You found it! cheffreycooks.com

Welcome students! Welcome to your free online resource! You can also buy the book for exclusive recipes and art!!

This book is in no way a fundraiser for Carl Von Linne Elementary School, Chicago, the book is created and funded independently by the author and is intended to be for the students as a fun source of inspiration outside of the classroom. The online resource is also free and is funded by the culinary teacher. The proceeds of this book go to creating future works by Cheffrey and supporting this online resource.

Ratatouille

This is a dish from southern France, it is traditionally made with summer vegetables like eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers, onion, and garlic. In class we started with cooking the vegetables, then added a homemade chunky tomato sauce, to finish, we served the ratatouille over homemade toasted bread. A great snack, great warm over rice, or served slightly chilled as a salad. First let’s start with making the chunky tomato sauce.

Chunky Tomato Sauce

1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 head of garlic, crushed and peeled

1 large yellow onion, medium diced

1 bell pepper (any color) seeded, and medium diced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1-14.5 oz can of whole, diced, or crushed tomatoes

In a large non-reactive pot, add the olive oil and then heat on medium heat, add garlic, be careful not to burn. Cook the garlic to a light brown stirring frequently, then add onion and bell pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes and stir occasionally. Add Tomato paste, and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Finally add the canned tomatoes, bring to a boil, making sure it does not burn, and turn off the heat. Let cool slightly and carefully chop in a blender or a food processor so it is chunky, this should take only a few seconds.

Ratatouille

1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 large eggplant diced to 1/2 inch or 1 cm

2 zucchinis diced to 1/2 inch or 1 cm

Yellow squash diced to 2 inch or 1 cm

2 Roma tomatoes coarsely chopped

1 recipe of “Chunky Tomato Sauce”

6 sprigs fresh thyme

1 teaspoon of Herbes de Provence, or a mixture of dried basil, dried oregano, and dried marjoram

1/2 teaspoon Salt and more to taste

 black pepper to taste

In a large non-reactive pot, add olive oil then heat on medium heat, add chopped eggplant, and let sizzle for 2-4 minutes, then add the zucchini, yellow squash and tomatoes then cook for 5 minutes or until all vegetables are tender (not crunchy).

Finally add the chunky tomato sauce, fresh thyme, and dried herbs cook for 2 minutes. Then serve.

Fastest Brownies Ever!!!

8 Tablespoons salted butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Instructions

Step 1:
Preheat your oven to 325°F (190°C).
Use a 8-9 inch nonstick pan that is oven safe, lightly greased with olive oil, this is what we used in class. Or prepare a small (around 4×4 inch) baking pan by greasing it with nonstick spray or butter, then lining with parchment paper, allowing the paper to overhang on two sides for easier removal. Give the parchment a light spray as well.

Step 2:
Put butter in a nonstick pan, heat the pan on medium heat until butter is melted, you could also melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl.

Step 3:
In a medium sized mixing bowl, add sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk vigorously until combined.

Step 4:
Add cocoa powder, whisk until smooth, then add flour and whisk until smooth with no lumps. Do not stir any longer than you need to, or the brownies will become tough.

Step 5:
Transfer the batter to your prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Test the brownies with a wiggle test. The batter should not be runny. Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until the batter is still when wiggled.

Allow the brownies to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes, or chill them in the refrigerator for firmer texture before slicing into squares.

Cherry Limeade Slush

Serves 4-5

Light Simple Syrup

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1 pinch salt

In a small pot, bring mixture to a boil, stir until all sugar is dissolved.

Put the mixture in something else like a coffee mug or a metal bowl and chill in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes.

Fruit and Ice

put in a blender…

4-6 limes, juiced

4-6 cherries, stems and pits removed

4-6 cups of ice

All the cooled Light Simple Syrup

Blend until smooth

Pour into clear cups to enjoy the color, serve with a spoon or a straw.

You get to make the right balance of your drink, if you want it sour add more than 4 limes, if you want more cherry flavor add more than 4 cherries, if you want it more icy, add more than 4 cups of ice. Feel free to substitute 4 limes for 3 lemons. You can also substitute cherries for strawberries, raspberries even a peach, the possibilities are endless.

