Amuse Bouche

Citrio

One of the added benefits to teaching in a culinary school is the fact that many of those you teach will one day head out to the wild blue yonder and work in various kitchens.  This means you get to swan in and visit them, try the food and have a little insider moment.
Last month I went to visit a friend of mine from CSCA at his new venture Citrio Catering & Provisions Co.
We all used to tease Mark when he was going through the program as he came in every day with his whites starched and pressed (with creases!) and after cooking all day and doing boatloads of dishes he went home looking EXACTLY as neat and clean as when he came in the door.  I mean come on, look at the cuffs on his chefs coat.  The man is neat. The other thing we miss about Mark was his ability to 'hold court' every morning before class spinning us stories of his neighbors or a charity event he had been to recently.  The man has a way with a tale. Now, he has a way with jalapeño jam, but we'll get to that later.

Mark has partnered up with well known chef, Jeff Fournier, owner of 51 Lincoln, which is located right across the street from Citrio , as well as Eric Bogardus of Vox Populi, Loche Ober ,Pignoli and also a former contender to be White House chef, to open up a sweet little bistro/cafe/catering operation right in Newton Highlands.  Both Jeff, and Eric, I might add, have previously worked under Lydia Shire, my personal cooking goddess, that fact alone makes them okay in my book.

I swung by about 2 weeks after they opened to meet some friends and catch up with Mark.  In his usual style he drew me right in telling me about the space.

The space they occupy was the site of the very first Brigham's store in the 1920's.  In later years it became Ice Cream Works and now that they have taken over the space, in a nod to its illustrious past, they have kept on making ice cream.  In fact, they have this amazing machine that can crank out 40 gallons of ice cream in an hour! The machine gives them the ability to make ice cream wholesale and sell it to local restaurants and you should see the size of the walk in freezer! They also use this spacious site to make all the breads for both Citrio and 51 Lincoln. 

The food at Citrio is Modern American with flavours culled from other global cuisines.  The day I visited I had a pulled pork sandwich on a house made roll accompanied by sweet potato chips that they make in-house.

Nice tender pulled pork in a sweet style sauce (Sorry, I started eating before I even thought about taking a picture...so good!). They have a great selection of soups including Sancocho, a Columbian style chicken and lime soup, various salads, hot and cold sandwiches, a killer Bolognaise made in traditional slow cooked style.  All of these dishes were available in March when I was there and I am guessing that they will slowly change the menu a bit to get seasonal for spring and summer.

When you walk in the door there is a deli case full of platters loaded with things like Citrio's House Smoked Chicken in a Pomegranate Marinade, Toasted Cous Cous Salad with Ginger and Grilled Plums and Peruvian Potato Salad with House Smoked Salt and Fresh Horseradish.  All of this is available to buy by the pound to take home. Right around the corner there is a case of frozen take home selections as well as the item that had me buying 10 on the spot, veal stock. 

Yes, I said house made veal stock all ready to take home and use in perfect little containers.  I was in love.  But the house made item that made my heart sing was the jalapeño jam, just one of several home made jams they sell. 

The jalapeño jam is a thick, rich jewel coloured jam packed with slices of garlic and multi coloured peppers.  It plays perfectly on the sweet/hot/tart line that I love.  Slather some on a spice rubbed pork tenderloin and grill it.  Spread a little over your cream cheese on a bagel.  I promise, you'll become as addicted as I have. I have threatened physical harm if the recipe changes.

Melissa, who also worked with us for a time at create a cook,  bakes some mean desserts for both 51 Lincoln and Citrio. Chocolate bread pudding, killer Super Charged Brownies and house made marshmallows that melt on your tongue.

On the other side they have about 20 seats in a sun lit yellow room and the day we were there a constant stream of customers came in and out as well as a few people who chose to  linger over their lunch with a book or the paper.  It's a great little neighborhood place to drop by.  Right now they have started their outdoor seating area as well and this is a rare thing here in Newton.  You can sit under the trees in a sunny brick lined courtyard and linger over your lunch.  But they don't want to stop there, Citrio also caters and this is where things get really interesting.  Rather than choosing from the usual list of catering options in tick box fashion, Citro will customize the menu for your event.  Tell them the foods you like, the cuisines you love, the theme of your event and they will custom tailor the menu for you. 

Stop by sometime, say hello to Mark and tell him jo sent you.

Citrio Catering and Provisions Co.
2 Hartford Street
Newton, Highlands
617-969-1234
Mon - Sat 11-6:30 PM
Closed Sunday

New adult classes - Starting Monday

Starting Monday April 7th at create a cook in Newton we are kicking off our introductory adult classes.
The four week culinary tour series will be on Mondays from 9AM - 12.
This coming Monday we begin our trip in Spain, Week 2 will find us in France, Week 3 Italy and in week 4 we take a brief hop over to Asia. No luggage, no plane tickets, no tough reservations to make.
I'd love to see you come along.  There are still 2 openings.

On Wednesdays, Betsy, a Johnson and Wales graduate and a 10 year veteran baker, begins a basic baking series. 
Betsy's class will meet every Wednesday for 4 weeks from 9:00 AM - 12.
Week one scones and quick breads - raisin scones, chocolate loaf breads, and crepes are featured.
Week two artisan breads - participants will learn to prepare boule, eggplant tartine, and brioche cinnamon
rolls.
Week three is all about cake. We will make Celebration Cakes - two layers of yellow cake
filled with ganache and covered with butter cream frosting. The basics of cake decorating will finish the
product.
Week four is the grand finale- French pastries. Students will prepare pate a choux, pastry
crème, chocolate French glaze and create French éclairs; and lastly individual fresh fruit tartlets.

Not only will you learn some great new recipes and techniques in our classes, but the added bonus?

You get to take home every dish you make!

More from the mouths of babes

As I was explaining last nights recipes to the class a hand shot up and asked why we never cook any fish.
I explained that two of the students in the 11-13 age group went into anaphylaxis if they ate fish so it was not possible to do any fish dishes while they were students.

And now I bring you the commentary that accompanied this revelation;

Student 1 asked whether or not these people ever went swimming in the ocean.  I told them I wasn't sure, why?  They then asked how they could swim in the ocean if they could die from eating or touching fish.  It isn't often that I am stymied and can't come up with a retort.  But that comment had me for a loop.  What would happen if a fish passed by their lips, or they swallowed sea water in an area heavy with fish.  Who knows?

Student 2, my resident local princess, informed me that it was good that we would not be making any fishes dishes as the only fish she deemed fit to consume was ahi tuna, very lightly seared.  She's 11.  Where do we go from here?

Would you order one?

This week I decided to execute class with my 11-13 year olds in a different way.  They already knew that this session I had developed a quiz for them to take at the end of 7 weeks, but they were not expecting what they got this week.
The class was laid out as usual, all the equipment at their stations, a recipe packet at hand.  Most weeks parents drop off the kids and come in to read the recipes to find out what is for dinner that night, they too were in for a surprise.  Each packet had two written recipes, a lima bean puree and a gratin of braised leeks with horseradish. 

But page 1 was different.
Page 1 simply said:

Title:
Recipe by:
Ingredients:
Technique:

Step1:
Step2:

On the counter once they all gathered I explained that tonight they were all going to create and write their own recipes.  I pointed to a bowl and told them each one of them was getting an 8 ounce sirloin strip steak.
Then I pointed to the counter and explained that after they seasoned and seared their steak to the desired doneness they would build a pan sauce with any of the ingredients they wanted to choose.

