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                          

 

 

 

 

ACE Cooking Class “Easy Gourmet Meals” concludes; Next ACE Class – Cooking Basics 101 begins this Saturday, May 5; Mediterranean Dish - Kofta.

Post Date 2 May 2018

 

As April concluded with a beautiful full moon rising on Sunday night and May is stating out like midsummer, it is time for me to start thinking about summer dishes and classes.  One of my summer classes at ACE is Summer Soups.  Two summers ago I assigned myself an ice cream project.  I did not make any last summer, but the Lemon Olive Oil Ice Cream I made a few weeks ago has inspired me to take up the project again this summer with a variety of new flavors, plus some old favorites.  I’ll be writing about them in future posts.

 

 

ACE Class- Easy Gourmet Meals

 

 

This class concluded last Friday, April 30.  Our featured dish was baked Tilapia Italiana with a warm Goat Cheese and Pear Salad (pictured above).  Our other salad was Orange Couscous and other entrée was Beef Teriyaki with Jasmine Rice.

 

I plan to offer v2.0 of this class in the Fall 2018 quarter with all new recipes.

 

 

Next ACE Class – Cooking Basics 101

 

This class begins Saturday morning, May 5, at the Plum Center.  For our first session our featured dish will be Pan Fried Chicken Italiano with Blanched Broccoli.  We will flour the chicken, season it with Italian Seasonings, dip it in an egg wash, then coat it with Panko Breadcrumbs. Our salad will be a Chickpea Salad, and for desert we will make a no bake Blueberry Ricotta Parfait.  We will also be covering basic knife skills and safe food handling techniques.

Mediterranean Dish - Turkey Kofta

 

This is another recipe I made from Prevention Magazine’s Mediterranean Table cookbook. It is a Middle Eastern dish that calls for ground lamb, but I could not find any at the supermarket so I used ground turkey.  I cooked them on skewers on my counter top griddle, along with Zucchini strips.  They are served with a cold sauce made from Plain Greek Yogurt, Tahini Paste, Lemon Juice, and Minced Garlic.  It is a great summer dish so will be making it again as the weather gets warmer.

 

 

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                          

 

 

 

ACE Cooking Class “Easy Gourmet Meals” concludes; Next ACE Class – Cooking Basics 101; Lemon Olive Oil Ice Cream; Japanese Dish – Shrimp, Asparagus, and Leek Stir Fry.

Post Date: 26 April 2018

ACE Class- Easy Gourmet Meals

 

The third and final session of this class meets this Friday evening at 6:30 PM.  As in the past 2 sessions, we will be making 2 salads, a vegetable dish, and 2 main courses.

Our salads will be a Warm Goat Cheese one and an Orange Couscous.  We will make the Orange Couscous first, as it is best when chilled, so it will have time to cool in the fridge before served.  The vegetable will be Roasted Carrots with Lemon and Thyme.  For our main dishes we will be making Beef Teriyaki and a Baked Tilapia with Italian seasonings.

 

Next ACE Class – Cooking Basics 101

This three session class begins on Saturday, May 5 at the Plum Center in Springfield and continues for the following two Saturdays, May 12 and 19.  In each session we will be making a three course meal consisting of salad or soup, main course with vegetable, and a dessert. Each week we will explore a different cooking technique – on the stovetop, in the oven, and a combination of both.  We will also cover knife skills and safe food handling.  There are still a few seats left in this class.

Lemon Olive Oil Ice Cream

 

I found this recipe in last week’s New York Times Food section, and since we make a Lemon Olive Oil pound Cake in my Cooking Basics 101 class, I thought I would give it a try and get an early start on the summer.  The recipe calls for a “fruity olive oil,” so I checked one out at the grocery store and it was $11.99 for a bottle, so I made my own from a recipe I found online.  You heat a cup of olive oil with the peel of one lemon to almost boiling, then let cool, discard the peel, and store in a glass container – a lot cheaper way to go.

 

The resulting ice cream is delicious, a hint of summer in early spring.  Here is the link to the recipe:

 

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019274-lemon-olive-oil-ice-cream

 

Shrimp, Asparagus, and Leek Stir Fry

 

I found this recipe in the Food section of the site for NHK, the Japanese Public Broadcasting System.  It looks like it will be a good one for one of my summer term classes – Japanese Cooking in Your American Kitchen v2.0.  The shrimp are marinated very briefly in Sake, then cooked in Sesame Oil.  The dish is delicious and quite easy to prepare especially if you use shrimp that are peeled and deveined.  Here is the link to the recipe:

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/food/recipe/beginners_30455.html

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.