Caesar Salad

Makes about 1 1/2 cups dressing

And a salad that serves 4-6 servings

For the dressing

1-3 cloves garlic, grated finely

1/4 cup Dijon mustard – in class we used Grey Poupon

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (roughly 1 ½ – 2 lemons)

1 small pinch of sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, about 12 turns

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup grated or shredded parmesan cheese

For the salad

1 to 2 heads romaine lettuce, or 1 head romaine and 1 bunch of dinosaur kale, thinly sliced, or 4 baby gem lettuces, washed and dried 

For the dressing

In a large bowl add garlic, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, sea salt, ground pepper, with a whisk stir until completely combined. Next, while stirring with a whisk, stir in olive oil slowly, start with a few drops until combined, then while continually stirring drizzle in a little olive oil at a time, this creates an “emulsion” meaning that the oil is locked inside the dressing and will not separate and make the dressing oily. Take your time with this step because it is an important technique. Once the dressing is all combined stir in the parmesan cheese.

In the large bowl mix, all the salad leaves into the dressing making sure they are coated all around. Finally garnish the salad with Croutons.

Homemade Croutons

Preheat oven to 400°

2-3 slices of sourdough bread, cut into ½ inch cubes

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon garlic powder or 2 cloves grated garlic optional)

Stir together the olive oil, salt and garlic in a large bowl, then add the bread and stir until the bread is coated.

Prepare a baking sheet-pan with parchment paper or foil and spread the bread out evenly. Bake in oven for five minutes, be sure to set a loud timer and pay attention, this bread can burn easily. Carefully take the pan out of the oven, stir the bread and bake for another 4 minutes or until the bread is crispy. Again, use a timer.

For class, Cheffrey (the Culinary Teacher) made bread for the students. This is the recipe; https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/pan-de-cristal-recipe The recipe is moderately advanced ◆, so the chef recommends buying whole French baguette or sourdough bread.

Image Attribution: stu_spivack, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Chocolate Cake Surprise with Strawberry and Cream

Preheat oven to 350*

Grease with pam or cooking oil a 13x9x2 inch baking pan

In a large bowl add:

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup white granulated sugar

1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup cocoa powder

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

1 ½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

Next, to a small pot add:

1 stick salted butter

1 cup of water

Bring to a boil. 

Add all ingredients, and the boiling butter-water to the bowl and whisk by hand for 6 minutes, or 2 minutes with medium speed of an eclectic mixer.

Pour mixture into the prepared cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack or on the stove for 10 minutes.

Carefully remove cake from pan on-to a plate.

In class we served with:

Strawberry Whipped Cream

Wash, and chop 8 strawberries in small pieces.

In a mixing bowl and electric mixer, whip

1 cup of cream

3 Tablespoons powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Once the cream is at medium peak, add chopped strawberries and whip for 1 more minute.

Cake must be completely cool or even chilled in the refrigerator.

Enjoy.

This cake can be prepared in an hour if you have all the ingredients, and is perfect for surprise guests. Get it?

Gingerbread Pumpkin (Fairytale) Cookies 

This recipe makes egg-free, buttery, gingerbread cookies, that have extra spice.

Ingredients 

2 sticks of salted butter, sit at room temperature for an hour, or until soft.

⅔ cup light or dark brown sugar

2 Tablespoon pumpkin puree (the stuff from the can, but you can use milk or applesauce as a replacement)

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

2 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

1 ½ Tablespoon ground ginger

1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground clove

¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. With an electric mixer for 2 minutes.
  3. Add ginger, cinnamon, clove and salt and milk. Mix together until all is combined. 
  4. Add flour and mix (be careful flour could fly all over the place) until the flour is all combined.
  5. Roll out dough to about 1/3″ thickness between two sheets of parchment paper. Fully chill the dough (I pop it in the freezer for a few minutes) before cutting into shapes with cookie cutters. (Tip: flour cookie cutters as you go, or dust in powdered sugar for smoother cutting.)
  6. Bake at 350F for 8-11 minutes. Bake time will depend on cookie size and thickness.
  7. Allow to cool on the pan for about 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely (note: this step is important, as it allows the cookies to set).

FRIED RICE

Delicious fried rice that will go perfectly with any Chinese dish or eat for breakfast! This is a great way to make an inexpensive snack, or use leftover food into a new special dish.

