De Gustibus Cooking Class with Alex Guarnaschelli: Amazing!

Welcome foodies! About a week ago I went to a cooking class with Alex Guarnaschelli at De Gustibus Cooking School. Alex appears on the Food Netwrok on Alex's Day Off, The Cooking Loft, and Chopped. She also is the executive chef at Butter and The Darby, both located in Manhattan Alex is incredible and her personality is great. She is hilarious and also knows how to make delicious food. Here is what she made:

1. Leeks Vinaigrette
2. Braised Cabbage
3. Basmati Rice Pilaf
4. Chicken with Barbeque Sauce
5. Chocolate Crostata

The first dish that Alex made was the Leeks Vinaigrette which was delicious the leeks were great alone. With some bread crumbs and a few hard-boiled eggs on top this dish was out of this world. One tip Alex told the class was to get the most out of the brine from a jar of capers (which was in the vinaigrette), she puts all the brine in a separate jar and refills the jar of capers with water and vinegar to get more brine. Another tip Alex said was to buy bread crumbs from the supermarket and fry them in a pan with olive oil and tarragon to jazz them up.

The next dish was the Braised Cabbage. The Braised Cabbage was outstanding. Alex used Savoy Cabbage but said that you can use Brussels Sprouts but not Red Cabbage.

The third dish that Alex made was the Basmati Rice Pilaf. This dish was more of a side dish but still very delicious. Alex said this is a "go to" dish for her. She told us how she loved rice. Alex said that when making she rice pilaf you should season the dish with salt in layers.

The fourth dish that Alex made was one of her mother's recipes. It was Chicken with Barbeque Sauce. This barbeque sauce is so incredible and went great with the chicken. The sauce was made with ketchup, cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, dry mustard (preferably Coleman's brand), Dijon mustard, chili powder (preferably Spice Island, NOT McCormick because it tastes too much like chicken broth), fresh ginger, garlic, lemons, and the carcase and neck of the chicken was stewed in the sauce as well.

The final dish was a Chocolate Crostata. This dish was really scrumptious.  The dough was buttery and was crispy. The ganache was very chocolatey and decadent. Alex said that she always puts vanilla in her chocolate because a long time ago vanilla was only made to flavor chocolate but now it has become a flavoring that stands on its own in many dishes.

During the class Alex was a lot of fun and had a great personality. She said that she is coming out with her first cookbook early in 2012. Also she told everyone her favorite places to eat. They were Hearth, August, La Grenouille, Momofuku (Alex said that she loves David Chang), Soto, and Annisa. Alex also told amazing and hilarious stories. She said that she used to want to be a Rockette when she was a kid. She also wouldn't let anyone take pictures while she was cooking because she would lose focus. It was really funny because every once in a while someone would take a picture and she wold give them the stare.

Alex Guarnaschelli's cooking class was a lot of fun and I don't think I have ever laughed so much before at a cooking class. NYC Restaurant Week is coming up, July 11 - July 24. Check back soon for the list of participants as well as restaurant reviews and food events happening in New York City and Long Island. Bon Apetit!

-Mike