Hiroko Shimbo and Chikara Sono's De Gustibus Cooking Class

Welcome foodies! Less than a week ago, I experienced a Japanese Kaiseki meal, thanks to the culinary duo of Hiroko Shimbo and Chikara Sono. Hiroko -- who shares a striking resemblance in appearance and in spunky personality to Edna Mode from Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles -- is a cookbook author whose most recent book is Hiroko's American Kitchen. Chef Sono works at Michelin starred restaurant Kyo Ya.
So what exactly is a Japanese Kaiseki meal? Best compared to a tasting menu, it is a meal with a series of small portions. Traditionally, it is prepared in the order of an appetizer, a sushi roll, a soup, a grilled fish, a simmered dish, a dish with rice, and a dessert. For the purpose of this cooking class, the meal was shortened to a meal of a sushi roll, a grilled fish, a simmered dish, a dish with rice, and a dessert.

The sushi course was made by Chef Sono. He prepared Salt Cured Tasmanian Salmon Trout Sushi in a Bamboo Leaf (Tasumania Samon no Sasamaki-zushi). The star of this dish was the unique and exotic rice in the sushi. It was seasoned with a vinegar mixture, pickled ginger, white sesame seeds, and shiso leaves. To bring this dish to the next level, he wrapped the sushi up in a banana leaf -- a perfectly packaged present for the taste buds.

Next, chef Sono cooked a Miso Marinated Black Cod (Gindara no Saikyo-yaki). It was garnished with sauteed mushrooms and celery, a mountain berry, and chestnuts boiled in a simple syrup. The chestnuts provided a spectacular nutty nuance to this earthy dish.

The simmered course was prepared by Hiroko Shimbo. Her delicious Sake Braised Short Ribs with Winter Vegetables included cipollini onions, prunes, swiss chard, and fried sweet potatoes that were cut into the shapes of autumn leaves.

For the rice course, Hiroko also prepared Chorizo and Shrimp rice. For such an easy recipe, the dish was remarkably complex and sophisticated.  

For dessert, Chef Sono demonstrated how to make a Sesame Paste-Milk Kuzu Jelly with Strawberry Sauce (Mineoka Tofu no Ichigo Sosu). It was an interesting dessert, for the pudding itself was not too sweet, but it was offset by a pool simple syrup and an outstanding strawberry sauce. On the very top was a sake cream that added a refreshing punch to the dessert.

Hiroko Shimbo and Chikara Sono taught a wonderful De Gustibus Cooking Class. Both of them created an awesome meal, using each plate as a canvas for their culinary and artistic expression. 

Find more mouthwatering pictures on Foodie Finders NYC's Facebook and Twitter pages and be sure to leave a comment if you want any of these great recipes.

-Mike

De Gustibus Cooking Class with Gabrielle Hamilton

Hello foodies! It is always a joy to be at De Gustibus Cooking School. Each culinary adventure is unique, but one constant from all classes is wonderful feeling of being immersed by true food lovers. Every chef brings a wealth of knowledge and their own perspective on food. Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune brought her witty, down to earth personality to garnish her worldly preparation of food.

Gabrielle's menu was stunning, inspired by a few distinct regions that she has visited in her many travels.The amuse bouche was called Bagna Cauda. This preparation included oil and anchovies simmered with raw garlic added at the very end, to give the amuse bouche a sharp punch. Bathing in this oil was red cabbage, whole scallions, radish and endive. The Bagna Cauda was a great way to start this "Pruney" meal, as Gabrielle would say.

The next dish is among the best things things I have ever eaten. Black Fideos Sopa with Sepia and Sepia Ink. The Fideos Sopa was a beautiful balance of smokey and tangy flavors. This Spanish dish included fideos noodles in a smoked tomato mixture, topped with an aioli. Next to it was tender sepia (cuttlefish) in its own ink.The fideos noodles come in a variety of sizes. For this dish, Gabrielle used the smallest available option, #1. Other chefs and recipes say that if you cannot find these noodles, broken up vermicelli pasta is a suitable substitute. Gabrielle disagrees and feels that you should not replace the fideos noodles because there is a big difference between the fideos noodles and the broken up makeshift noodles.In making the sauce, she smoked the tomatoes. Being indoors with no smoker, she made her own smoker by putting wood chips in a pot and then covered it with foil. Next she placed her whole peeled tomato inside followed by the lid. This is such a great option for those who have no other way to smoke their foods.

The following course was The Warm Greek Salad. This dish was a step above a typical Greek salad. The dressing was blended feta cheese with a little water and oil. Mixed with the dressing was gently warmed green pepper rings, cucumbers, onions and tomatoes.

The main course was Pigeon with a Parsley Vinaigrette. This delicious pigeon was served along side of the roasted mixed onions and charred okra with onion butter. These veggies were awesome thanks to the onion butter. Prepared with ease, Gabrielle boiled the layers of red onion in water creating onion water, then added butter and reduced it. Yum!

As if the meal could not get better, Gabrielle Hamilton made Breton Cake. This slice of heaven was crunchy on top with a fluffy, moist inside. It was a long process of folding layers of sugar in this buttery dough. The love in between each layer was complimented with a subtle sweetness. I now know what I will be making for the holidays.

Gabrielle taught an amazing class and now I can't wait for my first visit to Prune soon!

Moreover, among the many interesting topics Gabrielle touched upon was food T.V. It was asked why she does not appear on television more often and she explained that she does not like the impact of these shows. Many people do not know difference between the job of a celebrity chef entertaining on television and the job of a restaurant chef cooking in a hot kitchen with horrible hours. There is a new food generation rising that will be will be very distinct from the former with new goals of being celebrity chefs. Do you agree? Is food TV sending the food industry into the wrong direction or is it sparking more food lovers with new potential and innovation? Voice your opinion in the poll on the right side bar of this page and tell us more in the comment section below this post. Vote now before the poll closes on December 14th!

For more pictures check out Foodie Finders NYC on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

-Mike

November 2012 Calendar Update

Hello foodies. I hope to my readers all is well and I wish all those who have been impacted by Hurricane Sandy the very best of luck.

In other news, I have added some new events to the Foodie Finders NYC calendar. These events include book signings being held by many different food famed figures such as Ina Garten, Tyler Florence, Jacques Pepin, Lidia Bastianich, and Tom Coloicchio. Also there are some delicious cooking classes taking place at Eataly's new La Scuola Grande. Some notable guest instructors are Sandra Lotti from The Toscana Saporita Cooking School, Mona Talbott from The Rome Sustainable Food Project, and Adam Roberts from The Amateur Gourmet.

As the Chocolate Show is just a day away, New Yorkers may be able to smell the cocoa wafting through the streets. 150 participants will be saturating the event space with chocolates and pastry delights from around the globe. This year is the 15th anniversary of the New York Chocolate Show and it shall not disappoint. Besides sampling chocolate, there are also cooking demonstrations and book signings taking place. The schedule includes some exciting pastry stars, such as Cooking Channel's Unique Sweets personalty, Paulette Goto, Top Chef Just Desserts head judge, Johnny Iuzzini, and Host of the internet series Cooking in Manhattan, Serena Palumbo. To buy tickets to The 15th Annual New York Chocolate click here.

Whether your weekend involves stuffing your face with chocolate or not, bon appetit!

-Mike