Cooking Class Series Part 2

I went to the second part of my cooking class. We made three dishes. The first dish was pea, prosciutto, and Parmesan risotto. The second dish was blanched green beans with Dijon vinaigrette. The third dish was pan seared scallops with a citrus-thyme gastric. And, the final dish was blackberry croustade with flaky pie dough and homemade whipped cream. Spoiler alert; everything was yummy. Let's start at the beginning.

The first dish we made was risotto. It was super simple especially because all the ingredients were prepped and ready. Many chefs use this technique called mis en place. This is a French term that translates to "put in place."  After prepping and measuring all the ingredients for the recipe.  Warm 6-8 cups of low-sodium chicken broth. We coated a large saucepan with oil. When the oil shimmers, add shallots. Cook shallots until translucent. Add wine. Then, it's time to start the rice.

We used Arborio rice, and toasted the rice in the oil. Then, gradually add chicken broth broth 1/2 - 1 cup at a time. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the broth is absorbed. The broth and rice should be simmering. Repeat adding the rice while stirring. One of my fellow students had made risotto before. She shared a helpful tip; if the pan is sizzling, it's time to add more liquid. Taste the risotto. When the risotto is creamy but still has bite, you're done adding liquid . . . and almost done stirring. Turn of the heat. Then, we add the finishing touches: prosciutto, peas, and Parmesan. Taste and see if it needs anything else. We added salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

This is the risotto after adding stock twice. It's not really creamy. The chef encouraged us to taste at this point. I would not recommend it. The rice was crunchy and stuck to our teeth. It was definitely not done.

This picture shows the risotto after we added the last of our chicken stock. We were finishing simmering until the liquid evaporated. At this stage, the risotto was al dente and creamy. It's almost done!

Add your flavorings. We add peas, prosciutto, Parmesan cheese, and butter to flavor our risotto. It was creamy and tender. The peas added a fresh pop. The Parmesan and prosciutto added a salty bite. So, good! 

The second dish was blanched green beans with Dijon vinaigrette. I've used the blanching technique before with broccoli and green beans. Blanching is submerging a food, like green beans, in boiling water for a few minutes. Then, you shock the food by submerging it in ice cold water. This stops the cooking and locks in the bright green color. 

Adding a vinaigrette was a new way to prepare green beans. I loved the acidity of the lemon, Dijon vinaigrette. The herbs in the vinaigrette were fresh and brightened the flavor. The green beans were crisp, and the roasted hazelnuts were rich and crunchy. So good! 

The third dish was pan seared scallops with a citrus-thyme gastric. As a Louisiana girl, I love seafood. Scallops are sweet, tender, and a little sweet. Scallops cook quickly, so it's a great, quick protein to make. Look for dry-packed scallops and make sure you remove the adductor muscle. We seasoned the scales with salt and pepper, and seared the scallops in canola oil for about 2-3 minutes per side.

We made a citrus-thyme gastrique. Gastrique sounds like a fancy, complex term. But, it is a simple a vinegar-based sauce with caramelized sugar. I tasted the scallop without the sauce, and it was good. Then, I added the gastrique, and it was phenomenal! The gastric add a punchy, bright citrus element from the orange and the sweetness of the sugar complemented the slight sweet scallops.

The final dish was blackberry croustade with flaky pie dough and homemade whipped cream. We made the dough in a food processor. It was super easy and flaky!

We prepped the filling with blackberries, lemon zest, sugar, cornstarch, almond extract, and lemon juice. The almond extract was a delicious addition!

Then you poor the filling into the dough on a baking sheet lines with parchment.

Tip, use the parchment to fold the dough over.

We topped the croustade with whipped cream.

I encourage you to try something new. Invite a friend. Learn something new. Don't be afraid to try a new recipe, and taste something new! That's it for cooking with class part two.

For more recipes, encouragement, and tips for healthy eating, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. 

If you enjoyed this post, you might enjoy:

Cooking Class Part 1

My First Cooking Class

Summer Pasta Class

Cooking Class Part 3

State of My Goals Address: June

As promised, I am sharing updates on my goals and 2016 resolutions in the state of my goals address. You can take a look at my 2016 goals and my thoughts on goals and resolutions. Sharing these goals is a way to keep me accountable and help me to improve, grow, and learn. People who share their goals tend to be more successful. So, I'm sharing the goals here to encourage you and to keep me accountable. You're welcome to comment with your goals and share your progress as well. Feel free to tag your goals with #RDTODgoals or #healthyRD on social media.

2016 Goals

Try 30 new recipes. 

In June, I tried a few new recipes including:

• Shrimp boil
• I'm a Louisiana girl. I grew up with crawfish boils. If you don't have access to crawfish, I think a shrimp boil is a great way to enjoy a low country boil. Recipe post to come.

• Hummus!
• I'll be sharing a post about my favorite hummus recipe and how to change it to different varieties of hummus. 

For those keeping track, this makes my new recipe count 23 out of 30.

Build endurance and strength.
I continue to attend my favorite weight lifting class. I've also started some cardio dance to increase my cardio variety.


Travel.
There was no big travel this month. But, we have some travel plans later this year. So, stay tuned!

image from amazon.com

Read more.

I also read Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist. I enjoy the author's writing style; she paints pictures with her words. She is able to describing food, smells, experiences, and difficulties and makes the reader feel like she is right there with her. 

For those keeping track, my book count is 4 in 2016.

