This month, in honor of the holidays, we’ve asked our Culinary Arts and Pastry & Baking Arts instructors to share their favorite festive recipes. We’ve already tested out Chef Kathryn Gordon’s Australian mince tartelettes, traveled to a French Christmas market with Chef Ted Siegel‘s Alsatian tarte flambée and celebrated American nostalgia with Chef Scott McMillen’s snickerdoodles. sabrinaheadshotToday, we celebrate Chef Sabrina Sexton’s family favorite: Swedish meatballs.

My mother’s family is Scandinavian so the holidays – especially Christmas – have always meant lots of Nordic fare. Every year, on Christmas Eve, my mom prepares a big julbord, a traditional Christmas buffet with pickled herring, gravlax, ham and saffransbrod, a saffron bread filled with raisins.

My favorite traditional food has always been the Swedish meatballs. Served alongside mashed potatoes, lingonberry sauce and pickled cucumber salad, they always remind me of my childhood. The recipe I make is a hybrid of my mom’s and Marcus Sammuelson’s. He likes to put a splash of pickle juice from the cucumbers into the sauce, which is a great way to cut the sweetness of the lingonberries and the richness of the crème fraiche in the sauce.

meatballSwedish Meatballs

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 4 tablespoons canola oil, divided
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 3/4 pound ground pork
  • 3/4 pound ground beef
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup crème fraiche or sour cream
  • 1/4 cup lingonberry preserves
  • 2 tablespoons pickle juice or 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Instructions

  1. Combine the bread crumbs with the milk in a bowl. Stir until the bread crumbs are moistened. Set aside.
  2. Heat  2 tablespoons of the canola oil in a medium sauté pan. Add the onion and cook until the onions are limp and translucent, about 5 minutes. Cool.
  3. Combine the onions with the ground pork, ground beef, honey and egg in a large bowl. Add the salt and pepper and mix by hand until blended. Add the breadcrumb-milk mixture and mix well. Shape the mixture into golf ball size meatballs.
  4. Add the remaining canola oil to the sauté pan. Add the meatballs is batches and cook, turning frequently until brown on all sides and cooked through, about 5-6 minutes. Transfer the meatballs to a plate and prepare the sauce.
  5. Add the stock to the pan and simmer until reduced by half. Add the crème fraiche and continue to reduce until the sauce is a “nappe” consistency.
  6. Return the meatballs to the pan and warm.
  7. Serve the meatballs with mashed potatoes, more lingonberry preserves and cucumber salad.

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By Kelly Senyei

The past five years have represented an epicurean explosion in the online world, where countless new food blogs are launched every single day. Whether you’re new to the digital food space, or are a seasoned pro, there are inevitable lessons to learn about the pros and cons of pushing your passion from the confines of your kitchen to the public pages of the Internet.

When I launched my food blog Just a Taste, I admittedly had little understanding of what was needed to maintain a successful blog, from technical knowledge and financial resources to photography skills and social media prowess. Four years later, my blog has become more than a casual hobby, inspiring me to author Food Blogging For Dummies to share my experience and knowledge with others. Although I learned by trial and error, there’s no need for you to repeat my same mistakes. Here are three things I wish I’d known before launching my food blog:

1. Embrace Editing

The concept of wordcount seems to disappear faster than a tray of hot chocolate chip cookies in an online world where page space is seemingly endless. But it’s important to remember to never fear the red pen! As a blogger, you’re your own editor, and the biggest advantage you can give yourself is to embrace the editing process. Remember my editing mantra, “Follow your gut and never be afraid to cut.”

2. Avoid an Obsession with the Numbers

It’s easy to get lost in measuring your blog’s success by the numbers – be it ad revenue, pageviews or unique visitors. But the more you stress about traffic, the less authentic your blog will be because you’ll spend more time trying to read your audience’s mind than producing high-quality content.

3. Back Up Your Blog

It may seem like an obvious piece of advice, but backing up your blog is one of the most crucial steps you can take to avoid the devastating realization that a technical glitch has somehow erased all of your days/weeks/months/years of work. It takes all of five minutes to back up your blog, and it saves you potential heartache.

