You found it! cheffreycooks.com

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.