Ingredients

 3 cups cooked rice *

 1 teaspoon sesame oil

 1 small white onion chopped

 1 cup frozen peas and carrots thawed

 2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce or more to taste

 2 eggs lightly beaten

 1 Tbsp granulated sugar

 2 Tbsp chopped green onions optional

 2 Tbsp chopped cooked bacon (approximately 3 slices) optional

Instructions

Preheat a large skillet or wok to medium heat. Pour sesame oil into the bottom. Add white onion and peas and carrots and fry until tender.

Slide the onion, peas, and carrots to the side, and pour the beaten eggs onto the other side. Using a spatula, scramble the eggs. Once cooked, mix the eggs with the vegetable mix.

Add the rice to the veggie and egg mixture.  Stir and fry the rice and veggie mixture until heated through combined and slightly crispy. Add optional bacon, or whatever extra leftovers you want. Pour the soy sauce on top and sprinkle with sugar. Stir again until all is combined. Add chopped green onions if desired.

________________________________________

*Day-old cold rice works best and prevents the rice from being mushy. 

Fried rice is a great way to use leftover food if the ingredients mix well with the flavors of soy, sesame, and onion. I like using leftover Chinese food, or carnitas, just make sure that the leftovers are not too wet.

After all, this is a stir fry, not a stew fry. 😊

Good Luck!!!

Pozole 

1 dried guajillo chili

1 dried pasilla chili

1 dried ancho chili

2 “leg and thigh” chicken pieces

1 Tablespoon chicken bouillon powder and more to taste

Fresh ground black pepper

Toppings:

1 small piece of cabbage chopped small

2 red radishes chopped small

½ bunch cilantro

2-3 limes for cutting into 8ths

1-2 jalapenos sliced (optional)

Place 2 leg and thigh chicken pieces in 2 and a half quarts cold water.

Bring water to a light boil, skim off scum, add chicken bouillon powder and continue to simmer for 1 hour or more. Cook until chicken comes easily off the bone.

Pick the meat and skin off the bone and reserve for later.

Strain the cooking liquid (broth) and reserve for later.

In a Small pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Next, remove the stem and most of the seed of the guajillo, pasilla, and ancho chilis. Be careful the chilis could be spicy, do not touch your face during this process. 

Place the chilis in the boiling water, and let simmer for 1 minute. 

Next pour the chills and the liquid in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour the puree into a pot, and add the reserved broth.

Open a can of cooked hominy and pour the corn into a strainer. Rinse the hominy under cool water to clean off the can flavor and extra starch.

Pour the hominy into the pot. Bring mixture to a simmer for 20 minutes at least.

Pick the chicken meat off the bone, put the chicken in the pot and discard the bones.

Then chop  the vegetables and other garnishes for serving.

Sancocho (Caribbean Beef and Root Vegetable Stew)

½ pound cubed beef chuck

1 teaspoon cooking oil

½ onion chopped small

4-5 cups water

1 Tablespoon beef bouillon powder

1 packet Goya Sazon con Culantro y Achiote

3 Tablespoons Goya Recaito Culantro cooking base

1 small russet potato, peeled and chopped medium size

1 carrot peeled and chopped to medium size

1 small sweet potato peeled and chopped to medium size

1 green plantain peeled and chopped to medium size

1 piece of yuca peeled and chopped to medium size (about the same size as the potatoes)

½ chayote chopped to medium size

1 ear of corn, cleaned and chopped in ½ inch coins

Brown beef in a large pot, then add  water and boil on medium for 20 minutes. Then add chopped onions, beef bouillon powder. Sazon packet, Culantro Cooking Base and all of the other vegetables. Boil on medium until all the vegetables are tender and beef is no longer chewy. Add more water if needed. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with rice, fresh cilantro.

Arroz Con Leche “Rice Pudding”

1 cup long-grain white rice (any rice works)

2 cups water

Put rice and water in a pot and let the rice soak for 20 minutes. Turn the stove to high heat and let the mixture come to a boil. Boil until all of the water has evaporated and soaked into the rice. The cooked mixture should have very little water left. Be sure to stir often so that the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pot and burn.

Then add,

2 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 pinch salt

Turn the stove to medium heat and let the mixture simmer (lightly boil).  Simmer for 10 minutes or until the mixture has thickened. While cooking, make sure to stir often and to scrape the bottom of the pot with a big spoon so that the mixture does not burn. With the cooked rice, sugar, and milk, the mixture can burn very easily, so focus a lot of your attention on stirring. Once the mixture is thickened, let cool and serve.