I explained deglazing with the cognac.
I described how demi-glace is made and showed them the container I had and how it was reconstituted.
We talked about high notes and low notes in food.  We talked about brightening dishes with lemon juice, seasoning to taste, evening flavours with cream, etc.
I explained the reduced porcini liquid, minced shallots, whole grain mustard, sauteed mushrooms, butter, etc.
I explained how to write the steps by walking them through the seasoning of the steak and the pan to use, the heat it would be cooking at, etc.
And then I told them to take a few minutes to decide what they wanted to make and begin to write their recipes.
The buzz in the room was intense.  The questions surprised even me.  They were asking if they had a high note and a low note, would these two things work together, how would they know when to flip the steak, what would the crust look like?

I was so proud of those peeps and what they came up with, and I was so excited that they really seemed to 'get it', they understood that the ingredients they chose would affect the taste.  They went with the demi-glace even though none of them had ever tasted it.  Would your 11 year old know what a porcini reduction was if you asked them?  It was too cool.

I told them to leave me their recipes and that I would type them all up and include them with the cookbook I would give them at the end of the 7 week session.  The second class even asked that everyone's recipe be included in all the cookbooks instead of them just receiving their own.  This weekend I will have husband help me scan them in instead of typing them, because really, you need to see these in their own words.  But I though I might just highlight a few of them.

DM titled his dish: Ak-Van Shnouser - Put congiac in the pan with leftover stake residue then mix. 

BH title his: Steak w/ Mushroom Sauce (and lemon!)  cook steak until  nice crust has formed, pull out steak and add conac, scrape bottom, then add shallots.  Add porcini and put n a splash of demi-glace.  Stir and add cream, the stir and add lemon.  Poor over steak and enjoy.

Good old N called his: Cheesy Fried then Baked Potato Wings!!!! (Don't ask)

NP called hers: Worm Krundies

One of my faves BL titled his creation No-Name Steak.  Salt and pepper steak on 1 side. Turn on pan to medium high heat & add oil.  Make sure seasoned side of the steak is facing the bottom of the pan and place steak in the pan.  Now season the other side of the steak.  Flip the steak when there is a crust on the bottom.  When the steak looks medium-rare take it out and place it in a separate plate.  Add cognac and scrape off the fond at the bottom of the pan.  When all the fond is scraped, add heavy cream.  Wait for the mixture to bubble and add mustard, demi-glace and lemon.  Season the sauce to your liking with salt 7 pepper.  Pour sauce over steak and enjoy. Do you want to adopt him yet?  I know I do, I tell his mother all the time I'm taking him home with me.

LS my crazy loud little minx titled hers: To be Announced Steak.  Salt + pepper one side of steak.  Heat oil in saute in pan over medium high heat.  Put seasoned side down and season other side that facing up.  Flip when a crust has formed + it naturally releases from pan.  When its done take it off and add cognac and scrape all the shmooy stuff off pan.  After all skraped off add all ingredients.  Season to taste.

There could be more of this fun in future classes.  It was too cool.  And I learned that if you make it fun, they actually listen.

Middle Eastern Flames

Day 3

Zucchini and summer squash grilling for Chris and Doc's White Bean Salad with Roasted Red pepper Dressing

Lamb Kefta on our ingenious creation of two bamboo skewers wrapped in foil to make lamb lollipops that don't burn.

My truck as Sun Tea stand. Note the bottle brewing on the back deck.

Tomorrow?
We talk about how much we love East Coast Grill.

Rocking the Ribs

I assure you these ribs are gonna be soooooooooo good tonight.

Not only did everyone in class make a rack, but both Nay Nay and Ash cruised by at separate times to inquire if there was a spare rack to be had, I stopped by Whole Paycheck and picked up a few racks for hubby and I so all told we made 14 racks of baby backs and a half chicken for my kosher girl.

Racks were rubbed liberally with a serious spice rub we made and then a bit of brown ale was lovingly poured around them, they were wrapped in lovely foil blankets and set in a low and slow oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.  The BBQ sauce was assembled by all and we finished them on the grill with a slathering of sauce and a bit of browning action.

Here is Doctor D one of my peeps with his very stylish onion goggles.  He had just finished chopping scallions for his Southwestern potato salad with chipotle in adobo sauce.  Uh huh...they all said it was yummy.  Of course he continued to wear them while we went out and grilled as well.  I think he just likes them.

Corn, on the grill.  After?  Smothered in mayo, chili powder, salt, lime juice and cotija cheese.  Seriously try it.

I have just showered the smell of the 14 racks of ribs off my person and sent the laundry down the magic chute.  I think it is time for a nice Campari Gin & Tonic.

Tomorrow? 

Middle Eastern BBQ.

Oh and Flummel, this is my view from work, not quite as lovely as yours, but oddly rather soothing.

Malay Rice with Fresh Herbs and Flowers

Malay Rice with Fresh Herbs and Edible Flowers
Jasmine rice infused with coconut milk, galangal, kaffir lime leaves and lemon grass - served with fresh coriander, thai basil and edible orchids

Do pardon the colour, we only have fluorescent at work.

BBQ Pit

Starting tomorrow for 5 days at create a cook it's BBQ Pit.  I am so excited!  We've rented a 50" long grill and the field trip Thursday is to East Coast Grill.  Sadly, my grilling God, Chris Schlesinger won't be there, one of these days though I'll finally get to meet him in person and have a little food chat, maybe act all groupie and get him to sign my books.  Sadly I lost my copy of Salsas, Sambals, Chutneys and Chow-Chows to the great dishwasher disaster circa 1995 - long story - but I always scour used book stores to find a replacement copy.  In fact Friday I picked up a copy of Quick Pickles at the Book Fair.
I have all the other books he did with John Willoughby as well.

What are we making next week?

·    Sate chicken with peanut sauce
·    Chicken and vegetable Yakitori
·    Fragrant Malay Rice with mixed Fresh herbs and edible flowers
·    Scallion Pancakes
·    Savory Watermelon and Pineapple Salad
·    Macadamia Nut brownies
·    Creamed Cornbread
·    Banana Papaya Fool
·    Grilled corn on the cob cotija cheese and lime
·    Watermelon-Strawberry Aqua Fresca
·    Mock Kansas City Ribs, Rub and BBQ Sauce
·    Mesa Grill Potato Salad
·    Uncommon Carrot-Raisin Slaw
·    Grilled lamb Kefta
·    Sunny sweet tea (hope for sun please)
·    White Bean Salad with Grilled Squash, Zucchini and Roasted Red pepper Dressing
·    Fattoush
·    Pita breads
·    Grilled fruits with Balsamic Reduction glaze
·    Burgers galore (make our own Ground beef from Chuck Roast) with the fixin's
·    Ziti with Grilled Gazpacho Sauce and sausages
·    Grilled chicken and sausages with peaches, peppers, pecorino and black olive vinaigrette
·    Grilled Fresh mozzarella and bread skewers
·    Chocolate Pizza

I'm thinking those will be some pretty happy 11 - 13 year olds, and maybe a few parents as well.
Any recipes you want?  Pictures of what we make?  Let me know, I'll try to oblige.

Like a teary eyed mother

For the past year I have been a teaching assistant at Cambridge School of Culinary Arts working with a group of Professional chef students as they wend their way through the 37 week curriculum. We started together back at the beginning in egg class and wound our way through baking and basics, Italian and French, Asian and American and ended a few weeks ago in a fusion cuisine class.
I hugged everyone as I left and ended up as I always do with goodbye as a teary eyed mess.  It's a good thing I don't wear mascara on a daily basis.

