Wickedfood Cooking School Newsletter 9 March 2011

Monday, March 7th, 2011

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 4pmFlavours 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.

  Wickedfood Cooking School Newsletter 22 September 2010

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

Wickedfood Cooking School, SUNNINGHILL

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

Hi all,

Apart from hands-on cooking classes, from time to time we also run specialist gourmet meals, often in conjunction with Slow Food. On Sunday we organized a spring feast at Die Ou Pastorie restaurant in Skeerpoort, near Hartebeerspoort Dam.  The function was a tremendous success and generated many enquiries. Out of this success, we have decided that we will run a feast to celebrate each season.  The next one is planned for the end of January.

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.

Wickedfood Cooking School news

Cooking class programmes are up on the internet, click the relevant month for the September and October 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 26 September at 4pm – Easy Asian dishes with a Chinese flavour (R390pp). Chinese cooking class – perfect for entertaining, with most dishes prepared in advance including wonton soup with noodles, chilli prawns, master stock chicken, Mu shu pork and ginger pudding.
  • Monday 27 September at 6pm – Alfresco Italian dining (R380pp). Real Italian cooking class, tastes of al fresco summer dining and easy entertaining, including char grilled asparagus, affettati misti, insalata caprese, chicken involtini and Hanepoot semifreddo.
  • Monday 04 October at 6pmGordon Ramsay – Cooking for Friends 2 (R390 pp). This Gordon Ramsey cooking class is based on his book Cooking for Friends. Love him or hate him, he certainly knows his food.  In this book, we see a very different side of him, more relaxed, cooking some best-loved versions of classic British dishes for family and friends, including Shropshire summer soup, farfalle with bacon, peas and sage, braised chicken thighs, new potato, pea and broad bean soup, spicy cauliflower stir-fry and a peach, raspberry and ginger crumble.
  • Tuesday 12 October at 6pm – Sushi 1 – The basics of sushi making (R395pp – maximum 18, so book early). The basics of sushi making – cutting fish, making rice, California and maki rolls, nigirizushi (finger), and hand rolls.
  • Sunday 17 October at 4pm – Classic Italian dishes (R380pp). One of our favourite Italian cooking classes, preparing 6 hearty dishes including chicken liver crostinis, zucchini frittata, pasta with a clam sauce, Osso Buca, polenta and pannacotta.

Please contact the school should you wish to make a booking:

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.

On food

Spinach is packed with nutrients including iron, but the oxalic acid it contains makes it hard for the body to absorb the iron. Tea and coffee can also make it harder to absorb, so avoid that cuppa with your spinach supper. Drinking a Vitamin C-rich drink with your meal such as orange juice will help your body along.

Cookbook of the week

Harvest, Recipes from an Organic Farm

In today’s fast world it is gratifying to know that more and more South Africans are returning to the land and becoming more aware of where their food comes from. Harvest, Recipes from an Organic Farm by Christine Stevens, is the story about a family’s journey from Cape Town city life to the good life on an organic farm. Click Here for more.

Click Here to see Wickedfood Cooking School’s top 10 food-related books for 2010.

Food quote of the week

“Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits” - Carl Sandburg, American writer and editor

Recipe of the week:

Spinach and feta filo pastry pie

The green leaves of spinach, Swiss chard and turnips are exceptionally good for you.  This recipe, from our Greek cooking class, uses spinach, together with feta cheese and pinenuts to make a delicious Mediterranean-inspired pie – Spanakopita.   Serve with a simple rocket salad on the side, and for a more substantial meal, simply-roasted chicken or pan-fried fish fillets. …Click Here for the recipe.

The Wickedfood Team

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.

  Wickedfood Cooking School Newsletter 8 September 2010

Sunday, September 5th, 2010

Wickedfood Cooking School, SUNNINGHILL

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

Hi all,

Wickedfood Cooking School, in conjunction with Slow Food and Die Ou Pastorie restaurant in Skeerpoort, near Hartebeerspoort Dam, will be organizing a spring feast on Sunday, 19 September.  This will be a great opportunity  to meet some local producers and savour the delicious produce.  See below for more details.  Space is very limited, so book early to avoid disappointment.