In class we served the arroz con leche with a large sprinkle of…

ground cinnamon

and toasted sweetened coconut

Place sweetened coconut on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil and bake at 325* for 7 minutes. Cook for a few more minutes until the coconut is lightly browned – be careful, sweetened coconut burns very fast! Bake ½ bag at a time just in case it burns.

Seasonal Oat Breakfast or Dessert (Fall)

Oats

1 cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

2 cups water

¼ cup dried cranberries

¼ teaspoon salt

  1. Put oats, water, dried cranberries, and salt in a pot, bring to a light boil, and cook for 7 minutes until oats have absorbed all the water., and stir to combine.

Apple Pie topping

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter and ¼ teaspoon salt. Or 1 Tablespoon salted butter.

2 Apples, washed, seeds removed and cut into small pieces

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 -2 teaspoons brown sugar (Optional)

3 Tablespoons roasted hulled sunflower seeds.

  1. In a large frying pan heat on medium heat, butter until melted.
  2. Add cut apples, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Continue to cook until the apples are soft.

Put cooked oatmeal into a bowl, add the apple pie topping and sprinkle sunflower seeds on top.

Enjoy.

Mango Lassi

PREP TIME 10 mins

TOTAL TIME 10 mins

SERVINGS 2 servings

YIELD 2 Cups

Depending on how ripe and sweet your mango is, or if you are using canned and already sweetened mango pulp, you will need to add more or less honey or sugar to the lassi.

If you have cardamom pods, crush the pods to remove the seeds, then grind the seeds with a mortar and pestle.

Ingredients

1 cup frozen chopped mango or canned mango pulp

1 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup milk

4 teaspoons honey or sugar, to taste

Dash ground cardamom, optional

Ice, optional

Chinese Korean Inspired Egg and Vegetable Noodle Soup

In class we used a variety of vegetables that the students chose in their groups. Any vegetables can be used as long as they are cut to a size that will help them cook evenly in the broth – nothing bigger than a starburst.

1 bundle fresh “hand cut” Jiangmen noodles

4 cups water

4 teaspoons chicken or beef bouillon powder

¼ red or green bell pepper cut into small pieces

¼ white onion sliced thin

¼ zucchini cut in small pieces

1 small handful of cabbage chopped small

1 small handful frozen corn

1 scallion chopped

1-2 teaspoon gochujang chili paste (optional)

1 egg

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Take 1 bundle of fresh Jiangmen noodles out of the package, rinse under cold water to wash off the extra starch, then drop into boiling water. Stir gently until the noodles float and become soft. Scoop the cooked noodles out of the boiling water and place them into a bowl of cold water to cool. Once cool, use your hands to place the noodles in a serving bowl, and then prepare the soup.

In a clean pot add water and bouillon powder. Bring this mixture to a boil. Add all vegetables and cook until they are soft. Stir in the (optional) gochujang and let dissolve into soup. Taste to see if the soup needs more bouillon or gochujang – this will depend on your taste. Bring the soup to a full boil.

In a small cup crack 1 egg and stir until it is completely mixed.

With a large spoon make a whirlpool with the soup and pour the egg into the swirling liquid. Stop stirring and let the egg cook. If your water is boiling, it will take about 30 seconds. Your soup is now ready to serve. Pour the broth, vegetables, and cooked egg with the noodles. Enjoy!

Neapolitan Pizza Dough (two 10-12 inch pizzas)

¾ cup (170g water, lukewarm, (105* to 115* F)

¼ teaspoon instant yeast or ½ teaspoon active dry yeast

½ teaspoon granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 cups (232g) unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1 ¼ teaspoons (8g) salt

In a large bowl stir together water, yeast and sugar with a whisk. Then stop using a whisk and stir in flour and salt then mix for 5 minutes in a kitchen aid mixer with a dough hook or a strong wooden spoon for 2 minutes, and then knead on a countertop for 10 minutes with as little flour as possible without getting too sticky.

Sprinkle flour on a clean counter and place the dough on the flour.  Cut the dough in half, and place both pieces into a clean bowl with a large splash of olive oil, roll the dough pieces in the oil so they do not stick to each other.

