Our Spoonfuls Blog

This is a delicious, yet easy, recipe to share with that special someone rhis Valentine's Day. Bon Appetit!

www.thegourmetspoon.com

2 cups halved fresh strawberries

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Optional: 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 cup heavy cream                                         

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

4 each 1/2 thick slices of pound cake

2 tablespoons amaretto liqueur

Toss the strawberries with the balsamic vinegar and let stand at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes. After the strawberries have marinated, check for sweetness, adding the sugar if desired.In a large bowl using an electric mixer, whisk the cream to soft peaks. Add the vanilla and confectioners' sugar. Whip until stiff peaks. Set aside.

Using a serrated knife, slice pound cake lengthwise into 1/2-inch thick slices. You will only need 4 slices. Using a 2-inch cookie cutter, cut out circles from each cake slice. Line up 2 high ball glasses and place 1 cake circle in the bottom of each. Brush cakes with amaretto liqueur. Add 1/2 of marinated strawberries and spread evenly. Using a different tablespoon, add 1/2 of whipped cream and spread evenly.

Add a second layer of cake, pressing down lightly. Brush with amaretto liqueur. Add remaining strawberries and spread evenly. Top with remaining whipped cream, spreading evenly.

Cover trifles with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to one hour before serving.

Hi All,

2011 was one of the most interesting years I have experienced in a long, long time.

In June, I was given the opportunity to puchase The Seasoned Chef Cooking School, as Susan Stevens made the decision to retire.

Then, in July, in the midst of all of the negotiations and due diligence that goes with a business purchase, we dropped everything and went to Modesto, California to cater my niece's wedding, which, of course, was our wedding present to her and my brother. Between the driving (we had to bring our own equipment), the planning and preparation, it was 10 whirlwind days. The food was spectacular; but the event exhausting. The menu follows this blog.

Before we took over the school, we had to plan the Fall 2011 calendar, which listed 66 classes and 8 instructors. Then we started taking reservations and enrollments, all the while running The Gourmet Spoon private events.

On September 1, we were handed the keys to the school and started the next phase of my culinary journey. With few bumps along the way, we had a great Fall schedule of classes and received many compliments from the students for the smooth transition and the new class ideas. As soon as we got the hang of things, it was time to start the Winter/Spring 2012 calendar of classes.

Finally, the holidays came and went, but not without one last treat. I called my mentor, Chef Henri Bergmans, who I hadn't spoken to for about 5 years. It was great to hear his Belgian accent and find out that he had been tracking my adventures online, so he knew about the school and our recent successes. It was the icing on the cake for me, as he has been retired for 10 years and finally not cooking every day of his life. His food was classic and beautiful in every respect.

So here we go for 2012, a whole new set of classes to go with our standards, and already a host of clients, looking for private classes and team building events. We start with our tires spinning and look to have hours filled with good food and warm comraderie, in classes, team building events and special catered meals. Come see us!

Bon Appetit,

Chef Dan

Gourmet Antipasto Display Station

Elaborate Imported and Domestic Cheese Display

Baked Brie, Grape Leaf Boursin, Dutch Gouda,

Midnight Moon Chevre, Smoked Cheddar

Collection of Italian Meats, Vegetable Jardinière, Gourmet Olives

Roasted Vegetables, Wild Mushroom Hummus

Whole Grain Mustard, Roast Garlic Aioli

Assorted Flatbreads and Crackers

Fresh Seasonal Melons, Berries, and Grapes

 

Passed Hors d’Oeuvres

Savory Terra Chips

Korean Smoked Garlic and Ricotta Cheese

 

Parmesan Olive Shortbreads

Parsley Pesto and Chevre

 

Warm Dates Stuffed with Honeyed Walnuts and Roquefort

 

Savory Gougeres

Herbed Puffs filled with Gruyere, Prosciutto and Fig Chutney

 

Sourdough Crostinis

Manchego, Olive Tapenade, Tomato Jus

 

Shrimp, Scallop and Melon Skewers

Orange Glaze

 

A Trio of Chilled Summer Soup Shooters Station

Gazpacho with Shrimp garnish, Honeydew Pepper, Champagne Peach

Served in Shot Glasses

 