These three things are just the start of a long list of lessons I’ve learned, fortunately or unfortunately, via trial and error. If you’re interested in learning more about mastering the art of food blogging, including food photography and styling, how to increase traffic and making a profit from your blog, join me at ICE for my course, Taking Your Food Blog to the Next Level, on Thursday, December 6 for an intensive 3-hour training on transforming your blog from a casual hobby to a successful business.

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Hot off her feature in The New York Times, Chef Vicki Caparulo, taught a refreshing summer class last week called Light, Quick and Easy Summer Pastas. She highlighted recipes that you can serve hot or cold and often make ahead of time, which is a perfect time saving option if you are looking for a quick dinner or good picnic options.

Chef Vicki noted that offering pasta as a primi appetizer can often take the pressure off a dinner party host since one pound can serve 16 people. Follow it with grilled fish and a salad and you’ve got an easy, no-stress summer menu!

Below is a recipe from her class that was a crowd favorite.

Penne with Arugula and Prosciutto
Yields: serves 4

1 pound penne rigate (ridged)
¼ pound thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
1 pound baby arugula
2/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
¾ teaspoon lemon zest
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Bring a large post of cold water to a boil for pasta.

When the water comes to a boil, add 2 tablespoons of kosher salt. When the water returns to a boil, cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.

Return the pasta to the pot, add the prosciutto, arugula, cheese, zest, and salt and pepper to taste and toss. Drizzle the oil over the pasta and toss again, adding some of reserved cooking water if pasta seems dry.

Serve immediately.

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We all know one of the best ways to celebrate the world’s greatest dad is to fire up the grill. ICE is offering grill-meister classes just in time for Father’s Day. Below is a sneak peek at a recipe from this sizzling series!

GRILLED PINEAPPLE “FOSTER”

Yield: Serves 4

This is a variation of flambéed Bananas Foster – one of New Orleans best desserts. Have all ingredients measured-out in advance (cover the brown sugar so that it doesn’t dry out), and you can prepare this tableside in minutes – and really wow your guests!

½ peeled, cored pineapple, cut into 3 or 4 lengths

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
½ cup dark brown sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup Meyer’s dark rum

1 pint vanilla ice cream

Grill the pineapple until tender over a medium-high grill. There should be well-caramelized grill marks. Cut the pineapple into chunks, and reserve.

In a large skillet or flambé dish melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sugar and cinnamon and stir slowly to make a smooth, thick sauce.

Add the reserved pineapple and cook to heat through, basting occasionally, 1 to 2 minutes.

In a small saucepan, heat the rum over medium-low heat. Carefully pour over the pineapple without stirring and ignite with a match. Slide the pan back and forth gently, stirring until the flames die.Serve the pineapple and sauce over a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

NOTE: if your flame should extinguish before most of the alcohol burns off, continue to cook for another minute or two to remove any harsh alcohol-bite.

To sign dad up, click here.

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As part of our regular series of demos, ICE brings a wide variety of professionals to ICE to share their experience and knowledge with ICE culinary students and alumni. Last night, we hosted Joe Campanale. As beverage director and co-owner of three successful West Village restaurants, Dell’anima, L’Artusi and Anfora, Joe Campanale is behind the wine lists of some of the most popular Italian restaurants in New York. Yesterday, ICE students and alumni had the opportunity to taste some of the Italian wines he is currently featuring at his restaurants and talk about their characteristics.

At the restaurants, Campanale is able to explore his deep love of Italian wine and showcase wines that diners might not be familiar with. One of the most interesting things he shared was the fact that there is ten times the number of native grapes in Italy as there are in France. Italian winegrowers have greater opportunity to produce a plethora of unique wines. The demo included tastings of three reds and three whites, all from Italy and all with dramatically different flavors. Having Campanale on hand gave the students the chance to learn from his expertise on these fascinating wine regions.

In addition to walking through the flight of wines, Campanale discussed his career path, sharing his story and experience in the industry. Similar to many of ICE’s own graduates, Campanale didn’t initially think his career would be in the food industry. Even though he went into university thinking that he would become a lawyer and politician, Campanale quickly realized that his real passion was in food and service. Soon, he was pursuing a master’s in food studies at NYU and learning as much about wine as he could. He became a Certified Sommelier of the Court of Master Sommeliers and earned a Diploma in Wines and Spirits from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust. Campanale shared how his love of food inspired his career and how he hoped sharing his story and knowledge would help the ICE students to find their way on their own career paths.

