Thomas Keller: A chef for all seasons

The LA Times new series of monthly "Master Class" colums features some of America's best chefs shareing there tricks of the trade.
The series starts with a bang, Thomas Keller (the chef and owner of the French Laundry in Yountville, Calif., and Per Se in Manhattan, both of which have earned three stars from the Michelin guide, as well as Ad Hoc in Yountville and Bouchon Bistros in Yountville, Las Vegas and Beverly Hills.)
In the months to come; Nacy Silverton of Mozza and founder of La Brea Bakery, Tom Colicchio of Craft and the telveision series "Top Chef", Sang Yoon of Father's Office and Lukshon and so many more.

Flow the link below for the full article, recipes and video.
Thomas Keller: A chef for all seasons

The Perfect Easter Ham!!

For those of you that missed out on my Easter class, here is my recipe for the perfect glazed ham.
I love my pork products and this ham tops my list. With tons of flavor and a crisp, sweet crust. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Glazed Ham

With Maple Dijon Sauce
Serves 6 to 8

1 (5 to 6 lb) Smoked, spiral ham

Glaze:
½ cup Dijon mustard
½ cup Brown Sugar
¼ cup Honey
1/8 tsp Fresh nutmeg
¼ tsp Ground pepper

Sugar Crust:
1 cup Raw sugar

Maple Dijon Sauce:
1/3 cup Maple Syrup
1/3 cup Dijon mustard

Submerge ham in water and soak for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line a roasting pan with foil.
Place ham, flat side down, into roasting pan and cover the ham completely with foil.
Place in oven and cook for 1 hour.
Remove ham from oven and increase oven temperature to 400°F.
In a bowl stir together glaze ingredients.
Uncover the ham, trim excess fat, score ham in a diamond pattern and coat ham with the glaze mixture; making sure to get into the diamond scores.
Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, basting half way through.
Remove ham from the oven and press the 1 cup of sugar to the outside of the ham; add a thin layer of sugar and melt with a torch. Heat the sugar until a crust forms, and turns a dark caramel color and repeat (adding a thin layer of sugar and torching).

Rest the ham for 10 minutes, before carving*.
In a bowl stir together maple syrup and mustard, till smooth.
Slice ham and serve with sauce.

* I prefer to serve my ham cold. If doing so torch the sugar crust just before serving to ensure a good crust.

Cooking for Lovers with Chef Jenn, Session 124

Day at The Docks 2011...Pan Seared Corvina with Citrus Butter and Sauted Swiss Chard

I recently spent the day at H and M landing in Point Loma. I was there for Day at The Docks. A wonderful day to celebrate our local sport fishing community. For me it was a day to help make and sell hundreds of fish taco with my friends from Catalina Offshore Products. The tacos were just a fun way to raise money for the Monarch School (at amazing place that helps to "prepare at-risk children to achieve success through the provision of an accredited education, enrichment programs, social skills training, support services and basic necessities").
But I could never just spend my time "slinging" fish tacos. I had to have some fun teaching. I was invited to do a cooking demonstration on one of the many beautiful sport fishing boats. I did a simple local corvina with a citrus butter and some sauted spinach and swiss chard. Here are the recipes.

Seared Corvina with Cirtus Butter
Serves 4

4 (6 oz) Corvina fish fillets, skinless
2 tbsp Peanut oil
4 tsp Ground coriander
2 tsp Garlic salt
Pepper

Brush fish fillets with peanut oil.
Sprinkle fish with coriander, garlic salt and pepper.
Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium- high heat.
Add fish fillet, flesh side down to the pan.
Cook, without moving, until brown crust forms, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Flip, top fish with citrus butter and cover pan: cook for 5 minutes or until fish is just cooked through

Citrus Butter
Makes 1 cup

1 tbsp Fresh lemon juice
2 tsp Lemon zest
2 tsp Lime zest
1 tsp Orange zest
½ lb Unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ tsp Kosher salt

In a bowl stir together lemon juice, zest, butter, and salt. Roll into a log (using parchment paper) and refrigerate till cold and solid.

Sautéed Spinach and Swiss Chard
Serves 4

2 tbsp Olive oil
2 tbsp Shallots, sliced thin
3 cups Fresh spinach, washed tough stems remove
3 cups Swiss Chard, soaked, tough separated- (stems chopped into small pieces and leaves coarsely chopped)
¼ cup Water
1 tbsp Honey
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat; add shallots and cook about 30 second.
Add water and chard stems. Cover and reduce heat to low, cook for 5 minutes. Remove cover and add chard leaves, season with salt and pepper ;cook for 5 to 7 minutes over medium heat or until chard just starts to become tender.
Add spinach and honey, stir and cover. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until spinach is tender.
Taste for seasoning and serve.

Chef Jenn's class in La Costa/Carlsbad and Del Mar

NEW CLASS~French Country Cooking Part 1~
04/20/2011

Come join Chef Jenn Felmley, Certified Culinary Nutritionist and caterer on a journey to France!

