End of Summer Desserts Project with Basil Ice Cream; Shakshuka; Cape May Dining; My Fall Cooking Classes with A.C.E.

Post Date : 28 September 2016

Basil Ice Cream

 

 

My basil plants did really well this year, so I decided to finish off my summer desserts project with Basil Ice Cream.  I checked out 4 different recipes before deciding on the one from the New York Times Cooking page.  The link to the recipe is below.  It is a very straightforward recipe, basil, sugar, milk, cream, salt, and egg yolks.  And it was excellent.  By substituting Mint leaves for Basil, you can make a mint ice cream as well.

 http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016617-mint-or-basil-ice-cream

 

More on Shakshuka

 

My basil plants did really well this year, so I decided to finish off my summer desserts project with Basil Ice Cream.  I checked out 4 different recipes before deciding on the one from the New York Times Cooking page.  The link to the recipe is below.  It is a very straightforward recipe, basil, sugar, milk, cream, salt, and egg yolks.  And it was excellent.  By substituting Mint leaves for Basil, you can make a mint ice cream as well.

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016617-mint-or-basil-ice-cream

 

Cape May Dining

 

 

We went to Cape May, New Jersey, for a week earlier in September and had a great meal at Godmother’s Restaurant.  We have been going to Cape May for several years now and had passed the restaurant many times but never dined there.  This year we decided to go, and were really glad we did.  The food was excellent.  Our main dishes were Rigatoni with Blackened Broccoli, Crab Ravioli in a Lemon Cream Sauce, and a Baked Salmon.  And for dessert there was Chocolate Gelato with a Biscotti.  Our only regret is that we had not gone there sooner.

 

Besides the great meal, another highlight of the trip was watching the full moon rise over the Atlantic from the beach, pictured above.

 

Reminder – Instagam

 

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

 

Upcoming Classes

 

Here are my classes for the fall term.  The Fall 2016 catalogue is now out.  Note the 2 different locations for the What’s for Breakfast? Class.

 

October 15 and 22 – Saturday Morning – What’s for Breakfast? – Plum Center Session 1 and Lake Braddock Secondary School Session 2.

 

October 30 – Sunday Afternoon – Bistro Lunch – Plum Center

 

November 6, 13, 20 – Sunday Afternoons – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

 

December 6, 13, 20 – Tuesday Evenings – Quick Weeknight Dinners – Plum Center

 

 

To register for this class, or any ACE cooking classes, please go to:

 

http://www.fcps.edu/is/ace/specialinterest.shtml and scroll down to the Culinary section

 

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                                                           

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cannoli Ice Cream Sandwiches; Baby Spinach and Watermelon Salad; My Fall Classes start in October.

Post Date: 2 September 2016

Happy Labor Day.  I hope everyone had a great summer and is ready for fall.  I was away on a bicycling trip in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, so I have not been trying many new recipes lately.  Picture above is from the Cheshire Trail in Keene, New Hampshire. But I have gotten back to my summer desserts project with Cannoli Ice Cream Sandwiches.  I have also been making a new summer salad for our week night dinners.  More on these below.

 

 

  Cannoli Ice Cream Sandwiches

 

 

For the ice cream recipe, I followed, with some modifications, a recipe from Bruce Weinstein’s The Ultimate Ice Cream Book, my go-to volume for all matters ice cream.  Like with regular Cannoli, the ice cream uses Ricotta Cheese.  However, I replaced the anise seeds in the recipe with orange zest.

 

For the Cannoli shells, I used a recipe from Ursula Ferrigno’s book Flavors of Sicily, which I mentioned in a previous post.  In her recipe the shells are baked instead of deep fried, then rolled around the cannoli tubes as soon as they come out of the oven.  However, instead of rolling them, I just let them cool flat on a rack to make the “bread” for the ice cream sandwiches. 

 

Baby Spinach and Watermelon Salad

 

 

This salad is my take on a dish from the SeaGrass Restaurant in Ocean Grove, New Jersey.  It is a wonderful summer salad, refreshing and very easy to make, with Just a few ingredients – Baby Spinach, Watermelon Chunks, Almond Slivers, and Crumbled Feta Cheese, topped with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar Glaze.  Other greens may be substituted if you prefer.

