Purple Pesto # 2; Guinness Stout Ice Cream; Asian Dish – Lo Mein Noodles with Hoisin Meatballs.

Post date: 24 August 2018

 

With this week being the third anniversary of my ascent of Mt. Fuji, I thought I would start off this post with a photo I took from the summit as the sun rises, a truly thrilling experience.

 

The latest installment of my Summer 2018 Ice Cream Project is a Guinness Stout Ice Cream.  With my abundance of purple basil, I made another purple pesto, this time with oregano added.  I also tried a new Asian dish, Lo Mein with Hoisin Meatballs 

 

 

Stout Ice Cream

 

I continued my Summer 2018 Ice Cream Project with a batch of Guinness Stout Ice Cream.  One of the best things about this recipe is that you get to drink the stout you do not use in the ice cream.

 

I found the recipe on the Saveur magazine website, which is based on a recipe from the I-Scream shop in Kingston, Jamaica.  The recipe recommends using Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, which I had never heard of before.  However, I found it right next to the regular Guinness at the package store. The ingredients are quite simple: stout, sugar, kosher salt, egg yolks, heavy cream, and vanilla extract.  The results looks like coffee ice cream, so your taste buds are in for a surprise after this setup.  Link to recipe is below.

 

https://www.savwur.com/article/Recipes/Stout-Ice-Cream

 

 

 

Purple Pesto # 2

 

As I mentioned in my last post, I had oregano growing next to my purple basil plants, so this week I followed through on my idea of adding oregano leaves to the basil in the food processor.  I used 1 cup of basil leaves to ½ cup of oregano.  I served it with spaghetti and blanched broccoli, and it was quite good.  I also have a spicy oregano plant in my garden, so next week I will try the recipe again with this type of oregano.

 

Lo Mein Noodles with Hoisin Meatballs

 

 

I found this recipe in the summer issue of Food Network Magazine and it sounded delicious so I decided to try it.  Link to the recipe is below.

In a quick glance the dish may appear to be a version of meatballs with fettuccine, but the taste is definitely Asian.  You use 2 tablespoons of Hoisin sauce in the meatballs.  For the next time I am thinking of kicking their taste up a bit by using 1 tablespoon of Hoisin and 1 tablespoon of Thai Chili Sauce.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/lo-mein-with-hoisin-meatballs-5389402

 

 

 

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 fall term.

 

September 26 and October 3 – Wednesday Evening – Up Your Tailgate Game – Plum Center

 

October 12, 19, and 26 – Friday Evening – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

 

November 10 – Saturday Morning – Holiday in Sicily – Plum Center

 

November 27, December 4 and 11 – Tuesday Evenings - Easy Gourmet Meals/One Step Further – 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                          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Fall ACE Schedule now available; Purple Pesto; Mint Ice Cream

Post Date: 15 August 2018

 

With my ACE classes finished for the summer, I will concentrate on finishing my Summer 2018 Ice Cream Project and getting ready for my first ACE class in late September, Up Your Tailgate Game.  I will also be working on a cookbook which I hope to have out in 2019.

Mint Ice Cream

 

I continued my Summer 2018 Ice Cream Project with a batch of Mint Ice Cream.  My mint plants are doing well, so I was easily able to get the required 1 cup of mint leaves.  With the exception of the substitution of mint leaves, the recipe is the same as the Basil Ice Cream I made a few weeks ago – milk, heavy cream, egg yolks, pinch of Kosher salt.  It was delicious and a nice addition to my repertoire.  

Purple Pesto

My 2 Purple Basil plants are doing great, so I decided to make a “purple” pesto.  Aside from the color of the basil, the rest of the recipe was the traditional one – the basil, olive oil, pine nuts, parmesan, and black pepper.  I usually do not add salt to my pesto as the parmesan seems to make it salty enough for me, but I always taste just to make sure. I served it on Farfalle (bowtie) pasta.

 

Growing next to the basil is a batch of Golden Oregano.  Later this week I’m going to try an experiment by adding ½ cup of the oregano to the purple basil when I make the pesto again.  We’ll see how it comes out.

 

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 fall term.

 

 

September 26 and October 3 – Wednesday Evening – Up Your Tailgate Game – Plum Center

 

October 12, 19, and 26 – Friday Evening – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

 

November 10 – Saturday Morning – Holiday in Sicily – Plum Center

 

November 27, December 4 and 11 – Tuesday Evenings - Easy Gourmet Meals/One Step Further – 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                          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ACE Classes – Cooking Basics 101 for Young Adults concludes; My Fall ACE Schedule now available; Sumi-e Birthday Cake

Post Date: 8 August 2018

 

The above picture has nothing really to do with food; it is a photo of a cool art installation I saw yesterday at the Sackler Museum in Washington, DC, entitled Terminal by Subodh Gupta.

 

Now that my classes are over for the summer, it’s back to my Summer 2018 Ice Cream Project.  Next up is a Mint Ice Cream made with fresh mint from my garden, followed, hopefully, by a Guinness Stout Ice Cream.  I will also be getting together recipes for my first fall class, “Up Your Tailgate Game,” in September.

 

ACE Class – Cooking Basics for Young Adults Concludes

 

As we have been doing for the last few summers, we compressed the Basics 101 class into 3 consecutive days instead of spreading it out over 3 weeks. It is a bit intense doing it over 3 straight days, but we had a lot of fun and everyone’s dishes came out very well.  Our main courses were Pan Fried Chicken Italiano, Baked Salmon with Mustard, and Salisbury Steaks.  In the fall we will be back to the usual 3 week run for this class.

 

Pictured above is the first session’s menu – Provençale Salad, Pan Fried Chicken Italiano with Blanched Broccoli, and Blueberry Ricotta Parfait.  Below is from session 3 - Caprese Salad, Salisbury Steak with Sautéed Soy Sesame Asparagus, and Lemon Olive Oil Pound Cake.

 

My Upcoming Fall ACE Classes

 

ACE has released the fall catalogue.  I have 4 classes on the schedule from September through December: Cooking Basics 101; Easy Gourmet Meals; Holiday in Sicily; and Up Your Tailgate Game, recipes perfect for the parking lot or family room, wherever you choose to watch.  Date, times, and locations of these classes are listed below.

 

Sumi-e Style Birthday Cake

 

I baked a cake for my mother-in-law’s birthday last Saturday.  Since she used to do the Japanese Sumi-e painting and I am currently taking classes in the medium, I decided to decorate one in the Sumi-e style (picture above).  The cake was a vanilla cake with the icing made from butter, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla extract, a bit of milk, and food coloring.  The picture represents “Diamond Fuji,” when the sun is directly over the crater so that it looks like a diamond in a setting.  The branches have plum blossoms, which bloom in February.

 

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 fall term.

 

September 26 and October 3 – Wednesday Evening – Up Your Tailgate Game – Plum Center

 

October 12, 19, and 26 – Friday Evening – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

 

November 10 – Saturday Morning – Holiday in Sicily – Plum Center

 

November 27, December 4 and 11 – Tuesday Evenings - Easy Gourmet Meals/One Step Further – 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