Chefs in the City Cooking Class

Chefs in the City Cooking Class June 17th 2010

Larry, Cassy and I attended our first cooking class in our complex. We had a great evening and the following menu was prepared.

Roasted Pepper Hummus (Larry even tried this)
20 oz checkpeas drained and rinsed
1 piece roasted red bell peppers
1 T chopped garlic
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 shallot chopped
1 tsp white pepper
1 lemon juiced and zested
¼ to 1/3 cup Olive oil
Salt to taste
Blend all ingredients in a food processor. Add the oil as needed at the end and season with the salt and pepper.

Flatbread
1 ½ cups warm water
½ tsp dry yeast
4 cups all purpose flour
½ tsp salt
2 T oil
Mix water and yeast and let stand 15 mins. Gradually pour in 2 cups of flour mixture and incorporate. Mix for about 1 min. to form a sponge. Let stand, covered for at least an hour. Put sponge in the bowl of a Kitchen Aid. Using the dough hook, add the salt and oil, then flour ½ cup at a time to form a dough. Remove from bowl and knead. Place in a clean oiled bowl and let rise, slowly, about 2 ½ hours. Divide dough into three balls, let rise again for ½ hour and roll out. Transfer dough to oiled baking sheet to 400 deg oven and bake 10-15-mins. or until golden brown.

Roast Chicken with Preserved Lemon and Olives (really good flavor)
Chicken Thighs (I would use Chicken Breasts in the future)
½ Bulb Garlic minced
3 Lemons zested and juice reserved
½ cup Kalamata olives rinsed and minced (Cassy would leave this out)
½ bunch of parsley minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup vegetable oil
½ cup olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Heat the vegetable and add lemon zest, garlic, red pepper flakes. Let cook on low to medium heat for three mins. Arrange Chicken on sheet try and preheat oven to 400. Spread the lemon juice on the chicken. Then spoon enough oil mixture on the chicken to coat and rub both sides of the chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15-20 mins until golden brown and has an internal temperature of 160 or higher. Add olives, parsley and olive oil to the oil mixture to make your sauce.

Roasted Vegetable Cous Cous (We all loved the cous cous)
2 cups cous cous
2 cups water
1 each red, green and yellow pepper small dice
½ red onion small dice
1 clove garlic minced
1 Portabella mushroom small dice
1 lemon juice and zest
salt pepper
¼ cup olive oil
Toss the peppers onion garlic and mushroom in oil and roast in oven at 400 or saute’ them on high heat. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the 2 cups of stock to a boil add the cous cous stir. Cover and take off the heat and let cook for 5 mins. Mix the cous cous with the olive oil the vegetables, lemon juice and zest and season with salt and pepper.