Beet Salad with Chicken Curry and Rice

November 16, 2009 – Toronto Cooking Class with Derryn

An energetic group of 4 students for the first class of the week. A very civilized way to start the week with some good food friends and a bottle or two of red. We started off with knife skills and mire poix practice. Beet salad with goat’s cheese and rocket was followed by a sublime chicken curry and rice. Dinner was full of healthy flavor and had some chili heat in the curry for the slightly cooler weather.



Beet Salad (for 5 people):

Medium size beets, four boiled. Log of herbed goat cheese, one. Arugula, one hand full. Method: Boil the beets for 30 minutes. Let cool and then remove skin by rubbing between fingers, should come off easily. If you don’t want you fingers to turn red use a knife and tea towel to peel. Grab a mandolin and slice thin. Place in a circular pattern on the place and crumble to goat cheese over. Chiffonade some Rocket sprinkle over. Drizzle some olive oil and add S&P to taste. Serve cool and delicious!!



Chicken Curry (for 5 people):

Whole chicken, one skinned and rough chopped into largish cubes. Onion, 2 fine dice. Curry powder, quarter cup. Cumin, two table spoons. Chili flakes, two table spoons. Limes, 2 juiced and zested. Garlic and onion powder, two table spoons. Garlic, whole clove salted and pureed. Ginger, quarter cup pureed. Flour, quarter cup for dredging. Veggie stock, 3 cups. Method: Sweat onion then add all the dry spices, garlic and ginger. Cook till fragrant and sticky. Dredge chicken in flower and pan fry till golden brown. Deglaze pan with veggie stock. Add all chicken and pan bits to the curry base. Cover three quarters and cook for 40 minutes. Right at the end add lime juice and zest to tighten the curry. Let the curry sit for 5 minutes then enjoy.



Rice taken up a notch (for 5 people):

Rice, two cups long grain. Water, 5 cups. Coriander, one bunch chopped. Ginger, quarter cup puree. Garlic, half a clove puree and salted. Red onion, one fine dice. Chili flakes, quarter cup. Lime, one zested and juiced. Method: Boil rice till fluffy and all the ingredients. Stir as little as possible as rice will go sticky fast. Serve with curry and enjoy.

Soup, Salad and Tilapia

November 13, 2009 – Toronto Cooking Class with Derryn

A charming group of 4 students for the final class of the week. We started off with knife skills and mire poix practice. Beet salad with goat’s cheese and rocket was followed by a simple soup consisting of mire poix and cream and then grilled Tilapia with capers and crispy onions. Dinner was full of healthy flavor and had some chili heat in the soup for the slightly cooler weather.



Beet Salad (for 5 people):

Medium size beets, four boiled. Log of herbed goat cheese, one. Arugula, one hand full. Method: Boil the beets for 30 minutes. Let cool and then remove skin by rubbing between fingers, should come off easily. If you don’t want you fingers to turn red use a knife and tea towel to peel. Grab a mandolin and slice thin. Place in a circular pattern on the place and crumble to goat cheese over. Chiffonade some Rocket sprinkle over. Drizzle some olive oil and add S&P to taste. Serve cool and delicious!!



Autumn Soup (for 5 people):

Mire poix, 4 cups of each, burnoise cut. Veggie stock, four cups. Table cream, one cup. S & P to taste. Arugula, fine chop, quarter cup. Sour cream to garnish. Method: Cook the mire poix until veggies are soft. Deglaze the pan with stock. In a food processor blend the mire poix and stock to a puree. Add the cream. Bring the soup to the desired temperature and garnish with a dollop of sour cream and Arugula. Tip: Heat the bowls in the microwave for a couple minutes before hand; keeps the soup toasty warm for longer. Serve and enjoy.



Pan Fried Tilapia (for 4 people):

Tilapia fillets, four. Flour, quarter cup. Capers, quarter cup. Red onion, one fine dice. Butter, half a stick. Method: Pre heat pan add butter. Caramelize the onions until crispy. Dredge the tilapia in flour till covered and white, dust off excess. Pan fry over med to high heat for 3 minutes on the presentation side. Add the capers and flip fish for one minute. Place all the bits of onion and the capers with the browned butter on top of the fish. Garnish with fresh lemon.

October 28, 2009 – Toronto Cooking Class with Derryn

A lovely group of 3 students for the final class of the week. We started off with knife skills and mire poix practice. Curried carrot and ginger soup and sesame marinated top round steak followed. Dinner was full of healthy flavor and had some chili heat and curry for the slightly cooler weather.



