Piquillo Peppers stuffed with Orange and Cumin Scented Goat Cheese - Welcome to the Wonderful World of �Tapas!�

I LOVE tapas! Here is the Wikipedia definition: Tapas (pronunciation: TAH-pas) are a variety of Spanish appetizers, such as mixed olives, cheeses, or an elaborate creation like battered and fried baby squid. In Spain, tapas are usually given for free to accompany a drink before dinner. In the United States and the United Kingdom, tapas have evolved into an entire cuisine where patrons order many different small Spanish dishes and combine them for a full meal.

Well, this clip you�re about to watch is my favorite all-time tapas plate. The amazing Piquillo pepper stuffed with cumin and orange scented goat cheese. Words really don�t do it justice. By the way, these just aren�t any roasted red peppers. They are the world famous piquillo peppers!

They�re sweet, slightly piquant, and unlike anything you�ve had before. They come from the Ebro River Valley, in Northern Spain. They are slow roasted over charcoal, where they lose almost 60% of their weight in water, which results in their legendary intense flavor. Find these! And eat these! These are very common in any decent gourmet store or of course online.

By the way, I�m going to show you how to make the Almond and Parsley Salsa Verde that I top these with in another post.

Read More

Food Wishes Cooking Classes � 2 Great Ways to Learn to Cook!

In-Home Cooking Classes and Culinary Guidance with Chef John (In the Flesh)

While I�m still trying to launch a video-based, online cooking academy (see details below), I am also starting to offer in-home, personalized culinary instruction for those of you that live in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you are interested in having me come to your home to teach you to cook personally, just click on this link, send me an email with what you want to learn and I will contact you to set up a class. By the way, if you are not from the Bay Area, but are filthy rich, and can fly me to your location, I am also available.

If you think the recipe clips I post are fun, and enjoy my style of cooking and sense of humor, then I think you will have a great time cooking side-by-side with me. If you haven�t already, check out my personal bio; while teaching at the California Culinary Academy, I enjoyed a reputation as one of the most popular instructors there, and have always considered myself a very effective teacher, no matter what your skill level. You will also get to see how closely I resemble the photo of George Clooney I use for my online persona.

One last note regarding the one-on-one cooking classes; if you are trying to lose weight and get in better shape the most important thing you can do for yourself is learn how to cook fresh, healthy food at home. If you are in one of those programs where they deliver that over-priced, pre-packaged food then we should talk. You can easily make all those same dishes for a fraction of the cost, and the taste and quality will be far superior.


The Other Way: Our Online, Video-based, Culinary Academy


Here is some basic information regarding our online culinary course:

• We do not have a cost yet, but to give you a frame of reference, it will cost significantly less than a traditional culinary school, which can cost up as much as $50,000 per year! My hope is to keep it under $500 for the entire course.
  
  
• You will learn the exact same competencies taught at these traditional academies. There are basically a few dozen KEY skills, recipes, and techniques to master. Really, that�s all! Most of the time spent in a traditional culinary school is NOT spent on learning these KEY skills.
  
  
• The complete course should take 2 months for you to master. But, all students will have as much time as they need since everyone learns at a different speed.
  
  
• You will learn by following my lessons and lectures online, and then will have �home work� to perfect these skills. Did you know that in the larger culinary schools students actually watch the Chef�s demos on a TV screen since they can�t sit close enough to watch what�s being demonstrated!
  
  
• You will have the option of just learning the skills, or actually submitting your final competencies via video clips for us to evaluate. We will also have written tests for you to take to test you on the same basic information that a traditional culinary school student is expected to know when they graduate. These tests and home work are optional, but would be required to receive a certificate of culinary competency.
  
  
• All students completing this course successfully will receive a certificate of culinary competency.
  
  
• In addition, all students will get free resume and career assistance if they plan on using these newly acquired skills to enter the culinary industry as a cook or chef. Before I taught at the culinary academy, I ran a resume service for food industry workers, and I�m an expert in that field. If you want an entry-level job in food, this course will make that happen.
  


• That�s all the basic info we have for now. We are taking our time to ensure a top quality product and have several Chefs, that currently teach at major traditional culinary schools, helping us put this program together.
  
  
  If you are interested in being contacted when the course is ready, please contact me. If you've already contacted me, it's not necessary to contact me again.

