By Tim Bruderek

Dave Crofton, head baker at One Girl Cookies, is a warm guy with a big personality. He has a unique passion for baking that’s inspiring to watch. But Dave’s story does not follow the traditional path to success.

Dave graduated from ICE’s Pastry & Baking Arts program in 2003, working during the day and taking his classes in the evening. Upon completing the program, like most graduations, Dave began his search for a job in the field, and his Career Services advisor gave him a lead that sounded interesting. Little did he know this new job would change his life for good.

Dawn Casale, founder and namesake of the Brooklyn-based bakery One Girl Cookies, was becoming well-known for her delectable sweet treats, but was seeking some help with the growing demand and notoriety of her business. Dave contributed his baking talents, and soon enough, the pair was working diligently to make One Girl a success. But they got more than they planned – they ended up falling in love and getting married.

Flash forward a few years, and now Dawn is running the business side of things, while Dave serves as the company’s lead baker. The shop has become famous for its cookies (as the name suggests), but has grown to offer a huge variety to satisfy their customer’s sweet cravings. The pumpkin whoopee pie has become the shop’s most popular item—with pillowy cookies sandwiching a smooth vanilla cream cheese filling, it’s easy to understand why!

This spring, Dave graciously returned to ICE to teach a class, sharing stories about his success and recipes to make his delicious cookies, cakes and other desserts at home.

A student learns to pipe the pumpkin cookies for One Girl’s whoopie pies.

The class featured many helpful tips (proper dough preparations, mixing techniques and baking tricks), and secrets to One Girl’s top recipes (such as their famous chocolate cake, prepared with zucchini to keep it moist). Aside from the seductively sweet whoopie pies, the aforementioned chocolate cake and several varieties of crispy biscotti, the class whipped up a citrus olive oil cake to spice things up.

Light, airy, with a touch of citrus zing, this delicate cake allows the flavor of the olive oil shine through. For an extra sweet and salty crunch, we finished the cake with a sprinkling of sea salt and turbino sugar. It was my clear favorite recipe of the evening, is easy enough to prepare at home and special enough to impress dinner guests. Scroll down for the recipe, and don’t forget to stop by one of the two One Girl Cookies Brooklyn locations to say hi to Dave (and indulge your sweet cravings)!

One Girl’s Lemon Olive Oil Cake. Photo Credit: UltraTeg.com

Lemon Olive Oil Cake

Yield: Makes 1 (9-inch) cake

Ingredients

• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 5 large egg yolks
• ¾ cup olive oil
• 1½ tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup cake flour
• 4 large egg whites
• ½ tsp table salt
• 1 tbsp Turbinado sugar
• ½ tsp coarse sea salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9-inch round cake pan by greasing with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Using both hands, rub the zest into the sugar, breaking up as many lumps of zest as possible.
3. Whisk together the egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Continue to whisk for 3 minutes, or until the mixture has become light yellow. Add the olive oil and lemon juice and whisk 1 more minute. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the cake flour.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites until they are frothy, about 30 seconds. With the mixer running on medium-low speed, add the salt and the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Increase the speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form. Using a spatula, carefully fold the whites into the batter. Make sure that all of the whites are incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the Turbinado sugar and the sea salt on the top.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, and rotate the pan in the oven. Bake for 25 more minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
6. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes. The cake will shrink from the side of the pan and have a rustic appearance. Turn the cake out onto a clean plate, remove the parchment paper, and turn the cake back over onto a cooling rack. Let the cake cool completely.

At ICE, Chef Brendan McDermott is most famous for his award-winning knife skills classes, but anyone who has tried his baked goods knows he’s a jack of many trades.

In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, McDermott shared his Irish heritage with NBC New York’s “2 in the Kitchen”. Rather than greasy pub fare, he featured Irish stout-marinated steak and curry potato cakes, a nod to the Irish drink of choice and the popularity of Indian cooking in Ireland.