My Fall 2016 Classes

 

My fall classes do not start until October 15, giving me plenty of time to decide on the recipes for the classes.  First up is “What’s for Breakfast?” a two session Saturday morning class.  One item I will definitely be including in this class is Brie and Blueberry French Toast.  While staying with my good friends the Abusamras (Laurel, Ilse, and David) in New Hampshire on the bike trip, they made an Israeli breakfast dish called Shakshuka, a 1 skillet dish that includes tomatoes, eggs, onions, feta cheese and a variety of spices.  It is an excellent breakfast dish.  However, it takes almost an hour to prepare and cook, so rather than make it in class it will have to be one of the supplemental recipes I always give out to try at home.  A Google search will give you several variations on this dish.

 

Reminder – Instagam

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

Upcoming Classes

Here are my classes for the fall term.  The Fall 2016 catalogue is now out.

 

October 15 and 22 – Saturday Morning – What’s for Breakfast? – Plum Center

October 30 – Sunday Afternoon – Bistro Lunch – Plum Center

November 6, 13, 20 – Sunday Afternoons – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

December 6, 13, 20 – Tuesday Evenings – Quick Weeknight Dinners – Plum Center

 

To register for this class, or any ACE cooking classes, please go to:

http://www.fcps.edu/is/ace/specialinterest.shtml and scroll down to the Culinary section

While there, be sure to check out the other culinary courses offered by ACE’s excellent chef instructors.

Till next time, keep cooking.

Chocolate Biscotti; Pork Chops with Peaches; Cooking Basics 101 concludes.

Post Date: 10 August 2016

Chocolate Biscotti

Although they are a dessert, I am not considering the chocolate biscotti I made yesterday part of my summer desserts project since I have made them so many times in the past.  They have proved to be a real favorite.  I made 4 dozen; some will go to friends I am visiting this coming weekend, some I took to my Sumi-e painting club last night, and the rest are to keep.

Another Quick Summer Weeknight Dinner – Pork Chops with Peaches

My neighbor went peach picking and gave me a bag of wonderful peaches.  First I made 2 Peach Clafoutis and gave her one.  Thinking about something else to make with them, I decided on Peaches with Pork Chops (and Peach Schnapps).

 
I started by cutting 2 peaches into ½ inch wedges, which I cooked in vegetable oil over medium heat for about 6 minutes.  I then removed the peaches to a plate, salted and peppered 2 pork chops, and placed them into the skillet. While the chops cooked over medium heat, I removed the skin from the peaches after they had cooled for a few minutes.  When the chops were done, I removed them from the pan and covered to keep warm.  I let the pan cool for a few minutes, then added a couple of tablespoons of Peach Schnapps to the skillet, then turned the heat to medium high to make a reduction sauce.  After the sauce thickened, I reduced the heat to low and returned the peaches to the skillet to warm them, then put in the pork chops and turned to coat both sides with the sauce.  It was delicious, and I will be adding this recipe to my repertoire for the Quick Weeknight Dinners class, but only if good peaches are available.  However, the next iteration of this class is December 6, 13, and 20, so maybe not this time.

Cooking Basics 101 Concludes

 

 

 

 

Pictured above are three of the Lemon Olive Oil Pound Cakes students made in last Sunday’s final session of Cooking Basics 101.  We had a lot of fun making these as well as a Tuscan Bean Salad, Vegetables in Parchment paper, and Salisbury Steaks.  The next Basics 101 class is on three Sundays in November, 6, 13, and 20.

 

Reminder – Instagam

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

Upcoming Classes

Here are my classes for the fall term.  The Fall 2016 catalogue is now out.

October 15 and 22 – Saturday Morning – What’s for breakfast – Plum Center

October 30 – Sunday Afternoon – Bistro Lunch – Plum Center

November 6, 13, 20 – Sunday Afternoons – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

December 6, 13, 20 – Tuesday Evenings – Quick Weeknight Dinners – Plum Center

To register for this class, or any ACE cooking classes, please go to:

http://www.fcps.edu/is/ace/specialinterest.shtml and scroll down to the Culinary section

 

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                                                           

 

Cooking Basics 101 concludes; Brie Blueberry French Toast; Sautéed Peaches with Graham Cracker Crumble and Raspberry Lemon Sauce; Quick Weeknight Dinner with Orange Chicken, Quinoa, and Steamed Zucchini.