Cover the bowl with plastic then let the dough sit in a warm place in your kitchen until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Or you can rise slowly in the refrigerator overnight.

When ready,  preheat oven to 500* F, sprinkle a light bit of flour on your countertop and flatten the dough by hand or with a rolling pin, at this stage DO NOT knead the dough or it will become  difficult to roll out and will make a chewy pizza.

Prepare a baking sheet, sprinkle it with cornmeal or flour so the pizza doesn’t stick while cooking, place the flattened dough on the sheet, add sauce, cheese and other toppings.

Bake in a 500 degree oven for 8 minutes, or until the dough is starting to brown and is crispy.

Be careful the pans will be incredibly hot, cut pizza, and serve.

Apple Upside-Down Pie

2-3 apples peeled and sliced or diced small

¼ cup and 1 Tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

In a 6-8 inch frying pan add apples sugar and cinnamon, put on the stove and heat at medium high heat until the apples are softened and the liquid from the apples is mostly evaporated. Take the pan off the heat and drape a puff pastry sheet over the apples, tucking the pastry inside the rim of the pan. 

Bake at 375* until the dough is browned and crispy all the way through.

Invert the pan upside-down CAREFULLY onto a plate, cut and serve.

Puff Pastry Dough

For the homemade puff pastry dough, I recommend using store bought, like pepperidge farm, but if you are feeling ambitious i recommend watching this video and using this Youtubers recipe. 

Empanada Dough

In class we filled, sealed, shaped and deep fried empanadas. The dough was made ahead of time by Cheffrey. All that was used was a food processor with a blade attachment . In a food processor place;

2 Cups All Purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon ground turmeric (optional)

1 egg

¼ cup canola oil (or other oil)

Turn the food processor on and let it grind until well mixed, probably 45 seconds. Then, while the machine is running pour in

¼ cup cold water

Once all the water is in the machine, let the machine run until the the ingredients are well hydrated, or clumpy like broken up play-doh. Then turn the machine off.

Pour the dough mixture onto a clean counter surface and bring together with kneading. Knead for 1-2 minutes, then shape into 2 even sized balls, wrap with plastic and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes overnight is good too.

(At this time you can prepare your filling.)

Next take the cool dough out of the refrigerator, unwrap. Use an small pinch of flour and sprinkle on a clean counter and flatten with your hands slightly. Do no knead this dough at this point or you will have to let it rest in the refrigerator wrapped for an additional 10 minutes.Then use a rolling pin to gradually flatten the dough until it is nearly 2 millimeters thin. Or between ⅛  to a 1/16th of an inch.

Using a 4-5 inch ring mold or cookie cutter, or a small plate with a knife, cut disks.

Using a little bit of water, dampen the seam of the dough, fill the dough with the filling of your choice, and pinch the seam together, trying not to smush the filling into the seam so it seals properly. You may attempt many different folds, i think the easiest one is crimping with a fork.

In class we deep fried the empanadas in 350* vegetable oil for 4 minutes or until the dough is golden and crispy.

You could also bake the empanadas, preheat an oven to 375*. Place empanadas on a parchment paper prepared cookie sheet, brush with melted butter, or an egg wash, (equal parts egg and water mixed with a fork or whisk until smooth  and bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

Please let the empanadas cool before serving because the insides will be hot.

Empanada Filling

In class we used

2 Tablespoons butter

1 medium sized onion, small diced

1 poblano, seeded and small diced

2 teaspoons taco seasoning

2 cans black beans, strained, rinsed and dried slightly

1 cup shredded quesadilla melting cheese.

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large frying pan, add onion and poblano, cook until soft, then add taco seasoning, cook for a minute, then add strained beans, mash and stir, adjust seasoning and then cool, once cool mix in cheese.

The filling should be cold or room temperature before filling empanadas.

You can fill empanadas with any filling, I recommend filling empanadas with leftovers, feel free to experiment.

You could also substitute beans for ground beef, be sure to completely cook the beef and pour off any extra fat before cooling and adding cheese.

Chocolate Pudding from Scratch

1 Cup sugar

⅔ cup cocoa powder

½ cup corn starch

½ teaspoon salt

4 and1/2 cups milk

4 tablespoons butter

In a large bowl whisk sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch and salt. Then, whisk in the cold milk until all dry ingredients are combined with the milk. Next put the mixture on a large pot and heat on medium heat.

