Our Family Cooking Class at Sur La Table

Purchasing a gift for a loved one can sometimes be a bit of a challenge, especially when you are also responsible for purchasing a gift for Mom or Dad from the kids. This year, all of the above was taken care of in one easy step as my kids and I treated my wife for her birthday to a family cooking class at Sur La Table.

Located in the Court at the King of Prussia Mall (as well as many other locations across the country), Sur La Table is a kitchenware retail company that specializes in cookware, cutlery and cook’s tools, bakeware and glassware, along with many other food and kitchen related items. Many of their stores also offer on-site cooking classes that cover various topics, such as pizza night, knife skills, seasonal favorites, grill mastering and pasta workshops. Classes may also be built into special themed nights, such as date night, seasonal specialties and family dinners. These special cooking events have always been on my radar, so celebrating my wife’s birthday with a family cooking class would no doubt make for a fun and memorable evening for us all.

The evening started with a warm and friendly greeting from Chef Michael, who is the resident chef and instructor at the King of Prussia location. The classroom generally accommodates up to 16 people, and we were at full capacity. There were families of four (including ours), along with a few groups of two. The class is set up with two prep stations that fit up to eight people at each station. We were paired up with another group of four, and would spend the evening helping each other through the steps and procedures that Chef Michael would demonstrate. The front of the classroom was equipped with a fully functional gas range and oven, with both a reflective mirror above and a tv camera off to the side to help us view the lesson from different angles. And of course there were a number of hand washing stations in various corners of the room. One of Chef Michael’s rules was to always wash our hands after handling food, along with any contact that our hands made with our faces, our hair or our phones. Yes, our phones can be pretty gnarly!

The prep area.

The theme for the evening was Italian Favorites, and our menu consisted of Fettuccine Alfredo, Chicken Parm and Chocolate Mint Gelato. Now, I’ve made each of these dishes a number of times, and I’m sure that many of you have as well. While we each may have our own methods and tricks while making these dishes, I do find it very inspiring and helpful to step back and learn the most basic yet perfected methods to a classic recipe. Chef Michael did an exceptional job of not only explaining each of the recipe steps to us on a level that both the parents and kids could understand, he also explained why the steps were being taken and how the recipe would be altered if the steps weren’t followed properly. Chef Michael also took the time to demonstrate and explain the techniques involved with preparing the dishes. Again, while many of the techniques were basic and familiar to all, there were still more than a few tips and tricks that I found to be helpful and will be sure to put them to practice in my own kitchen. Let’s take cracking an egg, for example. I’ve probably cracked a million eggs in my lifetime, and I’ve worked long and hard to perfect the skill of the single-hand crack. What I wasn’t aware of was the damage that I was potentially causing to the yolk by cracking the eggs on the lip of a bowl. That’s right, cracking an egg on the lip of a bowl can penetrate the yolk and cause it to break. It is much safer to crack one egg on a counter top or table top, dropping the egg about the distance of a closed fist. If you are using two or more eggs, simply crack the eggs by tapping them together. The shells will break, but the yolk will not. Quite a few other fun and informative tips and techniques were shared throughout the evening, but I won’t spoil the fun of you finding them out for yourself.

Ava gets crackin’!

Chef Michael demonstrating how to properly knead dough.

Rolling out the dough.

Fettuccine noodles, ready to be boiled.

Because this was a family class, there was a nice balance of kids both young and old. Chef Michael did a phenomenal job of keeping everyone involved, knowing when to ask the help of the younger students (folding the pasta dough, for example), and when to instruct the parents to take the reigns (frying up the chicken cutlets and operating the pasta machine). There was plenty of mixing, folding, flipping and stirring for everyone to enjoy, and the chicken cutlet breading assembly line made sure to keep us all involved. There was also the dessert, which was actually the first recipe that we started with (the gelato mixture needed to chill, which takes a bit of time). Making ice cream or gelato may sound intimidating to some. But with just a few simple ingredients (whole milk, heavy cream, sugar, egg yolks), plus the additional ingredients for the custom flavor that you choose (vanilla bean, mint, melted chocolate, strawberry), and a fairly inexpensive counter top ice cream maker to churn your mixture, you would be surprised on the decadent creations that you could create. Chef Michael gave us some very tasty and informative tips and tricks to make home made ice cream and gelato, but again I must leave it up to you to discover these tips for yourself.

Stirring the Alfredo sauce.

Folding in the fettuccine.

I have to give huge credit and props to Chef Michael’s kitchen assistants. Not only were they available for questions or assistance throughout the evening, they also made sure to stay on top of our mess during clean-up. If we were called up front to watch Chef Michael give a demonstration, you could be sure that we were walking back to a perfectly cleaned working station. The staff was also responsible for following through with finishing touches on our dishes while we moved on to the next recipe.

Dinner is served!

Plated and ready to eat!

If you have ever considered looking into a cooking class – whether it be as a couple, a family or even on your own – I would highly suggest looking into one of the many wonderful in-store classes held at Sur La Table.

For more information, please visit the Sur La Table website.

