Summer Barbecue Cooking Class – July 24, 2014

 

Nothing says summer like a burger off the barbecue.

Let’s have a summer garden party.  Doesn’t that sound great? Our cooking class will be held as always in the Holy Nativity Community Hall in Westchester on Thursday, July 24, 6:00 – 9:00.  The Community Hall is the central hub for the community garden that grows food for the hungry.

The Holy Nativity Community Garden

Every Thursday volunteers come to harvest what has grown that week and send it over to the LAX Food Pantry, which provides food for our brothers and sisters in need.  Isn’t that a beautiful thing? Fresh food, not just bottles and cans are sent over to help those that deserve to eat delicious meals. 

The Food of Rancho La Puerta

The Ranch Guacamole is a favorite of Ranch veterans.

Rancho La Puerta Guacamole

Cutting calories in the New Year?  Make this healthy and easy guacamole I learned to make at Rancho La Puerta.  Everyone is looking for easy ways to make great tasting food without all the calories.  Start with this surprising recipe.

Angel Hair Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes and Pesto

Do you want an easy weeknight supper dish?  This is it. Truly “Fresh Food in a Flash” and super yummy on top of it. Cappellini (Angel Hair Pasta) with Fresh Tomatoes, Pesto and Pine Nuts.  The farmers markets (or if you’re lucky, your garden) are bursting with fresh grape/cherry tomatoes and fresh basil right now.  Here’s your opportunity to put them to good use.

The Ultimate Veggie Burger

I know I’m going out on a limb by calling this the Ultimate Veggie Burger, but after our Summer Garden & Grilling Cooking Class, all ten people who tasted it agreed.  What makes it the ultimate?  First of all, it is true Fresh Food in a Flash.  No frozen patties that contain extra stuff you don’t want to eat.  Delicious, spicy, chewy, delicate, flavors that keep popping in your mouth – no cardboard here.  Even us meat eaters would choose this veggie burger over it’s meaty brethren.  Well most of the time; unless the meat is prime chopped, cooked rare – a discussion for a later time. No guilt associated with this burger!

Easy Barbecue Ribs top Summer Favorites

I tried to drive into Costco on the 3rd of July and quickly realized I would not find a parking space, so I left asap.  What was I thinking!  I wanted to purchase some ribs to make on the weekend – not for the 4th.  So I went back on the 5th after things had calmed down to get a package of Swift Premium St. Louis-style ribs to make these almost famous Best-Ever ribs that I found in Bon Appetit magazine.  Watch out Famous Dave’s!  If you love pork ribs and want them fast, you’ve gotta try these.  10-20 minutes prep time and 3 hours in the oven.

Avocado Grove Tour inspires Crab & Avocado Salad

Crab and Avocado Salad

The Crab and Avocado Salad is destined for my rotating repertoire and a menu item for one of my upcoming cooking classes. In this dish, the creaminess of the avocado matches so well with the crunch of the raw cabbage and persian cucumber slices. The garlicky mayo blend pulls together the exotic and delicate taste of the crab.  Yum!  I’m in love…with this dish.

Make Gazpacho before summer tomatoes disappear!

Like a fine wine, this gazpacho improves with age.  My age that is.  Some years ago, I tasted gazpacho in a Los Angeles restaurant and fell in love.  Since then I’ve been on a quest to make my own at home, always feeling I’ve come up short.  On top of it, my tastebuds have become more refined with age, so the bar is set ever farther.  I’ve tried numerous recipes always to be disappointed.  Recipes that call for tomato juice in addition to fresh tomatoes, recipes where the gazpacho marinates overnight, authentic Spanish recipes that refresh day old bread in water.  None were satisfactory to me.  I was determined to find the perfect gazpacho recipe for our August Garden to Table Cooking Class, so I tinkered around in the kitchen and came up with this recipe…and I finally have found my match!

20 Minutes to Best-Ever Barbecued Ribs**

I am always suspect of a recipe that calls itself Best-Ever anything…plus I get weak in the knees for great barbecue, but I am now sold!  I read the Best-Ever Barbecued Ribs recipe that was on the cover of the July issue of Bon Appetit and I was mainly attracted to how easy the recipe would be to make in our Summertime Cooking Class.  The class is only three hours long, so we needed a ribs recipe that would be quick and easy.   **Even though the ribs took 2-3 hours in the oven, I was not daunted.  I reasoned that I could do the simple prep by applying the dry rub to the ribs and have them in the oven as my students were arriving to class.  Then they could finish up the job during the class.

Cucumber Ribbon Salad with Goat Cheese & Pepitas

With 4th of July around the corner, who can’t use some new ideas to bring to the neighborhood Potluck?   Here’s a Fresh Food in a Flash idea that is easy and inexpensive to make.  Cucumber Ribbon Salad with Goat Cheese and Pepitas.

5-Minute Red Pepper-Tomato Tapenade

Red Pepper Tapenade

Looking for appetizer ideas for your spring party?   This Tapenade will take you five minutes to whip up in your food processor.  It’s delicious and it’s different.  The ingredients are items you can have on hand to make at a moment’s notice. You can serve it on fresh baguette slices, crostini toasts, crackers, chips or as a dip for fresh veggies.