Saturday, April 28, 2012
Cooking Class: American Regional Street Food
Last night I went to a cooking class at Let's Get Cookin'....if you haven't be there it is a cute little kitchen store in Westlake with a big kitchen in the back where they do cooking classes. And this place gets some seriously famous chefs...their pictures actually line the walls. So last night this class specialized in food truck food and let me just say it might not have been the healthiest class to attend but it was definitely tasty. And it was actually food that I might make again. The classes are also a lot of fun because its hands on so we got to participate in making tortillas, frying plantains and chopping vegetables. And to make it even better we got to wear aprons...yup...and eat the food.
So the menu for last night included:
This is my first attempt:
The 2nd attempt:
And this is the tortillas cooking:
So the menu for last night included:
- Baja Fish Tacos w/Pickled Red Onions, Jicama Slaw, Guacamole and Homemade Tortillas
- Chicken and Avocado Cone with Mango Slaw
- Jollof Rice with Kelewele
- Braised Beef Brisket and Balsamic Onions on Whole Wheat Flatbread
- Wafels and Dinges AKA. Waffels and Toppings
My partner in crime and I decided to take a try and making tortillas for the tacos, cutting vegetables and frying plantains for the Jollof Rice and Kelewele and eating.
So the first thing we did was cut vegetables. I cut a crap load of carrots and the instructor tried to show me a new knife technique....hmmm not so successful. At the beginning of the class the instructor made a comment that she has never had blood in her class and as I was learning the new knife technique I was pretty sure I was going to prove her wrong. And my partner in crime kept watching my fingers I think waiting for one of them to fall of. But all ended well.
Next we took a shot at making tortillas. They had a medal tortilla press.
Yeah I wasn't the most successful with the tortilla press. The instructor was nice and tried to say it wasn't me it was the masa....she was just being nice.
Baja Fish Tacos with Pickled Red Onions, Jicama Slaw, Guacamole and Homemade Tortillas
2 cups flour, divided
1/2 cup cornstarch
12 oz dark beer
1 egg
1lb mild flavored fish such as snapper cut into 1 1/2" strips
1 T salt
canola oil to fry
2 tsp chili powder
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp crushed cumin seeds
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 clove garlic sliced
1 1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup jicama, finely julienned
2 T radish, finely julienned
2 T cilantro, finely chopped
salt and pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 T lime juice
3 T olive oil
1 large ripe avocado
1 T lime juice
salt and pepper
1/2 jalapeno, finely chopped
Whisk together 1 1/2 cups flour, cornstarch, salt, beer and egg to make batter. Pour oil into a wok or fryer and heat to 375 degrees. Sprinkle the fish strips with chile powder. Put remaining flour on a plate and coat the fish with the flour, shaking off excess. Just before frying dip the fish strips in batter and fry until crisp, about 3 minutes. Drain on a rack set over a baking sheet. May be kept warm in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve.
Combine the vinegar, salt and pepper, cumin, oregano, garlic, sugar and onions in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook 20 minutes. Transfer to a container, cover and refrigerate at least a day before serving. These will keep in the refrigerator up to one month.
Whisk together the sugar, lime juice, olive oil and salt and pepper, toss with jicama, radish and cilantro.
Peel and pit the avocado, coarsely mash and mix with jalapeno, salt and pepper and lime juice to taste.
Homemade Tortillas
About 2 cups prepared fresh masa
Preheat a comal, griddle or cast iron skillet over med high heat.
Roll the masa into approx 1" balls. Place each ball between a freezer bag split open. Flatten with a tortilla press or by hand to about 1/16" thick.
Peel off the plastic and carefully remove the tortilla. Place the tortilla in the pan for about 20-30 sec turn and cook about 30-45 sec more.
Next we moved on to cooking the plantains. And I will admit I was a little afraid of the plantains at first because they look like bananas and you all know how I feel about bananas, but we were told that they are more like potatoes and they are way starchier. After I smelled them and they didn't have that nauseating smell I decided to try them and sure enough once they are fried at least they taste nothing like a banana. And surprisingly the African dish Jollof Rice with Kelewele was one of our favorites. It was spicy and colorful and was really good!