Cookin’ with the Gluten-Free Paisan: Ratatouille Pizza

I’m very happy to share with you my first collaborative recipe with my good friend, Mike DeStefano (aka The Gluten-Free Paisan). This is one of Mike’s favorite recipes that he and his wife often make….and with a combination of simmered fresh seasonal vegetables, tasty chicken breast and a mouth watering pizza crust, how could you go wrong?

Now, if you are at all familiar with the gluten-free diet, you may be wondering just how in the world could a pizza recipe that sounds so satisfying and flavorful as this be gluten-free? [The original recipe, which wasn’t gluten-free, was first published in Cooking Light]. The first, and most obvious substitute to make this recipe gluten-free would be the crust. Of course, you can use a traditional pizza crust (as I did) for this recipe. But if you are following a gluten-free diet, there are alternative pizza crust options available. You can find a number of gluten-free pizza crusts in the health food section of your grocery store. Common brands that you may find are Mama Mary’s, Smart Flour Foods, and Udi’s. Another popular pizza crust alternative is a cauliflower crust. These may also be available in the frozen food area of your grocery store’s health section. Of course, you can also find a number of recipes online for gluten-free pizza dough or cauliflower crusts, but it may take a little time to find a recipe that is easy to work with or has the taste and texture that you are hoping to achieve. So, if you are just starting to experiment with home made gluten-free doughs, the store bought version may be your best bet for now. But again, if you are not on a gluten-free diet or are not interested in a cauliflower pizza crust, then a traditional crust will do just fine.

Because Mike now follows both a gluten-free and Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) diet, he also made some necessary and tasty adjustments to the toppings so that both he and his wife could enjoy this delicious recipe without any concerns of dietary reaction or inflammation. Early on in his experimenting, Mike decided to leave off the tomatoes and eggplant (to avoid inflammation) and cheese (to cut back on dairy). There were plenty of other delicious flavors happening on this pizza, so the missing ingredients didn’t make the pizza any less enjoyable. Today, he has reintroduced tomatoes and eggplant back into his diet, which shows how patience and determination play into the AIP diet. Go Mike!

I had continued to make some further updates to the recipe, substituting certain toppings that may not be my personal favorite. We both thought it would be fun to not only compare notes both before and after, but to also share the results with the Cucina Domenico readers. Below you will find the original recipe, with ingredients marked with an asterisk (*) to indicate the adjustments that both Mike and I have made to suit our individual tastes.  Like all other recipes that have been shared on my food blog, we both encourage you to take this recipe and feel free to adjust it to your own liking.

(Although we didn’t get to actually work together in the same kitchen this time around, we did go back and forth sharing thoughts and ideas both before and after making this dish. I can only imagine the culinary magic that both Mike and I will make and share with you when we both get together in the kitchen, hopefully soon.)

RATATOUILLE PIZZA
Originally published in Cooking Light

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Cooking spray

*1 Japanese eggplant, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat pizza blend cheese
3 plum tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices

**1 cup sliced mushrooms

***4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped skinless, boneless rotisserie cooked chicken breast (about 6 ounces)

****1 (10-ounce) Italian thin crispy pizza (such as Boboli)

Preheat oven to 375˚.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan. Add eggplant, bell pepper and onion; sauté 3 minutes or until eggplant begins to soften. Reduce heat to medium. Add mushrooms; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add Italian seasoning, salt and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring mixture constantly. Remove from heat.

Place crust on a baking sheet or a pizza stone (pizza stone is recommended). Spread vegetable mixture evenly over crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Arrange chicken over vegetable mixture; sprinkle evenly with cheese. Arrange tomato slices over cheese, and lightly coat with cooking spray. Bake at 375˚ for 25 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and tomatoes are softened.

Slice, serve and enjoy!

Mike and Dom’s Adjustments

*  Because Mike is following both the gluten-free and AIP diet, he has slowly had to work on reintroducing eggplant and tomatoes – which are two key food sources that can cause inflammation – back into his diet. He is also watching his dairy intake. If you are currently adjusting to an AIP diet, the eggplant and tomatoes can be left out without making this pizza taste any less flavorful or satisfying. There are still plenty of tasty ingredients, so the absence of the eggplant, tomatoes and cheese make for a minimal change.

** Dom is not a fan of mushrooms, so he replaced the mushrooms with diced yellow squash. This made for a great substitute, and could be added along with the mushrooms if you prefer both.

*** Dom really likes garlic. Mike LOVES garlic. While Dom went with four healthy size garlic cloves, Mike went all in and kicked it up to five cloves. Adjust the garlic to your taste and preference.

For the chicken, Dom went with cubed and Mike went with shredded. Apparently both were off the hook!

**** The pizza crust is open to your taste and preference. While a store bought shell will do the trick, feel free to use your own home made crust recipe. However, be sure not to go too thin while rolling out the crust, as the toppings are a bit heavy. If you are looking for a gluten-free option, you can find fresh or frozen gluten-free crusts from Smart Flour Foods, Udi’s or Mama Mary’s. Frozen cauliflower crusts are also available, or you can even experiment with making your own cauliflower crust or home made gluten-free pizza dough using  cassava flour (various recipes are available online).