And for all the wine lovers out there, don’t forget the Juliet Cullinan Wine Festival this week Wednesday and Thursday.  See below for more details.

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.

Wickedfood Cooking School news

Cooking class programmes are up on the internet, click the relevant month for the September and October 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 12 September at 4pm – Easy Entertaining Indian style (R380pp). Authentic Indian cooking class including bhel puri, lamb korma, potato and cauliflower curry, chicken pulao and cheese balls in syrup.
  • Monday 13 September at 6pm – Jamie’s America – … on Soul food (R360pp). Jamie Oliver cooking class, based on his latest book on his recent travels through the USA. We re-interpret some of the dishes, and put them together into a themed menu including red pepper summer soup, fried chicken, collard greens, grits, coleslaw and peach cobbler.
  • Monday 20 September at 6pm – Entertaining Turkish style (R370pp). Turkish cooking class – dishes include bulgur wheat patties, yoghurt soup, baked layered lamb pastry, stuffed aubergines, rice pilav and syrupy almond cake.
  • Sunday 26 September at 4pm – Easy Asian dishes with a Chinese flavour (R390pp). Chinese cooking class – perfect for entertaining, with most dishes prepared in advance including wonton soup with noodles, chilli prawns, master stock chicken, Mu shu pork and ginger pudding.
  • Monday 27 September at 6pm – Alfresco Italian dining (R380pp). Real Italian cooking class, tastes of al fresco summer dining and easy entertaining, including char grilled asparagus, affettati misti, insalata caprese, chicken involtini and Hanepoot semifreddo.

Please contact the school should you wish to make a booking:

Slow Food Spring country feast

Wickedfood Cooking School, in conjunction with Slow Food and Die Ou Pastorie restaurant in Skeerpoort, near Hartebeerspoort Dam, will be hosting a spring feast on Sunday, 19 September. Come and meet some of the small producers, and sample their award-winning ingredients incorporated into a delicious 5-course menu prepared by Die Ou Pastorie (there is also a vegetarian option, please advise when booking):

  • Organic micro green salad with free range chicken locally smoked;
  • Soup  – incorporating the freshest of spring vegetables available on the day;
  • Spring lamb from the valley: roasted shoulder served with timbale of polenta cooked in a light smoked chicken stock with locally produced halloumi cheese, smoked bacon, and spring vegetables.
  • Local award-winning cheese platter with a selection of Die Ou Pastorie jellies and home made biscotti.
  • Pecan nut tiramisù.

The cost of the lunch is R250pp including a wine pairing with each course (other drinks for your own account).  To book contact: Tim tim@mutengo.co.za 011 442-5201 or 072 238-2790

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.

Juliet Cullinan Wine Festival

The Juliet Cullinan Standard Bank Wine Festival 2010 takes place this year on 8 and 9 September from 17h30 to 21h00 at the Wanderer’s Club, 21 North Road, Illovo, Johannesburg. Cost per ticket is R100.

With only 60 exhibitors, this small, focused festival appeals to tasters looking for old and tested, or new and innovative wines, which are not available to the general trade and not easily available in retail outlets.  Each year the management at Wickedfood Cooking School visits this show to keep abreast of new trends and cultivars available on the market, a really worthwhile outing.

On food

You can tell whether a crab is male or female by the markings on the underside. A female has a pattern similar in shape to a dome, whereas a male’s markings resemble a rocket. Lovers of the delicate white crabmeat will find this useful as the male’s larger claws contain more of the prized flesh than the female’s do.

Cookbook of the week

Mexican Food Made Simple

When Thomasina Miers first visited  Mexico at the tender age of eighteen,  she fell so in love with its food that she went back to live there, opening up a cocktail bar and using her free time to travel the country. Returning to London, she entered and won  BBC’s MasterChef . She went on to open a  Mexican street food cantina, Wahaca, and has now opened three branches. Her latest book Mexican Food Made Simple is a really great introduction into Mexican food. Recipes are simple to follow, yet at the same time wholesome and full of Mexican flavour. Click Here for more.

Click Here to see Wickedfood Cooking School’s top 10 food-related books for 2010.