One of the benefits of teaching as a profession that I didn't expect as I entered my new career was how proud I would be at seeing the accomplishments of the students I work with at the end of their training.  Sure I have taught 6 and 7 week classes where I see the same faces weekly.  I get to know their personalities, their strengths, what they like and dislike, I hear about their families and their dirty little culinary secrets that they wouldn't normally tell a polite audience.

This group was different.  We were together every week for 9 months.  I watched them all come in on day one, very much like I was, lost in the kitchen, kit still all complete and tidy, not knowing where anything was, amazed that you could actually stand in the fridge (walk in), uniform still sparkling and white, hats donned and shoes new and clean, Ralph and Ted leading them around the kitchens and stores, telling them the rules and regulations. 

They were all a bit deer in the headlights.

Little by little though they gained confidence. They made it through one chef and on to the next learning each ones style,they learned how to work as team and not just as an individual, they learned that food is art as much as it is taste and that what you put on the plate needs to appeal to your eyes as much as it does to your nose and stomach. In those 9 months I watched Ana move from a terrified girl in the kitchen to a confident take charge woman, no more asking before she did every single task.  Eventually we all figured out Marina's accent and we could understand what she was talking about and we were all blown away by her mean knife skills, that girl could seriously brunoise wood. Will worked his way through school in the kitchens of Rialto and came in with newer and better tricks up his sleeve each week. Amber, Kerry and Sally all worked so hard and developed their own styles and sorry Amber, I was always leaning in your just sanitized and cleaned space.  Sandra came in the middle and joined us until the end, she was the Mom of the group, not sure what she was going to do with her education but enjoying the ride for all it was worth. And I always take one bird under my wing, the one I see has potential but just needs to be gently nudged in a direction, Patrick was my project this term.  Someone has to show a nice polite Southern boy that there is more to the world than Barbecue.  He caught on quick, just don't ask him to make a Genoise please. Come to think of it, don't ask me to make one either.

Saturday my peeps graduated.  I came home from that last fusion class to a message from them that they bought me a ticket to their graduation, they wanted me to come and see them finish.

Husband and I polished ourselves up and went to the very same place I was just 18 months ago.  I couldn't have been more proud to watch them all get their awards, meet their families, and have them all tell husband how much they enjoyed having me with them all year.
They all pitched in and bought me a gorgeous copy of The Best of Art Culinaire that I had long coveted, I was flabbergasted and quite humbled.

But the proudest moments?  Amber,Tzu-i, Kerry and Marina all picked up academic and lab awards.  Patrick received the blossom award and Will was awarded the Young Professional award from the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, he received a medal and a stipend.  I think I clapped so hard that day my hands still hurt.

Now they all head out to new places, Amber to the West Coast to try and open her own place, Will to the Carolina's for some new restaurant, Tzu-i to Hong Kong for two years as the wife of a diplomat - and hopefully to learn how to make hand pulled noodles and work in a kitchen in the city.  The others will find their niche one day I am sure and I look forward to hearing back from them one day.

I am sure I will go on to teach many more classes and see many more students come and go, but like your first bike ride without training wheels or your first raw oyster you will always remember the first one as the sweetest.

Summer cooking Classes

I have finally managed to get my Summer schedule lined up so if you'd like to join me somewhere this summer, or plan private lessons at your convenience I'd love to meet you.

June 10 - Sunday 9AM - 11:00 AM
Williams-Sonoma Burlington, MA
Making Food Fast - Grilling 
This class still has about 6 slots available so sign up today!

June 18 - 22
create-a-cook
Summer Cooking with the Stars (ages 11 - 13)

June 22
Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, Cambridge MA
Tapas
This is a great menu and the class also comes with wine for all.

June 25 - 28
create-a-cook, Newton MA
All Things Vegetarian (ages 11- 13)

July 9 - 12
create-a-cook, Newton MA
Italian Trattoria (ages 11 - 13)

July 15
Williams-Sonoma, Burlington MA
Kids Cooking: Pizza

July 22
Williams-Sonoma, Burlington MA
Kids cooking: Cookie Baking & Decorating

July 23 - 27
create-a-cook, Newton MA
The Flavours of France (ages 11 - 13)

July 30 - Aug 2
create-a-cook, Newton MA
The BBQ Pit (ages 11 - 13)

Aug 6 - 9
create-a-cook, Newton MA
The Italian American Kitchen (ages 11 - 13)

Aug 13 - 16
create-a-cook, Newton MA
Farmer's Market (ages 11-13)

Aug 17
Cambridge School of Culinary Arts
Tapas

Aug 27 - 31
create-a-cook, Newton MA
The Hungry Traveler

A House Warming menu

I can't believe I checked in here this morning to realize that I haven't had a thing to say since late April.
Seriously?  No, not really, I've just been incredibly busy for the last few weeks.  After emerging from my self imposed winter hibernation, all this green around me and the warm sun has me out in the garden tending to things when I'm not planning classes and working.

Husband has been laid off from his company (don't worry, there are potential things coming down the road) so he has been working on the 'honey do' list around the house.  Soon, very soon I hope, my two year old vent hood will be leaving the garage floor for its rightful place hanging from my kitchen ceiling.  No longer shall every bit of culinary grease and smoke settle on every blessed surface of this room.  The lawn has been seeded.  Shelves have been installed.  Workshops built. We even built a small pond out back this past weekend.  You know, cause I really don't have enough other stuff to do.

I did a cooking demo at a lovely little bridal shower at the Belmont country club. I had a full house for my Thai class last week at Newton Community Ed, I've decided to not run it again this summer but it will pick up again in the fall.  Hopefully the whole rebuilding of Newton North where the class is held will not put a wrench in those plans, I do hear Newton South has quite a nice kitchen set up, so maybe it shall move over there instead. I have started tutoring a student form Thailand in Italian cooking.  Imagine not just having to learn English, but Boston accented English, and then throw some Italian culinary terms on top of that.  Imagine coming from a culture that doesn't eat cheese or dairy products and having to learn all of the DOP cheeses in each region of Italy.  It is not a task I envy him.  I finished up another 6 week run of Back to Basics at Cambridge Culinary and as always the group was sorry to see it reach the end.  They all ask if we can put together an advanced Back to Basics so the classes can carry on. I've added that to my plate and I hope to work on it this summer. I'm still a T.A. in the Professional chef's program and my students are almost ready to graduate.  Just three weeks of classes left and then they have the countdown to their practicums and finals. I've also volunteered to T.A. in the Italian classes for the rest of the semester as well. There is a new instructor teaching and I have heard incredible things about her.  I love to see each of the instructors teaching styles.  I learn something new every time I watch someone else work.

I'm about to head out in the monsoon to shop at Russo's and the Middle Eastern markets in Watertown to gather some ingredients.  My friend Kathi and her lovely Irish husband have bought themselves a little hacienda in Wilmington and the house warming is tomorrow.  I never did get around to finding them a wedding present, so instead I am making a boat load of food to bring.  Another of her friends, djKarl will be setting up his decks in her barn, records will be spun and I do believe that the Irish contingent will be getting their proverbial groove on.  Funnily enough, I had djKarl as a student in one of my Back to basics runs at Cambridge Culinary and we didn't know we had Kathi in common until a few months later when she sent me a link with his latest remix.  A small, small world it is.

The menu plans so far are as follows with potential photos coming later.

Muhammara
Roasted Garlic Hummus
Sate chicken and peanut sauce
Shrimp salad
A variation of a Nicoise salad I make with Orzo
Puff pastry straws in various combos (cheese, poppy seed, alleppo pepper, etc)
Bacon Ricotta and Gruyere tart on puff pastry
Asparagus and Gruyere tart on puff
Fior di Latte and Heirloom tomato tart on puff

And who knows what else might strike my fancy?