May 5, 12, and 19 – Saturday Morning – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

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                          

 

 

 

 

 

ACE Cooking Class “Easy Gourmet Meals” continues; Banana Pudding Italiana; Another Mediterranean Diet Dish – Mussels in Ouzo

Post Date: 18 April 2018

ACE Class- Easy Gourmet Meals

 

Session 2 of this 3 session class meets this Friday evening at 6:30 PM.  Last week we made two salads, Tuscan Bean Salad (pictured above) and a Spinach and Stilton Cheese salad.  For our main courses we made Chicken and Vegetables roasted in parchment paper and Curry Shrimp with Teriyaki Vegetables.

 

This week we will be making a Chickpea Salad and my take on a Waldorf Salad; Blanched Broccoli; Baked Salmon with Mustard and Panko Bread Crumbs; and Cacio e Pepe, a classic pasta dish.

 

Banana Pudding Italiana

 

We made a Banana Pudding in a class a few weeks ago, and it got me thinking.  I have version 2.0 of my Italian Desserts class coming up in June, so what about doing an Italian riff on the traditional banana pudding. So I made the one pictured above using Marscapone cheese and Amoretti cookies.  It came out quite nice, so I’ll be adding it to the class menu.

Mediterranean Diet Dishes – Mussels Cooke in Ouzo

 

This is another dish I made form Prevention Magazine’s Mediterranean Table cookbook.  It was quick and delicious and get me the excuse to use the Ouzo I had bought for a different recipe.  I served it on a bed of Couscous with Peas.

 

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.

 May 5, 12, and 19 – Saturday Morning – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

 

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                          

 

 

 

 

ACE Cooking Class – Easy Gourmet Meals; Peach Melba Shortbread Bars; Mediterranean Diet Dishes

Post Date 11 April 2018

Well, it looks like we have a few more days before we get into spring weather.  But that didn’t stop the fox shown above from lounging in my backyard the other day.  I had to take the picture through the window for fear he might run off if I went out on the deck.


ACE Class- Easy Gourmet Meals
 
This 3 session class begins this Friday evening, April 13, at 6:30 PM at the Plum Center in Springfield.  Sessions 2 and 3 are on the following Fridays, April 20 and 27.  In each class we will be making 2 main courses and 1 or 2 salads.  We usually do not do desserts in this class, but dessert recipes will be given out with the supplemental items to be tried at home.
 
In the first session we will be making a Tuscan Bean Salad and a Spinach and Stilton Cheese Salad.  For the entrees, we will be cooking Orange Balsamic Chicken with Vegetables in Parchment Paper (en Papilotte) and Curry Shrimp.
 
 Peach Melba Shortbread Bars

 

I had not made shortbread bars in a long time, so when a few weeks ago I saw a quick recipe in the Washington Post’s Wednesday Food section I decided to try it.  The result was a delicious dessert.  The link to the recipe is below.  What makes the recipe so easy is the fact that you use Peach and Raspberries preserves instead of fresh berries.  The ingredient list is pretty basic; you may already have everything in your pantry and fridge.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/peach-melba-shortbread-bars/16329/?utm_term=.f9412ed7e83d
 

Mediterranean Diet Dishes – Pork Tenderloin with Brussels Sprouts and Pearl Onions

This is another dish I made form Prevention Magazine’s Mediterranean Table cookbook.  Although you use both the stovetop and the oven, it is still quite easy to make with few ingredients and tastes delicious.  You sear the tenderloin, place it on a bed of Brussels Sprouts, Pearl Onions, and Rosemary sprigs and finish it all off in the oven.  When it comes out you deglaze the pan with wine or chicken broth to make a reduction sauce – protein and vegetables all in one dish, giving you plenty of time to make your salad while the meat is in the oven.

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.
 
May 5, 12, and 19 – Saturday Morning – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center
 
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                          

ACE Cooking Class – Cooking Basics 101 Concludes; Mediterranean Meals

Post Date: 21 March 2018

 

When I wrote the first draft of this post it was a warm, spring like afternoon, but that has quickly changed to a winter morning.  The 2 Mediterranean dishes discussed below are perfect for this weather.

ACE Class- Cooking Basics 101 Concludes, Session 3 on March 23

 

 

 

Session 3 of Cooking Basics 101 meets this Friday evening. Last week we made a traditional French Vinaigrette with Mustard and Baby Spinach and Sautéed Asparagus with Soy Sauce and Sesame Oil and Seeds.  Our main course was Baked Salmon Filets (pictured above) with Mustard and for dessert we made Marscapone Strawberry Cups.

