one is pictured above.

Just Desserts Class

This 2 session class meets on Friday Evenings February 3 and 10 at the Plum Center, starting a 6:30 PM. Desserts to be made over the 2 sessions include Tiramisu and Cannoli.

Cookbooks for National Soup Month

Two cookbooks I have and particularly like which are devoted exclusively to soups are Sunday Soup by Betty Rosbottom and New England Soup Factory Cookbook by Marjorie Drucker and Clara Silverstein. Sunday Soup is divided into 4 sections, one for each season and includes instructions of making a variety of stocks. The New England Soup Factory Cookbook features both chapters on ingredients, such as chicken, fish, and tomatoes, and chapters on the 4 seasons, and chapters on salads and sandwiches to accompany your soups. Both are available from Amazon.

Dinner Party Menu

I did a dinner party the week of January 22 for 6 people, and I just thought I’d share the menu here. It was an Italian meal that was won in a school auction last year. The appetizer was Bruschetta on toasted Baguette Rounds, followed by Minestrone Soup and a Tuscan White Bean Salad (pictured above). The main course was Spaghetti Carbonara with Roasted Lemon-Thyme Carrots. Dessert was Cannoli, for which I made the Ricotta Cheese the day before.

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 of the winter term.

February 3, 10 – Friday Evening - Just Desserts – Plum Center

February 23 – Thursday Evening – Introduction to Middle Eastern Cooking – Plum Center

February 25 – Saturday Morning – Dinner in Normandy – Plum Center

March 4, 11, 18 – Saturday Morning – Cooking Basics 101 – Lake Braddock Secondary School

March 10 – Friday Evening – Introduction to Middle Eastern Cooking – 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

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

A.C.E. Class Soups and Stews for a Snowy Day; Dashi and Miso; Dining in Florida; Robot Chef.

Post Date: 17 January 2017

Belated Happy New Year

I hope everyone had a great New Year’s and that 2017 is full of successful culinary adventures. After our annual New Year’s Day Open House, we went to Florida for a week to visit a friend and help her paint her house. We had some great food at Disney World and Cocoa Beach, more on that below. There is also some information on a “Robot Chef” created by a company in Britain. My next A.C.E. class, Soups and Stews for a Snowy Day, begins on Sunday, January 22, followed by a Dessert class on February 3 and 10.

A.C.E. Soups and Snows for a Snowy Day

This 2 session class begins on Sunday afternoon January 22 and concludes on the 29th. In the first class we will be making Chicken Spezzatino, an Italian Chicken Stew; a quick Tomato Clam soup; and a Chili made with Thai sweet chili sauce. In the second session we will feature a Battle of the Chowders, half the class will make New England style and half Manhattan, along with other recipes.

Dashi Stock and Miso Soup

Pictured above are the ingredients for Dashi, the Japanese Fish Stock which is the basis for Miso Soup and other dishes. I purchased them at H-Mart. Although Dashi can be made apart from the Miso soup and stored in the fridge for a few days, in the Soups and Stews class we will go right from preparing the Dashi to making Miso. However, there should be enough Dashi left for participants to take home and make miso on their own.

Dining in Florida

We had some great meals on our trip to Florida at restaurants I would not hesitate to recommend. We went to EPCOT at Disney and ate at Yak and Yeti (Sweet and Sour Chicken) and at Chefs de France (a marvelous steak). We took a day trip to Cocoa Beach and ate at our favorite Florida place, Coconuts on the Beach. I had Grilled Mahi Tacos with Sweet Potato Fries, pictured above.

Robot Chef

The January 9-22 issue of New York Magazine has an interesting article on a Robot Chef created by an engineering firm in Britain. It still has a long way to go before chefs need to be worried about it, if ever. It can only make one thing, Crab Bisque, and all the prep work has to be done by hand. In addition, price is estimated to be in the 6 figure range.

Here is the link to the article:

http://www.grubstreet.com/2017/01/the-limits-and-possibilities-of-a-robot-chef.html