Pad Thai

Last night I taught my Thai class at Newton Community Ed.  Each time I teach this class I tweak the recipes a bit, change things around and edit.

last night we made:
Jasmine Rice
Cucumber Pickle
Fried Spring Rolls (Beef and Shitake)
Chicken with Holy Basil
Thai meatballs with Peanut Sauce
Thai Beef Salad (my personal fave)
and Pad Thai

I've seen many, many Pad Thai recipes and none of them have satisfied me for the necessary mix of hot and sour, salty and sweet.  They all generally made too little sauce to the ratio of noodles and/or incorporated odd ingredients in order to make it 'user friendly'.  A few weeks ago the fabulous Pim Techamuanvivit of Chez Pim fame posted her version of Pad Thai for beginners and something about they way she wrote it, more as a technique primer than a 'recipe', caught my attention. 

First, she has you make a good quantity of the sauce and you balance the flavours in that sauce for the components that are critical for making Thai food - hot, sour, salty, and sweet.  Having made Pad Thai many times I know it is not easy to try and adjust the seasonings in the end.

Most of the ingredients should be easy to find these days.  The only ingredient I had to seek out were the dried shrimp.  I can usually only find these in a true Asian market, or course Super 88 has them if you are in the local Boston area, or perhaps Asian market on Waverly Hill Road in Waltham.  The dried shrimp are kept in the refrigerated section not on the shelf.

When I poked around in the store I happened to find some very, very tiny ones. For an idea of how small those are, one strip of the butcher block underneath them is 2" wide.  The shrimp are between 3 - 5 cm long.  I have bought them in the past and they were much, much larger and very orange.  These, as you can see, are very pale in colour.  These are an important flavour in the dish and I highly recommend seeking them out.

Pim also implores you to treat the shrimp in a particular manner.

It's important to use the mortar here and not your cuisinart, which will turn to dried shrimp into a hard, dried chunks (entirely capable of cracking a tooth) instead of fluffy bits of salty shrimp.

However we didn't have a mortar and pestle last night, I really didn't want to lug my 20 pound slab of marble mortar and pestle with me so we tried using a spoon and a bowl but it was not getting us anywhere near flaky and fluffy.  We dredged through the cupboards and found a mini chopper and I am guessing because these shrimp were so tiny and soft it worked perfectly instead of making shrimp rock candy we had fluffy light shavings and we were off and running.

I confessed to my students after they had made the dish that I had used them as guinea pigs for the recipe, but I don't think they minded at all, the recipe worked perfectly.  This recipe, friends, is restaurant quality Pad Thai.  I highly suggest you go and read her words and heed her advice, this Pad Thai recipe can't lose.

Currently persuing

I am currently sprawled across the couch, on this lovely 9 degree Monday nursing bronchitis and perusing the following lovely tomes in pursuit of the 42 recipes ideas I need for the next 7 weeks of classes. 

In fact, I did a little math today and I realised that I must come up with 510 new recipes a year.

Five Hundred and Ten.

No repeats are allowed. 

All recipes must be executable by kids ranging in age from 9 - 13 and pleasing to the parents who generally eat it when it goes home with them after class.
I need a range of things since I have vegetarians, kosher eaters and food allergies, not to mention kid allergies to anything new and different.
I must plan these recipes to fit in to a prescribed amount of time varying from 2 - 3 hours.
I have 6 burners, 3 ovens and up to 10 kids in each class.
Downtime is not an option. Ever seen a group of bored kids?
Sometimes I must stick to a theme: World travel, American cities, Food fads, etc.

I can assure you that would exhaust even the best chef to come up with that many new ideas so I live with my nose buried in a cookbook or a cooking magazine.
I will search the Internet, but I won't rely on recipes from sites like Allrecipes.com or Cooksrecipes.com since I really don't trust many of their recipes. Anything made with a can or packet is rejected.  Everything must be made with fresh ingredients or things I can get from our suppliers.

When I do get things off of the internet I tend to stick to sources I know will have recipes that are relatively faultless like epicurious.com, because I can't always test a recipe before I use it.

In fact I have become amazingly adept, if I do say so myself, at glancing at a list of ingredients and deciding if a recipe will work or not.  Call it self preservation.  I also do not need a gorgeous picture to tell me whether or not to make a recipe, but of course it does help to inspire ideas.
Of course I also look to places in the food blogging world for inspiration like Elise at Simply Recipes or The Traveler's Lunchbox, Naughty Curry and Gluten-free Girl and all the other lovely places in my blogroll down over there on the right.

While you check out the book titles I am flicking through right now, why don't you leave me a note with the places, chefs and books that inspire you to cook.  I am always looking for some new inspiration.

I could use a little finger crossing

Some paperwork was submitted this week to the lovely Commonwealth of Mass.  This paperwork could effectively allow me to teach at Private or Trade schools in the state if the powers that be deem me worthy enough.

Then again...they could say no.

People, I implore you, a little finger crossing for me please. 

I need all the mojo I can get right now.

Chicken Stock: The basics

Fond. 

Fond = Foundation. 

Every building needs a solid foundation and every dish needs to start with one as well.  Sure we live in the 21st century where rotisserie chickens from the local store can stand in for the roast chicken on a busy weeknight and you can **shudder** buy vegetables pre cut so you don't have to hurt your wee little fingers cutting celery and onions when you get home exhausted from another day on the gerbil wheel.  Yes, I can buy fairly decent chicken stock in the store.  Organic and Free Range if I so desire, but I can promise you with my hand held on my heart and no toes and fingers crossed...homemade chicken stock is easy to make and it tastes oh so, oh so, much better than the stuff in the box or the can. 

Last Saturday I had a class at CSCA on Soups and Stocks.  We were able to talk about the theory behind making a stock. The problem with a three hour class is that we really don't have the time to make a proper stock.
I decided that since I really needed to restock the freezer myself I would record the steps as I developed the stock and leave it here for a reference.

When it's time for me to replenish my freezer I raid the larder and see how many necks and backs I have stashed away while cutting up whole chickens.  I had a turkey carcass from Thanksgiving.  I had a package of wings that was getting a wee bit freezer burned. I've bought backs and necks before at Whole Foods so I stopped by and picked up 10 pounds at about $1.00 per pound.  All in all I ended up with about 15 pounds of bones. 

Now there are two schools of culinary thought when it comes to chicken stock.  White stock is made using bones that are not browned first.  You can make white stock with either veal bones or chicken bones, I wouldn't recommend making it with beef bones.  I'm firmly in the brown stock camp.  I like the extra flavour, colour and richness that roasting the bones brings to the table.  It also has an added advantage of less scum to skim off, but we'll get to that later.

I lay all the bones out on sheet pans and roast them for 30 - 40 minutes at 350 being careful to turn them once or twice and ensuring good colour without burning.  When they come out of the oven I pour off the fat that has rendered and let it settle.  If anything good appears on the bottom I siphon it off, but most of the time this is 100% fat.  AS you can see I was able to siphon off about 2 cups right off the top.  Of course once the stock is made, strained and chilled, a bit more fat will rise to the top to be skimmed off, but this early step of roasting the bones also makes it a bit easier to get rid of the fat.

I set up my giant stock pot on my lowest burner. 

I know my range very well and out of the 6 burners i know the middle front burner gives me the most control when I need to simmer for a long time.  As extra insurance I use a flame tamer ring as well.  This assures that I can walk away for an hour or two at a time and not worry about the finding the stock that was gently simmering now at a rolling boil.  In go the bones.

