ACE Cooking Class – Cooking Basics 101 continues; Japanese Bento Box; Next ACE Class – Off the Beaten Track in Provence

Post Date: 9 May 2018

 

Well, it looks like spring has finally settled in quite nicely this week.  It won’t be long before we have plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.  I have not done any new Mediterranean Diet dishes this past week, just practicing some of the dishes I have already made to get more comfortable with them, like Mussels in Ouzo, Chicken Calabrese, and Pork Tenderloin with Pearl Onions and Brussels Sprouts.  I’m looking forward to adding a Mediterranean Diet class to my repertoire at ACE.

ACE Class – Cooking Basics 101

This class continues with session 2 this Saturday morning, May 12.  Pictured above are the main dishes from session 1 – Chickpea Salad and Pan Fried Chicken Italiano with Blanched Broccoli.  The dessert was a no bake Ricotta Blueberry Parfait.

This Saturday our focus will be on citrus.  We will make an Orange Couscous Salad, Tilapia with Citrus, and Lemon Thyme Carrots. Dessert will once again be of the no bake variety, using Marscapone cheese, another soft Italian one.  We will make either a Strawberry/Chocolate/Marscapone treat or a personal sized Tiramisu. I will decide by Friday when I shop for the class.

Bento Box

Last Friday I attended a cooking class on making Bento boxes at the Japanese American Society of Washington DC.  Pictured above is the finished product.

In the compartment of the left are grilled salmon and Inari-zushi, tofu pouches filled with seasoned rice.  The salmon was cooked with just sake and mirin, a sweet rice wine.   We were told these would prevent it from getting hard when eaten cold.  For the Inari-zushi, the rice was seasoned with Dashi, Soy Sauce, Sugar, Sake, Rice Vinegar, and Sugar, then placed in the tofu pouches over which boiling water had been poured first.

In the upper right compartment is Tamagoyaki, a Japanese omelet made in a rectangular pan and cooked in layers.  Ours included green onions.  In the lower right compartment is Dango a sweet made with 2 different kinds of rice flower.  The dough is rolled into balls, dropped in boiling water until the balls float, then cooled on an ice bath.  Three colors are traditional - red, green and white, obtained by adding food coloring or beet juice to the dough.

It was a fun evening, and I’m hoping to add a bento box segment to my summer class, Japanese Cooking in Your American Kitchen v2.0.

Next ACE Class – Provence off the Beaten Track

 

This 2 session class meets on Friday evenings June 1 and 8 at the Plum Center in Springfield.  While I have been getting the recipes in order for this class, I received 2 new mussels recipes from my friend Christine Blight in Provence.  They both look excellent and would be good fits for the class.  I will make them over the next week and see which is better suited for our class.

 

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 rest of the spring term.  The summer schedule will be put soon.

 

June 1 and 8 – Friday Evening – Off the Beaten Track in Provence – Plum Center

 

June 23 and 30 – Saturday Morning – Dolci Italiani II/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