C'est Si Bon! - Part II - Farmer's Market Fare at Local Cooking Class

CHERIE OF CHEZ CHERIE COOKING SCHOOL

As the summer season ends, what better way to celebrate by taking a cooking class to get the last taste, touch, smell, of Farmer's Market Fare. Chez Cherie offered a lovely cooking class that brought closure to a season full of everything at it's best.  Some of the tips I learned from this culinarian are:

• Freshly ground black pepper tastes great on any red fruit.
• Nut Oils - always buy the smallest size/quantity, taste every time before use. Oils can go rancid easily.  Great for roasting.  
• Red Onions - core out middle of a whole onion and then bake stuffed with grains and vegetables.
• If you are going to buy organic, buy organic berries. Berries are truly organic.  Other fruits and vegetables can sometimes receive lasting effects of pesticides when farmers are spraying from nearby farms.
• Miso - Japanese seasoning product - produced by fermenting rice, soybean or barley actually comes in several ways depending on taste, background (origin in country), grain type and color. Red (soybeans)- aged for about 1 year - salty, White (barley), peculiar smell, Yellow (rice).
• When baking and using parchment paper on cookie sheets, etc.  Use sticky batter on corners to hold parchment paper in place.

The rest of the evening's menu consisted of the following:

MOROCCAN CARROT SALAD, ROASTED BEETS WITH WALNUTS AND BLUE CHEESE, STUFFED SQUASH

Moroccan Carrot Salad

1 lb. carrots, scrubbed and gently scraped

6 dates, pitted and sliced

1/2 cup almonds, sliced

2 teaspoons Trader Joe's Pomegranate Molasses (my suggestion: you can substitute 25-year aged balsamic vinegar mixed with 1 teaspoon cherry juice - but then eliminate red wine vinegar)

2 teaspoons mustard

Pinch of ground cinnamon

Pinch of ground cumin

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons olive oil (my suggestion - substitute Blood Orange Oil)

Salt and Pepper

Chopped Parsley, Garnish

Cut the carrots into 1/2 inch round (tonight Cherie cut on a diagonal). In a bowl, toss with sliced dates and almonds.  In a small bowl whisk together the pomegranate molasses, mustard, cinnamon, cumin and vinegar. Drizzle in oil, whisking constantly. Adjust seasonings to taste with salt and pepper. Toss with carrot mixture. Garnish with chopped parsley. In school Cherie grilled the carrots before assembling the salad.  First clean the carrots and lightly rub them with olive oil. Grill for a few minutes on a hot grill or grill pan. You aren't trying to cook them - only getting the grill marks and a little smoky flavor on the carrots. 

Roasted Beets with Walnuts and Blue Cheese

1 1/2 lbs. yellow and red beets, scrubbed and halved (quartered if large)

2 tablespoons walnut or olive oil (my suggestion:  Blood Orange Oil also works great in this recipe)

1/2 cup walnuts, (or use candied walnuts)

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

2 tablespoons chopped mint

Salt/Pepper 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the halved or quartered beets with the oil and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Season with salt and pepper.  Roast until tender - 25 minutes.  Use a toothpick or wooden skewer to test for doneness. If using plain walnuts scatter them over the beets in the final 5 minutes of roasting. If beets have coarse skin, cool slightly, then rub or scrape off skin.  If beets are small, leave skin on. If using candied walnuts toss with beets. Arrange on a serving platter and garnish with cheese and mint. 

Stuffed Squash

I mentioned this recipe idea briefly at the bottom of my blog -  C'est Si Bon - Part I.  Here's the actual recipe.

3 round summer squash

3 cups room temperature Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic minced or Trader Joe's Frozen Garlic

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the squash in half and cut them from stem end to blossom end. If you are using zucchini - cut them the long way.  Scoop out middle of the squash - a grapefruit spoon is ideal for this.  Discard the scooped out squash if it is seedy - otherwise reserve the "meaty" portion.  Rub insides of squash cups with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Place on baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes.  To prepare stuffing - heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium saucepan - saute the chopped onion until it begins to soften - about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and saute until fragrant 1-2 minutes.  If you have some "meaty" bits of squash left then add and saute until tender - 3 minutes.  Toss the vegetable mixture with the grains - add parmesan cheese and toss again.  Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.  Remove squash from oven and carefully fill cups with the grain mixture and return to the oven until squash is tender and grains are warmed through - 15 minutes.  Serve.

Chez Cherie Cooking School 

 

Chez Cherie
1401 Foothill Blvd.
La Canada, Calif. 91011
Phone:  818-952-7217 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            818-952-7217      

Please feel free to contact them at cherie@chezcherie.com. 

To order Cherie's cookbooks - you can order them on Amazon or visit her website at Chez Cherie to find out more about her books.