While the bones were roasting I also prepared my aromatics.  The general rule of thumb is 20% aromatics by weight to the amount of bones you have.  In this case, 15 pounds of bones means 3 pounds of aromatics.  The other general rule is for the aromatics themselves.  50% onion, 25% carrot, 25% celery.  I had onions and I also had leeks so I used them both.  Be sure you clean your leeks throughly first to remove any sand.  When I cut one of the leeks open to wash it I loved this cool pattern inside.  Peel your carrots, peel your onions.  I know plenty of people will say why bother, but I believe it lends an off taste to your stock.  This is not the time to clear out your vegetable drawer and throw in the dregs of the contents, limp celery, molding onions, a red onion piece that had been hiding in the back that is now sprouting.  You are making your stock, your foundation, the liquid you are going to use to make gorgeous soups, sauces, stews, braises, tortellini en brodo, now is the time to buy gorgeous produce and treat it kindly.
I also set up my bouquet garni to add.  A traditional set of aromatics, bouquet garni is comprised of parsley stems, thyme stems and bay leaf.  You can add other items depending on your fancy.  You can be all anal and wrap it in cheesecloth and tie it with kitchen twine to remove later, but my feeling is since you're dumping this whole lot later to strain it, why bother?

I do roast my aromatics as well to add a further dimension to the stock with their caramalized flavours. Once I am done with the sheet pans I also pour some water on them and use a spatula to scrape up any browned bits to add.  Now I cover the bones with cold water.  Always start with cold water, bringing the temperature up gradually allows the bones to release all of the collagen and flavour slowly.  It gives you less impurities in the stock.  Turn on the heat and put the lid on slightly askew to allow it to begin. A scum may form on the top.

Skim this off and discard it.  I have found that the pre-roasting of the bones tends to reduce the amount of scum you need to remove.  Once the scum stops forming, add your roasted aromatics and your bouquet garni. Now you can almost walk away for a few hours.  Set your temperature so that you are at a very gentle simmer.  Ocassional bubbles should be breaking the surface, but no rolling boils are allowed.  Allow the stock to simmer like this for 5 - 6 hours.  Sure it takes time, but you don't have to babysit it.  Just check in once in a while and verify the level of simmer.

Once it is ready I ladle off as much as I can from the top and put it in the large lexan storage containers I have and then I pour the rest through a collander lined with damp cheesecloth which is placed over a bowl.  This ensures I get everything out of the aromatics and the bones as I press down hard with a wooden spoon.

The key now is to get this stock out of the danger zone.  The danger zone is 41 - 140 degrees.  In that temperature zone bacteria multiply at a furious rate.  Tossing this much hot liquid straight into the fridge would also increase the internal temp of your fridge effectively putting everything in it into the danger zone as well.  What I do is use freezer packs, you know, the ones you use in your cooler.  I toss them in a ziploc, squeeze all the air out and toss them right into the stock.  In about 40 minutes or so they are cool enough to now cover and put in the fridge. 

After they chill overnight the stock is removed, the fat skimmed off and it is portioned into containers for the deep freeze. 

Months of goodness ahead.

Is it cold out? Then it must be a stew

Last week in Kitchen Basics I was working with my 11-13 year old crowd on moist heat cooking.  I already mentioned the Leek and Potato braise we made.  The other recipe was one that I adapted from the new Cook's Illustrated The Best 30-minute Recipes, Corn Maque Choux with Chicken and Kielbasa.  There are a few sources I always turn to when planning my classes for create a cook and Cook's Illustrated is one of them.  Why?  I never, never, never have to test the recipe first.  It always works first time out.

The kids all loved it and as I was tasting their dishes for seasonings i realized that with a few changes his majesty, the husband, might like it as well.
This dish can literally be on your table in about 30 minutes, depending of course on how quick you can prep everything.

Maque Choux (pronounced mock shoe) is a Cajun combination of corn, bell peppers, tomato and onion.  A little twist on the holy trinity (onions, celery and bell pepper) and a slight jiggle of New England Succotash (Corn, Lima beans and Tomato).  Both of these dishes owe a debt to the Native Americans introduction of corn into the cooking arena.  One thing I can't figure out is why many recipes call it Corn Maque Choux when it contains corn by default. 

When husband finally finished his plate, he deemed it better than Chicken and Chorizo and has requested this to be put in the rotation of dishes.  I can't disagree with him, it really was very good.

You'll need some boneless, skinless chicken breasts, some chorizo (Portuguese wet is okay for this, but Spanish dry would be good as well) cut into 1/2-inch half moons and some frozen corn, 1 pound of each. One onion and one red bell pepper(or green or yellow or orange), diced in 1/4 inch dice. 4 (or 6) cloves of garlic minced up fine together with some kosher salt and 2 - 3 tsps thyme leaves. 2 cups of decent chicken stock, of course homemade would be best, but use whatever stand by you stick by.

A heavy Dutch oven, some olive oil, medium-high heat.  Salt and pepper the chicken breasts and add them.  Brown them on both sides and remove to a bowl or plate.  You will be cooking them more later so colour is all you want here.  Once they have been removed, assess the level of oil in the pan and add more if required.  Toss in the onion, chorizo and bell pepper and saute until the onion gets soft and translucent.  While this is sauteing, puree in a blender the chicken stock and half the corn.  When the onion is ready, add the garlic-thyme mixture and stir it around until it is fragrant.  Now pour in the corn-stock mixture form the blender and stir.  Add back your chicken and any juices.
Stir well, pop the lid on and cook over low heat at a nice simmer for 10 - 15 minutes depending on the thickness of your chicken.  Once the chicken is cooked, pull it out and either shred it using two forks or just roughly chop it up, add it back to the Dutch Oven, add the rest of the corn, stir and taste for seasonings.  Add salt and pepper as desired and cook until the corn is heated through.

Serve it with some nice biscuits or maybe over brown rice.

Potato and Leek braise

Last night in my Kitchen basics class at create a cook we were working on moist heat cooking.
We made a Cajun Maque Choux stew with chicken and sausage and a steamed Sticky Toffee pudding for dessert but the surprise hit of the night was a vegetable dish I'd adapted from the wonderful book All About Braising by Molly Stevens.  Parents wandered in to pick up their kids and they were stunned to find them scarfing down a vegetable dish rather than the sweet brown sugar coated dessert in front of them.

This really is a very simple dish to make, a few minutes prep and then bung it into the oven for an hour and a half. It also incorporates one of my favourite vegetables, the leek.  I think many people ignore using leeks because they really aren't sure what to do with them.  One of my favourite methods to treat leeks is over here, but I am sure this recipe is going to soon become a favourite in this house as well.

Heat your oven to 325.
Heat up some chicken stock until just before it boils.
Cut the leek where the pale green meets the dark green tops.  Discard the tops or save them for stock. Run your knife gently down the length of the leek through 1 layer and peel and discard that outer layer.  Slice the leek into 3 inch lengths.  Take each 3 inch piece and slice through it lengthwise.  Lay each half down and cut half moons about a half of an inch wide.

Scatter all of these pieces in a bowl filled with cold water and slosh them around.  Lift out the pieces of leek leaving any sand or grit behind in the bottom of the bowl. 

Toss the leeks into a baking dish.

Peel a potato, Yukon gold preferred, but not required.  Cut the potato into half inch chunks.  Toss these in with with the leeks.

Grab a few thyme sprigs and holding them over the potato and leeks, strip off the tiny leaves by running your thumb and forefinger up the sprig against the leaves.  Don't worry if you get a few bits of stem in there as long as they are then tender tops of the sprig and not the tough woody bottoms.  Make sure you have at least 2 teaspoons of thyme leaves scattered about.

Season everything generously with kosher salt and back pepper.

Dot the top with 1 - 2 TBS of butter, unsalted preferred, but again not required.

