Cooking class at Cook & Go Culinary Studio in Chelsea, NYC, New York

I was recently invited for a cooking class with bloggers at Cook & Go Culinary Studio located in Chelsea. 

Cook & Go started few years ago in France, more precisely in Lyon that is the capital of Gastronomy there. Their classes target people who are not professional or advanced cooks and want to learn simple recipes in a relaxed atmosphere. You come, cook and then go with the food you just made so your friends and family can try! 

The place is big and can host up to 80 people. Of course, there is no way that 80 people can cook at the same time or in that case it will have to be uncooked dishes like some we made. Interestingly, some companies are organizing events there: good idea for team building sessions.

Our teacher (and Chef), Christine, made the experience very relaxed, with no pressure, providing useful tips.

Each of us had its own space setup.

And I was ready to start! Au menu were:

• Purses filled with pear, brie and raspberry.
• Tuscan White Bean Crostini.
• Apricot Chicken.
• Cakes filled with dates.
• S'mores shooters.

The recipes below were courtesy of Cook & Go. 

The first dish was Purses filled with pear, brie and raspberry. 

Recipe: Italian Egg Benedict

I love eggs benedict and, as I had to create a dish with pasta, I came up with the idea of Italian egg Benedict, where the English muffin would be replaced by pasta, but keeping the presence of bread with breadcrumbs that added a bit of crunch!

My pasta of choice were bucatini from Delverde. I like bucatini, which is thicker than spaghetti.

It is a fairly easy dish to make and it only requires couple of steps!

Step 1- cook the pasta:

Once the water is brought to a boil, add salt (no oil: just stir from time to time) and then the pasta and cooked to the preferred consistency; the instructions say 7 minutes, but, I prefer 10 minutes.

Recipe: Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Here is a very easy recipe for a delicious Pineapple Upside Down Cake!

Ingredients:
- 7oz (200g) of butter
- 7oz (200g) of powdered sugar
- 7oz (200g) of white flour
- 5 eggs
- 1teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1teaspoon of almond extract
- 1packet of yeast
- 1can of sliced pineapple

Steps:
1 - Prepare the cake batter:

Sourdough bread recipe

This is an easy recipe that my friend Benny's wife, Rufina, gave me and that I tried over the week end. It is easy but a bit long because of the time needed for the fermentation process that gives this bread such a distinct taste.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon yeast

1 1/2 cup of water

Put all the ingredients in a bowl and knead until obtaining a firm dough.

Cover with a kitchen towel and let stand for 12 to 18 hours.

On a slightly floured surface, fold the dough 2 to 3 times. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes.

Generously flour a kitchen towel and put the dough on it. Shape the dough the way you would like your bread to be shaped. Put some more flour on top of the dough and cover with another kitchen towel. Let stand for 2 more hours.

Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Put the dough on an aluminum foil and cover with another aluminum foil sheet. Put in the oven and cook for 30 minutes.

Then remove the aluminum foil that was on top and continue to cook for another 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Et voila! It will give you a bread similar to what you would buy in a bakery with a fantastic crunchy crust!

Enjoy (I did)!


If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment!

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Recipe: Anise Infused Bread

Here is a very recipe to make a wonderful bread that has a subtle anise taste.

For 8 small breads:

17.5 ounce (500g) of white flour

1 tablespoon of salt

3/4 tablespoon of sugar

2 tablespoons of anise seeds

1/2 ounce of dry yeast

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

0.8 cup of lukewarm water

The first thing to do is to grind the anise seeds.

To grind seeds, I use a coffee grinder.

Mix all the ingredients and knead until firm. I have a bread machine and use the setting to only knead and rise as I will cook the bread in the oven.

Let the dough rise for 1h30.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. At the same time, make 8 even portions of the dough and lay them on a cooking sheet or aluminum foil, making sure you either grease it or put some flour to prevent the bread to stick.

In a small ball, make an egg wash by cracking an egg at room temperature and whisking it until the yolk is incorporated in the white. 

With a knife, make a X on top of each bread so they open while cooking.

Then brush each bread with the egg wash.

Rest for 25 more minutes; the bread will rise again.