Irish Stout Marinated Strip Steak

Ingredients

• 4 Strip Steaks
• 1 Medium Yellow Onion, sliced into half moons
• 2 Cloves Garlic, sliced
• 5 Sprigs Thyme
• 8 Leaves Tarragon
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 2 Cups Stout
• 2 Cups Stock
• Black Pepper (to taste)

Instructions

1. In a medium sauce pan, heat up 1 tablespoon of oil.
2. Add onions and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes or until brown.
3. Add herbs and pepper. Deglaze pan with stout and stock. Bring to a simmer, then turn off heat.
4. Place mixture into a bowl and let cool in the refrigerator. Once cool, add marinade to steak, cover with plastic and let it sit for 6-8 hours.
5. Remove steaks from marinade, and season with salt and pepper. Grill or cook in a pan over medium/high heat to desired degree of doneness.
6. (Optional) Strain out marinade, bring to a simmer, reduce and use as a sauce for the steaks.

By Carly DeFilippo

Renown chefs Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart know a thing or two about southern cuisine. In Dupree’s 40-year career, she has authored twelve cookbooks (for which she won two James Beard Awards) and hosted over 300 culinary television shows. Graubart was the television producer for Dupree’s New Southern Cooking, and went on to pen two of her own cookbooks before the pair joined forces as writers. With the 2012 release of the 720-page Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking, these dynamic chefs have yet again demonstrated their expertise, publishing the most comprehensive text on the region’s culinary traditions since Mrs. S.R. Dull’s Southern Cooking (1928).

This week, Dupree and Graubart joined the ICE community to discuss “Real Southern Cooking” and to share their top tips for regional culinary staples. To begin, Dupree described the diverse ethnic communities – from Italian, to Jewish, Chinese and African -that shaped what we today call “southern” cuisine. “All food in America is fusion food,” Dupree explained, pointing to the much lauded Carolina Gold rice that originated from grains transported by international trade. That said, there are certain dishes that Dupree disclaimed as inauthentically southern – most notably, peach pie and fried chicken and waffles.

One regional delicacy both chefs heartily approve of is the biscuit, on which they previously penned an exhaustive guide, Southern Biscuits (2011). Their essential tips for the perfect biscuit:

• First and foremost, do a toast test. No one’s oven is perfect, and you can evaluate the way yours works by watching the toasting patterns of a sheet pan of white bread in a very hot oven. This will help you know where to place and when you will need to rotate the items you bake.
• Use a soft wheat flour, like White Lily. You can order it online, or it may be sold at Balducci’s or Fairway in New York City.
• It’s important to mix the dough in a low, wide bowl, so as not to overdevelop the gluten in the flour.
• No recipe that includes flour is exact, so adapt ratios as necessary to achieve the desired consistency.
• Most beginners ruin their biscuits by adding too much flour. The dough should stick to your fingers and remain very pliable.
• Don’t knead the dough. Pat it into a mound and then fold it. If using a plastic cutting mat, you can fold the mat itself to maneuver the dough, creating creases that will flake when baked.
• When cutting biscuits, do not twist the cutter. Simply press down and lift up.
• When baking biscuits, crowd the pan to achieve a more tender, moister biscuit.

(Photo Credit: CynthiaGraubart.com)

Very Beginner’s Cream Biscuits

Makes 12 to 16 (2-inch) biscuits

• 2 1/4 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• Butter, softened or melted, for finishing

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Select a larger baking pan for crispier biscuits, or a smaller pan for more tender biscuits. (Whether or not air can circulate around the biscuits determines their texture. Graubart and Dupree prefer small cake or loaf pans.)
2. Fork-sift or whisk 2 cups of flour in a large bowl, and set aside the 1/4 cup. Make a deep hollow in the center of the flour with the back of your hand. Pour 1 cup of cream, reserving 1/4 cup cream into the hollow, and stir with a rubber spatula or large metal spoon, using broad circular strokes to quickly pull the flour into the cream.
3. Mix until the dry ingredients are moistened and the sticky dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. If there is some flour remaining on the bottom and sides of the bowl, stir in 1-4 tbsp of reserved cream, just enough to incorporate the remaining flour into the shaggy, wettish dough. Or, if the dough is too wet, add additional flour when shaping.
4. Lightly sprinkle a plastic cutting mat with some of the reserved flour. Turn the dough onto the mat and lightly sprinkle the top with more reserved flour. With floured hands (or using the flexible mat), fold the dough in half and pat it into a 1/3- to 1/2-inch-thick round, using only a little additional flour as needed. Continue folding and flouring (only as necessary) 1-2 more times.
5. Pat dough into a 1/2-inch-thick round for a normal biscuit, 3/4-inch-thick round for a tall biscuit or a 1-inch-thick round for a giant biscuit. Brush off any visible flour from the top. To cut biscuits, dip the 2-inch biscuit cutter into the reserved flour, and press into the outside edge of the round, cutting very close together. The scraps may be combined to make additional biscuits, although they will be tougher than the original batch.
6. Move the biscuits to the pan or baking sheet. Bake on the top rack of the oven for 10-14 minutes until light golden grown. After 6 minutes, rotate the pan and check to see if the bottoms are browning too quickly. If so, slide another baking pan underneath to add insulation and slow browning. Continue baking another 4-8 minutes until light golden brown. When biscuits are done, remove from oven and lightly brush with the butter. Turn the biscuits upside down on a plate to cool slightly. Serve hot, right-side-up.