Chef Attended Station

Herb Roasted Tenderloin of Beef

Seared Ahi, Hot Smoked Salmon and Marinated Mussels

A Charcuterie of Assorted Pickles and Housemade Relishes, Breadsticks and Rolls

 

Roasted New and Fingerling Potato Bar

With an Assortment of Toppings

To include

Roasted Tomato Marinara Sauce, Grated Cheeses

Bacon, Italian Sausage, Pecorino/Romano, Roasted Peppers and Onions

Sour Cream, Green Onions, Pico de Gallo

 

Rosemary Roasted Almonds

Served in several small bowls at each table

 

 

 

 

We wish all of our students and clients a gourmet holiday season, filled with delicious cuisine, and loving family and friends. From our kitchen to yours, Happy Holidays!

We are now in the midst of the Winter Spring 2012 class calender for our newest venture, The Seasoned Chef Cooking School. So, think about this:try to get informationa and dates of availability from some of Denver's most talented, busiest and best communicators of culianry skills, then coordinate all this over the course of a 4 month schedule, with new menus and ideas.

It is a challenge, but the payoff is a whole host of great events for the school.

While our new students gravitate to Basic Skills, Knife Skills, Mile High Baking and our other regularly scheduled classes, students who love the comraderie and excitement of new teachers and class formats love new menus and concepts.

Next year, we will feature Chef Keith Jones and his Eatertainment events once a month;Chef Deb Traylor, our food science mastermind, is offering molecular cuisine; Elise Wiggins returns with Panzano favorites and a night of delicious duck;Andrew Lubotty will be offering a whole host of new classes and Cheryl Rojic will be turning up the heat on new, flavorful and healthy alternatives to the American diet.

The calender will be ready by Mid December, hopefully earlier. If you are already on our email list, you will be notified when it comes out. You can add your email to us by going on to www.theseasonedchef.com and requesting to be added. Either way, we are looking forward to a whole series of great evenings at the school.

Bon Appetit,

Chef Dan

Today's class was new and unique for our school. Chefs Deb Traylor and Amy Hoyt met with a group of intrepid cooks at the Cherry Creek Farmers Market this morning.

Their goal was to explore the unique and special foods offered there, then go back to the school and cook it. There were no recipes, just ideas and they assembled some of the best dishes I have had in recent memory. There was stuffed Italian butternut squash with sweet Italian sausage, fennel seed and Roman chard; and a raw, shredded Brussels sprout salad with a lemon vinaigrette, just to name a couple of the dishes. The students had a great time sharing the vast knowledge the chefs brought, and enjoyed every bite.

For 2012, we will be offering this experience once a month during the Farmers Market season with parfticipation from all of the great instructors we inherited with the purchase of the school.

Be on the lookout for new classes being presented as we put together a whole new class schedule for next year, with many new exciting ideas and formats.

After  12 years of conducting cooking classes for so many other businesses that I have lost count, I finally have my dream: my own real live brick and mortar (literally) cooking school, The Seasoned Chef. The school has enjoyed 18 years of success and numerous awards, offering wonderful classes with great teachers for home and recreational cooks of all ages.

The best part of this dream for me has been the staff. I am blessed with many of the same instructors and the same assistants that have been at the school for years. Also, I have received wonderful support from many of the regular Seasoned Chef students who continue to patronize the school, signing up for multiple classes and voicing their support and encouragement for this new chapter in my long culinary career.

We opened the Fall/Winter Session with sold-out classes starting with Rollin' Sushi with Chef Andrew Lubotty of The Avenue Grill and Harry Potter's Treats with Chef Amy Hoyt, then completed the first two weeks with the most popular class I have ever offered, Basic Skills Every Cook Should Know.

We have added a few new instructors, long-time  friends with incredible and diverse culinary skills, who have lent their talents to offer new and exciting classes at the school. I welcome Devin Lamma, Deborah Traylor, Cathy Harokopis and my long, long time buddy, the amazing Keith Jones. Keith did his first cooking demonstration for the school, Eatertainment, entertaining and cooking some extremely delicious dishes. The recipes used simple techniques and innovative combinations to create a most memorable evening. Just about everyone in attendance told me the same thing at the end of the evening, “Please bring him back soon!”