Curried carrot and ginger soup (for 5 people):

Carrot, four cups dices. Onion two cups, diced. Celery, two cups diced. Chicken stock, four cups. Curry powder, two table spoons. Ginger juice, quarter cup. Salted garlic, two table spoons. Thai birds eye chillies, 2 finely chopped. Garnish: Sour cream one dollop per serving. Chives, chopped. Method: Cook the carrot, onion and celery until veggies are soft enough to put in the food processor. Add the chicken stock and the rest of the ingredients (not the garnish) and blend till desired consistency in the food processor. Put back on the stove and add half a cup of table cream. Warm through without boiling and then garnish with sour cream and chopped chives. Perfect for a chili autumn evening.



Sirloin Round Roast (for 5 people):

Sirloin Round Roast, one dressed roast of about two kg. Onion powder, one tsp. Garlic powder, one tsp. Chili flakes, one tsp. Cumin, half a tsp. Paprika, one tsp. Brown sugar, one tsp. S&P to taste. Feel free to add some Montreal Steak seasoning or Barbarians pre made rub. They have a high salt content so be aware that they will dehydrate the meat a bit if prepared well in advance but they do add a good depth of flavor.



Method Dry rub: Combine all the ingredients and coat the beef. Just before you take the steak out, douse it with balsamic vinegar for additional moisture and flavor. Homemade dry rub is very much open to suggestion and the above is one way to do it. Wet marinade: Sesame oil, two table spoon. Salted garlic, two table spoon. Onion, quarter cup fine dice. Ginger juice, quarter cup. Ponzu, quarter cup. Soy sauce, four table spoon. Combine all ingredients and marinate for up to 24 hours. The left over marinade can be converted into a glaze by boiling it and reducing by half. Then brush onto steak towards the end of the cooking cycle.

Roasted Veggies with Deboned Chicken

October 22, 2009 – Toronto Cooking Class with Derryn

A brilliant group of 4 students for the final class of the week. We started off with knife skills and mire poix practice. Autumn root veggies and Kabocha (Japanese Squash) where prepared along with a stuffing for the deboned chicken. Dinner was full of flavor and had some chili heat for the slightly cooler weather.



Roasted Root Veggies (for 5 people):

Potato, five medium cubed. Egg plant, one large cut into quarters. Rutabaga (wax turnip) cubed. Kabocha, cut into thick wedges with the skin on. Onion, one large red cubed. Method: Put all the raw veg into a large mixing bowl and add OO and S&P toss till all product is covered. Lay out on a baking tray and cook for 30 minutes at 400F. When cooked feel free to add salted garlic, crushed red pepper and honey to add some flavor to the dish. Also thyme or rosemary go well.



Mire Poix Stuffing (for 5 people):

Onion, four diced. Carrot, four diced. Celery, four diced. Garlic, one clove. Stale bread, one cup. Paprika, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, chili flakes and turmeric one tsp each. Chicken or veggie stock, one cup. Method: Cook the mire poix until aromatized and then add all ingredients. Turn off the heat and let them come together into a firm consistency. Let cool until easy to handle. You are ready to stuff the bird.



Deboning and Stuffing Chicken (for 5 people):

For deboning instructions please watch my video tutorial at: www.torontocookingclass.com

Roasted Pork with Root Veggies and Chutney

October 21, 2009 – Toronto Cooking Class with Derryn

Wonderful group of 3 students for the mid week class. We kicked off with knife skills and mire poix practice. Autumn root veggies and Kabocha (Japanese Squash) where prepared along with a sweet chutney and a dry rubber pork loin. Dinner was full of flavor and warm spice for the slightly cooler weather.



Roasted Root Veggies (for 5 people):

Potato, five medium cubed. Egg plant, one large cut into quarters. Rutabaga (wax turnip) cubed. Kabocha, cut into thick wedges with the skin on. Onion, one large red cubed. Method: Put all the raw veg into a large mixing bowl and add OO and S&P toss till all product is covered. Lay out on a baking tray and cook for 30 minutes at 400F. When cooked feel free to add salted garlic, crushed red pepper and honey to add some flavor to the dish. Also thyme or rosemary go well.



Pork Round Roast (for 5 people):

Pork Pound Roast, one dressed roast of about 1.5kg. Onion powder, one tsp. Garlic powder, one tsp. Chili flakes, one tsp. Cumin, half a tsp. Paprika, one tsp. Brown sugar, one tsp. S&P to taste. Method: Combine all the ingredients and coat the pork. Homemade dry rub is very much open to suggestion and the above is one way to do it.