French country cooking is based on seasonality and the beauty of French cuisine, flavorful fresh herbs and simple ingredients. The class will showcase the amazing fresh seasonal produce that San Diego has to offer, cooked in the beatiful style of French Country cooking.This 4 week series will give you what you need to create amazing French dishes in your own home.

At Torrey Pines High School
4 weeks of cooking classes for
$143
Click here to register

~Spa Cuisine Workshop~
04/21/2011

Have you ever wanted to cook like they do at local spa’s like Cal A Vie or Rancho La Puerta? Then here is your chance.

Flavor, satisfying, healthy and good for you food!

Come join Chef Jenn Felmley, culinary nutritionist and caterer, for this hands-on class. She will teach you how to cook (and eat!) 2 delicious meals. Each class will showcase cooking, cutting, presentation and various culinary techniques
Come try some of great new recipes and some with bold new flavors.


At La Costa Canyon High School
2 weeks of Hands-on Classes for $83
Click here to register


and more in the months to come;

• Italian Trattoria Cooking 05/05/2011
• French Country Cooking Part 2 05/18/2011
• Gourmet Vegetarian 06/02/2011

To register online go to www.sdadulted.com

Or call (760) 753-7073 ext. 5103
For any other questions please contact Chef Jenn at (858) 212- 9054

Cultivating Food Justice 2001~ Unlocking Your CSA Bakset

I spent a wonderful morning participating in Cultivating Food Justice; San Diegan will came together in City Heights to attend workshops, share knowledge, and discuss the sustainability, accessibility, and the health of our food system in San Diego and around the world.

The 2 amazing cooking demonstrations should not be limited to those who could attend! For those out you unable to attend the event here is the recipes and some of the information I discussed int class.
UNLOCKING YOUR CSA
San Diego has a CSA for everyone and there is a CSA right for you, check out these websites to find your perfect match (keys to look for- size of the box, drop off points, contents of the box, organic or non-organic, farm, etc.). Edible San Diego Magazine has an amazing list of CSA's, http://www.ediblecommunities.com/sandiego/markets-and-csas/local-csas.htm.


Suzie’s Farm- http://www.suziesfarm.com/index.php?/site/sanDiegoCSA/


Be Wise Ranch- http://www.bewiseranch.com/csa.htm

Garden of Eden Organics- http://www.goeorganics.com/

Tierra Miguel Foundation Farm- http://www.tierramiguelfarm.org/

Seabreeze Organics- http://www.seabreezed.com/

Beef CSA!! Green-Beef CSA-www.eatgreenbeef.com

Recipes:

Cold Beet Soup

Serves 6

1 ½ lb Whole beets, tops removed boiled or roasted* till soft, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp Olive oil
1/3 cup Shallot, peeled and chopped
1 cup Celery, chopped
1 tbsp Agave syrup
1 cup Water
1 cup Cranberry juice, no sugar added
2 cups Vegetable broth
1 tbsp Red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp Fresh herbs (dill, chives, etc)
¼ cup Crema or sour cream

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add shallots and celery. Sauté till shallots are translucent. Add water and cook until soft, approximately 10 minutes.
Stir in agave syrup.
In a food processor or blender place beets, cranberry juice, vegetable broth, red wine vinegar, shallots, celery and cooking liquid; process till smooth.
Season with salt and pepper. Add water till desired texture is reached.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving, for flavors to blend.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with sour cream and herbs.

*To roast beets-

Preheat oven to 400°F. Trim greens from beets. Cut off and discard stems. Coarsely chop leaves and reserve. Wrap each beet in foil. Place beets directly on oven rack and roast until tender when pierced with fork, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Cool. Peel beets, then cut each into 8 wedges. Place beets in medium bowl.

Greens and Swiss Chard

Serves 4

2 tbsp Olive oil
2 cloves Garlic, minced
3 cup Fresh spinach, washed tough stems remove
5 cups Swiss Chard, Monarch Kale, Collard Greens, and Beet Greens; soaked, tough separated- (stems chopped into small pieces and leaves coarsely chopped)
¼ cup Water
1 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Pine nuts
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat and garlic, cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds and add water and chard stems. Cover and reduce heat to low, cook for 5 minutes. Remove cover and add chard and other greens, season with salt and pepper ; cook for 5 to 7 minutes over medium heat or until chard just starts to become tender. Add spinach and honey; stir and cover.
Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until spinach is tender.
Add pine nuts and taste for seasoning and serve.

Strawberry, Arugula, Sprouts, Fennel, and Carrot Salad with Cider Shallot Vinaigrette

Makes 3/4 cup dressing

2 tbsp Cider vinegar
1 tbsp Shallot, minced
2 tsp Honey
½ cup Olive oil

“Shake” together vinegar, honey, and shallots.
Then add oil and until combined well.
Season salad with salt and pepper; toss together salad ingredients and dressing.