De Gustibus Cooking Class with Melissa Clark

Hello foodies! A few days ago I went to Melissa Clark's De Gustibus Class. (I also prepped for this class in the De Gustibus kitchen. To see the behind the scenes post of De Gustibus click here) Melissa was so sweet and interesting to listen to.

Melissa is a home-cook who wanted to create dishes that were fast and delicious meals for families. The first dish she made was the Crispy Brown Butter Mushroom Crostini. The brown butter on the mushrooms were so rich and nutty. For a mild, sweet garlic flavor, Melissa added a smashed garlic into the mushrooms rather than minced. If it was minced the garlic flavor would be more sharp. To make the brown butter all you need is to melt  butter. When it's ready it can be heard. At first the butter will be loud and sizzling and then when it gets quiet the brown butter is done. What is happening is the water cooks out of the butter and caramelizes. A great idea is to put brown butter on popcorn.

The next dish was the Raw Kale Salad with Anchovy-Date Dressing. The dressing was wonderful on the salad. It was sweet, salty, and had a little chewy bite with the dates. The dish was incredible.

The third dish was the Shrimp with Capers, Feta & Dill. Everything was sautéed so the cheese melted in beautifully. The dish was very good.

The next thing Melissa made was the Braised Pork Shoulder with Tomatoes, Cinnamon, and Olives over Polenta. The pork was so good and the olives added a great brine-like taste to the dish. The polenta was very smooth and delicious.

For dessert, Melissa made the Olive Oil-Almond Cake with Vanilla Mascarpone. The cake was very moist and the mascarpone was just enough to make the dish unbelievable. The olive oil-almond flavor was subtle and great. She shared with the class how easy it is to make vanilla extract. To do it you must half the vanilla beans, pour brandy on top, and let it sit. After two weeks squeeze them into the jar. You must have at least three beans but the more there are, the more flavor there will be.

Melissa Clark's class was a lot of fun, with a lot of great food. Check out our Facebook page for more pictures!

-Mike 

De Gustibus Cooking School: Behind the Scenes

Welcome back foodies! On March 19th I had the opportunity to come into Melissa Clark's De Gustibus Class to prepare the food for the whole day. When I walked into De Gustibus's kitchen, excitement overtook me. I was greeted by the general manager, Amaral, who invited me to come in weeks ago. Next the wonderful owner of De Gustibus, Sal Rizzo, came over to say hello. Emmy, who is the office manager of De Gustibus, welcomed me too. De Gustibus Cooking School is such a well-oiled machine, run by such amazing people.

Amaral gave me my chefs jacket, an apron and a shot of espresso to get us going. Then we began cooking. We were preparing for a class between 30 and 40 people. In the first hour, we cleaned and cut mushrooms, cleaned and cut kale, and made an incredible anchovy-date dressing. Around noon another De Gustibus chef, Linda, came in to help prepare with us. She worked on making an Olive Oil Almond Cake while Amaral butchered some pork shoulder and I cut and toasted bread for the crostini. Next Linda prepped the shrimp and Amaral cooked the pork shoulder. I began Melissa's mise en place for her demonstration.

Melissa arrived at De Gustibus at around 3:00 with her assistant, Sarah. They checked all the dishes to make sure everything was up to their standards. Everyone at De Gustibus is so organized and very professional. We actually finished prepping at 4:00 for a 5:30 class. When everything was finished, Linda had a chicken roasting and everyone ate together. Since the prep was complete, Melissa and Sarah went shopping in Macy's. The De Gustibus team and I finished cleaning and made final preparations for the demonstration. Melissa and Sarah returned with some pillows (and later told the class about the pillow sale on the 6th floor!), ready to begin. Sal had everyone come together for a final meeting, which was my cue to go outside and wait on line like everyone else. I was actually sitting in on the class.

Just to give you an idea of which ingredients went in which dish, here is Melissa's menu:

Crispy Brown Butter Mushroom Crostini

Raw Kale Salad with Anchovy-Date Dressing

Shrimp with Capers, Feta & Dill

Braised Pork Shoulder with Tomatoes, Cinnamon, and Olives over Polenta

Olive Oil-Almond Cake with Vanilla Mascarpone

This behind the scenes viewing of De Gustibus Cooking School was an incredible experience that I am so glad to share with all of you. My post on Melissa Clark's De Gustibus class will be posted shortly for full descriptions on the food served and tips given. Check out our Facebook page for many more pictures behind the scenes of De Gustibus. 

-Mike

Foodie Finders NYC Calendar Update-3/11/12

Hello foodies! The calendar page on Foodie Finders NYC has been updated. To see upcoming 2012 food events in New York City, which includes Giada De Laurentiis' book signing, click here.