Be careful not to burn, stir frequently, be sure to use a pastry spatula and scrape the bottom of the pot so that the mixture does not burn. Keep cooking and stirring until the mixture boils. It will bubble and could splatter so be careful. Then stir in 4 tablespoons of butter. Keep stirring until the butter is all mixed in then let cool, stir every 5 minutes until the pudding is cool enough to eat. 

You may also pour the liquid into a bowl and chill in the fridge. I recommend draping then pressing plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding when cooling in the refrigerator so that it doesn’t form a skin. Kind of like when you are making guacamole and you don’t want it to turn brown, real pudding forms a skin if it is not covered directly on the surface.

Cool and serve with whipped cream.

Whipped cream 

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon powdered sugar 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

When pudding is cooling  add all theese ingredients into a medium sized bowl; cream, powdered sugar and vanilla. Next whisk until the mixture is smooth and puffy. Be careful not to over whisk or you will accidentally make butter.

Serve on top of pudding or use in any other recipie that deserves a dollop of whipped cream.

This is the whipped cream recipie we use for all our recipies. Be sure to memorize this one.

Ms. Scampini’s Banana Bread Recipe

1 Whole egg

2 overripe bananas

½ cup sugar

3 tablespoons melted, salted butter

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Cooking oil or spray for muffin tins.

Preheat oven to 350*F

Prepare muffin tins with nonstick spray or wipe with brush dipped in cooking oil.

In a microwave safe bowl or small pan melt butter.

In a medium sized bowl whisk 1 egg and 2 bananas, then whisk in sugar, melted butter and salt. Then, stop using a whisk and use a  pastry spatula or spoon to mix in baking soda, baking powder, chocolate and flour. Do not overmix. Over mixing will make the bread tough.

Scoop batter evenly in muffin tins so they are filled evenly.

Bake for 10 minutes, additional time might be needed, check doneness by testing with a toothpick. Poke muffins in the center to see if the toothpick comes out clean. If there is batter on the toothpick they need additional time, bake for an additional 5 minutes or more. Be sure to look out for batter on the toothpick, if there is only melted chocolate on the toothpick they are likely done, be sure to test a few of them.

We used mini muffin tins in class so they cooked very fast. Good luck!

Fettuccine Alfredo

1 clove garlic, crushed, peeled, minced.

1 ½ Tablespoon butter

1 ½ Tablespoon AP Flour

1 Cup half and half

1 Pound (16 ounces) cooked fettuccine noodles cooked to packages instructions

Put garlic, butter and flour in a medium sized pot, using a whisk stir frequently until garlic is aromatic but not burned, add half and half in gradually, (a little bit at at time) constantly stirring out lumps. Once fully combined and smooth, boil lightly until the sauce is thick but pourable, “it should be as thick as ranch dressing or a thin gravy, pourable but thick, (about 2 minutes.)

Add a pinch of salt if desired, pour sauce over cooked noodles on a platter and toss with tongs or a pair of spoons, serve with chopped fresh basil (optional.) Enjoy

Crêpes Suzette

2 whole eggs

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 cup milk (room temperature)

¼ cup water

1 cup All-Purpose Flour

1 pinch of salt

2 teaspoons sugar (optional)

In class we started with butter, milk and water in a microwave safe container, then microwaved it for 4 minutes or until the butter melted.

In a medium sized mixing bowl add two whole eggs and whisk until completely mixed, then add ½ cup of flour and whisk until smooth. Next add all the liquids from the microwave, mix until smooth. Then add the final ½ cup of flour and stir it until the batter is very smooth. (No Lumps)

Heat a non-stick pan on the stove on medium low heat. Brush a few drops of oil all along the bottom of the pan, then ladle a small amount of batter in the pan, once batter is cooked mostly flip and cook till lightly browned.

Orange sauce

1 cup orange juice

¼ cup sugar

Put in a pan and boil until syrupy

Strawberry Sauce

¼ cup strawberry preserves

1 tablespoon sugar

½ cup water

Put in a pan, whisk until blended, boil until syrupy

Pour sauce over finished crêpes and serve.

Poached Pears

2 quarts apple cider (or 8 cups water and 2 cups sugar)

2 cinnamon sticks

1 medium orange zested and juiced.