Food quote of the week

“Lettuce is like conversation: It must be fresh and crisp, and so sparkling that you scarcely notice the bitter in it”Charles Dudley Warner, essayist

Recipe of the week:

Steak Burritos

This recipe is from Thomasina Miers latest book Mexican Food Made Simple. A great casual party dish or for a quick healthy meal. Click Here for the recipe.

The Wickedfood Team

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.

Chinese corn and chicken soup

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

Q: Recipe for best Chinese corn soup please.

A: Cantonese chicken and corn soup is one of the most popular soups throughout China, and also very popular and Wickedfood Cooking School in our Chinese cooking class. We use tinned creamed corn, and for a smooth texture, whizz it in a food processor for a couple of seconds. For flavour it is very important to use home made chicken stock. Traditionally only egg whites are used for this dish, but the whole egg can also be used.corn and chicken soup2

250g chicken breast fillet, minced or coarsely chopped

2/3 cup Shaoxing rice wine

400g tinned creamed sweet corn

1,5L chicken stock

1t salt

2T cornflour, dissolved in a 1/4 cup of water

2 eggs (or whites, see introduction), lightly beaten with 2T water

2t roasted sesame oil

  1. Place the chicken in a bowl together with 3T of the rice wine and combine. Set aside.
  2. Place any remaining wine, sweet corn, chicken stock and salt in a large pot and bring to the boil, stirring continuously.
  3. Once it comes to a boil, reduce to simmer, add the chicken and stir to separate the meat. Simmer for 5 minutes.
  4. Add the dissolved cornflour, in a thin stream, stirring continuously, and simmer until thickened slightly.
  5. Remove from heat and pour the egg in, in a thin stream to create long strands, mixing as you pour.
  6. Stir in the sesame oil. Check the seasoning and serve immediately.

Serves 6

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studios. 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 – team building 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 teambuilding cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

Spiced pork spare ribs

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

Easy finger food that is really addictive, perfect with beer, taken from the Wickedfood Cooking School Chinese cooking class based around the Neil Perry cookbook Simply Asian.

Marinade
1 t soy sauce
1/2  t rice wine (shao zing)
1/2  t chilli oil
1 t cornflour
1 egg

500g pork spare ribs, cut into 5cm lengths
4 cups vegetable oil
1/2 cup coriander leaves
Szechuan salt and pepper to taste (see below)

Sauce
2 T water
2 T sugar
1 T soy sauce
1 T minced ginger
1 t minced garlic
2 T Chinese black vinegar

Marinade
Combine all the marinade ingredients. Pour the marinade over the ribs and leave to marinate for at least 40 minutes.

Heat the oil in a wok until very hot. Deep-fry the ribs until they are a deep golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well on crumpled kitchen paper.

Sauce
Boil all the ingredients in a small pot until the sugar melts. Leave to cool.

Serve
Pile the ribs onto the centre of a large plate and sprinkle with coriander. Serve with the sauce, and Szechuan salt and pepper.

Szechuan salt and pepper
Combine 3 parts sea salt, and 2 parts Szechuan peppercorns. Roast over a medium heat in a frying pan until mixture starts to brown, then remove from the heat and pour into a bowl. When cool, grind to a powder.

Great Asian recipes – Click here:

Chicken feet

Biryani

Kaeng kari ka – yellow curried chicken

Phanaeng Beef Curry in sweet peanut sauce

Phat Thai

Tom yum kung

Green pawpaw salad

Fish head curry

Warm squid salad in a pineapple

Spiced pork spare ribs

Deep-fried silken tofu

Thai beef salad

3 Cup Chicken

Cooking schools in South East Asia

Thai House cooking school Bangkok • Thailand

Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School Thailand

Red Bridge Cooking School Hoi An • Vietnam

Books reviewed by Wickedfood on Asian food:

Secrets of the Red Lantern

Kylie Kwong: Recipes and Stories

A Passion for Thai Cooking

Balance & Harmony, Asian Food

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Boksburg – (011) 823-5365 boksburg@wickedfood.co.za

Runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. 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 – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes 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 teambuilding cooking classes these classes are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

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