Now depending on how much volume you have of potato and leeks, add about 5 ounces of chicken stock per 3/4 pound potato.  You just want some liquid in the baking dish, the vegetables will not be covered just gently swimming in a little puddle.

Cover your baking dish tightly with foil and toss it in the oven.

After an hour and a half, take off the foil and add a splash of cream to the baking dish, if the dish looks very dry, add a tiny bit more chicken stock.  Put it back in the oven, uncovered for another 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, check that the potato can be gently pierced with a knife.  If the potato are done, take it out, give it a little stir and serve.

Four of the sweetest words ever heard

I was finishing up teaching the knife skills class at Cambridge on Saturday, week one of a six week series when one of the students sidled up beside me and in her very sweet French accent whispered the sweetest words I have ever heard.

"I am a cheese maker, would you like me to bring some samples next week?"

It took a few seconds for the words to register,the temptation to utter Blessed are the cheese makers to pass and for my jaw to close.

"You are?"

"Yes, I work as a cheese maker at Vermont Butter and Cheese, I spend a lot of time working with the chef and I wanted to take this series to learn some techniques."

"Yes, please, samples would be great." I stammered out while shaking my head up and down.

I'm a girl with a dedicated cheese drawer in my house, I can't pass a cheese counter without finding some new little nugget to take home, I've smuggled cheeses in from other countries and I've managed to make a few basic fresh cheeses on my own, but I relish being able to ask her some questions and maybe, just maybe find a way to go up north and see her in action.

Cheese baby, it's all about the cheese.

1st Quarter 2007 Classes

I'm sitting here up to my elbows in cookbooks planning my classes for the next runs at create a cook and I thought I'd nip in and list the classes I'll be teaching for the next couple of months, at least the ones I know about!

January
Monday's:
Teaching Assistant Professional Chef's Program at Cambridge School of Culinary Arts - Regional Italian
Tuesday and Thursday:
create a cook - Kitchen Basics 101 for 11 - 13 year olds
Wednesday:
create a cook - Winter Warm ups for 9 - 11 year olds
Jan 19th:
Cambridge School of Culinary Arts - Friday - Tapas - 6:30 - 9:30 - Just ignore the Cooking Couples part, bring a friend any friend and enjoy the night making Tapas and drinking wine!
Jan 26th:
Cambridge School of Culinary Arts - Friday - French Cooking - 6:30 - 9:30
Jan 13th, 20th, 27th:
Cambridge School of Culinary Arts - Saturday's 10:00 - 1:30 - Back to Basics.  A great series that starts with Knife Skills and progresses through eggs, soups and stocks, moist heat cooking, dry heat cooking and the mother sauces.

February
Monday's:
Teaching Assistant Professional Chef's Program at Cambridge School of Culinary Arts - Regional Italian
Tuesday and Thursday:
create a cook - Kitchen Basics 101 for 11 - 13 year olds
Wednesday:
create a cook - Winter Warm ups for 9 - 11 year olds

Feb 3rd, 10th, 17th - Cambridge School of Culinary Arts - Saturday's 10:00 - 1:30 - Back to Basics.  A great series that starts with Knife Skills and progresses through eggs, soups and stocks, moist heat cooking, dry heat cooking and the mother sauces.

Feb 18th:
Williams Sonoma - Burlington Mall - Sunday 9:00AM - 11:00AM -Kids Cooking Pasta Dinners
Menu:
Pasta Rustica w/Chicken Sausage and Three Cheeses
Fettuccine Alfredo
Linguine alla Carbonara
Cavatappi w/ Sausage and Tomato
Extra-Crispy Baked Rigatoni with Beef Ragu

Feb 24th:
Cambridge School of Culinary Arts - Saturday - Tapas - 6:30 - 9:30

Feb 25th:

Williams Sonoma - Burlington Mall - Sunday - 9:00AM - 11:00 AM - Kids Cooking Sweet Breakfast Treats
Menu:
French Toast
Buttermilk Pancake
German Apple Pancake
Basic Crepe
Sour Cream-Blueberry Waffles

Feb 26th:
Newton Community Ed - Monday - 6:30 - 9:00 - Thai Cooking: A feast in five flavours

March
Monday's:
Teaching Assistant Professional Chef's Program at Cambridge School of Culinary Arts
Tuesday and Thursday:
create a cook - Kitchen Basics 101 for 11 - 13 year olds
Wednesday:
create a cook - Winter Warm ups for 9 - 11 year olds

Mar 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th - Cambridge School of Culinary Arts - Sunday's 10:00 - 1:30 - Back to Basics.  A great series that starts with Knife Skills and progresses through eggs, soups and stocks, moist heat cooking, dry heat cooking and the mother sauces.

March 23rd - Cambridge School of Culinary Arts - Friday - Tapas - 6:30 - 9:30

I hope to see you there!

A party to go

It began with a request from a friend of the owners. 

Could we possibly create a party, a surprise birthday party, for her husband? 
Nine men would arrive along with 3 of our students and they would cook enough appetizers to feed 20 people.
The plan was get them in by 6:30 to decorate cupcakes, into the kitchen cooking by 7:00, and out the door packed and loaded with the food by 8:15 to start the party.

Sure!  No problem.

I built a list of possible appetizers that I thought some possibly culinarily challenged men could execute in the required time. A few days before the event another request for me to make my ribs and roast a few chickens along with making some cornbread came through as well.

First and foremost I'm a girl who likes a challenge.
Second, I'm a list maker.  Lists, lists and more lists.  Trust me on this one, they can make any event go easier.

A master grocery list was created, recipes were researched, tweaked, and reviewed, a schedule was made, a list of required equipment for each dish was included on the recipe page along with what the dish would be packed in for transport.

The night before after I finished teaching my class I made my spice rub, rubbed and wrapped 24 pounds of Baby Backs in foil and roasted a bunch of red peppers.

The day of, I arrived early and made a few of items in advance like the Dill and Creme Fraiche sauce for the crab cakes, the Roasted Red Pepper and Valbresso Dip. I made the Thai Peanut Sauce so the flavours had time to mix and mingle, later we would reheat it and check it for seasoning. I made a compound butter and mixed it with the same rub I used on the ribs.  I assumed some guests would eat the chicken and not the pork and I thought that the spice should carry through both.  The chickens went in around 4:00 and were pulled in the midst of one of the classes to rest. At 5:30 the ribs hit the oven and hung out for almost 2 hours at a low heat.

I went off to teach my 11 - 13 year old class, we were in France making Gratin Dauphinoise, Poulet Provencal, and a lovely Pithivier.  Renee hung by my side and cleaned like a whirling dervish as the class went on, all in an attempt to keep the kitchen clean and ready to go by the time 'the guys' arrived.

After setting up 'stations for each recipe and a briefing to let the men know what we would be making I rounded them into the kitchen. 

I quickly found a sous chef in 'M' who takes classes on Tuesday with the oldest group.

Here he is helping his Dad prep the crab cakes.

Later he helped me unwrap all the rib packets, brush them with BBQ sauce (I used a basic tomato based sauce with a bit of molasses that I had made earlier for this step) for their final turn in the oven and then he loaded them all into 9 X 12 take out containers.  After these were finished I taught him how to carve the chickens, to find the break in the joints to separate the thighs and the drumstick, where the 'oysters' lie and how to carve the breast on the bias. He did a bang up job.

I hope one day when he is invited to dine at a future girlfriend's house and the father turns to him and asks if he would like to carve, that he will tackle it fearlessly and perhaps impress a future father in law in the process.