Post Date: 3 August 2016

Sautéed Peaches with Graham Crackers and Raspberry Lemon Sauce

My summer dessert project continues with this dessert from the latest Bon Appetit magazine (link is below).  The Peaches are cooked in butter with Lemon Juice and Brown Sugar, while the Graham Cracker Crumble is baked in the oven.  The sauce is made by simply crushing 1 cup of Raspberries in a bowl with a spoon, then Lemon Juice is mixed in.  Dish is best served warm, so the crumble should be made first, then the sauce while the peaches cool slightly.  It tasted really good.

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/peach-parfait-with-salted-graham-cracker-crumble

 

 

Cooking Basics 101 – Session 3

The third and final session of Cooking Basics 101 meets this Sunday afternoon at 1:00 PM at the Plum Center.  We will be making a Tuscan White Bean Salad (pictured above), Salisbury Steak, Vegetables in Parchment Paper, and a Lemon Olive Oil Pound Cake.

 
In the first class we cooked the main dish on the stovetop; in week two we used the oven.  This week we will be starting the Salisbury Steaks on the stovetop then finishing them in the oven.  While they finish, we will be using the skillet to make a reduction sauce to pour over the steaks.

French Toast with Brie and Blueberries

I got the idea for this dish from Kei Yamazaki, a Japanese chef I follow on Instagram whose specialty is breakfast.  For the French Toast I used King’s Hawaiian Bread dipped in the usual mixture of egg, milk, vanilla and cinnamon. Brioche would have worked just as well.  To prepare the Brie, I cut slices from a wedge, then trimmed off the rind.  The blueberries were simply rinsed.

 
As you can see from the photo above, each serving is a sandwich, so plan on 2 slices per serving.  When cooking the bread slices, cook one side to golden brown and the other to light brown, then remove from the skillet and place 4-5 Brie slices and some Blueberries on the golden brown side.  For the second slice, place it on the Brie with the golden brown side down.  Return the “sandwich” the skillet and cook until the cheese begins to melt and the outside is a golden brown.
 
Serve with Maple Syrup and spoon some more of the berries over the sandwiches.  For our dish I was lucky to have some excellent New Hampshire syrup given to me by my good friend from up there, David Abusamra.


Quick Summer Weeknight Dinner – Orange Soy Chicken with Quinoa and Steamed Zucchini for 2

I made this dinner the other night.  It came out really well so I thought I would share it here.  It is quick and easy to prepare.

 

Ingredients:

1 Medium/Large Zucchini

Salt

Pepper

Onion Powder

Red Pepper Flakes

Quinoa

2 Thin Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

Chinese 5 Space

½ Cup Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

3 Tablespoons Low Sodium Soy Sauce

 

Zucchini Prep – Cut the Zucchini into ¼ inch slices, sprinkle with salt, pepper, onion powder, and red pepper flakes.  Steam for 12-15 Minutes.

Quinoa – Prepare for 2 according to package directions.

Chicken Prep – Trim off any fat, then salt and pepper both sides; sprinkle Chinese 5 Spice on one side.  Cook the chicken over medium heat in a non- stick skillet for 2 minutes.  Flip the chicken and add the Orange Juice and Soy Sauce.  Cook the chicken for 2 more minutes, then remove from pan to a plate and cover to keep warm.   Increase the heat to high to bring the orange juice and soy sauce to a boil; cook until the liquid reduces until about ¼ cup and thickens.  Return the chicken to the pan and turn to cover with sauce.

Serve the Chicken on a bed of Quinoa, then pour the rest of the sauce over the chicken and quinoa.
 

Reminder – Instagam

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

 
Upcoming Classes

Here are my classes for the fall term.  The catalogue will be out soon.

October 15 and 22 – Saturday Morning – What’s for breakfast – Plum Center

October 30 – Sunday Afternoon – Bistro Lunch – Plum Center

November 6, 13, 20 – Sunday Afternoons – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

December 6, 13, 20 – Tuesday Evenings – Quick Weeknight Dinners – Plum Center

To register for this class, or any ACE cooking classes, please go to:

http://www.fcps.edu/is/ace/specialinterest.shtml and scroll down to the Culinary section

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                                                           

 

 

 

Cooking Basics 101 continues; Cooking Basics for Young Adults concludes; Bourbon Ice Cream and Strawberry Gelato; Fall Class Schedule

Post Date: 28 July 2016

My summer dessert project continues with two dishes this week, Bourbon Ice Cream and Strawberry Gelato, the difference between ice cream and gelato being that gelato uses more milk and less cream.  I had found both recipes in Bon Appetit magazine several years ago and came upon them when looking for items for my project. 

