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

What I Did Last Saturday: Wine and Cheese and Appetizers

I am a sucker for a theme party. I am somewhat incapable of having people even over to my house without some overarching premise: it's a fiesta, it's Italian, it's the Super Bowl, it's the let's watch me on TV cook  and say crazy things night...you get the idea. Last Saturday I hosted a Lia Sophia jewelry party and true to form I sent out the invites with a theme: wine and cheese party. Remember, the purpose of this party was to have my friend Anne show off the jewelry collection. Most people have a couple snacks or something...here is what I had:

I may have a problem.

In the meantime, I did dream up a yummy way to use a pound of baby portabello mushrooms and a can of crescent rolls:

Caramelized Onion and Portabello Mushroom Tart

Ingredients

• 1 Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
  
• 1 pound baby portabello mushrooms, sliced
  
• 1 tablespoon sugar
  
• 2 tablespoons white cooking wine
  
• 1 can crescent rolls
  
• 1 egg beaten
  
• 1 cup skim ricotta cheese
  
• 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped, fresh flat leaf parsley
  
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh ground pepper
  
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt divided
  

Cooking Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roll out crescent rolls onto an un-greased cookie sheet and flatten into a rectangle, pressing the seams together. Slightly roll up the edges to form a small crust-like edge. Brush top of pastry with small amount of egg and reserve remainder. Place crescent rolls in oven and cook for 9 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

In a skillet melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the onions and saute them in the butter. Add the sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Continue cooking the onions for about 15 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Add the remaining teaspoon of salt. Cook for another 10 minutes or until onions are brown. Add the white wine to deglaze the pan and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

In a small bowl mix the leftover egg and the ricotta cheese. Evenly spread the mixture over the surface of the cooked crescent rolls being careful to leave an edge of about 1-inch. Add the onion and mushroom mixture and even spread over the cheese. 

Top with the mozzarella and sprinkle evenly with the parsley. Put back into oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Allow to cool slightly and using a pizza cutter, cut into squares.

This was super delicious and I think I could modify to use various ingredients...nothing like always having a can of crescent rolls handy!

Guest Blog: Salt-Crusted Fish

Sometimes the universe tries to balance things out. I have been ill for the past few days so haven't done much cooking. What a perfect time to have a good friend guest blog for me! My friend and fellow foodie Kandice is my connection to all things highly technical in the kitchen and her creation of Fine Cooking's salt-crusted fish with lemon dill beurre-blanc sauce is certainly an inspiration. Thanks Kandice!

Hello.  My name is Kandice and my weakness in the kitchen is seafood.

The Cook Crook knows I love Fine Cooking magazine.  I recommend it to everyone I know.  It is the epitome of food porn with page after page of amazing photography of food.  The pictures are what first attracted me.  When I delved deeper and read the articles, I found them instructive and educational.  That is exactly what this home cook with no professional training needs!

The April/May 2011 issue of Fine Cooking magazine featured Salt-Crusted Fish in the “Learn A New Technique” section.  Hooray!  I am forever trying to add different techniques into my repertoire and preparing seafood is my Achilles heel.  Obviously, I had to give this a try. 

Three things.  One, this technique does not impart any saltiness to the fish (unless you drop the meat into the salt when serving--oops).   Do not be alarmed by the many cups of salt in the recipe.  It is for the outside only.  Two, this is a presentation dish.  Be sure your family and friends can see you crack it open and serve.  It is impressive and they will be in awe of your culinary prowess.  Three, beware of bones!  Please, please, please be careful when eating fish with bones.  Children should always be supervised whenever they eat fish with bones.

This technique creates the most moist fish I have EVER had.  My standing offer to family and friends is to make this whenever they ask  They just have to bring me a whole fish.

I also made the Lemon-Dill Beurre Blanc sauce.  Be sure to REALLY reduce the wine!  The first time, I did not reduce the wine enough.  The sauce tasted good and the butter emulsified into the wine.  It just was not as thick as a sauce should be.  The second time, I reduced the wine much, much further and the consistency was perfect.  The sauce adds a rich brightness to the fish.

So readers? Beautiful AND delicious, right? I am still waiting for my chance to get in person instruction, guess I need to go shop for a whole fish!

Cook Crook Creation: Roasted Tomato and Basil Spread

I was so happy with the batch of roasted tomatoes I made and couldn't wait to use them for my upcoming wine and cheese party. It obviously my first batch didn't make a lot so I didn't feel right just putting them out as a topping for a charcuterie plate. I turned my attention to making something I could incorporate the tomatoes into and not lose the wonderful flavor.

A quick scan of my fridge revealed an 8 ounce block of neufchatel and some more of that wonderful fresh basil paste...and in my mind I thought "spread!" And having a food processor made this super easy!

1 cup of roasted tomatoes
8 oz of neufchatel or low-fat cream cheese
2 tablespoons of basil paste OR 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh basil

Add roasted tomatoes to food processor and finely chop. Add basil and blend again. Add cheese to food processor in 1-inch cubes, pulsing after each addition. Once last of cheese is added, blend quickly and  this should be your result:

Scrape the ingredients into a serving dish, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 

I served it with crostini and various crackers but one of my friends who really enjoyed it suggested using it on a wrap or sandwich. So the next day, I spread it on a low-fat tortilla, topped it with deli turkey and romaine lettuce and wrapped it up into a delicious lunch! This spread will certainly become a staple to have around for entertaining and to enjoy!