By Victoria Burghi

Photo Credit: Suzie DePingu

Whether you believe Valentine’s Day is a Christian holiday, a pagan celebration or a savvy marketing strategy to fill empty restaurant seats during the slow season, it’s hard not to get caught up in the red ribbons and hearts displayed in every store during the month of February.

But if you want to “keep it real” and make your loved one truly happy and cozy, I suggest you make a simple dessert to enjoy at home. Tiramisu has been made by Italian housewives for centuries, due to the ease of the preparation and the ready availability of the ingredients:

• Savoiardi (lady fingers)
• Mascarpone (I prefer a brand called Polenghi)
• Espresso (Medaglia D’Oro instant espresso is excellent)
• Eggs
• Sugar
• Cocoa powder or grated chocolate (for dusting)

At a recent demo with renown Italian Chef Giancarlo Perbellini, I had the opportunity to sample three different versions of this popular dessert:

• Tiramisu “Tradizionale”: the purest and simplest of them all, it doesn’t include any alcohol.
• Tiramisu “Leggero”: uses whole eggs and whipped cream to lighten the mousse.
• Tiramisu “a la Marsala”: in this version, we make a “zabaglione” custard with egg yolks, sugar and Marsala (a fortified Italian sweet wine) and add a meringue.

Photo Credit: Victoria Burghi

Inspired by this trio of tiramisus, I’ve developed three different recipes for you to share with your sweetheart. But first, a few tips for tiramisu success:

• Make sure the mascarpone is at room temperature or, at the very least, soften the mascarpone with a wooden spoon. This will help it easily incorporate into your eggs.
• Try to find an elegant dish or glass in which to serve your tiramisu, especially for special occasions.
• To add a special Valentine’s Day touch, cut out a paper heart that fits within the rim of your dish. Place the heart on top of the tiramisu and dust the surface with cocoa powder or grated semisweet chocolate. Carefully lift off the paper to reveal the design.
• Tiramisu should be assembled just before serving, otherwise it needs to be refrigerated.
• Some suggested wine pairings: Passito, Malvasia, Muscat or Mad Cuvée.

Tiramisu “Tradizionale”

• 2 oz sugar
• 1 lb mascarpone
• 4 eggs
• 2 oz sugar
• 1-2 cups espresso
• 1 package savoiardi
• cocoa powder or grated chocolate (for dusting)

1. Separate the egg yolks and whites, reserving both.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with a whip attachment, whip egg yolks and sugar on medium-high speed, until the mixture turns a lighter color and becomes thick (about 5 minutes).
3. Carefully add the mascarpone and mix by hand until fully incorporated
4. In a separate mixing bowl, whip the egg whites until frothy. Then gradually add sugar and continue to whip until the whites reach the firm peak stage. The result should be a shiny, stiff meringue.
5. Fold the meringue into the mascarpone mixture, using a rubber spatula.
6. To assemble the dessert: Dip each lady finger in the espresso for a few seconds, until it absorbs some of the liquid. You may be tempted to add all the lady fingers at once, but this will cause the savoiardi to absorb too much espresso and become soggy.
   Place a layer of lady fingers in the bottom of your serving dish, followed by a layer of mascarpone mousse. You may repeat this step as many times as you like, then finish with a dusting of chocolate.

