Make: Dinner

A few weeks ago, (part of my dinner is seen in THIS PIC), I took a cooking class and made the most delicious and filling dinner. I thoroughly enjoyed the class as I picked up a few skills - how to cut a tomato properly, a chiffonade, and many more - and I had a lot of fun. If you're new to cooking and desperate for help or even a more experienced cook looking to brush up on your techniques, this is a great way to learn in a fun environment. And of course, the end result is quite tasty! I've included all the recipes I made in my class below for you to try yourselves. I know I'll certainly be making these again. Enjoy!

This is me doing a chiffonade.

Panzanella.

Pork Tenderloin wrapped in Pancetta.

Getting the chocolate ready for the brownies.

Zucchini, Tomato, Onion, Ricotta Salata and Bread Salad

Author: Bistro Laurent Tourondel
Source: Cookbook: BLT

Makes 6 servings

Salad:

• ½ large sweet onion, sliced ¼ inch thick
• 1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced ¼ inch thick
• 1 large yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced ¼ inch thick
• 1 extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 fine sea salt and freshly
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 large yellow zucchini, halved lengthwise
• 1 large green zucchini, halved lengthwise
• 4 large heirloom tomatoes of mixed colors, cored and cut into large dice
• 1 loaf ciabatta bread (8 to 10 oz)
• ½ medium red onion, thinly sliced (about ½ cup)
• ¼ cup fresh summer savory
• 2 oz ricotta salata

Dressing:

• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup aged sherry vinegar
• 1 Tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 Tbs summer savory
• 1 Tbs finely chopped garlic

For the Vegetables:

1. In a large bowl, toss the sweet onions and peppers with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Brush the zucchini with some of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
2. Preheat a barbecue or stove top grill to medium-high heat. Place the zucchini halves cut-sides down on the grill. Spread the onions and peppers around the zucchini in a single layer. Grill the vegetables, turning them often, until charred and softened, about 5 minutes for the onions and peppers and slightly longer for the zucchini. Cut the peppers and zucchini crosswise into 1-inch pieces.

For the Dressing: 

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, savory, parsley, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Add the grilled vegetables and tomatoes to the bowl with the dressing. Adjust seasonings. Set aside.
3. Trim the crust off the bread and cut into 1-inch slices. Brush each slice with olive oil. Heat grill to medium-high heat. Grill the bread, turning once, until browned and crisp on both sides.

For the Salad:

1. Add the onion and savory leaves to the marinated vegetables. Place a piece of toast in the middle of each plate. Divide the vegetable mixture evenly among the plates. Shave the ricotta salata over the salad. Alternatively, the bread can be chopped and mixed in with the vegetables.

Pancetta Wrapped Grilled Pork Tenderloin
Author: Frank Melodia

Source: RedBook Magazine

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 (1¼-pound) boneless pork tenderloin
• 1 Tbsp garlic paste
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 4 ounce(s) thinly sliced pancetta or bacon
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 400 ̊F. brush pork all over with garlic paste, then season with thyme, salt, and pepper.
2. Wrap the entire tenderloin with pancetta slices or bacon strips, overlapping them slightly and pressing them onto pork to adhere. Tie kitchen twine around the tenderloin in several places to hold pancetta in place.
3. Heat oil in a large, ovenproof skillet over high heat until shimmering; add pork and sear all over until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and roast pork 20 to 22 minutes longer, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meat registers 150 degrees F for medium doneness.
4. Transfer pork to a cutting board and loosely tent with foil. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing into ½-inch-thick slices.
5. Drizzle accumulated juices from cutting board over pork. Serve with peach slaw.

Grilled Peach Slaw with Pecans

Author: Frank Melodia
Source: Redbook Magazine

Makes 12 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ripe peaches, halved, pitted
• Extra-virgin olive oil cooking spray
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 3 Tbs cider vinegar
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 small (1 1⁄2 lb) head Savoy cabbage, cored,
• thinly shredded (8 cups)
• 2 (1 cup) carrots, peeled, grated
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• ½ cup mint leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup toasted pecans, coarsely chopped

Instructions:

1. Set an outdoor grill to medium-high heat. Coat peaches with cooking spray; season with ¼ tsp of the salt. Grill, cut sides down, 6 minutes, turning once with a spatula, until lightly marked. Remove to a cutting board and cool. Cut into thin wedges.
2. In a large bowl, whisk mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, mustard, the remaining ¾ tsp salt, and pepper until blended. Add peaches, cabbage, and the remaining ingredients except pecans; toss until evenly dressed. Can be made up to 4 hours ahead and refrigerated. Just before serving, stir in pecans.

Piquant Cornbread

Author: Recipe adaptation from My Nepenthe by Romney Steele

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

• ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 1 Tbs sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ¾ tsp ground cumin
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese
• ¾ cup buttermilk
• ½ cup milk
• ¼ cup minced fresh cilantro
• 2 jalapeños, minced
• ½ medium white onion, minced
• ½ red bell pepper, minced

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 400°, grease an 8" x 8" baking pan; set aside.
2. Whisk cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, chili powder, salt, and cumin in a bowl.
3. In another bowl, whisk together butter and egg; stir in cheese, buttermilk, milk, cilantro, jalapeños, onions, and peppers. Whisk mixture into flour; pour into pan; smooth with a rubber spatula.
4. Bake for 30 minutes

Coffee Nutella Ice Cream
Author: Marc Forgione
Source: Adapted from Marc Forgione

Makes 16 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 ½ cups whole milk
• 1 Tbs espresso powder
• ½ tsp Sea salt
• 5 large egg yolks
• ¾ cups granulated sugar
• 1 ⅓ cup Nutella or other hazelnut chocolate spread
• 1 cup roasted hazelnuts, chopped

Instructions:

1. In a sauce pot set, bring the cream, milk, espresso and salt to a simmer,
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar with the egg yolks. Slowly pour one-third of the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, to temper the eggs. Once eggs are tempered pour them back into the pot with the remaining milk cream mixture.
3. Return the sauce pot to the stove top over low heat. Stir the mixture constantly until it is thickened and coats the back of the spoon,10 minutes. Remove the custard from the heat and strain it through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Then add Nutella to the mixture. Set the bowl over an ice bath and stir until cool, 15 to 30 minutes.
4. When completely cold, transfer the custard to the ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's specifications. Add hazelnuts as ice creams reaches soft serve stage.

Weak-in-the-Knees Brownies
Author: Adapated by CBTB Chefs from Marc Forgione
Source: Marc Forgione

Makes 16 servings

Ingredients:

• 8 oz unsalated butter, cubed
• 10 oz dark chocolate(71% cocoa), chopped
• 4 oz milk chocolate chips
• 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
• ¾ cups packed dark brown sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ¾ cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup cocoa
• ¼ tsp salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° degrees; position the rack in the middle.
2. Place a medium metal bowl over a saucepan of 2 inches of simmering water. Combine the cubed butter and dark chocolates in the metal bowl and stir until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated and brown sugars until blended, then add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each egg. Add vanilla to sugar-egg mixture until completely combined. Add the melted chocolate to the sugar-egg mixture and mix until chocolate is completely incorporated into sugar-egg mixture.
4. Sift together the cocoa, flour and salt until the mixture is free of any lumps. Add the sifted flour mixture to the chocolate mixture and stir until the mixture is free of any lumps. Stir in 4 oz of milk chocolate chips.
5. Pour the batter in a foil or parchment lined 8 x 8-inch baking pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. If using a 9 x 13-inch size pan, increase the recipe by 1 ½ times and bake for 40 minutes.
6. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely before cutting into individual squares.