Wickedfood Cooking School, SUNNINGHILL

Information & bookings (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Hi all,

This week, with great anticipation, we’ll receive the Review Copy of Jamie Oliver’s latest book, Jamie’s 30-Minutes Meals. See below for a review.  Wickedfood Cooking School will definitely be using it in future for some interesting Jamie Oliver cooking classes.

Although nights are getting cooler, this time of year is still great for outdoor cooking. At the end of March, we have our annual all you want to know about Beef cooking class (click here to see one of our previous beef classes in action).  This is one of our highlights of the year. In this beef cooking  class we’ll teach you how to work with meat, in conjunction with one of Johannesburg’s top butchers – Braeside butchery.  In the class students will have the opportunity to taste proper free-range grass-fed beef.  This Beef cooking class is  definitely not to be missed, only 20 places available, so book early.

The April cooking class programme is now live. In Look forward to seeing you at one of the classes.

Find us on Facebook and Twitter – just search for Wickedfood and you will find us. We update the blog on a daily basis and publish it through Facebook and Twitter.

Looking for info on food?

If you have any food-related questions, or a dish that you just can’t get right or even a certain recipe that you are looking for, but just can’t seem to find, then contact us and we will do our best to answer it as soon as possible. Click Here for more information. Hope to hear from you soon.

Wickedfood Cooking School news

Cooking class programmes for the next two months are up on the internet, click the relevant month for the  March and April programmes.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes with a minimum of 8 participants and a maximum of 12 as this gives everyone hands-on experience and keeps the cooking class small enough for maximum learning. These cooking classes are conducted by our senior instructors who have extensive experience in the food industry and share a variety of additional cooking tips throughout the cooking class.

• Sunday 13 March at 4pm – Flavours of the Spanish table (R360pp for the class). In this Spanish cooking class we re-interpret some of the classic Spanish dishes in an easy-to-prepare style.
• Monday 14 March at 6pm – An introduction to Chinese cooking (R380pp). A fun Chinese cooking class, an easy introduction to some classic Chinese dishes including hot and sour soup, steamed fish, 3 cup chicken, Cantonese sweet and sour pork, and almond curd with fruit.
• Monday 21 March at 6pm – North African Feast (R360pp). Moroccan cookery class, preparing a delicious North African feast including a selection of salads, Moroccan frittata, chicken tagine, 7-vegetable couscous and roasted fig parcels.
• Sunday 27 March at 4pm – All you wanted to know about… beef (R390pp). This meat cooking class is part of our  master class series. In conjunction with our head instructor, one of Johannesburg’s leading butchers will give an in-depth hands-on demonstration in choosing and preparing beef for a variety of dishes. Students will learn the secrets of cooking a number of classic mouthwatering beef dishes.

Cookbook of the week

Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals certainly once again pushes the boundaries of cookbooks. It is a clearly thought-out book, offering 50 brand new complete meal ideas. Jamie Oliver proves, that by mastering a few tricks and being organized and focused in the kitchen, it is absolutely possible, and easy, to get a complete meal on the table in the same amount of time you’d normally spend making one dish.. … Click Here the for more information.

Food quote of the week

“A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness.” - Elsa Schiaparelli

On Food

Grass fed beef,  the Facts

Chemicals, pesticides, hormones and antibiotics are just a few of the nasty toxins we make our bodies ingest everyday through the consumption of certain meat and dairy products, vegetables and fruits. While awareness of the harmful chemicals used in the growing process of fruits and vegetables is increasing, many people remain unaware about the use of antibiotics and hormones used commonly in the production of grain fed, or feedlot meat. Wickedfood Cooking School has put together the following notes which will broaden your understanding of grain fed meat:

• Grain-fed meat products have lower nutritional value than their pasture-fed counterparts.
• You may think that steak or mince looks fresh, but quite often the colour and juiciness of the meat has been enhanced.
• Antibiotics are used in the growing of grain-fed meat in order to prevent sickness caused by the unnatural feeding of excess amounts of grain. Unfortunately these drugs are subsequently ingested into our systems when we eat the meat.

…Click Here for the full article.

Recipes of the week:

Mustard chicken with quick dauphinoise, greens and black forest affogato

From Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals this is not just a recipe for another dish, but rather how to put together a complete quick and easy meal …Click Here for the recipe.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

This week, with great anticipation, Wickedfood Cooking School received the review copy of Jamie Oliver’s latest book, Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals. As with many people, at the first brief skim, we were not overly impressed.  Where were the neat little categories usually associated with the cookbook.  On closer inspection however Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals certainly once again pushes the boundaries of cookbooks as did Jamies Ministry of Food. It is a clearly thought out book, offering 50 brand new complete meal ideas. Jamie Oliver proves that, by mastering a few tricks and being organized and focused in the kitchen, it is absolutely possible, and easy, to get a complete meal on the table in the same amount of time you’d normally spend making one dish (although not always in 30 minutes).

Recipes in Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals are varied and seasonal. They include main course recipes with side dishes as well as puddings and drinks, and are all meals you’ll be proud to serve your family and friends. Jamie has written the recipes in a way that will help you make the most of every single minute in the kitchen.

Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals is as practical as it is beautiful, showing that with a bit of preparation, the right equipment and some organization, hearty, delicious, quick meals are possible.

