Fall 2011 Cooking Classes

Kitchen Conservatory's fall schedule is now posted online. To register, call Kitchen Conservatory at 314-862-2665 or register online. 

Here are the upcoming classes that I am teaching:

HEIR AND A PARENT: WIZARDS IN THE KITCHEN - Sunday, September 18 @ 1:00-3:30 OR Sunday, October 16 @ 1:00-3:30 OR Sunday, November 6 @ 1:00-3:30 (hands-on)

• Attention all Muggles! Experience the world of Harry Potter and make magic in the kitchen as I help you prepare delightful dishes described throughout the J.K. Rowling series, including The Three Broomsticks' butterbeer, ham-and-cheese pasties from the Hogwarts house-elves, Mrs. Weasley's potatoes with béchamel sauce, and Aunt Petunia's individual berry-pudding trifles. Before you apparate home, you'll make edible wands to help ward off He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. This class is designed for children, at least 7 years of age, plus a parent.

DATE NIGHT FOR COUPLES: GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEERS - Sunday, September 25 @ 5:00-7:30 OR Friday, December 9 @ 6:30-9:00 (hands-on)

• Forget the porridge, chair, and sleeping - the three tastings of beer will be just right and plenty cold! Join me (aka “goldie” locks) in a fun evening designed for couples. This hands-on class will prepare beer cheese fondue with soft pretzels, local lager with spicy Sriracha chicken wings, fruity Belgian wheat beer with grilled scallops and corn salad, plus creamy stout with chocolate hazelnut cake and vanilla ice cream.  

PHOTO FINISH WITH FOOD - Saturday, October 15 @ 11:00-2:00 (hands-on)

• Whether you are a food blogger or love to cook and then capture pictures of beautiful food, this class will be the perfect photo finish. Join me in creating radicchio-Brussels sprouts-apple panzanella with pancetta and cider vinaigrette, red lentil-pumpkin soup with spicy caramelized onions, bittersweet chocolate tart with a pretzel crust, plus pomegranate-red wine sangria. Professional photographer Corey Woodruff will "focus" on capturing each dish with simple techniques and available lighting, using your own cameras to discover tips on exposure, composition, plus how to make a simple homemade reflector and lightbox. Please bring your cameras. Nothing fancy is required; even phone cameras will work!

GIRLS' NIGHT OUT: PORK AVENUE - Saturday, October 22 @ 6:30-9:00 (demonstration)

• If farm living is not the life for you, and you would rather have a penthouse view, relax while I shares my passion for pork. Enjoy bacon-infused bourbon and maple old fashioned cocktail, cherry-bacon-pecan snack mix, apple-fennel salad with crispy prosciutto and creamy goat cheese dressing, egg yolk raviolo with pancetta-spinach-ricotta filling, sweet-and-salty kettle corn, plus bacon cookies with maple glaze.

Cherry Sploosh Ice Cream

St. Louis in July: With the heat index above 110 degrees, it's too fucking hot to cook. Hell, it's even too hot to eat. Or move. Or breath. So, I've been sustaining myself with fruit smoothies, salads, sandwiches, and ice cream. Here's my most recent creation:

Sour Cherry & Dark Chocolate Ice Cream

aka "Cherry Sploosh"

 For the cherries:

2 cups sour cherries, pitted & roughly chopped

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

• Mix the cherries, sugar & water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the juices are thick. Remove from heat & cool. Strain out liquid. Reserve both the cherries and the syrup.

For the ice cream:
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
6 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

• Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup cream in a medium saucepan just until the sugar melts & the mixture is steamy.
• Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl. 
• Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly, then add the custard back to the saucepan.
• Stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, heat over medium heat until thick enough to coat the spoon. 
• Strain into a bowl. Add the remaining 1 cup of cream, the vanilla, and the reserved cherry syrup. Cool in an ice bath or in the refrigerator until ready to churn.
• Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker.
• While the mixture is churning, melt the chocolate in a double-boiler. 
• During the last possible moments of churning, drizzle the melted chocolate in a very thin stream into the ice cream. 
• Remove the ice cream to a bowl and fold in the reserved chopped cherries.