Put the bread in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden.

Et voila!

 Bon appetit!

Recipe: Brioche with chocolate chips

Brioche is a viennoiserie that is similar to Challah bread, where water is replaced by milk, has more eggs, butter and sugar.

The recipe below is very easy to make! 

Laddu recipe

One of my co-workers brought me some laddu for me to try as he knows that I love Indian food (I should say Food!) and sweets. Laddu or Laddoo is a popular sweet in India and South Asia eaten during celebrations or festivals. It is made of little balls (in sanskrit, Laddu means small ball) that are put together, fried and dipped in sugar syrup. The recipe can vary: for the flour, some use Bengal gram, dhal(chickpea), flour ((besan), wheat flour, semolina (suji or rava ), etc...

The one he gave me had almonds and raisins in it! It was deliciously sweet with a bit of crunch! Of course, it was smaller than the biggest Laddu in the Guiness World record: 5,570 kg obtained end of 2011 in India (the previous record was held by a temple in England - 551 kg).

Here is the recipe as he gave it to me:

Recipe: Almond cigars

I love Almond Cigars. When I was a kid, my mom and my grand mother use to make them: it was driving me crazy! Well, it still does...

It is a treat that comes from North Africa, but in fact, as cuisine traveled, you can easily compare it to the baklava found in Greece or Middle East. It is a delicious dessert, served with a hot tea (best is with mint tea in fact).

The recipe below is very easy to make. In France, we used to make it with Feuilles de brick (brick sheets or dough) that are closed to phyllo sheets, but a bit different. You can find Brick sheets in the US, but it is way overpriced. So I decided to try with Phyllo dough. I admit that it was a bit challenging as the phyllo sheets were very thin!

Recipe: Pearl Couscous Salad

Pearl couscous, also known as Israeli couscous or ptitim, is a toasted pasta shaped like pearls. I never heard of it before coming to the US, seeing it at the salad bars or on TV, cooked in Iron Chef. I was more used to the couscous semolina that has a totally different taste and is used for taboule.

So, here is an easy recipe to make a Pearl Couscous Salad that I hope you will, like me, find delicious!

Recipe: Tomato bisque made with coconut milk

Last time, I was wondering what to cook for dinner and decided to try to make a tomato bisque. Now, I should not be using the term bisque as normally, a bisque contains a broth made with crustaceans (crab, lobster...), but it seems that everybody is using this term, probably to give a fancy name to a dish. Think about it: 

"I am going to serve you a tomato soup" - ok

"I am going to serve you a tomato bisque" - oh!

I love tomato bisque with grilled cheese. I even got that served in a wedding cocktail last year in Milwaukee and it was amazing! It is an awesome pairing, especially if you dip the grilled cheese in the soup.

The recipe below is very easy!

Recipe: Ghetto Garlic Bread from Coolio!

So everybody probably knows Coolio from the song Gangsta's Paradise he wrote in 1995 for the movie Dangerous Minds with Michelle Pfeiffer. What I did not know until I watch Rachel (Ray) vs. Guy (Fieri) on the Food Network, is that Coolio is also a cook. He even published a cook book called Cookin' with Coolio: 5 Star Meals at a 1 Star Price and calls himself the Ghetto Gourmet. In this book, he will teach you how to be a Kitchen Pimp, explaining what you need in you Pimp-try...

Let me tell you: this guy knows how to cook (taught by his now deceased mother) and he ended up in the finale!

So, I decided to try to cook his Ghetto Garlic Bread, his take on Garlic Bread, made with mayonnaise. I do not have a cook book, so I tried to recreate the quantities.

In a bowl, I mixed:

• 6 tbsp of mayonnaise, 
• 2 tbsp of minced garlic and 
• cheese (depends how much you like).

I spread the mixture on a baguette cut in half and toasted it.

It was good, but if you do not like mayonnaise, I do not think it is for you!

Enjoy (I did)!

References:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coolio

Easy Thin Fish With Olive sauce Recipe!

