Chef Kevin's Cooking Classes: June 2018

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

ACE Class – Dolci Italiani/Italian Desserts II Concludes; Upcoming ACE Classes; Japanese Beef and Green Pepper Stir Fry; Sheet Pan Chicken and Potatoes

Post Date: 27 June 2018

Well, now it is officially summer. In keeping with the season, I continued my Summer 2018 Ice Cream Project by making a batch of Bourbon Ice Cream (pictured above). It is nice and sweet, with 5 tablespoons of Bourbon. For Japanese cuisine, I made a Beef and Green Pepper Stir fry, discussed below. Next up is planning the July 4^th party. Right now I’m thinking about Hamburgers with a Japanese riff.

ACE Class – Dolci Italiani II/Italian Desserts Concludes

In our first session last Saturday we made Strawberry Tiramisu (pictured above) and Le Bisse, S-shaped cookies from Venice. This week we will begin by making Ricotta Cheese, then a Ricotta Cheese Cake (pictured below). We will also be making 2 kinds of biscotti. We will then use the Ricotta Cheese we make to do some Cannoli.

Upcoming ACE Classes

I have 2 ACE classes on my July calendar. On Friday evenings July 13, 20, and 27 I will be teaching Cooking Basics 101. And on Saturday mornings July 21 and 28 I will be doing Summer Soups. This class will feature both cold and warm soups. Both classes are at the Plum Center in Springfield.

Japanese Stir Fry

I got this recipe from the food section of the NHK website, Japanese public broadcasting. What first appealed to me was that it had just a few basic ingredients, beef, green bell peppers, and onion, cooked in vegetable oil. The sauce is made with sake, soy sauce, sugar and pepper. I served it with Jasmine rice. The end result was rather bland, so next time I plan to spice it up with salt and some Togarashi, spicy Japanese red pepper. Link to recipe is below.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/food/recipe/beginners_15994.html

Sheet Pan Chicken and Potatoes with Green Beans

I got this recipe from the June 2018 Real Simple magazine, where I have found a lot of good recipes lately. This is a nice summer one. The chicken and red potatoes are done in the oven, while the green beans are blanched on the stove top. A sauce is made with Shallots, Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, Pepper and Castelvetrano Olives, which were new to me, and have become my favorite olive. I bought a jar of them for the recipe, but later a friend told me that the olive bar at Whole Foods has them pitted. They are also great in salads. The link to the recipe is below.

https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/sheet-pan-chicken-with-potatoes-and-green-beans

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 summer term.

July 7, 13, and 20 – Friday Evening – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

July 21 and 28 – Saturday Morning – Summer Soups - Plum Center

August 1, 2, and 3 – Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday Evening – Cooking Basics for Young Adults – Plum Center

August 8 and 15 – Wednesday Evening – Japanese Cooking in Your American Kitchen v2.0 – 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

Saturday, June 16, 2018

Next ACE Class – Dolci Italiani II/Italian Desserts; Japanese Themed Dishes

Post Date: 16 June 2018

A friend in my Sumi-e painting class has a birthday next month, so I decided to make her a cake combining Sumi-e painting and traditional baking. But I wanted to try it out first. Pictured above is the single layer yellow cake I made, then decorated it with a motif featuring Plum Blossoms, one of the Four Gentlemen of Sumi-e painting, using vanilla icing and food coloring.

Staying with the Japanese theme, I also made Japanese Chicken Curry, Kare Raisu, Green Tea Ice Cream using Matcha Powder, and Mount Fuji Meringues, a take on the French Mount Blanc dessert. Next up is a “Kyoto Tiramisu,” made with Sake for the alcohol component.

Next ACE Class – Dolci Italiani II/Italian Desserts

This 2 session class is a follow up to one I did last November. It meets on Saturday mornings June 23 and 30 at Woodson High School. In the first session we will begin with two refreshing, no bake summer desserts, both featuring Marscapone Cheese. The first is a parfait made with fresh berries, marscapone and ricotta cheese, and Almond Extract. Staying with the fresh berries, the second dish will be a Strawberry Tiramisu. Time permitting, I hope to be able to demonstrate making Marscapone. Pictured above is my Italian take on Banana Pudding, also with Marscapone and Amaretti cookies.

Japanese Chicken Curry –Kare Raisu

I made this recipe for last week’s Sumi-e painting group session; it is from the Japanese Public Television NHK website (link is below). It uses both curry powder and a red chili. I held back a little on the spices, fearing it might be too hot, but two of the guests said they would have liked more heat. So, next time. It takes about 45 minutes to make, but it well worth the time, as it is an excellent dish.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/food/recipe/japanese-style-chicken-curry-recipe/

Green Tea Ice Cream

I got this recipe from Kimiko Barber’s great cookbook Japanese Cooking at Home, which I mentioned in a previous post. I decided to make it as the second installment of my Summer 2018 Ice Cream project. It is a nice recipe; the Matcha flavor is quite strong, but it is very refreshing. Next up is Basil Ice Cream, once my basil plants have grown enough leaves.

Mount Fuji Meringues

This is another great recipe from Kimiko Barber’s book. Before baking the meringues you use a back of a spoon to hollow out the center to create a crater. After baking, the crater is filled with sweet red bean paste, then topped with Marscapone mixed with sugar and Matcha powder and topped with Confectioner’s sugar (pictured above). My daughter had been doing some baking and had some Orange Curd and Raspberry paste left over, so I used them on some of the meringues instead of the red bean paste. All 3 types were really tasty.