Tiramisu “Leggero”

This version requires you to make syrup with the sugar, to add to your eggs while whipping them.

• 3 whole eggs
• 5 oz sugar
• 2 oz water
• 8 oz mascarpone
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1-2 cups espresso
• 1 package savoiardi
• cocoa powder or grated chocolate (for dusting)

1. Begin to whip your eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer at medium-high speed.
2. At the same time, boil the sugar and water in a small pot until the sugar reaches 234 degrees (also known as soft ball stage).
3. When the syrup reaches the correct temperature, slowly add it to the eggs, without stopping the mixer.
4. Continue whipping the mixture until it becomes thick and cooler.
5. Add your softened mascarpone and mix by hand until fully incorporated.
6. In a different bowl, whip the heavy cream until medium peaks form, then fold it into the mascarpone mixture.
7. Assemble the dessert as described for “tradizionale”.

Tiramisu “a la Marsala”

This version incorporates Marsala wine, a sweet, fortified wine from Sicily. The procedure requires you to make a “zabaglione”, in other words, to whisk the yolks, sugar and wine in the bowl of your electric mixer over a pot of boiling water until thick.

• 4 eggs
• 2 oz sugar
• 2 oz Marsala
• 8 oz mascarpone
• 3 oz sugar
• 1-2 cups espresso
• 1 package savoiardi
• cocoa powder or grated chocolate (for dusting)

1. Separate egg whites and yolks, reserving both.
2. Prepare the zabaglione by whipping the wine, sugar and egg yolks in the bowl of your electric mixer over a pot of boiling water, until they get thick and the volume increases (up to eight minutes).
3. Transfer electric mixer bowl to stand mixer, continuing to whip on medium-low speed until the mixture becomes very thick and has cooled.
4. Add the mascarpone, and mix by hand until fully incorporated.
5. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites until frothy. Slowly add the sugar and continue to whip into firm peaks.
6. Fold this meringue into mascarpone mixture and proceed to assemble the dessert, as described for “tradizionale”.

A native of Montevideo, Uruguay, Pastry Chef-Instructor Victoria Burghi arrived in New York City at the young age of 19. Though she enrolled at Hunter College, her heart was not in academia. Instead, she was drawn to the New York Food & Hotel Management School and soon found herself in the illustrious kitchen inside Windows on the World. Her passion led her to some of New York’s leading pastry kitchens, from the Patina Restaurant Group to the Union Square Hospitality Group. A 2007 graduate of ICE’s Culinary Management program, Victoria joined the school’s faculty in 2011, translating her more than 15 years of professional experience into enriching technical instruction for ICE Pastry & Baking Arts students. http://www.chefvictoriaburghi.com/

It’s almost Super Bowl Sunday, and we’re gearing up with recipes for our favorite game day snacks. What’s more, in the spirit of friendly (fishy) competition, we’re testing two iconic dishes from the Ravens’ and 49ers’ hometowns: Baltimore Crab Cakes and San Francisco Cioppino.

Which recipe will win this seafood showdown? It’s all up to you. Vote “crab cakes” or “cioppino” in the comments below.

Photo Credit: King Street Marketing Group

Baltimore Crab Cakes with Spicy Rémoulade

This spicy crab cake recipe one of the regional highlights from our “All-American Hot and Spicy Favorites” recreational cooking class.

Yield: Serves 4

Crab Cakes:

Ingredients

• ½ pound jumbo lump crab meat, picked over (leave in large chunks)
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped red pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 1 egg
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne
• Tabasco, several dashes (to taste)
• 2 to 4 tablespoons bread crumbs, to bind
• Panko breadcrumbs for coating crab cakes
• Canola oil for sautéing
• Lemon wedges for garnish

Instructions

1. Combine crab meat, red pepper, shallots and parsley in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
2. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and egg; season with cayenne and Tabasco.
3. Gently stir into crab mixture and mix to combine.
4. Stir in 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs and if necessary to make the crab cakes hold together, add in another 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs.
5. Form into 4 crab cakes and coat with panko. Refrigerate until ready to fry.
6. Preheat oven to 350º F
7. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and add enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  Add in crab cakes and cook over medium-high heat until the crab cakes are lightly golden, about 2 minutes. Flip crab cakes over and continue cooking another 2 minutes on the other side, or until lightly golden.
8. Transfer to a parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake the crab cakes 10 minutes to cook through.