I like sometimes to try few recipes easy to prepare with ingredients I like. Olives is one of them! When I prepare my Olive Oil Oven Poached Tilapia (click here for the recipe), it takes a bit of time. So I decided to do try an olive sauce with simple ingredients: olives, olive oil and garlic.

For the fish, you can use any thin fish such as tilapia or sole. 

Quantities will depend on how much olives you would like. I used manzanilla olives, pitted of course as you do not want to spend your time eating removing the pit...

First, I put some olive oil in a pan (2 tablespoons) and cook the garlic and olives together, with a hint of French tarragon and pepper. Once the garlic starts to brown, remove from the heat.

In another pan, cook the fish in olive oil. I usually cook it for approximately 7 to 9 minutes: all depends on the thickness of the piece you get. Once the fish is closed to be cooked, I add the sauce prepared before. Et voila!

You can serve this dish with mash potatoes or vegetables like corn, asparagus or brussels sprouts.

Bon appétit!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts!

When I was a kid, I hated brussels sprouts! I could not stand the smell or the taste. I remember that my mom used to prepare them with merguez (lamb sausages) and unfortunately, the sausages were absorbing all the taste of the brussels sprouts! Many years later, I ended up with brussels sprouts on my plate, in a restaurant in New York City. I tried and kind of liked them! So, if you are struggling to get your kids to eat vegetables, it is not desperate and you should try to roast them (the vegetables, not the kids!!!). 

The way I roast brussels sprouts applies also to other vegetables like asparagus. I like them slightly burnt so it caramelized them. 

First, after washing the brussels sprouts, I remove the buds from the stalk and discard any loosen leaf from the surface. Depending on the size of the sprouts, I may cut them into two parts. Then, I put them on a tray with olive oil, salt and pepper. With my hands, I mix the brussels sprout with the oil, salt and pepper to ensure they all get their little bath. I then cook them in a preheated oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Et voila!

Bon Appétit!

Recipe: vegetarian chili

Before watching a chili competition on TV, I did not know that the original chili does not contain any beans (I am sure some of you would be grateful about that omission...). In fact, chili was made by American settlers using  dried beef, suet, dried chili peppers (usually chilipiquenes), and salt, which were pounded together, formed into bricks and left to dry. They would then boil the bricks during their trip. I think I made my own chili when I was not even 10 years old, probably after seeing a John Wayne movie or, I have to admit, a Terence Hill movie (shame on me). My attempted were not always successful, especially that time when I did not really cook the beans (my cousin Sandrine still remembers me that one). One day, I decided to make a vegetarian chili. I went on the internet, checked few recipes and made my own which is as follows:

Ingredients for 4 servings:

- 14 oz of firm tofu

- 15 oz tomato sauce unsalted

- 2 cans of red beans (15 oz each)

- 3 garlic cloves

- 2 tbsp of soy sauce

- olive oil

- chili powder

- cayenne pepper

It is important to use unsalted tomato sauce as the soy sauce is already salty.

In a dutch oven, put the olive oil, minced garlic and tofu cut in small cube at medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce and cook until half the liquid (soy sauce and olive oil) has evaporated. Then, add the tomato sauce, red beans, chili powder and cayenne pepper (to your liking). Cook at low heat for 45 minutes, uncovered. 

I suggest eating the chili the next day to rest it all night so the tofu will get more flavor from the sauce.

You can add to the recipe peppers, jalapenos, etc...I personally like to it it with sour cream, guacamole and cheddar cheese.

Bon appétit!

Another attempt at making Crab Cakes Benedict!

After the not so bad attempt to make Crab Cakes Benedict few months ago (click here), I decided to try again. This time, it was much better! First, I used crab meat and not claw meat. That makes a big difference. Then I decided not to put too much of anything else to really feel the crab. Below is the result. Not bad, don't you think?

As you can see on the photo, I served it with roasted asparagus and roasted brussels sprouts. I found it was a good alternative to the classic roasted potatoes and gave me the impression I was cooking a healthy meal...

So, this time, this is what I did:

For 4 crab cakes:

- 1 lb crab meat

- 1 egg

- 1 tbsp of butter

- salt and pepper

I made sure that I removed all the water from the crab meat by pressing it in a strainer. I then added the salt and pepper, melted butter and the egg, beaten. I mixed everything. With my hands, I made 4 cakes and delicately put them in a pan on medium heat where I previously put olive oil and butter. I then covered and cooked for 10 minutes.