Read More

Fabulous Fashions for Foodies! Buy a shirt and help support our free video recipe clips!

I love doing free video recipe clips, but you don't have to be an economics major to see the fatal flaw in my business model � the clips are free.

So, I came up with this great idea to make a few dollars to support my site, so I can continue to provide these free cooking lessons. I decided to design and market (through CafePress) amusing T-shirts and other fashionable items that would appeal to foodies far and wide.

Now I have another problem... the items I've designed are only funny if you're a cook, chef, or some other type of hardcore foodie. So, basically I've designed a fashion line that only 1% of the entire population even understands. Now, that's some brilliant marketing!!

Anyway, if you are a foodie, and do get these very esoteric references, then click on the photos of the shirts and you'll be whisked away (pun intended) to my various CafePress storefronts.

By the way, if you've never used CafePress before, the quality is quite good and all the designs seen here come in all kinds of colors and styles. Each photo will take you to that particular line.

Read More

Wild Salmon with Fresh Mango and Pepper Jam Relish - a.k.a. Salmon Mango Bango

What�s the best thing about being a chef? It�s being able to name your dishes anything you want! That�s right. If you invent it, you get to name it. So when I came up with this recipe I thought I would completely abuse that privilege and think of something really ridiculous. All kidding aside, mango and salmon are a great pairing. The exotic, tropical tang of the fruit and the richness of the wild salmon work wonderfully together. The �bango� comes from the spicy, sweet pepper jam I use to bind the fresh mango relish. This dish is also a great example of how just a few ingredients can produce big flavors.

Pepper jams are a wonderfully versatile products and every good cook�s pantry should stock several of them. Check your local market and I�ll bet you find a few varieties next to the regular fruit jams and jellies. Any specialty foods store will have many to choose from.

Also, wild salmon is really the only way to go for many, many reasons. I won�t give you a lecture here, but if you do a bit of research, you may never eat farmed again. Hopefully you have access to fresh wild salmon near you. If not, the frozen choices are actually quite good these days, and far superior to fresh farmed salmon in my opinion.

Read More

Buffalo Stew With Fry Bread Crust

1 lb of buffalo stew meat
1 teaspoon of baking powder
4 potatoes
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 medium onion
2 tablespoons of oil
seasoning salt
tomato sauce or jar of spaghetti sauce
fry bread dough

Heat the oil in a stew pot, chop the onions add to heated oil. Cook for a couple of minutes. Rinse your stew meat add to the onions add the seasoning salt to taste and add tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce stir well covering all the meat add 1/2 cup of water get it boiling let cook for about 30 minutes add the potatoes, cover and let cook through.

Then make your bread crust.
A pinch of sugar gives the bread a yummy taste and makes it softer. Mix all the dry ingredients together then add your liquids make a soft dough roll out on a floured surface when 30 minutes has past take stew off the stove let it cool and let the dough rest for about 10 minutes then put your stew in a deep pie dish or casserole and top with the rolled out dough. Bake for about 20 - 30 minutes.

Contributor: John Koda Miller

Read More

Pueblo Roasted Pepper Salsa

1 medium, each, red, yellow, green be; ll pepper,
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, or 1/2 tbsp dried
1 pc leek chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 large tomato, seeded, chopped
2 Serrano chile peppers, seeded and chopped

Cut bell peppers in half and remove seeds. Place peppers cut side down on broiler pan. Broil 3 to 4 inches from heat for 5 to 8 minutes, or until charred. Place in brown paper bag, or plastic bag, and let cool down to touch. Peel, and chop.

Combine bell peppers and remaining ingredients; mix well. Cover; refrigerate until serving
time.

Salsa can be stored up to 1 week.

Read More

Wild Rice Chowder

2 cups cooked wild rice

3 potatoes, washed and cubed

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 quart chicken broth

1 cup shredded Cheddar or Swiss cheese

3 slices cooked bacon cooked and crumbled

1/2 cup light cream or milk

Cook the potatoes in the broth until tender, 20 - 30 minutes. Add the onion cheese, bacon and cream (or milk). Simmer, stirring frequently, until cheese melts and soup is hot, not boiling. Season with salt and pepper if needed and a little parsley or wild asparagus (optional) to garnish.

Dale Carson

Read More