Salmon: Teaching Myself to Swim in the Culinary Seas

I bought some beautiful salmon this weekend in an effort to continue our journey of eating more healthy. I just prepped them for tonight's dinner and realized I should have paid more attention in Chef Edward' salmon skinning class! But, I prevailed. The fillets are skinned, re-checked for bones, and bones removed. I also have fillets that do NOT look like they have already been eaten on and a new recipe to try that I just pinned. Here goes nothing!

Friday Night Bites: Driscoll's Moments Cooking Demonstration

Tonight I am excited to be joining my first virtual cooking/tasting event! Driscoll's berries is using social media to host a live cooking demonstration with Chef Rick Rodgers of Williams-Sonoma and Bon-Appetit fame.  In preparation and support of the event I am preparing the Brie with Honeyed Raspberries and Pistachios. I am sure it won't look as beautiful as the picture as the photo Driscoll's provided, but I have no doubt it will be delicious. You can register for the event at www.driscollsmoments.com and Tweet tonight's hashtag #DriscollsMoments. Below is the recipe for the brie and hope to Tweet you later!

Holiday Warm Brie with Honeyed Raspberries and Pistachios

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Servings: 4 to 6

Number of Ingredients: 7

1/2 cup (2 ounces) shelled pistachios

1 wheel (13.3 ounces) ripe Brie, box reserved, top rind sliced off,

cheese chilled

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 package (6 ounces or 1 1/4 cups) Driscoll’s Raspberries

Water crackers or baguette slices for serving

Preheat the oven to 350˙F. Spread the pistachios on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, stirring

occasionally, until lightly toasted and fragrant, about 10 minutes.

Transfer to a plate.

Place Brie, in its box, on baking sheet. Bake until warm and the top

is softened, but not until cheese is oozing, about 15 minutes.

Transfer cheese in box to serving platter.

Stir honey, vinegar, and rosemary in a medium skillet over medium

heat just until warm. Add raspberries and pistachios and gently fold

in with a rubber spatula.

Pour raspberry mixture over warm cheese. Serve at once, with the

crackers for spreading.

Cooking Class: Crab Cakes, Grits and Yummies Oh My!

I LOVE COOKING CLASS! Whew, sorry to shout but every time I get the opportunity to attend one of these classes, I enjoy the food, tips and company so much! I have made fish tacos and tasted the Mediterranean and this time it was all about Edward's Award Winning Crab Cakes, creamy grits, delicious watermelon salad and a dessert a non-baker like myself can manage: Pavlova.

Chef Edward was unable to make our class due to an emergency but Chef Sherman from Byrd and Baldwin Brothers Steakhouse filled in and just like our past times with Chef Edward, we picked up some great nuggets of knowledge and had a lot of fun.

We started with dessert as we needed to give our creations time to cool. I say creations because it wasn't until I read the recipe closely that I realized what pavlova was: basically a nest of meringue filled with fruit and whipped cream. I may be dessert challenged but I can make meringue! Tip from Chef Sherman: Use powdered sugar when you make meringue to avoid that graininess I often get when I make it with granulated sugar!

Pavlova

Ingredients

• 4egg whites
  
• 1 cup powdered sugar
  
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar
  
• 1 cup fresh heavy cream
  
• 1/4 cup pineapple chopped
  
• 1/4 cup strawberries, sliced
  
• 1 kiwi sliced
  

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
2. Whip the egg whites until stiff. 
3. Gradually add the sugar and continue to whip until mixture is very stiff. 
4. Whip in the cornstarch, vanilla, and vinegar until stiff peaks form. 
5. Prepare a baking sheet by covering it with parchment paper and generously spraying the paper with cooking spray. Using a large spoon or by filling a pastry bag, carefully place individual nests of meringue on the baking sheet. If you make large ones it will make 8-10 nests. 
6. Bake these in the oven for 45 minutes but watching them carefully to ensure they don't brown. Cool them completely. Whip the heavy cream until it forms peaks. Fill nests with fruit and whipped cream. Chill until served.

Next we prepared the watermelon salad with Balsamic reduction. How easy to cube watermelon and dress each piece with a mint leaf and feta cheese and then drizzle over it with the Balsamic reduction? Chef Sherman passed along two tips: 1) Use 2 parts Balsamic to 1 part sugar and 2) A slurry of cornstarch and water will create a reduction in a fraction of the time! The slurry is just 1 tablespoon of cornstarch per one tablespoon of water.

The creamy grits with sweet corn were next. While I love grits, I have never made them myself. After this, I will be making them for sure! We prepared Quaker Old Fashioned Grits, following the package directions but using 7 cups of chicken stock and 1 and 1/3 cups of the grits. Once finished, to the grits we added grated Parmesan and white cheddar cheese, pepper. a little butter, garlic powder and 1 cup of fresh corn kernels and sliced green onions. We actually shaved the corn form the cob and pan roasted the kernels in super hot pan until slightly browned: really brought out the flavor!