Hollandaise sauce:

- 4 yolks

- 5 tbsp melted butter

- salt and pepper

Put the 4 yolks in a bowl with salt and pepper and beat them until obtaining a thicker consistency. Slowly add the melted butter. Once the butter is incorporated, put in a sauce pan at low heat and continue stirring so the yolks do not start cooking too fast and scramble. Once the sauce is warm enough, serve immediately. 

Note that you can put any twist to the sauce: you can add cilantro or truffle oil for instance.

Bon appétit!

Recipe: olive oil oven poached tilapia

I tried a similar dish at The Franciscan, one of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco. Similar in the sense that I tried to recreate it and hopefully it is close enough! I love this dish: it is great for a nice dinner and very flavorful, mixing the flavors from the fish, the olives and olive oil and the sweetness of the butternut squash. It is not complicated, but takes time (close to 1h30)!

Here is the recipe:

For 4 servings

- thin white fish: I picked tilapia (4 filets)

- Pitted Manzanilla Olives (8oz)

- Peeled Butternut Squash (20oz)

- Potatoes (24oz)

- Salt and Pepper

- Olive oil

For the potatoes, I picked some baby potatoes, preferably the creamer ones, with a thin and tasty skin as I keep the skin on it when roasting them. They are usually moist and have a creamier flesh perfect for this dish. 

For the Butternut Squash, I prefer the peeled one as it is a pain in the neck (excuse my French) to cut a squash. I cook it in boiling water until soft as a first step and then will cut each piece in a size that will match the size of the potatoes that I will also cut in small pieces.

In a dish that goes in the oven, put some olive oil, salt and pepper. Put the potatoes and cook at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until the flesh is soft (test with a knife). This may take 30 to 40 minutes. Then, put the pieces of butternut squash and the olives. Cook for another 10 minutes. Add some more olive oil and put in the bottom of the dish the filets. Cover with the potatoes, squash and olives and cook for 30 minutes. Et voila!

Bon appétit!

Recipe: Galette Des Rois

Galette des rois is a cake, made with puff pastry and frangipane, that originated in Catholic tradition in reference to the Three Kings. But let be honest, as any religious tradition, it became a culinary tradition starting before Christmas and ending during Mardi Gras. In France, you will either find the Galette des rois (puff pastry / frangipane) in the North part or the Gateau des rois (brioche with or without candied fruits - photo on the left) in the South. I personally, and not surprisingly, like both. It is a very playful tradition: each galette or gateau has a hidden charm or two and comes with one or two crowns (1 crown = 1 charm; and remember: this has nothing to do with Burger King!). The goal is to find the charm and be crowned King or Queen.

To make sure nobody is cheating, what you can do is ask an innocent person (if you can not find one, anybody around the table), to go under the table and name a person for whom you are cutting a slice. 

As mentioned before, this has become a culinary tradition, so the charms that were previously representing biblical characters are now representing either neutral characters (ex: a dove for peace) or contemporary characters like Harry Potter, the Smurfs, the French President and his wife, etc...

Here is how to make the Galette des rois:

- 0.38 lb / 175 g of almond flour

- 2 eggs

- 0.17 lb / 80 g of melted butter

- 0.2 lb / 90 g of sugar

- 2 puff pastry sheets

Mix the almonds, eggs, sugar and butter in a bowl.

Put the first puff pastry sheet in a pie dish. Make holes with a fork so the bottom dough does not rise.

Spread the almond mixture on top of it.

close with the second puff pastry sheet (make sure it is sealed) and make some drawings with a knife, cutting a bit the dough to avoid it to rise too much. Brush with a mix of yolk and water.

Cook for 25 minutes or until golden at 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Celsius.

Bon appétit!