Why "Cherry Sploosh"? A few reasons, actually...

1. Sploosh is a funny word.
2. You add a lot of stuff to this standard vanilla ice cream base. That is, you sploosh in some cherry syrup, melted chocolate, and chopped cherries.
3. This: 

Lemon Curd

Once again, I attended the Shakespeare Festival in St. Louis's historic Forest Park. This year's performance was a 1950's-inspired rendition of The Taming of the Shrew. The play was set in the backyard of a rich "Lord's" home, complete with 50's style patio furniture, aluminum swimming pool, and vintage Chevy sedan. 

It was, as it always is, a great event...my absolute favorite thing to do in the city.

I met some friends there this year, so I packed my picnic basket with things to share...pressed sandwich, truffled popcorn (aka "crack corn"), and lemon curd with strawberries. 

My first attempt at making this recipe resulted in a too thin--albeit still tasty--curd. I think I was afraid of over-cooking or over-heating the mixture & ending up with a curdled mess of egg yolks. So, I probably under-cooked it slightly, as it didn't get as thick as I had expected. Still, it made a nicely tart & refreshing dip for sweet strawberries.

Pasta with Roasted Beet Sauce & Wilted Arugula

I recently had dinner at Salt, Chef Wes Johnson's new restaurant in St. Louis, with a few of my Kitchen Conservatory co-workers. We ordered & shared nearly all of the small plates....including duck fat frites, mussels with chorizo, seared scallop with mustard sauce & cedar smoke, pork & fennel meatballs, crispy pork belly with pickled vegetables, and--my favorite dish of the night--pasta with beet sauce & sauteed collard greens.

I wanted to recreate that dish at home, especially since there were some farmers market beets in the fridge that I needed to use. I didn't use a recipe, but here's what I did to create this simple, flavorful, and vibrant summer dish:

1. Trim, peel, & roast red beets with a drizzle of olive oil, salt & pepper at 400 degrees until tender, about 15 minutes (I had about 6 tiny little beets).

2. Meanwhile, saute 1 small yellow onion (chopped) & 1 garlic clove (crushed) in some olive oil (about 1 tablespoon) until just softened. Add to a blender or food processor. Add the beets when they are cooked.

3. Add a splash of dry red wine, some heavy cream (I added about 1/2 cup), and the zest of 1 lemon to the beets. Blitz until smooth. Season with salt, pepper, and fresh thyme. Add more wine/cream or water to reach desired consistency. Toss the sauce with cooked & drained pasta.

4. To wilt the arugula: Over medium heat, cook a couple tablespoons of olive oil with a crushed clove of garlic in a large skillet. When it just starts to sizzle, add a few large handfuls of arugula. Toss in the oil and cook until wilted & tender. Finish with a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

5.  To serve: Spoon some of the pasta onto a plate. Top with a pile of the wilted arugula & a sprinkle of crumbled feta cheese.

Deviled Ham

For Easter dinner this year, I bought a 15-pound bone-in ham. Ok, for two people, that is WAY TOO MUCH HAM...even in my pork-centric world. To avoid an overdose of standard ham sandwiches, I picked a few recipes to make with the leftovers that week: ham fried rice, ham & bean soup, ham & chive frittatas, & ham pot pie.

But, for the most part, those are the obvious use-up-leftover-meat dishes. In searching for some more exciting ways to use up the rest of the ham, which I cubed/vacuum-sealed/stashed in the freezer, I came across many great sounding recipes (see list of links at the end of this post).

Most recently, I made Deviled Ham. I was leery at first. My parents used to buy that "sandwich spread" shit from the supermarket deli, and I despised it. It looked and smelled like cat food. Plus, "deviled" ham just doesn't sound appetizing to me.

Yet, this recipe sounded so good...smokey ham, creamy mayo, tangy mustard, sweet maple syrup, spicy hot sauce...what's NOT to like.