Finally, the crab cakes! Readers know I love a good crab cake but I am always excited to try a new recipe. Edward's crab cake recipe is relatively simple but had one incredible feature: the Boursin Ginger Drizzle. I cannot explain how ginger, Boursin cheese and....wait for it....Sprite make a sauce that makes you want to invent any excuse to use it...but it was delicious! Another note on crab cakes...brown one side of each one in oil, flip over and finish in a 450 degree oven for about 5 minutes! So incredible!

Another successful night at class and another beautiful plate of food!

Thanks again to Chef Edward from Bardo (for his recipes), Chef Sherman from Byrd and Baldwin and to Sarah Horne from Young Chef’s Academy Ghent. Next class is August 22nd.

Young Chef’s Academy of Ghent is located at 350 W 22nd St. Ste 103 Norfolk, VA 

Bardo Edibles + Elixirs is located at 430 West 21st Street Norfolk, VA

Byrd and Baldwin Steakhouse is located at 116 Brooke Avenue Norfolk, VA

Cooking Class: Off to the Mediterranean

I was very excited about this month’s cooking class at Young Chef’s Academy Ghent when I found out it was going to be Greek and Mediterranean inspired. I was particularly interested in the experience of making both spanakopita and baklava because I consider myself phyllo dough challenged. Then when I heard babaganoush I was intrigued, because well, I didn’t know what it was!

We started out with making braised leg of lamb. The original plan was to roll out the leg, stuff it with pepper, salt, garlic and rosemary sprigs and then re-roll into a log that would then be tied with string. The problem presented itself when we realized we had no kitchen twine! Chef Edward wasted no time in making a change to the recipe in a moment he called “Identify. Adapt. Overcome”. The solution was to cut slits in the meat and stuff sprigs of rosemary inside and then coat with the seasonings and garlic.

As he cooked the veggies to go with the lamb, he also used one of my favorite chef words: mirepoix . Thankfully I have enough of a Top Chef addiction to know I have created this simple mixture of celery, onions and carrots a gazillion times with never thinking twice about its fancy name! If only I could share the delicious smell that was coming from the braising pan.

Then it was on to the babaganoush, simply explained to be hummus made with eggplant instead of chickpeas. Who knew? I had the pleasure of stabbing, I mean pricking the eggplant before it was roasted:

While the eggplant roasted we started on the spanakopita. (A quick public service announcement: never attempt to work with phyllo without covering it with a wet towel! I would also add having a partner in this exercise helped, but Chef was confident that any of us could manage by ourselves at home.) 

Thanks to the knife skills of my friend Kandice, the fresh herbs were finely minced and ready to be added to the other ingredients in the food processor. I will submit that cutting the filled phyllo into triangles presented somewhat of a geometry problem, but when cooked no one really cared if they were perfect triangles because they were delicious!

Then it was back to the babaganoush and yet another reason I am so thankful my mother-in-law got me a food processor for Christmas! The ingredients are very simple and looked very pretty in the processor!

1 large eggplant (about 1 pound), baked until soft inside and the pulp scooped out

1 clove of garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (plus some for garnish)
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Process until well combined and relatively smooth

Our next foray into phyllo land was baklava. I love the stuff and I was never under the illusion it was healthy at all, but after buttering that many layers of phyllo I will remind myself to make this as a special treat and to only have one piece! There is a lot of layering involved but it's not that difficult to make, if you can get the tiny sheets of phyllo separated and you can keep the other sheets from drying out: remember that wet towel. The other tip is to remember to cut it after it has baked in the oven and THEN pour over the syrup that gives it is honey flavored stickiness.

Then, the one dish we made that I only stopped eating because I was too full to keep going: goat cheese kisses. I believe I have shared my love of goat cheese so this wasn't a tough sell, but what a simple and delicious appetizer! We made a ton so this recipe can be increased as much as you need, and I recommend making a bunch because they will be a HUGE hit!


3 Tbsp (3/4 oz.) hazelnuts or pistachios finely chopped{we used pistachios}
6 oz creamy plain goat cheese
6 dried apricots or dried figs, cut into quarters

Lining a small tray with wax or parchment paper. Place nuts in a small dish. Working with 1/2 teaspoon of goat cheese at a time, wrap it around each piece of dried fruit to form a ball. Roll the balls in the chopped nuts to create a crust. Set on the tray, cover an refrigerate for up to 4 days.

Finally, we made tzatziki dip, a simple mixture of 1 cup sour cream, 1 cup seeded and shredded cucumber, 1/4 teaspoon of sugar and 1 minced clove of garlic. Now that I think about it he may have added some fresh dill too. Anyway, an easy and tasty dip for our lamb.

We served the babaganoush with pita and it is a dip I plan to make again, especially with the fresh eggplants my mom will be bringing me from this year's garden. I can't wait to attempt to braise my first leg of lamb either and with Easter around the corner, I think I have an excellent opportunity to give it a try.

Thanks again to Chef Edward from Bardo and to Sarah Horne from Young Chef’s Academy Ghent. Next class is May 2nd.

Young Chef’s Academy of Ghent is located at 350 W 22nd St. Ste 103 Norfolk, VA

Bardo Edibles + Elixirs is located at 430 West 21st Street Norfolk, VA

Cooking Class: Beer, Buddies and Best Fish Tacos Ever!