6 pears, bottoms cut flat, peeled, and cored so they can stand upright.

  1. In a large pot, heat apple cider
  2. Place the cinnamon sticks, orange zest, juice, and pears into the cider.
  3. Cut a circle of parchment paper large enough to fit in the pot on top of the pears. Cut a small circle in the middle for venting and place it on top of the pears in the water.
  4. Keep water at a very gentle simmer and cook until the pears can be easily pierced through with a knife, about 20 minutes (more or less, depending on the size, variety, and firmness of the pears).

Serve warm or at room temperature with crème anglaise, vanilla ice cream, salted caramel sauce, or even chocolate syrup.

Twice Baked Potato

6 Baking Potatoes (Russet) 

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

½ stick melted butter

1 cup sour cream

Chives for topping (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Wash baking potatoes, poke a few times with a fork to release steam when baking.

Place prepared potatoes on a sheet pan and bake at 400*F until the potatoes are completely cooked. About 1 hour, but perhaps for more.  Carefully test potatoes with a squeeze to feel if they are completely cooked. Let cool until they are easy to handle, then cut in half lengthwise, be careful keep the skins from ripping so they look like little boats.  Scoop the insides out of the potato skin and put in a large mixing bowl. Add melted butter, cheese, sour cream and season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Once mixed add potato insides back into the potato skins and bake once more until the cheese is melted and the outsides are a little crispy. Serve with cut chives.

Lumpia (Filipino Style Egg Roll)

1 pack egg roll wraps (look in the freezer section)

1 Pound ground pork (not lean)

4 Cloves garlic peeled

1 Medium sized carrot peeled and chopped

1 Medium sized white onion peeled and chopped

4 Green onions, root off and chopped

1 Handful of chopped cabbage 

2 Tablespoon soy sauce

Ground black pepper to taste

3 Cups vegetable oil for frying 350°F. or brush lumpia in oil and use air fryer, 375°F

Chop all vegetables and put in-food processor and pulse for 30 seconds until finely chopped.

Put all pork in a large bowl, add soy sauce, chopped vegetables and black pepper.

Mix with hands until completely mixed.

Open egg roll wrappers, and peel away 16 sheets. 

Cut sheets in half diagonally, lay one triangle in front of you pointing away. Dampen edges with water. Add 2 spoonfuls of filling in a line from the left and and right points. Fold in edges, and tightly roll forward. Set down on the fold side.

Make sure to roll so the filling does not show.

Fry in small batches on all sides until crispy and meat is cooked on inside.

Enjoy with banana ketchup or Mae Ploy Sweet Chili Sauce.

Chocolate Lava Cake makes (4 4-ounce cakes)

4 small coffee cups or ramekins

1 Stick salted butter (or unsalted and add 1 pinch salt)

½ Cup semisweet chocolate chips

3 Egg

2 Tablespoon granulated sugar

3 Tablespoons AP flour

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Butter liberally four ramekins with 1 tablespoon room temperature butter.
  2. In a microwave safe bowl melt chocolate and 7 tablespoons butter. Run the microwave on high for 30 second bursts until all is melted, Stir until smooth.
  3. Put 3 whole eggs in a large mixing bowl and whip on high until frothy and lightened in color. You can use an electric mixer, or by hand, whisk vigorously.
  4. Add melted butter and chocolate to large bowl with eggs, stir until combined
  5. Add sugar and flour, stir until combined. Scoop evenly into ramekins. And bake until cake does not jiggle but is still slightly gooey in the center. Be careful the ramekins will be hot!
  6. Invert cooked cakes onto a plate and sprinkle with a light dusting of powdered sugar. If cakes are stuck in the ramekin cut edges around the cake with a butter knife and delicately scoop out onto a plate.

Sprinkle Cookies 12-24 depending on size

2 and ¾ cups sifted AP Flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 pinch salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg (or 50 grams pumpkin puree)

3 Tablespoon Non-Pareils Sprinkles

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F, Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
  2. In a separate bowl, cream and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and continue beating until incorporated. 
  3. Add flour mixture into the butter mixture in two batches, scraping down bowl after each addition.
  4. Portion dough out using an ice cream scoop. Coat one side of each dough ball with the sprinkles and place on prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart, sprinkle side up. Press each ball into a ¼ inch thick cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes, then remove from oven and let cool completely on baking sheets.