Spicy Remoulade:

Yield: about 1 pint

• 1½ cups mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons capers, drained and chopped
• 3 tablespoons chopped cornichons
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives
• 1 tablespoon chopped chervil
• 1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
• 1 tablespoon, Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3 to 4 dashes Tabasco

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, capers, cornichons, chives, chervil, tarragon, mustard, anchovy paste, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Cover the sauce with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator until ready to use (overnight, if necessary).

Photo Credit: GW Fins

San Francisco Cioppino

We can thank Italian immigrants for putting “cioppino” on the culinary American map. Chef Renee Marton has generously shared this recipe from her “Fishing for Soups” cooking class.

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 6 anchovies
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 cups celery, medium diced
• 2 cups carrots, medium diced
• 2 medium onions, medium dice
• 2 cups red wine
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1.5 quarts homemade fish or shrimp stock
• 1 28 oz can diced fresh tomatoes, pureed until chunky, sauce-like consistency
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper, ground
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 16 mussels, cleaned and de-bearded
• 16 littleneck clams, cleaned
• 1 lb 16/20 shrimp, shelled and de-veined
• 1.5-2 lbs white, firm-fleshed fish: cod, halibut, monkfish, cut into 2 inch cubes.

Just before serving:

• 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
• 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
• sprinkle of grated nutmeg
• Two baguettes, sliced and baked with dried herbs, salt and olive oil, until toasted.

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil over medium flame. Add onions, carrots, celery and anchovies. Cook until soft but not brown.
2. Add garlic, basil, oregano and thyme. Lower heat and cook for 5 minutes. Add nutmeg, bay leaves and cayenne pepper. Cook for 1 minute.
3. Add red wine. Wait 4 minutes, then add fish stock, red wine vinegar and half the tomatoes. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer and reduce by 40%. Add rest of tomatoes if the broth doesn’t seem thick enough or needs to be a bit sweeter, and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
4. Add clams and simmer for 7 minutes. Reduce heat to just under a simmer and add mussels, fish and shrimp. Cook another 5-6 minutes. The shells should be open and the shrimp and fish pieces opague, but not curled or smaller than when you put them in the pot. Remove any of the mussels or clams that did not open.
5. Just before serving, add parsley, lemon zest and nutmeg. Stir everything together.

Serve in wide soup bowls, with toasted baguette slices. While it is not necessary, Renee likes to serve this cioppino with a drizzle of cilantro/pine nut pesto.

There once was a time when bacon meant breakfast, but these days, both chefs and eaters can’t get enough of this porky indulgence. As with all ingredients, Chef Virginia Monaco knows that quality matters, so she opts for these alternatives to basic, pre-cut bacon.

Baby Kale Carbonara
(Serves 6)

• 1 lb spaghetti
• 6 ounces diced guanciale
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 6 eggs
• 2 ounces grated parmigiano reggiano
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 lb washed baby kale
• salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Cook spaghetti in salted water until al dente. Drain, and put to the side. Reserve some pasta water for your sauce.
2. Warm olive oil in a skillet and add diced guanciale.
3. Cook guanciale until crisp and fat has rendered out.
4. Mix together eggs, cheese, cream, salt and lots of pepper in a bowl.
5. Add warm pasta to the skillet.  Off the heat, pour in egg and cheese mixture, stirring constantly until thickened and creamy. Adjust with pasta water if too thick.
6. Add kale and toss to wilt slightly.
7. To plate, top with some extra cheese and pepper and enjoy!

To learn more about bacon’s many culinary uses, check out our recreational cooking class: ”Beaucoup Bacon“.

By Carly DeFilippo

In the European tradition, aspiring chefs would learn their trade through apprenticeships. Even in this age of professional culinary schools, all ICE graduates fulfill this traditional on-site training as part of their graduation requirements. Daniel Boulud’s DBGB is just one of the Dinex Group restaurants where ICE Culinary Arts and Pastry & Baking Arts students serve as externs. Executive Chef Eli Collins represented the group at a recent cooking demo, featuring DBGB’s “Espagnole” – a fresh chorizo sausage with piperade and basil oil.

