Chef Kevin's Cooking Classes: August 2017

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Baked Miso Salmon; Hache Steaks; Cotoletta

Post Date: 23 August 2017

Baked Salmon with Miso Glaze

This is a Japanese take on my Baked Salmon with Mustard dish, suggested by a student in one of my recent Cooking Basics Classes. I made a glaze of Red Miso Paste, Sake, Soy Sauce, and Mirin (a sweetened sake). As the Miso Paste is thick, you really have to whisk vigorously to get it spreadable. The Salmon is seasoned with salt and pepper, then the paste is spread on, and topped with minced Garlic and Panko bread crumbs. It is baked at 375 for 15-20 minutes.

Hache – Quick Weeknight Dinners International

In my last post I wrote about Sole Meuniere, one of the dishes we will be making on the French night in the Quick Weeknight International dinners session. That night we will also be making Hache, a French version of Salisbury Steak and a bistro staple. We will cook it in a pan, then using the pan juices to make a sauce with Shallots, Beef Broth, and Cream.

ACE Class: Dinner in Milan

This one session class meets on Saturday morning, September 30, at the Plum Center in Springfield. The featured item will be the traditional Milanese dish, Cotoletta (pictured above). This is a sautéed veal cutlet which we will be serving atop a small salad made from Baby Spinach, Tomato, Basil, and Red Onion. We will also be making a quick Minestrone, plus a dessert still to be decided.

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 terms. The fall catalogue is now out.

September 21, 28, October 5 – Thursday Evening- Quick Weeknight Dinners - Plum Center

September 30 – Saturday Morning – Dinner in Milano – Plum Center

October 12 – Thursday Evening – Intro to Middle Eastern Cooking - Plum Center

October 15, 22, 29 – Sunday Afternoon – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

November 4, 11 – Saturday Morning – Italian Desserts – Woodson High School

To register for these classes, or any ACE cooking classes, please go to:

http://www.fcps.edu/is/ace/

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

‑

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Two Cooking Basics Classes conclude; Tilapia Meuniere.

Post Date: 9 August 2017

ACE Class Cooking Basics Classes Conclude

I recently concluded 2 Cooking Basics classes at the Plum Center. Pictured above is a student’s full menu from Session 3 – Orange Couscous Salad, Salisbury Steak with Onions, Roasted Lemon Thyme Carrots, and Lemon Olive Oil Pound Cake.

One class followed the usual format, once session a week for 3 weeks. The other, entitled Cooking Basics for Young Adults, was given on three consecutive nights. This is the second summer I have taught this class, and once again it was a lot of fun. The target audience is recent high school and college graduates who want to up their cooking game, but of course it is open to anyone.

Tilapia Meuniere – Quick Weeknight Dinners International

This three session class begins on Thursday evening September 21. For the first session I decided to do French recipes, and what better way to start than with Sole Meuniere, the iconic French dish that got Julia Child started on her culinary career. However, Filet of Sole is both hard to find and quite expensive, so I looked for an alternative. A Google search turned up quite a few recipes which suggested Tilapia as an alternative, so I tried it twice. The recipe is basically the same as with Sole, using butter, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and parsley. A big difference is the cooking time. As Sole filets are quite thin, they only need a minute or 2 in the hot butter. However, the Tilapia is thick and can require up to 5 minutes per side to fully cook.