Summer Program for Culinary Arts

I am so proud of Vanity, Nirvana, and Edgar. They attended the Art Institute Culinary Arts Program this past week from 8AM until 5PM every day and made a wonderful feast on Saturday for family and friends. I talked with a chef who said this was one of the best group of students she has had the pleasure of teaching. They were all attentive and focused (something that pleases teachers immensely!). 

The food was beautifully presented and delicious. They served salmon in a pastry dough with a mustard sauce, grilled chicken, caprese salad, a lovely mixed vegetable dish, creamy macaroni and cheese, perfectly mashed potatoes, focaccia and braided pretzel rolls.  For dessert - strawberry shortcake with homemade biscuits and whipped cream, cookies and a variety of truffles. Absolutely incredible in taste and presentation!

 

Granola Cookie Assembly Line

Trying to raise money for the new baking class (fingers crossed) for next year by making 400 granola cookies to sell at this week's Venice High Centenniel Celebration. Awesome work by our assembly line today! Such dedicated students to come in on the second to last day of school and bake for three periods! We all had to sample and the vote was unanimous - delicious! I'm very relieved - this was a recipe using granola ingredients along with an oatmeal cookie recipe from my mother. Turns out this is quite a good combination.

Finals! Event Planning and Menu Samples

I was extremely impressed by most of the students' work on their finals. The goal was to create a presentation and display board that would outline a party theme based on a culture or country, design a menu that fit with the theme and research recipes, place settings, and appropriate entertainment. Each group presented in front of the class and brought in a sample item from their menu. The themes ranged from Hawaiian Luaus to Chinese New Year to a Night in Paris. The food samples brought in were very creative - three colored pastas and sauces to represent the Italian flag, spicy fried chicken with a hint of lime, and so much more! For everyone who participated - well done!

Tabouleh, Hummus and Pita Crisps

I think I gave the students too much bulgur wheat for the Tabouleh since most groups had a lot more than two cups after the wheat had absorbed all the water. We'll work on correcting that for next year. (Yes, I'm being optimistic that there will be a next year.) Otherwise, everything looked incredibly delicious! We had some leftovers for the teachers' lunch today. Hope everyone enjoyed! The recipes follow below.

                                                                        TABOULEH

Ingredients:

2 ripe tomatoes

2 green onions

2 C parsley

1 freshly squeezed lemon

2 C bulgur wheat or couscous

¼ C olive oil

Directions:                                                                                    Place bulgur wheat in a small bowl and just cover with boiling water. Allow to soak.

Wash tomatoes, green onions and parsley. Chop finely. Squeeze lemon juice over the mixture. Add bulgur wheat and mix thoroughly. Drizzle all with olive oil and serve.

Hummus and Pita Bread

Ingredients:

1 - 16 oz can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans

1/4 C liquid from can of chickpeas

3 T lemon juice

1-1/2 T tahini or sesame oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 t salt

2 T olive oil

Directions:

Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until smooth. 
Serve immediately with fresh or toasted pita bread, or cover and refrigerate up to three days.

Toasted Pita Bread

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Brush both sides of pita bread with olive oil. Sprinkle lightly on top with salt and pepper.

Cut pita bread into eight wedges. Place pieces in single layer on baking pan. Bake for five minutes or until lightly browned.

Student Food Demos

Chocolate Mousse, Haiva, Fruit Salad, and Key Lime Pie (made by a true Key West "Conch"); the demos just keep getting better and better! I am so fortunate to have talented students who put forth such great effort on their assignments.

Pate a Choux with Rosemary Chicken Salad

The pate a choux, or puff pastry, can be filled with something savory or sweet. The students made rosemary chicken salad and added their own twists on the recipe by including cumin, garlic, and even lime. Really delicious! The recipe follows below:

Pate a Choux (Literally: Cabbage Pastry)

1 C Water

1 C Flour

½ C Butter

4 Eggs

Preheat oven to 425.  Heat water until boiling. Add butter until melted. Remove from stove and add flour all at once. Stir 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, incorporating completely before adding the next.

Drop by ¼ cups onto greased baking sheet, 3” apart. Bake for 10 minutes. Decrease temperature to 375 and bake for 10 more minutes until golden brown.

__________________________________________________________

Rosemary Chicken Salad Filling

3 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1/3 cup (or less if you prefer) chopped green onions

1/4 cup chopped almonds

1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt

1/4 cup light mayonnaise

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Mix ingredients together. Place small scoop of filling inside each pate a choux.  Yield: 10 small sandwiches.

Chilaquile Casserole

This would be better with roasted diced chicken, but as it is the students ate almost everything they made. Always a good sign. I learned something from the students too about roasting poblano peppers. Much more efficient to just put them in the flame and turn with tongs. Recipe follows below. It doesn't have to be done over two days; we just do it this way in class because of timing.

 

Chilaquile Casserole with

New Mexico Green Sauce

Ingredients:

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

4 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, finely chopped

1 jalapeno chili, seeded, finely chopped

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 C half and half (fewer calories than whipping cream)

¼ tsp. salt

10 corn tortillas cut into ½” strips

2 C shredded light cheese

Day 1: Cook onion, chiles and garlic in oil over medium heat until onion is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in half and half and salt. Store in airtight container.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking pan with Pam (over sink). Spread tortilla strips on pan and spray strips lightly with Pam. Bake 5 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool and store in airtight container.

Day 2: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Layer half the strips in bottom of greased casserole dish. Top with half the sauce, one cup of cheese. Repeat with remaining strips, sauce, cheese. Bake 20 minutes.    Yield: 7-9 servings