Also remember to like Foodie Finders NYC on Facebook!

-Mike

De Gustibus Cooking Class with David Bouley and Brian Bistrong

Welcome foodies! Yesterday I was at David Bouley and Brian Bistrong's cooking class at De Gustibus. It was great!

David Bouley ran the first half of the class and demonstrated two out of the four dishes. David unfortunately had to leave with a half hour left in the class. Although it was sad to see David go, Brian was equally great and taught an interesting class. David Bouley made this De Gustibus class like no other. It was very different. David was teaching from the front of the class and the back. He was all over the place and super entertaining. He was a true teacher as well. I learned so many things in two  and a half hours of amazing food.

The amuse was a Kuzu bread with cheese sauce, oil and black pepper along with a meringue filled with caviar. They were both great. The Kuzu bread was crunchy and rich. The meringue just melted in your mouth followed by the salty pop from the caviar.
If you are wondering what Kuzu is, I am not surprised. David lives by Kuzu and had a lot to teach about it. Kuzu comes from a vine in and out of the ground. Kuzu is a natural thickener without any flavor. He said that dusting anything you are to saute with Kuzu powder will give it a crunchy crust.

The first dish made by David and Brian was a Mushroom Flan with Dashi. When you take your spoon through the dashi (made with Kuzu to thicken) and the wood ear mushrooms and then through the mushroom flan you have the perfect bite. It was flavorful and bold and had a very prominent mushroom flavor.
Within the dashi he made, David put in ginger juice which blooms flavor just like salt and pepper. David also used dried bonito flakes. He said you use pinker bonito flakes for stocks and use redder flakes for vegetables because the redder kind are richer and more flavorful.

The next dish David and Brian made was the Comte Cloud with Scrambled Eggs. These creamy, rich eggs and comte cheese foam along with a Parmesan stick, wrapped in rice paper made a wonderful dish. The eggs were cooked in a pot with a rubber spatula over very low heat. He constantly moved the egg around and it began to stick on the bottom and he could see the steam, which is what he was looking for. Then he added the shallots, parsley, salt and pepper, and Quark that is like farmers cheese.

The following dish made was started by David and finished by Brian. This was a Chicken "en cocotte" with a potato puree. The chicken is roasted in a pot that is filled with aromatic hay. The top is sealed with homemade dough or store bought pizza dough making it air tight. The chicken was delicious and the potato puree was incredibly rich and creamy. It was a great smooth texture as well.

For dessert, Brian made Austrian Cheesecake. It was amazingly light and airy. The cheese flavor was subtle and scrumptious. What really made the dish superb was the apricot sauce and the strawberry hibiscus sauce. Tthe cheesecake was actually more souffle like because of the meringue folded into it. There was a lot of sugar so when it came out of the oven it had a nice golden brown top. The cheeses used in the cheesecake were ricotta and quark, which is like a farmers cheese that was also in the egg dish.

We were also served some petit fores which were great. We had a coconut truffle, a chocolate cookie dipped in chocolate, and a tuile.

David Bouley and Brian Bistrong ran a great class. I hope to make my way over to Bouley restaurant and Brushstroke soon. De Gustibus classes have just begun so check out there calendar here. For many more pictures of this class check out Foodie Finders NYC Facebook page.

-Mike

Out of Town Eats-Bexley, OH: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

Hello Foodies! I recently ate at Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams and it was great! Read my review below.

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams               Multiple locations in Ohio and Tennessee, retail partners all over the United States

(February 2012)

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams is a great ice cream shop with some unique and delicious flavors. I was able to try every flavor thanks to the incredible and friendly staff. Of their selection my favorites were Bangkok Peanut, Brambleberry Crisp, Black Coffee, Queen City Cayenne, and Riesling Poached Pear Sorbet. The Bangkok Peanut is a spicy peanut ice cream with honey, coconut, and cayenne. The Brambleberry Crisp is a sweet blackberry and black raspberry jam swirled in a yummy vanilla ice cream with streusel throughout (This and the Bangkok Peanut are a great combo for a PB&J type of flavor). The black coffee is the best coffee ice cream I have ever had. The coffee taste is so prominent and so good. The Queen City Cayenne is a milk chocolate ice cream with a kick. The spicy flavor is enough to keep that wonderful burning feeling in your throat and make you quickly go in for more. The Riesling Poached Pear Sorbet is a pear-y wonderland that is so refreshing. Jeni's Ice Cream is great so head on over for some amazing frozen treats. 

This review can be found on the Out of Town Eats page and some extra pictures will be feature on Foodie Finder's NYC Facebook page. Check it out and like us. 


-Mike