The book’s layout has a one page photo of the finished meal, one of the work in progress and then, on one rather crowded page, the ingredients and the method – and because it’s for the whole meal the method skips back and forth between dishes, so it all looks very busy.

Once you get to grips with the Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals, it’ll give you endless inspirational ideas for quick and easy meals.  Wickedfood Cooking School will certainly be using the book as a basis for some exciting new Jamie Oliver Cooking Classes this year.

For a delicious  recipe from the book, click here.

Interested in buying this book? visit - Red Pepper Books – The South African online bookshop, they are able to offer you great prices on any book you are looking for.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

With quick dauphinoise, greens, black forest affogato.

This week’s recipe comes from our cookbook of the week, Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals. It is definitely one of the recipes that Wickedfood Cooking School will use  for an exciting new Jamie Oliver Cooking Class later this year.

© David Loftus

DAUPHINOISE
1 red onion
1kg potatoes
1 nutmeg
2 cloves of garlic
1 x 300ml tub of single cream
4 anchovies in oil
Parmesan cheese
2 bay leaves
a very small bunch of fresh thyme

SEASONINGS
olive oil
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt & black pepper

CHICKEN
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
4 x 180g chicken breasts, skin on
4 teaspoons Colman’s mustard powder
3 baby leeks or 1 large leek
4 cloves of garlic
white wine
75ml single cream (taken from cream for dauphinoise)
1 heaped teaspoon wholegrain mustard

GREENS
200g Swiss chard or other greens
1 x 200g bag of pre-washed baby spinach
1 lemon

AFFOGATO
1 tablespoon instant coffee (or you could use 4–6 shots of espresso)
3 teaspoons golden caster sugar
4–6 round shortbread biscuits
1 x 425g tin of pitted black cherries in juice
1 x 100g bar of good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
1 x 500g tub of good-quality vanilla ice cream

TO START Get all your ingredients and equipment ready. Put a medium saucepan and a large ovenproof frying pan on a low heat. Fit the thick slicer disc attachment into the food processor and turn the oven on to 220°C. Fill and boil the kettle.

DAUPHINOISE Peel and halve the red onion. Wash the potatoes, leave their skins on and slice in the food processor with the onion. Tip into a large sturdy roasting tray (approx. 35 x 25cm) and season. Grate over ¼ of the nutmeg, crush in 2 unpeeled cloves of garlic and pour in 225ml of single cream.
Tear in the anchovies and finely grate over a large handful of Parmesan. Add the bay leaves, pick the leaves from a few thyme sprigs and add a good drizzle of olive oil. Use your clean hands to quickly mix and toss everything together, then put the tray over a medium heat. Pour in 200ml of boiled water, cover tightly with tin foil and leave on the heat.

CHICKEN Turn the heat under the frying pan up to medium. Pick and finely chop the leaves from the rosemary sprigs and sprinkle them into the pack of chicken. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of mustard powder over each breast, then season and drizzle some olive oil over the chicken and into the frying pan. Massage and rub these flavours all over the meat. Put the chicken breasts in the pan, skin side down. Wash your hands well. Use a fish slice to press down on the chicken to help it cook. It should take around 18 minutes in total.

DAUPHINOISE Give the tray a shake so nothing catches.

GREENS Finely slice the stalks so they cook quickly. Wash the leaves. Put the stalks into the saucepan, cover with boiling water, add a good pinch of salt and put the lid on.

DAUPHINOISE Remove the tin foil. Finely grate over a layer of Parmesan. Drizzle the remaining thyme sprigs with oil, scatter on top and put into the oven on the top shelf to cook for 15 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbling.

CHICKEN Quickly trim the leeks and halve lengthways. Wash them under the cold tap, then finely slice them and add to one side of the chicken pan.

GREENS Add the chard leaves to the saucepan. Add another splash of boiled water if needed.

CHICKEN Crush 4 unpeeled cloves of garlic into the pan of chicken. Flip the chicken breasts skin side up, then press down on them again. Stir the leeks and add a good swig of white wine.

GREENS Empty the bag of spinach into a colander and pour the greens and the boiling water over the spinach. Add a lug of olive oil to the empty saucepan, squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon, then return all the drained greens to the pan and use tongs to toss and dress in the flavours. Season to taste, then take straight to the table.

CHICKEN Check the chicken is cooked through, then pour 75ml of cream into the frying pan. Cover the pan with tin foil. Quickly check on the dauphinoise.

AFFOGATO Put 1 tablespoon of instant coffee into a small jug with 3 teaspoons of sugar. Half-fill the kettle and boil. Crumble the shortbread biscuits into the bottom of 4 espresso cups. Drain the cherries and divide them between the cups. Bash the bar of chocolate up and add a few chunks
to each cup.Take the cups to the table.

CHICKEN Turn the heat off. Transfer the chicken breasts to a board and slice into uneven pieces. Stir 1 heaped teaspoon of whole grain mustard into the sauce, then taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Spoon the sauce on to a platter and put the sliced chicken on top. Drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil and take straight to the table.

DAUPHINOISE Take to the table. Get your ice cream out of the freezer to soften for later.

TO SERVE After dinner, stir some boiling water into the jug of coffee and sugar. Take to the table with the ice cream and spoon a scoop into each espresso cup. Grate over some chocolate, then pour over just enough hot coffee (or espresso) to start melting the chocolate. So delicious!

Main courses serves 4 to 6

For other recipes from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals …. click here.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.