Learn something new.
I took a cake decorating class; I'll be posting more details about this class soon. Taking classes are a great way to learn a new skill. I foresee more classes in my future!

These are my broad goals for 2016. What goals are you working on in 2016?
Comment below.

For more recipes, encouragement, and tips for healthy eating, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. 

If you liked this post, you might enjoy:

Goals: May

Goals: April

Goals: March

Goals: February

 

Goals: January

Cooking Class: Pasta

I went to my first cooking class! I went to a homemade pasta class at Sur la Table, which might be my new favorite kitchen store. 

I was nervous, like first day of school nervous. Silly, right? But, it's true. Y'all, this class was so fun! The chef was knowledgeable and managed the class well. Chef D was a funny, entertaining teacher. 

I was selected to help demonstrate making the pasta dough, which was fun. It was a simple process, and here's the recipe for fresh pasta dough. My favorite part of the class was learning a new skill, making pasta! 

The class was 2 hours. It was very well organized. They gave us a printed packet with all three recipes we made: fresh pasta, Spring Paparadelle, and Ravioli al Uvo. We reviewed kitchen safety and hand washing. They also provided an apron to use during class. This was super helpful for the pasta class; it prevented the flour from getting everywhere. 

They provided light snacks, coffee, and water. I appreciate the light refreshments because it made the class feel more homey and hospitable. 

The class was very well organized. The recipe ingredients were on sheet pans ready for the students to complete the mis en place. The chef had two helpers who cleaned after each recipe was completed. That means no dish washing, which was another one of my favorite parts of the class. You were free and actually encouraged to make a mess in someone else's kitchen, dirty dishes and equipment, and the staff took care of all the cleaning. It was great!

During the class, we worked in teams of four. I was concerned that the class wouldn't be enough of a hands-on experience for me to learn pasta-making skills, but I was pleasantly surprised. The class was structured well, and everyone got hands-on experience with each dish. Students had the opportunity to work on each step of making the pasta. 

image via Surlatable.com

I also learned new cooking skills on different pieces of kitchen equipment. We used the hand crank pasta machine and the Kitchen Aide pasta attachment. It was important to have at least two people to roll out the pasta with the hand cracked machine. It was much easier to use the Kitchen Aide pasta attachment with one person. It was cool to get to work with these products before deciding to purchase them. I think that trying out different kitchen tools was another great experience of this class.

image via Surlatable.com

Pappardelle with Caramelized Onion, Sweet Peas, and Prosciutto


The first pasta dish we made was a Spring Pappardelle dish. This pasta looks like a wide fettuccine. This dough was had cut with a chef's knife. It was really simple to make. I can see myself preparing this recipe at home. It was simple to make, only required the pasta rolling tool, and it was super tasty! 

The pasta was paired with Spring peas, pancetta, caramelized onions, and tons of fresh herbs. It had an egg-base sauce similar to a carbonara. Delicious! The pasta was al dente and fresh. The pancetta provided a great salty bite. The onions were caramelized and slightly sweet. The sauce was rich but not heavy or overpowering. The peas and herbs were fresh, bright, and Springy. It was a well-balanced, satisfying dish. 

Raviolo al Uvo

The second pasta dish we made was a Ravioli al Uvo. This dish was a little more technical.  It was extremely rewarding and satisfying to make ravioli successfully. 

We made fresh pasta and rolled out the dough. We made the filling with ricotta cheese,  nutmeg, Parmesan cheese, lemon zest and juice, and fresh herbs. We separated eggs and used the yolk for the filling. 

We brushed the pasta with an egg wash. Covered the filling with another piece of pasta. Then, cut the pasta into round ravioli. 

We boiled the pasta. And none of them burst!

I was the saucier for this dish. I made my first brown butter sauce, which was fun and tasty. Browning the butter reminded me of making a dark roux. It tastes time, patience, and pretty constant stirring. At one point, you might think you're burning the butter instead of browning the butter. It was a delicious sauce that I plan to make again.

This dish was creamy thanks to the brown butter sauce, ricotta cheese, and egg yolk. The rich, creaminess was balanced by the freshness of the lemon, mint, basil, and parsley in the filling. I thought this dish looked impressive and would be fun for entertaining. 

Another one of my favorite parts of the class was that we were able to taste each dish we made. By taste, I mean we all had a meal-size portion of the pasta dishes we made. 

I highly recommend taking a cooking class if you want to learn a new skill or try a new recipe. My favorite aspects of this cooking class were:

1) Hands-on experience learning a new skill.

2) Trying kitchen tools before buying them.

3) Recipe preparation and clean up completed by the staff. No dishes! 

4) Tasting and trying new recipes.

There are several businesses that offer cooking classes in my area. Check out the classes in your area! I have two more cooking classes scheduled this Summer. So, stay tuned for my review of those courses.

I hope you enjoyed this look into my life and cooking journey. I hope this series encourages you to try something new - try a new recipe, a new class, try something that interests you.  I would love to see how you are challenging yourself and what you are trying new. Feel free to use these hashtags for your with #NewRD, #RDTODGoals, #HealthyRD and use #easyentertaining for your hosting and entertaining pictures. You can also tag me @RDtipoftheday, so I can see what you do and maybe even feature you on the blog or social media. It is so important to continue to grow and learn. #NeverStopLearning

For more recipes, encouragement, and tips for healthy eating, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. 

If you liked this post, you may enjoy:

Chicken Marsala

Homemade Granola

Shrimp Poboy