Central to the creation of said sausage is Chef Charcutier Aurélien Dufour, who joined Collins for the live demo. Dufour manages the production of more than twenty signature sausages for DBGB alone, in addition to overseeing the entire charcuterie program for Chef Boulud’s other New York locations.

As Chef Dufour began to grind the pork shoulder and belly for the chorizo links, Collins explained that he chose the piperade because it was a traditional recipe, featuring simple ingredients, elevated by skill and technique. While preparing the tomato concassé, for example, he described how different ways of cutting vegetables changes how they cook, affecting the taste of the finished dish. He also reflected on the importance of an apprenticeship, in that it provides the opportunity to perfect a technique or the flavors of a dish through repetition. For example, small details – like cooking tomato paste long enough to reduce its bitterness or gently puncturing sausage with a fine casing pricker – can determine the ultimate success or failure of even the most rustic dish.

As the room filled with the smells of sautéing midnight vegetables, Dufour deftly twisted the fresh sausage into links, with the metered regularity of a true craftsman. It was a pertinent demonstration of the skill one only gains through repetition, of the progression from apprentice to master.

The finished piperade was, as promised, a comforting classic. But far from the simple home-cooking of France’s Basque Country, it had transformed into a restaurant-worthy dish. Even under the unfamiliar time constraints (and the watchful eye of forty aspiring chefs), Chefs Eli and Aurélien produced a truly enviable plate.

Piperade

Ingredients

• 2 roma tomatoes
• 3 tbsp chorizo oil
• 5 piquillo peppers
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium red onions, cut in large dice
• 1 tbsp piment d’espelette
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 4 red bell peppers, peeled, seeded and cut in large dice
• 4 yellow bell peppers, peeled, seeded and cut in large dice
• 5 piquillo peppers, seeded and cut in large dice
• 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 1 tbsp chopped oregano
• salt and ground white pepper

To serve:

• 6 fresh chorizo sausage links
  
• 1/4 cup basil oil

Instructions:

1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil over high heat, and set a bowl of ice water on the side.
2. Using a small knife, remove the stem of the tomatoes and score the ends. Boil tomatoes for 10 seconds, then chill in the ice water.
3. Peel the tomatoes, cut in half, remove the seeds and cut the remaining flesh into a small dice.
4. Warm the chorizo oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and gently sweat for 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Add espelette pepper and paprika and cook, stirring to toast, 1 to 2 minutes.
6. Add the tomato paste, peppers and continue to cook for about 10 minutes, until softened.
7. Stir in the sherry vinegar, basil, oregano and diced tomatoes, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
8. To serve, grill or sear the sausages in a large saute pan until cooked through. Serve on top of warm piperade with drizzled basil oil for garnish.

When Chef Chad Pagano isn’t rustling up wild game for his new radio show, he’s usually elbow-deep in flour, instructing our Pastry & Baking Arts students. But this morning, he rose early to share his talents with another audience, on CBS New York’s “2 In the Kitchen”.

From light and airy vol au vent pastries and brioche french toast, to butter poached lobster with asparagus and poached eggs, Chef Chad whipped up a gourmet breakfast that truly lived up to its 5-star claim.

BUTTER POACHED LOBSTER with POACHED EGGS, SAUTÉED ASPARAGUS, HOLLANDAISE SAUCE and PUFF PASTRY VOL AU VENTS

1. Prepare Vol Au Vents

Preheat oven to 375 F

Place a sheet of commercial, all-butter puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. Paint the sheet with an egg wash. Fold in half or layer with a second layer of puff pastry depending how many pieces you require. Cut out desired size and shape Vol Au Vents with a cookie cutter. Within the cut piece press a slightly small cutter halfway through the dough to score a rim. Chill for 20 minutes, arrange on parchment lined pan and bake until golden brown (about 15 minutes depending on size and shape). Allow to cool and scoop out center of dough and fill when ready to serve.