All in all it was a pretty great night.  We had them all wrapped up and out the door by 8:00 to head to their party and I took myself and my very, very tired feet and smelly clothes home for a good Bourbon and a long nap.

Recipes recipes everywhere and nothing to eat

My latest fetish. 
Tartufello - Tuscan Raw Milk Pecorino with Truffle.  Grate it on EVERYTHING.  Eat a thin slice with wine. Dab the scent behind my ears.  God this stuff is good.
(Marty''s Liquors, 675 Washington Street Newton, MA)

I'm afraid my To Do list is a bit long and not much cooking is happening around here lately.  It's all happening out and about.

Currently planning a Birthday party for 9 on Friday evening. Theme: Indian Dishes: Cumin-scented rice pilaf, Chicken Korma, Papadums, Tangerine Cranberry Chutney, Pineapple Raita, Mango Lassi and Mini chocolate cakes filled with Chai Cream and covered in Chai scented Chocolate Ganache.

An appetizer and ribs surprise party for a gentleman.  7 of his male compatriots will be assisting in the cooking.  Plans are still not fixed, but Rubbed Slow Cooked Ribs, Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread, Green Chili Rice Pilaf, Mini crab cakes, Pesto palmiers and a few other things are being tossed about.

In between I am trying to finish the recipes for:

The Hungry Traveler series.  Next week is Spain: Paella de Carne, Keftes de Espinaca Con Queso and Churros.  I need 3 more countries and about 9 more recipes to finish.

Deli for Dinner Series.  Next week, Spiced Chicken Roll-ups with Ranch Dressing, Tortilla Soup and Mexican Chocolate Brownies. Again, 3 more weeks, 9 more recipes needed.

Plan the early Winter curriculum for the 9-11 and 11 -13 year olds.  Current thoughts.  Comfort Foods and Making a Chef - A basic series from Stone Soup to Souffles, Saute to Sauces.

Finish my CCP exam application. (No, really, I mean it!)

Get recommendations written to convince the Commonwealth of Mass that I am worthy to teach in the private/trade school arena.

My nose has been buried in cookbooks!  Hopefully something new and delicious coming soon.

Patience all...Patience

Upcoming Classes

Just a quick nip in to tell you about my cooking classes that are currently scheduled for November and December and then I have to make a grocery list for 91 kids making 15 recipes, all in a day's work don't you know!

October
Friday 27th - Cooking Couples:Tapas -  Cambridge School of Culinary Arts
Saturday 28th - Back to Basics - Week One : Knife Skills(6 week series) -  Cambridge School of Culinary Arts

November
Tuesday's and Thursday's - The Hungry Traveler (age 11-13) -  create-a-cook
Wednesday's - Deli for Dinner (age 9-11) -  create-a-cook
Saturday 4th - Back to Basics - Week Two : The incredible edible egg Cambridge School of Culinary Arts
Saturday 11th - Private Event in Beacon Hill with Orange Blossom Chef
Saturday 18th - Back to Basics - Week Four: Braising, Stewing and Blanquettes and Fricassees

December
Tuesday's and Thursday's - The Hungry Traveler (age 11-13) -  create-a-cook
Wednesday's - Deli for Dinner (age 9-11) -  create-a-cook
Friday 1st - Knife Skills - Cambridge School of Culinary Arts
Saturday 2nd - Back to Basics - Week Five: Roasting Grilling and Sautéing - Cambridge School of Culinary Arts
Saturday 9th - Back to Basics Week Six : Sauces -Cambridge School of Culinary Arts

 

Edible Boston

A new magazine has arrived in Boston dedicated to educating local readers to shop, cook, eat and appreciate foods that are locally grown in our region. 
This month the new quarterly called Edible Boston, publishes its second edition and it is as beautiful and informative as the first.

There are articles ranging from Heritage Breed Turkeys, a Farmer's Diary written by John Lee the manager of Allendale Farm, to The history and the future of apples in our region as well as several articles on kids. 

The articles on kids and food ranges from Food Marketing and Childhood Obesity to one on a great program called CitySprouts, a non-profit,non-governmental group that has helped six Cambridge schools to build and maintain their own vegetable gardens.  Teaching kids that their food doesn't just come from the neighborhood mega box retailer, not to mention out of a cardboard box, is a great way to start them thinking about what they eat and showing them the satisfaction you can get from growing your own food.

ABC's of cooking is about turning that raw product into dinner and that is where my job comes in.
The article talks about schools in the area that cater to teaching children to cook.  They interviewed us over the summer at create-a-cook and also spoke to CSCA who run a great series of cooking classes during the summer geared towards kids aged 6 - 16.

Pick up a copy of Edible Boston now at your local newstand and help support local foods.

CSCA Open House

If you are anywhere near Porter Square today drop by The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts at 2020 Mass Ave between 11:00 and 3:00 and say hello. Come and spend a rainy fall Sunday in a warm kitchen.

Today is the annual open house, there will be cooking demos by chef/instructors, student competitions and free tastings. 

Come on who can say no to free food?

Always wanted to know how to make a good pie crust?  Been wanting to learn how to make fresh pasta?

Come by and see the school and get the answers to all those cooking questions and try some great food as well. 

Food Fads

I am sitting here at my kitchen table sifting through Fashionable Food - Seven Decades of Food Fads by Sylvia Lovegren trying to find some theme for next weeks 9 - 11 year old Food Fad class.

I just could not believe some of the delightful combinations of things that home cooks (or more often food manufacturers) came up with to try and shake it up a bit in the fifties.

How would you like some Barbecued Bologna for Men A la Crisco?

You just mix some Crisco and Kitchen Bouquet together and spread it over 3 pounds of whole bologna sausage and then grill it until the bologna is 'browned and hot through'. Mmmmmmm - Shall I slice you a piece?

Perhaps you are looking for a nice recipe to bring to the family function next holiday.  I've got the perfect thing for you!
Fruit Cocktail-Spam Buffet Party Loaf
So simple!
Drain a can of Del Monte fruit cocktail - save that syrup!
Make gelatin with the syrup and some vinegar, clove and cinnamon and pour half of that over your fruit cocktail.  Place it in the fridge to begin setting the gelatin. 
Take 2 cans of Spam and chop it fine, mix it with some chopped celery and green olives. (remember when green olives were the only olives?).  Now mix up some Miracle Whip and whisk in some mustard and salt and then add the rest of that gelatin mixture, mix in the spam and spread this over the set fruit cocktail.  Chill it until firm.  Now cut some lemons and scoop out the flesh, fill them with Miracle Whip and serve them with the party loaf.

Oh my, I can see the lines forming now to get a scoop of that jiggly goodness, can't you?

Upcoming Classes

It's been a busy end of summer and coming here coming soon is a trip to Cape Ann, Blackberry Apple Pie, Chipotle Crema Chicken Breasts with Mexican Red Rice and a Thai Beef Salad.

For now though, I thought I'd throw an update here for the classes I know I have coming up in the next few months. Please feel free to come and join me, and say hello!

September and October:
Every Tue and Thur create-a-cook Celebrity Chef Series for 11 - 13 year olds.  This is a 7 week series.

Every Weds create-a-cook Food Fads Series for 9 - 11 year olds. This is a 7 week series.

Back to Basics at Cambridge School of Culinary Arts

Saturdays from 10:00AM - 1:30PM.
Starting September 9 and running through October 14th.

