Summer 2011 Cooking Classes

Kitchen Conservatory's summer schedule is NOW posted. To register, call Kitchen Conservatory at 314-862-2665 or register online. 


Here are my upcoming classes:



RECIPE REDUX: AVEC ERIC - Sunday, June 5 @ 1:00-3:30 (demonstration)

• I have chosen five of her favorite recipes from Avec Eric, by Eric Ripert the culinary artist behind the popular NYC restaurant, Le Bernardin. Kelly prepares salmon rillettes, roasted leg of lamb, roasted carrots with baby pea shoots and curry vinaigrette, asparagus with anchovy butter, plus macerated strawberries with aged balsamic ice cream.

FLOUR CHILD - Sunday, June 12 @ 1:00-3:30 (hands-on)

• Love beads are not required for a lighthearted afternoon of savory baking in the kitchen. Join me in baking blue cheese gougères, black olive sablés, rosemary-potato focaccia, pesto palmiers, chorizo-pine nut bread, and spicy pistachio-parmesan cheese straws.

HEIR AND A PARENT: WIZARDS IN THE KITCHEN (hands-on) - 

Choose one date: 

Saturday, June 18 @ 10:00-12:30

Sunday, July 10 @ 1:00-3:30 

Saturday, August 20 @ 11:00-1:30

Sunday, September 18 @ 1:00-3:30

• Attention all Muggles! Experience the world of Harry Potter and make magic in the kitchen as Kelly helps you prepare delightful dishes described throughout the J.K. Rowling series, including The Three Broomsticks' butterbeer, ham-and-cheese pasties from the Hogwarts house-elves, Mrs. Weasley's potatoes with béchamel sauce, and Aunt Petunia's individual berry-pudding trifles. Before you apparate home, you'll make edible wands to help ward off He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. This class is designed for children, at least 7 years of age, plus a parent.

ADULT WIZARDS IN THE KITCHEN -  Tuesday, June 21 @ 6:30-9:00 (hands-on)

• Attention all adult Muggles! Experience the world of Harry Potter and make magic in the kitchen as we prepare delightful dishes described throughout the J.K. Rowling series, including an alcoholic version of The Three Broomsticks's butterbeer, ham-and-cheese pasties from the Hogwarts house-elves, Mrs. Weasley's potatoes with béchamel sauce, shredded sprouts slaw, and Aunt Petunia's individual berry pudding trifles.

GIRLS' NIGHT OUT: BEST OF THE BLOG - Friday, June 24 @ 6:30-9:00 (demonstration)

• To celebrate four years as a food blogger, I'm sharing my best recipes from among hundreds. Sip on my Uncle David's infamous margaritas, then enjoy caramelized onion dip with pita chips, stunning tomato tarte Tatin, beet ravioli with poppy seed butter and basil, chorizo-potato-mushroom soft tacos, plus peanut butter and bacon truffles (which I served at my wedding reception).

Chorizo & Black Bean Slinger

There's been an on-going debate among St. Louis bloggers about slingers. A regional mid-western specialty, a slinger is a breakfast or late night diner dish that consists of hash browns topped with a hamburger patty (or sausage, bacon, or ham), chili, eggs, cheese, and onions. It's, quite frankly, a big ol' plate of mess. See?

pic from Wikipedia

Courtesy Diner Slinger, pic from STL Delicious

I decided to throw my hat into the slinger ring, so to speak, to show some local enthusiasts how easy it is to make--and to update--this dish at home...layer by layer:

Popcorn Ice Cream

A few weeks ago, my friend Stacy mentioned on Twitter that she had a bunch of egg yolks left after making macaroons for Easter & asked for suggestions on how to use them. My immediate answer was ICE CREAM! Stacy confessed that she'd never made ice cream, so I invited her (a few other foodies friends) over for an ice cream tutorial.

I wanted to try something new & thought that Popcorn Ice Cream over at Almost Bourdain sounded intriguing. We had to adapt the recipe though, since the original only calls for 1 egg and we had 6 yolks to use.

To make our batch of POPCORN flavored, we simply heated 1 1/4 cups EACH of whole milk & heavy cream with 1 cup sugar & a few big handfuls buttered popcorn (real popcorn with real butter, not that microwaved shit) in a medium saucepan until the sugar melted & the mixture just started to bubble.

Remove the pan from the heat & let the flavors infuse for 15-30 minutes. Then, strain the mixture through cheesecloth to remove the popcorn.

 

Meanwhile, whisk 6 egg yolks in a large bowl.

When the cream mixture is strained, slowly whisk it into the yolk to temper the eggs. Here, you are gently heating the egg yolks with the warm cream. GO SLOW. You don't want to scramble the eggs.

Return the mixture back the pan & heat over medium-low, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. As you stir, scrape the bottom & sides of the pan. Again, GO SLOW...if you heat the mixture too quickly, the eggs with curdle.

Strain the thickened custard into a clean bowl & chill until ready to freeze (we used an ice bath to bring the temperature down quickly). The key to making ice cream at home is to have your custard ice-cold before churning. When ready, churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.

The finished ice cream was very yellow from the yolks, which was good because it looked like popcorn. It, surprisingly, tasted just like buttered popcorn, too. We ended up topping each bowl with a sprinkling of coarse salt & several kernels of popcorn for crunch. So interesting...but really quite good!

Thanks to my friend, the ultra-talented Corey Woodruff for taking pics at our little ice cream party!