The Bourbon Ice cream uses heavy cream, half and half, and 5 tablespoons of Bourbon.  It tastes great served with a dollop of honey, as suggested by The Flavor Bible.


Cooking Basics 101 – Session 2

The second session of Cooking Basics 101 meets this Sunday afternoon at 1:00 PM at the Plum Center.  This week we will be making a Vegetable Soup, Baked Salmon with Mustard, and a Marscapone Strawberry Dessert.  The vegetable will be Broccoli.  We will also be discussing how long to keep spices and different types of salt.  Pictured above are three takes on a Caprese Salad from session 1.

Cooking Basics for Young Adults Concludes

This class concluded with a Tuscan White Bean Salad (pictured above), Salisbury Steak, and Roasted Vegetables in Parchment Paper. For dessert we baked a Lemon Olive Oil Pound Cake.

 

Reminder – Instagam

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

Upcoming Classes

Here are my classes for the fall term.  The catalogue will be out soon.

October 15 and 22 – Saturday Morning – What’s for Breakfast – Plum Center

October 30 – Sunday Afternoon – Bistro Lunch – Plum Center

November 6, 13, 20 – Sunday Afternoons – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

December 6, 13, 20 – Tuesday Evenings – Quick Weeknight Dinners – Plum Center

 

To register for these, or any ACE cooking classes, please go to:

http://www.fcps.edu/is/ace/specialinterest.shtml and scroll down to the Culinary section

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                                                           

Cooking Basics for Young Adults and Cooking Basics 101 Classes; Bastille Day Dinner; Recap of Farmhouse Dinner in Provence Class; Strawberry Clafoutis

Post Date: 16 July 2016

 

Continuing with my summer desserts project, I made Vanilla Ice Cream (pictured above) and a Strawberry Clafoutis for dessert for our Bastille Day meal.  I have 2 Cooking Basics classes coming up in the next 2 weeks, which will finish out my summer schedule.

 

COOKING BASICS FOR YOUNG ADULTS CLASS AND COOKING BASICS 101

This month I have 2 Cooking Basics classes.  The first one, Cooking Basics for Young Adults, is in a “boot camp” format, running on three consecutive evenings, Tuesday July 19, Wednesday July 20, and Thursday July 21 starting at 6:30 PM at the Plum Center in Springfield.  The Cooking Basics 101 class runs on Sunday afternoons July 24, July 31, and August 7 starting at 1:00 PM, also at the Plum Center in Springfield.

Dishes to be prepared in the first session are a Caprese Salad, Pan Fried Chicken Italiano with Blanched Asparagus, and a no bake dessert with blueberries and ricotta cheese.  Each session we will also be covering knife skills and safe food handling techniques.  In session one we will cook on the stove top, session 2 in the oven, and session 3 start on the stove top and finish in the oven, three basic and essential cooking methods.

 

Bastille Day Dinner

 

For our Bastille Day Dinner I prepared Poulet a la Diable (pictured above) and a Strawberry Clafoutis (pictured and discussed below).  The chicken recipe is from French Country Light Cooking by Evelyne Slomon (Putnam Publishing, New York, 1993).  You prepare a mixture of Chopped Shallots, Dijon Mustard, Cayenne Pepper, Worcestershire Sauce, Chicken Broth, and Dried Parsley.  I poured this into a zip lock bag, then added 2 boneless skinless Chicken Breasts to coat them with the mixture.  I then poured everything into an 8 x 8 pan which I had brushed with Olive Oil, added a chopped Zucchini, and placed under the broiler.  Dessert was the Strawberry Clafoutis.

Farmhouse Dinner in Provence Recap

 

Pictured above are some of the student dishes form the Farmhouse Dinner in Provence class, Lemon Basil Aioli, Salade Nicoise, and Chicken Provençale. We had a very ambitious menu, making 5 separate items (the three shown above, a White Bean and Olive Tapenade, and a Peach Clafoutis), but everyone did a great job and we got through all 5 successfully.  In keeping with the French theme, in the fall I will be giving a one session class called Bistro Lunch on Sunday, October 30.  For the winter session I am thinking of a Dinner in Normandy class.