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Food blogs have rapidly become the online medium for anyone looking to increase their food knowledge. From recipes, to restaurant reviews, new food trends to celebrity chef-tell alls, food blogs are the news source for all things food!

With thousands of blogs to choose from, starting your own food blog can be a challenge. Brooke Parkhurst, author of Belle in the Big Apple and co-author of Just Married and Cooking, is a pro when it comes to blogging. Aside from publishing two books, Parkhurst recently relaunched and manages the blog Just Married & Cooking with her husband ICE Culinary Arts Chef Instructor James Briscione.

Parkhurst shared her knowledge of food blogging in the ICE Center for Food Media Course, How to Start Your Own Food Blog. In this workshop, Parkhurst lead the class through an informative, workshop-style seminar on how to get your food blog up and running. More…

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Last week, ICE hosted a party to celebrate the launch of Les Petits Macarons: Colorful French Confections to Make at Home, a new book from ICE Pastry & Baking Arts Chef Instructor Kathryn Gordon and the former Director of ICE’s Center for Food Media Anne E. McBride. The book demystifies the delicate, delicious pastries with a thorough look at macaron techniques and a veritable trove of recipes and ideas for fillings and decorations.

The party brought together many macaron enthusiasts and professionals to celebrate the book — we even spotted Chef Michael Laiskonis in the crowd. We wanted to share some of the photos with you. Congratulations to Chef Kathryn and Anne! More…

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Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Even though the turkey usually takes center stage, the side dishes are arguably just as (if not more) important to the traditional meal. From roasted sweet potatoes to classic herb stuffing, the side dishes are integral to the whole experience. We thought we’d share some of our favorite recipes from the ICE Culinary Arts curriculum to help you prepare. To start, we wanted to share a basic recipe for smooth, velvety mashed potatoes or potato purée — sometimes the classic, simple dishes are the best. Not to be overlooked, consider subbing in carrots or sweet potatoes for a slightly different twist.

Ingredients
4 Idaho potatoes
4 fluid ounces heavy cream
2 ounces butter
Salt and pepper to taste More…

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This week, my module one Pastry & Baking Arts class went on a field trip. I tried to give them a broad view of the many different kinds of venues there are and advice on how tasting a variety of treats can help them develop their own palates and ideas; however I think I might have also given them all stomachaches.

We started off in the neighborhood around school with a quick trip over to Eataly to check out the incredibly vast selection of pannetone and pandoros, as well as all of the other yummy treats. If you are a pannetone freak like me then you need to head on over this holiday season and get some. There was something for everyone including what is the Italian version of a Boston cream doughnut, but supersized.

Next, we walked down the street to Maison du Macaron, where we deemed the macaron to be just okay, however the ones painted with bats and Halloween decorations got big points in the super cute department. More…

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Last night, ICE‘s special events team hosted an exciting book launch for The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn. Inspired by a supermarket encounter with a woman loading up on processed foods, Flinn decided to use her culinary training to help nine novice cooks find their cooking confidence. The Kitchen Counter Cooking School takes these lessons and provides practical tips so that everyone can make the most out of cooking at home.

Her first book, the best-selling memoir The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry, detailed her career change from office job the corporate world to student in culinary school and then new career as a food writer. Then, after seeing a woman load up on process foods in the grocery store, Flinn decided to write a new book to help home cooks get into the kitchen and prepare meals.

As part of the New York event to launch The Kitchen Counter Cooking School, Flinn invited culinary authors Pam Anderson (Cook Without a Book, Three Many Cooks) and Lauren Shockey (Four Kitchens) to ICE to discuss getting into the kitchen and participate in a more general conversation about how all of us can be inspired. Shockey discussed the difference between life in a restaurant kitchen and home kitchen, while Anderson discussed the process of writing recipes for every cook. In addition to being an illuminating discussion, a portion of proceeds benefit Bloggers Without Borders. It was a very informative discussion about cooking, food and life in the culinary world.

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