South of France Cooking class

@ Ecole de Cuisine Cooking School....
Menu:
Pizzaladiere ~

Basque style chicken ~

Ratatouille Nicoise ~

The instructor, Chef Zadi did not hand out recipes because he said that it is all about the "touch" and feel. Notes were scribbled and here is a brief description of how each dish was made. :)
The first dish was Pizzaladiere-  a light pizza without tomato sauce.
To make the dough, add 250g flour, 20g sugar, 5g salt into a bowl. Next, add the wet ingredients- 3 eggs, 2 T olive oil, and yeast mixture ( 10g yeast and 1/4 cup H20) to the dry ingredients. Knead the dough until it does not stick to the bowl. Add olive oil into a bowl before placing the well-kneaded dough. Wrap and leave it to proof, approximately 1 hr.

Sprinkle oil into wax paper. Roll out dough onto a quarter sheet pan. Add whatever toppings you like but this was what we used...caramelize onions, anchovies, rosemary, thyme, garlic, heirloom tomatoes, olives. Grate Parmesan cheese on top of mixture. Bake at 400F. Before serving, sprinkle olive oil on top of pizza. :) I love this pizza crust! :)

Time to have some fun with cutting and cleaning chicken... :( Another reason for being a vegetarian.... :P Here are several pictures on the cutting process, after removing all the items inside the chicken...

 Make a slit to see the cartilage. Remove it.

 Use scissors to cut the fat, and middle of the chicken

 Cut it into half and remove more fat at the ends

 Cut the drumsticks side cartilage ends. ( for presentation purpose)

Season with salt, pepper, chopped herbs (oregano, thyme, rosemary), lemon ( cut small wedges of half a lemon, and juice the other half lemon), olive oil, saffron, preserved lemon ( place lemon and salt in container and let it age for a month), 1 Tbsp of Tapenado olive paste.

Place the marinated chicken in a roasting pan. Add chicken stock ( To make: boil chicken bones, water, 50% onion, 25%carrots, 25% celery. Allow it to SIMMER for 24 hours. ) Top with chunks of butter. Bake at 350F for 1 hour. Remove from oven several times and pour liquid over chicken constantly. This is to keep it moist and tender.

The chicken tasted yum! The burst of lemon gives it a tangy feel with flavorful herby aroma. :)

Now on to Ratatouillr Nicoise.... To make tomato composte: Slit the ends of the tomatoes with an "X". Once the water boils, place it in for 30 seconds. After removing it from the hot water, dip it in cold water immediately. Remove the outer skin from the tomato and slice in to quarters. Remove the seeds and use the outer layer. Slice into strips.

Cut the eggplant into round circles, followed by strips. When cooking, be careful not to place too many pieces into the pan as it will "steam" the eggplant. "Brown" eggplant is what we want. Feel free to drizzle olive oil. Add salt and pepper.

Saute onion until it is caramelized. Add salt and pepper. Remove from pan.

Saute green/red bell peppers next. Add salt and pepper. Remove from pan.

Saute squash. Add salt and pepper. Remove from pan.

Saute garlic next.

( Trick- while chopping garlic, sprinkle some salt. This will keep the oils of the garlic. )

Bread Crumbs: Bake day-old bread in oven until crisp. Place in food processor until finely grounded.

To assemble:

1. Drizzle the bottom of the pan with olive oil

2. Add peppers

3. Followed by Onion and garlic

4. Next is the eggplant mixture

5. Add onions and garlic again

6. Add the sliced raw tomatoes

7. Sprinkle fresh thyme

8. Add squash

9. Top with breadcrumbs

10. Drizzle with olive oil

11. Add pieces of butter on the top layer

Bake at 325 for 35 minutes.

Remove from oven occasionally to drizzle olive oil on top.  