Recipe: Macarons

Macarons start to be popular in the USA: you can find them in stores like La Maison Du Chocolat, Macaron Cafe or Bisous, Ciao. I even found some (not so good), in the Korean Food Gallery 32 on 32nd street! They are not to confuse with the coconut macaroons commonly found here. I have tried them with jam as a filling and one time, my sister made them with creme fraiche and smoked salmon. I thought it was an original idea! 

Here is an easy recipe:

For 12 macarons:

- 1 cup of ground almonds (I used almonds slivers).

- 1 cup confectioner sugar

- 2 eggs

- 1/5 cup granulated sugar

Sift the almonds and the confectioner sugar. Mix them together.

Whip the egg whites on medium speed. When it becomes a foam, add 20 drops of food coloring. Increase the speed to high and add gradually the granulated sugar. Continue to whip until the eggs are firm and shiny (photo 1).

Once the egg whites are ready, incorporate little by little the almond / sugar mixture prepared earlier.

Put the mixture in a piping bag and create 1 inch circles on a parchment paper (photo 2).

Rest for an hour.

Cook in the oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes. Once cooked, put them on a cooling rack. When cool, use a knife or a spatula to remove from the parchment.

For the filling, I used:

- cream cheese and smoked salmon.

- gorgonzola and sour cream.

Just create small sandwiches!

The mix between salt and sweet is great but remember that these are still cookies before eating 20 of them!

Bon appétit!

Recipe: chocolate truffles!

Chocolate truffles are the perfect treats for the Holidays! It is easy to make and, if well done, delicious!

Here is a simple recipe!

For 24 truffles:

- 0.5 lb (250 g) of dark chocolate semi-sweet

- 0.25 lb (125g) of unsalted butter

- a packet of vanilla sugar

- 0.2 lb (100 g) of confectioner sugar

- 2 yolks

- cocoa powder and shredded coconut for the decoration

Melt the chocolate (cut in small pieces) in a double boiler (see below). Incorporate little by little the butter. Once the butter is fully melted and well incorporated to the chocolate, remove the bowl from the stove. 

Add the sugar, vanilla sugar and yolks. Stir until completely integrated with the chocolate.

Put the bowl in the fridge for one hour.

After an hour, remove the bowl from the fridge. With your hands (be prepared for a weird texture!), make little balls of chocolate. Once formed, dip them in the cocoa powder or in the shredded coconut. Once all the truffles are formed, put them back in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours so they become hard. Et voila!

Double boiler: also called "bain marie", this technic prevents from burning ingredients and is used to make delicate sauces or melt chocolate. It consists in putting a bowl (where the ingredients will go) in a pot of water brought to a boil.

Recipe: Italian Mac and Cheese!

Mac & Cheese are close to the pasta gratin we know in France, but the way I learnt to make gratin was different: it was one layer of macaroni, one layer of cream fraiche, one layer of cheese, repeated few times. 

Mac & Cheese are good when well prepared, unfortunately, a lot of restaurants are using either already prepared ones or make it with processed cheese! There are two places were I had memorable Mac & Cheese: The Old Homestead Steakhouse in New York with their amazing Truffle Mac & Cheese and Dino and Harry's in Hoboken. It is in the latter that I had Italian Mac & Cheese, that is creamy Mac & Cheese but with orzo for pasta. So I tried to re create it at home. Below is the recipe:

For 4 servings:

- 8 oz orzo

- 0.25 lb of aged gruyere or comte

- 0.25 lb of sharp cheddar 

For the bechamel:

- 6 table spoons of butter

- 1/5 cup of flour

- 1 pint of whole milk

- salt and pepper

Cook the orzo in boiling water with oil and salt. Cook them al dente. Once done, strain them.

Prepare the bechamel sauce: in a pan, low heat, melt the butter. Add salt and pepper. Incorporate the flour and then the milk until obtaining a creamy sauce.

Incorporate the grated cheese in the bechamel sauce and then put the orzo in the pan and stir until the sauce is all over the pasta. Put the pasta in a dish that can go in the over (ramequins are good for individual serving) and gratine in the oven (broil). Et voila!

Now, one thing you can do it to put some truffle oil (1/8 cup) with the butter when preparing the bechamel sauce! You will then have some delicious Truffle Mac & Cheese!

Bon Appétit!