Strawberry Clafoutis

When we made the Peach Clafoutis in the Farmhouse Dinner in Provence class, there was discussion about what other fruits you could use. Cherries are the usual one, but we discussed pears and strawberries.  I got to thinking I had never made one with strawberries, and since they were looking pretty good at the store, I decided to try it.  I did things a bit differently from the Peach one.  After hulling and cutting the strawberries into smaller pieces, I placed them in a bowl, added a tablespoon of sugar, covered the bowl, and placed them in the fridge for a couple of hours to let the sugar draw out some of the juice.  I used a slotted spoon to remove the strawberries from the bowl and placed them in the baking dish, reserving the juice.  After combining the wet ingredients of milk, eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract, I added the strawberry juice before putting in the flour and salt.  The resulting dish, pictured above, was delicious.

 

Reminder - Instagam

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

Upcoming Classes

Here are my classes for the summer term.  The Fall 2016 list will be in the next blog post.

July 19, 20, 21 – Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Evening – Cooking Basics for Young Adults – Plum Center – different format, 3 straight evenings.

July 24, 31, August 7 – Sunday Afternoon – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

 

To register for this class, or any ACE cooking classes, please go to:

http://www.fcps.edu/is/ace/specialinterest.shtml and scroll down to the Culinary section

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                                                           

 

 

 

4th of July Menu; Farmhouse Dinner in Provence Class; More Ice Cream Making; Apricot Compote; Quick Weeknight Dinners Class at the Plum Center Concludes.

Post Date: 7 July 2016

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July.  Continuing with my summer dessert project, I made Coffee Ice Cream, Chocolate Ice Cream, and an Apricot Compote (pictured above).  Coming up later are a Strawberry Gelato and a Guinness Stout Ice Cream, and maybe going old school with a Vanilla.  For the ice cream making I am working with Bruce Weinstein’s great book The Ultimate Ice Cream Book, which is available on Amazon. 

 

The Coffee Ice Cream (above) is right out of Weinstein’s book and is very interesting.  Instead of adding brewed coffee, you heat the cream, sugar and vanilla, then add in one cup of whole coffee beans and let cool, then refrigerate overnight.  Before making the ice cream, you discard the beans. What results is a white ice cream that looks like vanilla with a subtle coffee taste.  When you take a spoonful at first there is no coffee taste, but then it slowly sneaks in.  When people try it for the first time, they immediately say, “I don’t taste any coffee,” and then, Surprise!

4^th of July Party Menu

 

We hosted the family again this year and made a variety of dishes.  To start there was a Panzanella Salad (pictured above), followed Dijon Hamburger Sliders and cold Chicken Provençale served in Pita Bread with Lemon Basil Aioli. As a side we served Tricolor Pasta with Sautéed Vegetables (below).

Farmhouse Dinner in Provence Class

This one session class meets this coming Saturday, July 9, at 10:00 AM at the Plum Center in Springfield.  Pictured above is the dessert we will be making, Peach Clafoutis.  We will also be making a White Bean Tapenade, a Nicoise Salad, and Chicken Provençale and Vegetables with a Lemon Aioli.  I will also be giving out a recipe for a “Quick Aioli.”

Quick Weeknight Dinners Concludes

We had the final session of this class last week.  Pictured above are 2 of the student dishes, Dijon Hamburgers with a quick Lemon Aioli and Cacio e Pepe with Roasted Lemon Thyme Carrots.  The next iteration of this class will run on Tuesdays December 6, 13, and 20, 2016, at the Plum Center.

Reminder - Instagam

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

Upcoming Classes

Here are my classes for the rest spring and the summer term.  The Fall 2016 list will be out soon.

July 19, 20, 21 – Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Evening – Cooking Basics for Young Adults – Plum Center – different format, 3 straight evenings.

July 24, 31, August 7 – Sunday Afternoon – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

 

To register for this class, or any ACE cooking classes, please go to:

http://www.fcps.edu/is/ace/specialinterest.shtml and scroll down to the Culinary section

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