2. Butter Poached Lobster

• 4 pounds unsalted butter, clarified
• 4 to 8 Maine lobster tails
• 4 garlic cloves
• 4 lemons, juiced

Place lobster tails in a large pot and cover with the warm clarified butter. Add the garlic and poach on low heat until the shell turns color and the meat is cooked, about a half hour. Allow to cool briefly and remove meat from the shell. Slice the lobsters’ tail meat about a quarter-inch thick or into bite sized pieces

3. Hollandaise sauce – Yields 2 cups

• 6 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 10 tablespoons (5 ounces) unsalted butter

Slowly melt the butter in a small pot. Add the egg yolks, lemon juice and salt into a blender. Blend on high until light in color, about 45 seconds. Turn your blender to low and slowly add the warm melted butter to yolk mixture. Blend for about 30 more seconds and taste. Adjust salt and lemon juice and briefly re-blend. Store in a warm spot until ready to use.

4. Sautéed Asparagus

• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed
• 1½ tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint

Heat the oil in a wide sauté pan on medium-high heat. When the oil gets hot, add the asparagus and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 5 minutes until deep green and fragrant. Put on plate and top with lime juice and fresh mint.

5. Poached Eggs

• Fresh eggs
• 1 to 2 teaspoons white vinegar

In a medium sauce pan bring 2½ quarts of water to a slight simmer. Add the vinegar. Working with the eggs one at a time, crack them into a small cup, and gently drop the egg into the water and with a slotted spoon nudge the egg whites closer to the yolk. Each egg will take 2 to 3 minutes to cook. Remove egg with the slotted spoon and serve.

By Carly DeFilippo

Chef Chris Gesualdi is no slouch. Last night, he whipped 16 novice chefs into shape, prepping a 10-course New Year’s Eve hors d’oeuvres menu in just under three hours. Not only was it one of the most organized cooking classes I’ve taken, it was also one of the most intriguing.

Gesualdi is not only a veritable fountain of culinary wisdom (he’s logged serious kitchen time with Thomas Keller, and worked at some of New York’s most renown restaurants), but a genuinely curious cook. Called “The Scavenger” by his colleagues, he enjoys working with odd bits leftover from other classes. Parsley stems? Throw them in “sachet d’épices” to season your broth. Organ meats? Turn them into such delicacies such as a foie gras terrine. And when it comes to troubleshooting a broken mayonnaise or keeping your mousse from deflating, Chef Chris is your guy.

When learning from a great teacher, it’s the tips that aren’t in the recipe packet that stick with you. Sure, we made a killer tarragon emulsion last night, but – more importantly – we learned how to properly care for the chinois through which it is strained. I couldn’t be more excited to whip up another batch of brandade, but if my guests aren’t big salt cod fans, I can also substitute a combination of sole, lobster and scallops. And that immersion blender I was so keen on purchasing? I’d actually get a smoother puree in a high-quality blender like a Vita-Prep.

Students shred pork for one of Chef Chris’ cocktail snacks.

In short, with Chef Chris, we didn’t learn how to follow a recipe – we learned how to cook. So tonight, when I’m assembling these hors d’oeuvres to share with my New Year’s guests, I won’t have my eyes glued to a piece of paper. I’ll taste, season and combine ingredients instinctually, because – as Chef Chris humbly insisted – it’s all up to the preference of the chef.

Foie Gras Mousse – Garnished with Minced Black Truffles

Recipe by Chef Chris Gesualdi

Ingredients

• 2 pounds foie gras terrine
• 2 sheets gelatin
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• Minced black truffles, as needed
• Pre-baked pastry shells (or toasted, sliced baguette)

Instructions

1. Place gelatin sheets in water to “bloom”.
2. Puree foie gras in food processor.
3. Remove gelatin from water, squeeze out extra water. Place in a small sauce pan with 1/4 cream to gently heat and dissolve.
4. When gelatin is dissolved, gradually add cream mixture to (running) food processor.
5. Gradually add 1/2 cup heavy cream to food processor.
6. When evenly mixed, remove foie mousse from processor, and refrigerate until chilled.
7. Pipe mousse into pre-baked pastry shells or onto toasted baguette slices.
8. Garnish with minced black truffles.

Notes
To lighten recipe, you can use veal or duck stock instead of cream.

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. Today, 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.

Swedish 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.