Belated Thanksgiving Greetings; A.C.E. Cooking Class Italian Desserts Concludes; Next A.C.E. Class - Classic Italian Sauces; Christmas Bazaar Participation on November 18; Baked Salmon and Dill Recipe.

Post Date: 30 November 2017

 

Belated Happy Thanksgiving.  I hope everyone had a great holiday. 

 

We had 10 at people Thanksgiving table.  Besides the turkey and dressing, our sides included Roasted Acorn Squash, Broiled Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes, Gratin Dauphinois (a potato dish I learned in France this summer), Baked Rigatoni with Tomato Sauce and Ricotta, and of course Corn Bread.  For the gravy I used a recipe I came up with a few years ago which includes some white wine.  I used Kung Fu Girl Riesling from Charles Smith Wines in Washington State.   Now it is time to start planning the menus for Christmas and my New Year’s Day party.  I hope everyone has a great holiday season.

Salmon and Dill Sauce

After several days of turkey and leftovers, I was ready for a change.  I found this recipe in the November Cooking Light magazine.  It is close to a Salmon, Mustard, and Panko dish I already make, but the Dill Sauce was something else. It is made with fresh Dill, Milk, Greek Yogurt, and Red Wine Vinegar, and will work with other fish dishes.

Here is the link to the recipe:

http://www.cookinglight.com/recipes/dijon-herb-crusted-salmon-creamy-dill-sauce

 

 

ACE Class Italian Desserts Concluded November 11

 

 

In this final class we began with a demo on making Ricotta Cheese.  One of the dishes we made was a no bake one, a Ricotta Blueberry Parfait, which is very popular in my Cooking Basics 101 class.  I brought in some store bought ricotta, but I invited the class to use the batch I made.

 

We also made Krumiri, a type of Italian shortbread cookie from Northern Italy and Brutti Ma Buoni Cookies (Ugly But Good, pictured above).  Interestingly enough, these are made without flour.

My Next ACE Class – Classic Italian Sauces

 

I have no more A.C.E. classes in 2017.  My next class is in January, Classic Italian Sauces.  This 2 session class meets in Saturday mornings January 20 and 27 at the Plum Center in Springfield.  We will be making some of the familiar ones, like Alfreddo, Pesto, and Bolognese, plus a couple of surprises.  There will not be any time in the class to make pasta, but I plan to make some ahead of time and bring in to try with some of the sauces.  My full winter schedule is listed below.

Christmas Bazaar on November 18

 

 

On Saturday, November 18, I will had a table at the Christmas Bazaar in the gym of St. John’s Catholic Church on Linway Terrace in McLean, VA.  In previous years I have always sold out of my Chicken Spezzatino, an Italian Chicken Stew, so this year I made more than last year and sold the last cupful just before closing, so I think I have the amount right at last.  I also made more Lemon Olive Oil Pound Cakes (11 as opposed to 6 last year) and also sold all of them.  For the Cannoli, I ordered a box of Bellino Cannoli Shells from Amazon; for the filling I made the Ricotta Cheese and added the usual suspects, Sugar, Orange Zest, Vanilla Extract, and Mini Chocolate Chips.  As the picture above shows, I filled several piping bags with the mixture and filled the Cannoli shells to order.

 

Reminder – Instagam

 

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

 

Upcoming Classes

 

Here is my schedule for the winter term.  The catalogue will be out December 1

 

January 20 and 27 – Saturday Morning – Classic Italian Sauces – Plum Center

 

February 7 and 14 – Wednesday Evening – Japanese Cooking in an American Kitchen – Plum Center

 

February 17 and 24 – Saturday Morning - Soup and Stew for a Snowy Day – Plum Center.

 

March 3, 9, and 23 – Friday Evening – Cooing Basics 101 – Plum Center

 

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