This week we will be using the oven for most of our dishes.  Our salad will be Orange Couscous.  But the vegetables will be Legumes en Papilotte, vegetables roasted in parchment paper, and the main course will be Salisbury Steaks.  We will sear them in a skillet, then finish them in the oven while we use the pan juices to make a pan sauce with onions.  Our dessert will be mini Lemon Olive Oil Pound Cakes.

 

 

 

 

 

Mediterranean Diet Dishes

 

 

I made two recipes last week from Prevention Magazine’s Mediterranean Table cookbook.  Pictured above is a Greek dish, Shrimp Saganaki.  It gets its name from the cooking vessel it is traditionally made in.  I had some frozen shrimp from an earlier recipe, so I decided to try this one.  It is all in one skillet, so it is easy to make.  First Shallots, then Tomatoes, Salt and Pepper, Ouzo, then the Shrimp, garnished with chopped Italian Parsley.  It tasted great and did not take long to make, but the best thing about the recipe is that now I have a bottle of Ouzo.

 

The second dish I made from the cookbook was Chicken and Olives with Couscous (pictured above).  This dish is a bit more time consuming than the Saganaki, but it is well worth it.  The recipe calls for chicken thighs, but instead I used boneless skinless chicken beasts cut into the approximate size of thighs.  To start you brown the chicken in an oven proof skillet, then remove the chicken pieces and add Garlic, Onion, Bell Peppers, Thyme, and Oregano, then Tomatoes and Chicken Broth to a boil.  Then the Chicken is put back into the skillet along with Olives.  You cover the skillet, then place it in the oven to finish while you make the Couscous.

\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.

 

April 13, 20, and 27 – Friday Evening – Easy Gourmet Meals – Plum Center

 

May 5, 12, and 19 – Saturday Morning – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

 

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                          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ACE Cooking Class – Cooking Basics 101 Continues; Chef Robert Irvine’s Pumpkin Lasagne; Spice Crusted Salmon over White Beans

Post Date: 14 March 2018

Session 2 of Cooking Basics 101 meets this Friday evening March 16.  In the first session we made a Chickpea Salad (student dish pictured above), Blanched Broccoli, Pan Fried Chicken Italiano, and Blueberry Ricotta Parfaits.

This week we will be going to the classics for the salad, making a traditional French Vinaigrette and discussing how to jazz up your salads.  For our vegetable, we will be sautéing Asparagus, but with a Japanese twist, using Sesame Oil and Seeds, Cooking Rice Wine, and Soy Sauce.  For our main dish we will use the oven for Baked Salmon with Mustard.  Once again we will do a no bake dessert, this week with Strawberries and Marscapone Cheese.

We will also be discussing how long to keep spices and the most common kinds of salt and their uses.

 

Pumpkin Lasagne

 

Yes, Pumpkin Lasagne!  I made this recipe for my Sumi-e painting group meeting last week.  I had cut it out a while back from Food Network Magazine.  With the exception of the Pumpkin Puree (not pumpkin pie filling) the recipe pretty much follows the usual Lasagne pattern, with Red Sauce, Ricotta and Mozzarella Cheeses, and meat, in this case hot Italian sausage.  An addition to the usual layers is Zucchini, thinly sliced.  The pumpkin puree is mixed with an egg to make it more spreadable, and it adds a touch taste to the dish.

Here is the link to the recipe:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robert-irvine/pumpkin-lasagna-recipe-1917390

 

 

Spice Crusted Salmon over White Beans

 

 

Continuing my culinary journey into the Mediterranean Diet, pictured above is a dish I made last week, Spice Crusted Salmon over White Beans.  Recipe is from Prevention Magazine’s Cookbook entitled Mediterranean Table.  The recipe requires 2 skillets, but it is worth it – one to cook the salmon and one to cook the Cannellini Beans, Fennel, Onion, and Garlic, and some Red Pepper Flakes for a little heat.  The salmon has just salt, pepper, and fennel seeds on it.  It finishes up nice and crispy, and when served in a deep bowl on top of the bean mixture it makes a great visual presentation which its taste matches.

 

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.

 

April 13, 20, and 27 – Friday Evening – Easy Gourmet Meals – Plum Center

 

May 5, 12, and 19 – Saturday Morning – Cooking Basics 101 – Plum Center

 

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