Every chef has his/her way  of cooking. I have been to many cooking class and felt that this was one of the classes that could be more organized and have better sanitary practices. I have to say that the chef knows his stuff and seemed to have great french cooking techniques. Overall, the food we cooked at this class tasted YUM! and I would like to try to make them on my own one of these days. :) I am so glad that J and I were able to go to this class together! :)

not-your-regular Pizza :)

This pizza creation was inspired by one of the vendors at the TASTE food show that I went to last week. It was not your regular "heavy" cheesy pizza, but rather had a light, fresh touch to it. YUM :) Interestingly, they added ricotta cheese instead of the usual mozzarella cheese. I have never had ricotta cheese on pizza and was determined to re-create this recipe. :) 

 I did exactly what they said- top ricotta cheese, tomatoes and basil on top of the baked dough. Somehow, it did not turn out right....something was missing...they did not reveal their secret ingredient. I bounced the idea off my cook and we guessed that there was probably some cream cheese in the ricotta mix. Hence, I tried making it again, with a few modifications. The verdict - a recipe keeper! Several people liked it and asked for the recipe.... I'm glad it worked out the second time! :) It would have tasted even better with a pizza oven but I did not have one and had to make do with a regular oven.

Ingredients:

15 oz ricotta cheese

8 oz vegan herb cream cheese

2 cups vegan mozzarella cheese

fresh basil

cherry tomatoes

pizza dough ( 2 packets from Trader Joes)

dash of salt

dash of pepper

Balsamic vinegar/olive oil

1 onion, sliced

garlic, minced

Steps:
Take the pizza dough out from the packet to let it sit and rise.
In a mixer, blend the ricotta cheese and vegan cream cheese until fluffy. Add in salt and pepper.
Slice the cherry tomatoes into half and mix it together with a few drops of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Let it sit for several minutes in the refrigerator.
Chop the basil leaves.
Once the dough has risen, roll it out and bake it in the oven for 10 minutes.
Remove it from the oven and top with the ricotta- cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle vegan cheese over the mixture, followed by onions and garlic.
Place it back in the oven and let it continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese melts. Remove from the oven and just before serving, top it with basil and tomatoes. :)
~~::~~
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to All! Enjoy your mooncakes! :)

roasted fennel with parmesan

Fennel is one of those vegetables that is underappreciated. It is delicious if you know how to cook it. This recipe was featured on Giada's show at the Food Network channel.

Raw, it has a licorice flavor and a celerylike texture that is very refreshing, but it's also delicious as a cooked vegetable. The licorice flavor mellows a but and is a great match for salty Parmesan. At first look and taste, one might think that its roasted onions.

This is one sure-win fennel recipe that you will love. :)



4 T olive oil, plus more for baking dish
4 fennel bulbs, cut horizontally into 1/3 inch thick slices, fronds reserved
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375F. Lightly oil a 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange the fennel in the dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then with the parmesan cheese. Drizzle with the oil. Bake until the fennel is fork-tender and golden brown, about 45 minutes. Chop enough fennel fronds to equal 2 Tablespoons, then sprinkle over the roasted fennel and serve.

Couscous for lunch

What is couscous? In the United States, couscous is known as a type of pasta. However in most other countries it is treated more like a grain in its own right.
Applause to Peggy Trowbridge when she said,"If rice and pasta were to wed, couscous would be the offspring. It's quick and easy to make and can be flavored by nearly any fruit, vegetable, meat, seafood, herb or spice you can imagine."
I totally agree with what she said. It's very versatile and can be made like "fried rice". Patrick said that he likes his couscous in salads with tons of olive oil. And it has to be very cold. I like mine with avocadoes and cherry tomatoes as it brings out a rich flavor.
It is particularly valued for its rapid preparation time.
And this is one of the reasons why I like making couscous! It's ready in a few minutes.
~~~~~Presenting my quick lunch!!!!~~~~~

How I made it?

1. Follow the cooking instructions on the box of ww couscous. ( I added chopped garlic and used vegetable broth instead of water for added flavor).

2.Stir fry sliced shallots. Add sliced veggie ham and fry till brown. Add mixed vegetables. Finally, add cooked couscous and mix well. Top with chopped avocados and sliced cherry tomatoes.

Veggie Meat Balls

A healthy easy-to-make meat ball for vegetarians. It can pass for a thanksgiving dish too.

Ingredients:
3 cups of prepared stuffing (dry) or 2 bags of dried bread crumbs1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar2 beaten eggs 9or 3)1/4 chopped onions (very fine)1/2 t sage1-2 tsp pizza/ italian seasoning

Directions:
Mix all together evenly. Heat up skillet to medium heat and light coat with oil. Foam into balls about 1 1/2 ". Fry until slightly browned.

Decoration: Steam/ boil green beans for 30 seconds until bright green. Add salt, herb seasoning and butter/ olive oil.