• Week One: Knife Skills
• Week Two: Eggs
• Week Three: Soups, Stocks and Salads
• Week Four: Braising, Stewing, Banquettes and Fricassees
• Week Five: Roasting Grilling and Sautéing
• Week Six: Sauces

Regional France at Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. I will be teaching two of the series.
Sunday September 24 - 10:00 AM - 1:30 PM
Sunday October 1 - 10:00 AM - 1:30 PM

Thai Cooking: A Feast in Five Flavours at Newton Community Ed - Newton North High School.
Monday September 25 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM

Williams-Sonoma Burlington Mall
Sunday October 22 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Monday October 23 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

20 teens and 1 Durian Fruit

The past week at create-a-cook has been Around the World in 5 days.  We all chose recipes that we hoped would introduce the kids to some new things.  On my side in savory they made Picadillo, Paella, Salad Nicoise, Jerk Chicken. Chicken Mole, Moroccan Kebabs and couscous, and a couple of stir fry.
We hadn't chosen a field trip yet for the week when I suggested maybe Super 88 would be a great place.
I took R over on Wednesday to show her around so she could lead the troops though on Thursday.

Super 88, for the uninitiated is a local chain of Asian Grocery stores that carries an enormous range of fresh produce, live seafood and every imaginable pickle, chutney and chow chow ingredient.
I walked R through the produce explaining the yard long beans, the various peppers and mushrooms, the Chinese Chive, Thai eggplants and Dragon fruit.

I tried to find the elusive bottle of 'Essence of Giant WaterBug' that I saw on my last trip. What?  You've never had Giant WaterBug?  Shame on you!  Here, try some Giant Waterbug curry.
They did, however, have a bottle of Durian Essence.  More on that later.

We wandered down towards the live tanks and I showed her the box of live conch and Blue Crab.  The tanks were full of Tilapia, Giant Carp and a few other fish I didn't recognize.  The case of cut fish had one labeled 'Giant Head Fish'.  Talk about understatement.

I took her over to the meat section and we talked about the Asians being the original recyclers.  No part of the animal was ever wasted.  There were a few items in these cases that I thought would surely make the kids who were already wary of touching raw meat go right over the line to land of vegetarians. 

We saw packages of Duck Tongue, Chicken feet (seasoned and not), tripe as well as another cow stomach that looked very different more solid less netted, pig heart, pig ears, intestine, and my personal favourite package was....Cock's testicles.  What do you do with an entire package of cock's testicles?  Make poppers?

I remembered that one fruit was kept over in the meat section and I led her towards the case.
I explained the Durian fruit, the smell like that of putrid flesh, how it is banned from airplanes and hotels because of the stench.  Of course, we bought one.  We also picked up a Dragon fruit and some fresh lychee for the kids to try back at c-a-c on Friday.

I didn't go with them on the field trip, I was working at CSCA that day, but I made sure to tell the kids to look for Bubble tea and tell me all their stories when they got back.

Friday, back at c-a-c, I went in to each classroom when I arrived and asked how everyone liked their trip.  The girls had tried bubble tea.  Some loved it and some were disgusted by the big tapioca balls.  They all pointed to one of the girls and said I should have seen her face when she unknowingly sucked on the straw and got a huge pearl in her mouth. They ate lunch in the food court, some trying Indian, some Thai.  R said that they looked at everything but that it was hard to keep them all together to explain about all the things.  She said once they found the candy aisle it was all over.  I had mentioned Pocky to some of them and they couldn't wait to tell me that they had bought them and thought they were yummy.

After lunch before we started the second session I gathered the troops in my kitchen to try the fruits.  I started with the lychee.  B had made a fruit salad with a vanilla syrup using canned lychee and the kids all hated the lychee.  I didn't want their first,and potentially last, impression of a lychee to be from a can.  I explained that like eating a peach from a can and then eating a fresh peach, both the taste as well as the texture would be very different with the fresh.  I showed them how to peel them open and then told them not to eat the seed.  There were a few pulled faces and a couple wanders over to the trash can, but quite a few of them 'got it'.  They realised the difference and commented that they really liked the fresh lychee.  Score 1!

Next I explained the dragon fruit, showed them them the gorgeous inside.  We sprinkled it with lemon juice and I peeled off the beautiful fuscia skin and handed out chunks to the hands waving in front of me.  Approval all around.  The general consensus was kiwi flavour and texture.  Not bad.  Score 2!

I saved the best for last.  Hoping to appeal to the 11 - 13 year old love for horror and all things disgusting, I talked about the smell of putrid or rotting flesh.  Hoping to appeal to their sense of the forbidden I explained about the banishment of the fruit from public places.  I passed around the whole fruit for them to smell the outside and to press on the spiny outside to feel that it is soft inside.  The range of response to the smell of the outside was very interesting.  I like the the smell and consider it sweet as did some others, some thought it just smelled 'gross', the teen word of choice.  Others didn't smell much at all.  I laid it down on the cutting board and sliced my knife through it. 

"Is that how you cut it?" they asked. 

I told them I had no idea as I had never had one either.  I kept saying you only live once, you have to try everything.  I twisted the fruit open and showed them the chambers full of seed and custard inside.  "Cool!" was the cry.  I passed it around for everyone to smell it.  I have to say that the smell is indeed pretty disgusting although I really didn't get putrid, or rotting flesh.  Perhaps the length of time it traveled or it's ripeness had something to do with the smell we got.  Everyone made faces and winced as it was passed around.

"Alright! Who's going to try some?"

No hands were raised.

"Come on you guys, you only live once, let's try it!"

R went and got some spoons and I scooped out some custard and scraped it on to spoons.  One brave soul put her hand out, then two, then three.  Finally after the first person tasted it and didn't gag all 20 hands came in for a scoopful of the fruit. I can't say I would need to eat it again.  Rather like goat cheese can sometimes taste like a goat smells, with Durian fruit the first taste on the tongue is of a very sweet custardy pudding, the aftertaste however, is quite a bit like the cut Durian smells, a bit rotten, a bit stinky and not a thing I feel a need to repeat. 

But proud!  How proud I was of 20 sheltered eaters raised on take-out and restaurants who had never heard of paella or picadillo before this week eating Durian fruit.

Damn!  What next liver?

Class updates and welcome Food & Wine readers

First I'd like to welcome those of you who wandered over from Food & Wine magazine.  I nearly fell off my chair when I saw my Open letter on Mac & Cheese had been chosen as one of the top posts of the week!  I hope that you all enjoy your visit and have a look around, welcome. 

Things have been busy to an nth degree of late.  The latest 7 week series at create-a-cook has just ended and we have a week to prepare for the summer vacation series.  I have been pouring over recipes and ideas for classes for days now.  I'm really excited to try some of the these recipes and I'll try to report back with some of the winners that I hope to add into my rotation.

I now have a few of the Williams-Sonoma classes under my belt and I've been having a great time.  We did a Father's day theme last week with the Corn Chowder with Grilled Shrimp coming in as the big winner and Tuesday and Wednesday I did a Summer Entertaining series and the Berry Cobbler and Spicy Grilled Ribs all disappeared within minutes.  Sunday morning we'll be doing a summer picnic and I'm looking forward to putting my spin on the Stuffed Summer Sandwich.

I'm also teaching a Back to Basics series all summer at Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.  The class runs every Saturday morning from 10:00 - 1:30 and covers everything from Knife skills to working with eggs, braising, making soups, stocks and salads, roasting, grilling, sauteing and finally a great class covering all the mother sauces.  If you have always wanted to know how to make a souffle, or a hollandaise, or just learn some great basic skills this is the series for you.  Come and join in!

Poor husband, with all the teaching lately the man barely gets a home cooked meal.  I actually have tonight off so I'm off to ponder something divine to cook.   

I was in line at a store this week and saw a T-shirt quote that rather summed up my recent life. 
It was a quote from Confucius - "Choose a job that you love and you will never work a day in your life". 

Oh how true it is.