Our next test is upon us as The Gourmet Spoon enters into a very busy Fall schedule of events.

Let me leave you all with this thought. I’ve never been more excited and more tired at the same time since I was given my first executive chef job over 23 years ago. What a long, strange trip it’s been...

...and continues to be…

I sincerely thank you all for your tremendous support!

Bon Appetit!

Chef Dan

 

 

I'm excited to announce that four of my best friends in the business have honored me by accepting my invitation to teach during the Fall/Winter Session at The Seasoned Chef Cooking School.

Keith Jones, the Champagne Chef, has been one of my closest friends in the culinary industry for nearly twenty years. Keith is one of the most engaging culinary personalities I have ever encountered. You can't help getting caught up in his excitement and enthusiasm while he teaches and you always walk away from him with a smile on your face and new cooking knowledge to savor. Chef Keith is teaching Eatertainment on September 15, a demonstration cooking class that will entertain as much as it educates.

Cathy Harokopis lives in Laramie Wyoming and I met her many years ago when I was an instructor at The Cooking School of the Rockies in Boulder. She has become a very close friend to both me and my wife, Jayne. She has mad skills in the kitchen and delights us with stories of her culinary travels. Her class, Holy Mole on November 9th, will teach us all about Mole (pronounced molay), the popular sauce style of Central America.

Chef Devin Lamma, is one of the most interesting young men I have ever met. He can engage in interesting conversation on so many different topics including many levels of natural food products. He nows clean from dirty when it comes to all forms of food : cheese, bread, produce, seafood…the list goes on and on. Meet Devin at The Seasoned Chef on November 17 when he instructs us all in Falling into Organics and learn all those things you didn’t know about natural foods.

Chef Deb Traylor has one of the most fun personalities out there and she is a food science brainiac. I’ve never met anyone who’s combined food science in incredible culinary artistry like Deb.  She is teaching two classes this fall and winter at The Seasoned Chef: Beast Feast: The Art of Cooking Wild Game on September 26^th and The Farmer’s Market Experience on October 15^th which begins at 9:00 am at The Cherry Creek Farmer’s Market.

There are a handful of foods that have sustained us since time immemorial – breads, grains, olive oil, beans…and figs. Although dried figs can be found year-round, they are harvested in the late summer or early fall and now is the time to find delicious fresh figs at your favorite grocer. Whole Foods has a beautiful selection. Figs have a unique rich flavor and they provide more fiber than any other fruit or vegetable. They also carry appreciable quantities of Vitamins A, B, and C.

• Did you know that the fig is actually a flower and not a fruit? The seeds are the actual fruit.
• Two of the most popular varietals are the Mission fig and the Calimyrna fig.
• Mission figs were brought to San Diego by Spanish missionary fathers in 1759.
• Smyrna figs were brought to the San Joachin Valley from the Turkish in 1882 and renamed Calimyrna in honor of their new home.

The Gourmet Spoon Recipe Box
www.thegourmetspoon.com

• 4 each 5 oz salmon filets, boneless and skinless
• 1 lb red potatoes
• 7 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 large fennel bulb
• 6 tablespoons pitted and thinly sliced Nicoise olives
• 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 oz white wine vinegar
• 1 egg, slightly beaten

Rinse salmon with cold water and pat dry with paper toweling. Wash and slice the potatoes very thin, using a mandolin if available. Heat a large skillet and add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. When hot, add the potatoes and season lightly. Cook approximately 4 minutes, until the potatoes begin to brown slightly. Transfer to a platter and let cool.

Remove the tops of the fennel bulb, leaving only the round root end. Slice in half and remove the core. Julienne the fennel across the ribs. Place in a pot of cold water with a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Blanch 2-3 minutes, until fennel is tender. Drain through a colander and lightly rinse with cold water to remove the excess heat. Allow to drain and cool.

Lay 4 sheets of parchment paper on a work surface. Fold each sheet in half and reopen them. Using 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, grease one half of each sheet, 2 inches from the edges. Top with equal amounts of red potatoes. Place 1 salmon filet on top of the potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Top the salmon with equal amounts of the julienned fennel, olives, Parmesan, and lemon zest. Mix the lemon juice and vinegar together and lightly sprinkle each salmon stack. Then drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil per each stack. Brush the edges of the parchment with the beaten egg. Fold the top of the sheet over, then crimp the edges by folding over 2 times each side. Lay the packages on a sheet pan and place in the oven.