Jollof Rice with Kelewele
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups onion chopped
1 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp curry powder
1 cup carrots, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup green or red peppers chopped
2 serrano pepper minced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 T ginger minced
3 cups tomato peeled seeded and chopped
2 T tomato paste
1 1/4 cups long grain rice
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup peas (frozen is ok)
1/2 cup green beans
1 cup garbanzo beans
salt and pepper
cilantro
2 plantains, peeled and cut into bite size cubes
1 tsp ginger minced
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
oil for frying
Heat a sauce pan or Dutch oven, add the oil and saute the onions, carrots and peppers until beginning to soften, about 5 min. Add the spices, garlic and ginger and saute 2-3 minutes to release the aromas. Add chilis, tomatoes, tomato paste, and rice to the pan and cook 4-5 min, stirring often, to soften the tomatoes. Stir in the vegetable stock, fresh green beans and garbanzo beans and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer, cover pot and allow to cook 15-20 min,until the rice is almost cooked. Add the peas and green beans (if frozen) and continue to cook until the liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked through. Taste and adjust seasoning and serve with fresh cilantro on top.
Combine the plantains with the ginger, cayenne and salt and allow to sit 15-20 min. Heat the oil to 350 degrees add the plantain cubes in batches and fry until golden brown on both sides. Drain and serve at once.
This recipe says its 1983 calories per serving...wish they would have just left that out...I would have been totally fine not knowing that. Yup that is why I am sharing it with you because misery loves company.
The other stand outs for us were the fish tacos and the chicken cone. The chicken was crunchy and nutty and the mango sauce was heaven.
Chicken and Avocado Cone with Mango Slaw
3 cups cornflakes
6 T slivered almonds
6 T sesame seeds
6 T sugar
1 1/2 T crushed red pepper
1 1/2 T salt
4 eggs, whisked
1/2 cup milk
flour
6 chicken breast halves (5 oz each)
oil for frying
2 avocados
1/2 cup mango diced
2 jalapenos seeded and chopped
2T white wine vinegar
2T sugar
1T water
1 1/2 T shallow minced
1T lime juice
salt and pepper
6 cups cabbage, red and white shredded
1/2 cup carrots shredded
1/2 cup green onions chopped
1/2 cup mayo
2 T chipotle chile in adobo sauce pureed
6 10" tortillas
Cut the chicken into 1" lengthwise strips. Place the cornflakes, almonds, sesame seeds, sugar, red pepper and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a large shallow dish. Whisk the eggs and milk together and place in a second shallow dish. Add flour to a 3rd shallow dish. Dredge each chicken strip in flour then egg and cornflake mixture. Peel and seed avocado and slice lengthwise into 1" strips.
Set a rack over a baking sheet. Heat the oil in a large skillet to about 350 degrees. In batches, fry the chicken turning once, until golden brown, about 6 min. Remove and allow to drain on the rack.
Slaw: Combine the mango, jalapenos, vinegar, sugar, water and shallow in a saucepan. Cover and simmer until the mango is softened, about 10 min.
Transfer the mango mixture to a food processor and puree; scrape into a large bowl and stir in the mayo, cilantro, garlic and lime juice. Season with salt and peper. Toss with the shredded cabbage, onion and carrots. Refrigerate until serving.
Stir the mayo and 1T chipotle puree together, taste and adjust heat with more puree if needed. Assemble "cones" by spreading chipotle mixture on tortillas, top with chicken strips, avocado and slaw. Roll up and enjoy at once.
So I definitely recommend attending a cooking class at Let's Get Cookin. They are a lot of fun and I always walk away learning something. Most of the time I am lame and I don't make the recipes again but I have a great time. And if you want the recipes from last night that I didn't include just let me know and I will include them as well.
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