Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Classic Italian Sauces Class Concludes; Pepping for Japanese Cooking in Your Americab Kitchen Class; Another Mediterranean DIet Dish

Post Date: 24 January 2018


ACE Class – Classic Italian Sauces Concludes This Weekend


This 2 session class concludes this Saturday, January 27.  In this class we will be making a Pesto Sauce with Spinach, Amatriciana Sauce made with Pancetta, and my take on Bolognese Sauce (pictured above).


ACE Class - Japanese Cooking in Your American Kitchen
 


This 2 session class meets on Wednesday evenings February 7 and 14 at the Plum Center in Springfield.  I have started going through the recipes for this class.  Last night I made the Japanese Beef Curry with Tomatoes pictured above.  I think I will make a few revisions to deepen the flavor, then do another test run next week.  Tonight I will be making Yakitori for my Sumi-e painting group meeting.  Next week I’ll also be doing Hibachi Fried Rice.


Grilled Turkey Cutlets
This is another recipe from Prevention Magazine’s cookbook Mediterranean Table.  Since it is part of a cookbook individual recipes are not available for download, but I have included below a link to the book on Amazon in case you are interested.
 
The Turkey Cutlets were first marinated in Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, and fresh Rosemary; I then cooked them on a counter top griddle.  It was served with a salad of Tomato, Baby Spinach, and Diced Red Onion on top – very tasty and easy to prepare.
 
https://www.amazon.com/Prevention-Mediterranean-Table-Vibrant-Lifelong/dp/1635650224
 
 
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:
 
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:
 
 
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, January 17, 2018

Happy New Year 2018; Some Holiday Menus; Next A.C.E. Classes - Classic Italian Sauces and Japanese Cooing in your American Kitchen; Pollo alla Calabrrese;ibollita

Post Date: 17 January 2018


Happy New Year 2018
 
Welcome to the first edition of my blog for 2018.  I hope everyone had a great holiday season.  I have included here the menus I prepared for Christmas Dinner and for a party I hosted on New Year’s Day.  I have also been busy running through the recipes for my Classic Italian Sauces class which stats this Saturday, January 20.
Holiday Menus

 
For Christmas, the main dish was Roast Beef with Stout Mustard Jus along with 5 Spice Shrimp and Broccoli with Rigatoni.  Starters were Potato Vegetable Soup and Orange Couscous Salad.  Sides were Onion Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans with Mustard Sauce.  Desserts were various Christmas cookies brought by my sisters-in-law, a batch of Pizzelles (pictured below) I had made, and Meringues which my wife Teresa had made with the liquid you drain from a can of chickpeas.
 
 
For my traditional New Year’s Day open house I featured a sweet Chili, Chicken Spezzatino (an Italian Chicken Stew), Tilapia Italiana, Chicken Teriyaki, and Angel Hair Pasta with a no cook Checca Sauce.  There were accompanied by Roasted Carrots with Lemon and thyme and Asparagus with Mustard Sauce.  Starters were a Provençale Salad and a Chickpea Salad.  For sweets, we had Tiramisu, Brutti Ma Buoni (Ugly but Good) cookies, and Pizzelles, and a ton of cookies left from Christmas.
 
 
My Next ACE Class – Classic Italian Sauces
 

 
My next class, Classic Italian Sauces, class meets on Saturday mornings January 20 and 27 at the Plum Center in Springfield. 
 

In this class we will be making no cook sauces, meatless sauces, and those with meat, some familiar and some maybe not so much.  In our first session we will be making Checca, a no cook sauce (pictured above); Puttanesca Sauce, and an Alfredo Sauce which we will enjoy with some fettuccine I made for the class.
 
 
ACE Class - Japanese Cooking in Your American Kitchen
 

 
This 2 session class meets on Wednesday evenings February 7 and 14 at the Plum Center in Springfield.  Final menus are still being put together, but will most likely include a Teriyaki (pictured above) with sauce we will make in class, a Japanese Beef Curry, Hibachi Rice, and Yakitori.
 
ACE Class – Soup and Stew for a Snowy Day - Ribollita
 

 

 
This class is an updated version of a class I gave a while ago.  It meets on Saturdays February 17 and 24 at the Plum Center in Springfield.  One of the dishes to be featured is Ribollita (pictured above), a Tuscan Bean, Bread, and Vegetable Stew, akin to Minestrone.  For the broth you can use chicken or, to make it vegetarian, vegetable broth.  We will also be making Zuppa di Vedure, a creamy potato based soup (despite the verdure in the title). 
 Pollo alla Calabrese (Calabrian Chicken with Potatoes and Vegetables)
 

This recipe is from Prevention Magazine’s cookbook Mediterranean Table.  Since it is part of a cookbook individual recipes are not available for download, but I have included below a link to the book on Amazon in case you are interested.  
Although the recipe involves a bit of chopping up front, there are so many vegetables there is no need to prepare a side dish, and it all goes on one tray in the oven.  Although the recipe specifies which vegetables to use, you can substitute whatever you have in your fridge.  The chicken is prepped with a dry rub of salt, oregano, paprika (I used smoked paprika), and red pepper flakes, which you can adjust according to your taste for heat.  It was a great dinner for a cold winter night. 
https://www.amazon.com/Prevention-Mediterranean-Table-Vibrant-Lifelong/dp/1635650224
 
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.
 
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:
 
 
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