Mire Poix Chutney (for 5 people):

Onion, two large diced. Carrot, two large diced. Celery, two large diced. Apricot dried, half a cup, diced. Bay leaves, three. Balsamic vinegar, half a cup. Rice wine vinegar, half a cup. Honey, half a cup. Worsteshire sauce, quarter cup. Veggie stock, one cup. Chili flakes, tablespoon. S&P to taste. Method: Sweat the veg for 10 minutes then add all the ingredients. Cook for 30 mins on medium heat. Balance the heat, tart and sweet but adjusting the ingredients. Look for balance between the three.

Butternut Soup and Marinated Steak

October 15, 2009 – Toronto Cooking Class with Derryn

The last class of the week was fun and friendly with 4 advanced students attending. Knife skills were practiced with a burnoise cut for the mire poix. Butternut soup with a mire poix base. Cajun dry rub steak followed. Cutting steak on the bias was also examined indepth. Take a look at the attached photos and see below for the list of ingredients in each.



Butternut Soup (for 5 people):

Butternut, one large, chopped into half inch cubes. Mire poix, 4 cups of each, burnoise cut. Chicken and veggie stock, 2 cups each. Table cream, one cup. S & P to taste. Tarragon, fine chop, quarter cup. Chives, fine chop, quarter cup. Sour cream to garnish. Method: Cook the mire poix until veggies are soft. Deglaze the pan with stock. In a food processor blend the mire poix and stock to a puree. Pan fry the butternut cubes in honey and chili flakes till aldente and caramelized crispy. Deglaze the pan with stock. Add the cubes to the puree and add the cream. Bring the soup to the desired temperature and garnish with a dollop of sour cream, chives and tarragon. Tip: Heat the bowls in the microwave for a couple minutes before hand; keeps the soup toasty warm for longer. Serve and enjoy.



Cajun dry rubbed steak (for 5 people):

Full flavored steak such as flank or skirt. Paprika, chili flakes, cumin, salt, pepper, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, mustard powder, balsamic vinegar and fresh lemons. Method: Cut the steak into one and a quarter inch slices. Combine all the dry ingredients a tea spoon each and rub mixture between fingers to awaken the spices. Coat the steak on all sides. Grill for about three minutes then flip. Grill for 1 minute and cover with balsamic or lemon juice, flip again and then take off the heat. Let the meat rest for two to three minutes so that the juices can reabsorb into the meat. Slice thin strips on the bias. Serve with all the drippings on the cutting board.

Creamy Polenta, Cajun Dry Rub Steak and Butternut Soup

October 14, 2009 – Toronto Cooking Class with Derryn

Another intense busy class with 6 impressive students attending. Knife skills were practiced with a burnoise cut for the mire poix and a baton cut for the crudités. Butternut soup with a mire poix base. Polenta with a spicy cream reduction. Cajun dry rub steak followed. Take a look at the attached photos and see below for the list of ingredients in each.



Butternut Soup (for 5 people):

Butternut, one large, chopped into half inch cubes. Mire poix, 4 cups of each, burnoise cut. Chicken and veggie stock, 2 cups each. Table cream, one cup. S & P to taste. Tarragon, fine chop, quarter cup. Chives, fine chop, quarter cup. Sour cream to garnish. Method: Cook the mire poix until veggies are soft. Deglaze the pan with stock. In a food processor blend the mire poix and stock to a puree. Pan fry the butternut cubes in honey and chili flakes till aldente and caramelized crispy. Deglaze the pan with stock. Add the cubes to the puree and add the cream. Bring the soup to the desired temperature and garnish with a dollop of sour cream, chives and tarragon. Tip: Heat the bowls in the microwave for a couple minutes before hand; keeps the soup toasty warm for longer. Serve and enjoy.



Creamy and Spicy Polenta (for 5 people):

Polenta, two cups. Veggie stock, 4 cups. Rosemary, 3 large twigs. Birds eye chilies, four finely chopped. Table cream, one cup. Method: Bring the stock to a slow simmer and then add the polenta, stir in until consistent. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 10 minutes. Serve as a side to the steak.



Cajun dry rubbed steak (for 5 people):

Full flavored steak such as flank or skirt. Paprika, chili flakes, cumin, salt, pepper, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, mustard powder, balsamic vinegar and fresh lemons. Method: Cut the steak into one and a quarter inch slices. Combine all the dry ingredients a tea spoon each and rub mixture between fingers to awaken the spices. Coat the steak on all sides. Grill for about three minutes then flip. Grill for 1 minute and cover with balsamic or lemon juice, flip again and then take off the heat. Let the meat rest for two to three minutes so that the juices can reabsorb into the meat. Slice thin strips on the bias. Serve with all the drippings on the cutting board.