My favorite thing about cooking is that the learning never ends. There are always new recipes to try, new techniques to practice and new ingredients to taste. A cooking class is an excellent way to experience all of those things if you find a class that focuses on fun, the freedom to participate and of course, the food.

I had signed up for a few different cooking “classes” in the past only to be disappointed when I arrived and it was really a demonstration. The chef followed the recipe, made the dish in front of us and we got a sample. No chef tips, no ingredient tricks and no participation. That is why when I discovered the Adult Cooking nights at Young Chef’s Academy here in Hampton Roads, I was blown away by the enthusiasm of the staff and the chefs, the level of participation of the students and the fun we all had. Now I am becoming a regular and enjoying not just the recipes and the food, but the time with friends and the joy of cooking with others.

Last night was the first class I have been able to attend this year and I visited the Ghent location. Local O'Connor Brewing Company provided the beer and many of the recipes included beer as an ingredient. Chef Edward was in the house from Bardo Edibles and Elixirs, one of my favorite local restaurants. I have had the pleasure of attending a class with Edward as our chef before so I knew we were in for a treat. Edward does what I think good chefs do: they make cooking accessible to the non-chef. He is always quick to remind everyone that the recipes are guidelines (my opinion exactly!) and that we should feel free to add, subtract and experiment when we prepare. He also focuses on the accessibility of ingredients. For example, fresh grated horseradish is a lot less intimidating when you know you can just get it at the local grocery store, he shows you what it looks like so you know what you are looking for and he shows you how to prep it! Check out his beautiful prep cart by the way:

The involvement is the other critical piece of a good class for me. I am a hands-on learner and just watching someone cook, while often enjoyable and informative, does not give me the confidence to try a new technique later on. Edward always asks for volunteers and last night was no exception. The class was shown how to and then allowed to try to prep and prepare every component of every dish we made. Here’s me (in the red) and some friends making Rosemary Beef Kabobs of which we were VERY proud of!

A few tips Edward shared:

• Don’t put salt in a marinade that meat will be in for more than 1 hour. Marinade should add flavor to meat, not become the only flavor. Salt draws out moisture that is then replaced with the marinade masking the flavor of the meat rather than enhancing it.
• A little Karo syrup added to the sugar when making a simple syrup goes a long way in melting the sugar smoothly and quickly
• Horseradish in a jar is nothing compared to fresh. The stuff in the jar does not have the flavor or the impact and is more expensive in the long run for a less quality ingredient.
• Some store bought items ARE better and easier. For example, our roasted spiced apples were from the freezer section and our margarita flavor for our fish was actually pre-made frozen margarita mix!

So we prepared and ate 5 dishes all together: Coconut Shrimp with Horseradish Orange Marmalade, Rosemary Beef Kabobs with Pilsner Marinade, Margarita Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa, Candied Walnut and Roasted Pear Arugula Salad and for dessert Fire Roasted Apple Strudel in Phyllo Dough. Pictured below is the taco, shrimp and a kabob.

All of the dishes were delicious, but my favorite (and the one I had to stop myself from eating lest my classmates would think I had a compulsive eating disorder) was the Margarita Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa. I have reprinted the recipe below. My bud Kandice thinks the margarita mix can easily be substituted with some fresh lime juice and cilantro. I may also make these at home using panko instead of flour.

Margarita Fish Tacos w/Mango Salsa     

1 lb Mahi

½ cup margarita drink mix

1 tsp jerk seasoning

1 c. flour

15 oz black beans (rinsed well and drained)

1 large mango, seeded, peeled and chopped

1 large chopped seeded tomato

2 to 4 tbsp cilantro

2 tbsp thinly sliced green onion

1 fresh jalapeño seeded and chopped

1 tbsp lime juice

½ tsp ancho chili powder

¼ tsp salt

1 tbsp oil

8 corn tortillas

2 c. cabbage

Prepare marinade in a shallow dish, stirring together margarita mix and jerk seasoning. Rinse skinned fish and pat dry with paper towels. Cut fish into ¾ inch strips. Dip all fish into marinade, turning to coat and then cover and marinate in fridge for 15 minutes.

While fish is marinating, prepare the salsa: In a large bowl stir together the beans, mango, tomato, cilantro, green onion, jalapeño, lime juice, chili powder and salt. Set aside.

Drain fish and discard marinade. Dredge fish in flour and shake off excess. Cook fish in skillet with oil heated over medium heat for 2-5 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Drain fish on paper towels.

Heat tortillas in microwave between damp paper towels. Fill with fish, salsa and cabbage. (I am obsessed with sriracha chili sauce, and I added that to mine too!)

Thanks again to Chef Edward from Bardo and to Sarah Horne and Amber Lynn from Young Chef’s Academy Ghent. Next class is Mediterranean/Greek and is April 4^th. Can’t wait!

Young Chef’s Academy of Ghent is located at 350 W 22nd St. Ste 103 Norfolk, VA 

Bardo Edibles + Elixirs is located at 430 West 21st Street Norfolk, VA