Bake 12-17 minutes until the paper is inflated and lightly browned. Remove and place on dinner plates. Tear the top of the package open and serve immediately. Serves 4

Recently, I bought a special edition of Food and Wine magazine called “Chef Recipes Made Easy,” featuring menus from some of today’s most celebrated chefs. I looked in the recipe index and saw Goat Cheese Truffles by Mario Batali. Mario is known for his innovation and whimsy, so immediate thoughts of exotic flavors began dancing through my head. Was this going to be a new twist on chocolate truffles, now mixed with goat cheese, for an amazingly flavored dessert? Did he have black truffles from Provence delicately minced and incorporated into a delicious appetizer? What fabulous new cooking idea was I about to learn? All of these thoughts were swimming around as I hunted for the recipe. But when I finally found it, my taste buds sank. What a disappointment! What Mario called Goat Cheese Truffles was what I prepared for a wedding reception the previous week: goat cheese rolled into little balls and coated with poppy seeds and paprika. I complemented mine with parsley pesto and parmesan crisps instead of poppy seeds and paprika. No doubt both versions of this appetizer are tasty and interesting. My mistake, however, was calling them Goat Cheese Balls with Parsley Pesto and Parmesan Crisps. Not nearly as exciting and exotic as Goat Cheese Truffles!

When a chef writes a recipe for publication, he or she is trying to make everything as exciting and innovative as possible in order to sell the book. All too often, however, when we come across these recipes, we become intimidated by the verbiage and never get past the name of the dish. But if you have good basic cooking skills, you can read through the terms the chefs use to make their recipe appealing and exacting and realize you already possess the talent to prepare the dish.

For instance, “herb-crusted” usually means to season a meat or seafood generously with dried herbs and spices before sautéing or roasting. So, if you can sauté or roast, you can easily prepare Pan Roasted Herbs de Provence-Crusted Salmon Filet. “Aioli” is simply mayonnaise with garlic. “Pan-seared” is just another way of saying sauté. “Nage” just means a flavored broth. “Infused” just means added. “Napoleon” used to be a classic dessert of crispy layers alternated with creamy filling. Now it’s anything stacked tall on a plate. My all time favorite was a recipe called Vitello a la Napolitano, which when translated is simply pasta with meat sauce. Are you getting the blather?

Do you know what Tomato Concassé is? It’s peeled, seeded, juiced and diced tomatoes. But it certainly sounds better to say tomato concassé, doesn’t it? You’ve probably “caramelized” onions without even knowing it. This just means cooking the onions in the pan until they brown. If you can make pancakes, you can make Wild Rice Griddle Cakes or Chili Corn Cakes. The Italians name every shape of pasta there is, like fusilli, rigatoni, orzo, linguine, etc. No matter what the shape, the French call it all macaroni.

This sounds rather exotic, doesn’t it? Cilantro Lime Essence. The ingredients are water, Vietnamese fish sauce, sugar, cilantro, rice wine vinegar, and minced carrots, garlic and jalapeno, plus a little lime juice. How do you prepare this fabulous “Essence?” The directions state “mix all ingredients together.” You can do that, can’t you? I have a recipe for a Nectarine Red Onion Relish with the same number of ingredients all chopped and ready to go, and the directions again simply say, combine all ingredients.

When you see an exciting recipe for the first time, the terms the chef use will often sound intimidating, mysterious, and time consuming. Don’t let this put you off. Read through the entire recipe and look for the techniques you already possess. Once you’ve gotten past the verbiage, you will most likely see that you have the ability to prepare the dish just as the chef designed it, and with far less effort than you anticipated.

To assist you in decoding some of the chef speak blather, an excellent book every cook should have on hand is the Food Lover’s Companion by Sharon Tyler Herbst. It’s published through Barron’s Educational Series and can be found at any bookstore and many cook stores. I highly recommend it!

And, of course, I’m always available via email, chefdan@thegourmetspoon.com to act as your translator!

Bon Appetit!

Chef Dan