Wickedfood Cooking School, SUNNINGHILL

Information & bookings (076) 236-2345  sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Hi all,

Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas break and that this will be an exciting food year for you.  The School closed from 16 December to Monday 9 January 2012, and we’re now back and raring to go. It seems as though many of you have made it to your new year’s resolution to learn more about food, as of January classes are filling up quickly.  We have some very exciting cooking classes lined up for January and February, including Quick 30 minute meals; Easy curries, salads and soups; Easy Italian; Mexican Salsas, dips and filling; and Casual Thai dinner parties dishes - see below for more details.

In February we have our regular and ever  popular Valentines classes.  Bookings are already open for these and we have quite a few bookings, so if you’re interested don’t delay, contact the school for more information or to reserve a place.

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

The new year sees an exciting selection of interesting and different cooking classes aimed at individuals.  The Cooking class programme for January and February are up on the internet. 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 15 January at 4pm – Quick 30 minute meals (R370pp). Trying to juggle work and home commitments can be tough, and the statement of ‘who has time to cook these days’ is on the increase. In this ‘30 Minute meals’ cooking class we show participants how to produce quick and easy 30-minute meals that are delicious and well balanced. Dishes include, chickpea and pumpkin curry, grilled beef, grilled tuna and a rich chocolate self-saucing pudding with only 5g of fat!!
• Monday 16 January at 6pm – Jamie’s Ministry of Food – Easy curries, salads and soups (R380pp). We consider Jamie Oliver’s ‘Ministry of Food’ his best book yet. It’s the perfect book for any beginner. In this Jamie Oliver cooking class we take six recipes from the book and re-interpret them, with plenty of tips along the way. Learning the secrets to successful, easy cooking which includes, pea and mint soup, vegetable bhajis, chicken korma, lamb rogan josh, evolution potato salad and a vanilla cheesecake.
• Sunday 22 January at 4pm – Easy Italian (R380pp). Italian cuisine is noted for its regional diversity, abundance of difference in taste, and is known to be one of the most popular in the world. The main characteristics of Italian cuisine is its extreme simplicity. Dishes and recipes are often the creation of grandmothers rather than of chefs, and this makes many recipes ideally suited for home cooking. This is one of the main reasons behind the ever increasing popularity of this cuisine. Join us in this Italian cooking class for a more in-depth look at Italian cuisine which includes cauliflower frittata, risotto with dried mushrooms, lamb chops fried in Parmesan cheese batter and cassata.
• Monday 23 January at 6pm – Mexican Salsas, dips and fillings (R370pp). The history of traditional Mexican food is a long and complex one, and every bit of the complexity is reflected in the sheer variety of flavours in Mexican cuisine. Present day Mexican cuisine has evolved into something truly extraordinary. Join us in this Mexican cooking class as we blend the exotic flavours with that of the new world flavours which includes salsas, dips and fillings, for nachos, tostadas and tortillas, which are all perfect for al fresco dining.
• Sunday 29 January at 4pm -  Easy dishes for casual Thai dinner parties (R370pp). Thai cuisine places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components. Thai cuisine is also known for being quite spicy as well as balancing the four fundamental taste senses in each dish or the overall meal: sour, sweet, salty, and (optional) bitter. Learn how to balance these tastes in this Thai cooking class, which includes, fresh springrolls, sour and spicy fish soup, stir-fried beef curry, chicken salad with peanut sauce, stir-fried noodles and bananas in a sweet/salty coconut sauce.

Book of the week

Food quote of the week

“Garlic is as good as ten mothers.” – Les Blank

Recipes of the week:

Empire roast chicken

This recipe  is an adaptation from Jamie’s Great Britain, our recipe book for this week.  Jamie says of this roast chicken recipe in the introduction -  “Ask any British person what their two favourite meals are and I reckon most people would say their mum’s roast chicken, and a curry. Well, welcome to Empire roast chicken, a combination of both of those things. Your friends and family are going to love it. I love it. You will love it.” Certainly a delicious dish for a casual Sunday roast with friends. ….Click Here for all our recipes.

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, SUNNINGHILL

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

Hi all,

Halloween is an annual holiday observed on October 31, which commonly includes activities such as trick-or-treating, attending costume parties, carving jack-o’-lanterns, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films. Part of many festivities is carving weird faces in pumpkins, what to do with the pumpkin when the festivities are over?  We have a few great ideas in this week’s recipes, see below.

According to this week’s book author, life is too short to grow unremarkable food.  Our book of the week, is an extremely absorbing book dedicated to more unusual yet delicious fruits, nuts and vegetables that can easily be grown in the average garden.

Our November class schedule is now up on our website.  included in the programme are two great classes with the festive season theme. Cooking classes for individuals for the next two weeks include  Spicy Thai, French cooking, and Jamie’s quick meals and pastas.  See the overview below for all the cooking classes for the next month. 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 programme for this month is up on the internet, click the November programme. 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 06 November at 4pm – Spicy Thai (R380pp). Thai cuisine places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components. Thai cuisine is also known for being quite spicy as well as balancing the four fundamental taste senses in each dish or the overall meal: sour, sweet, salty, and (optional) bitter. Learn how to balance these tastes in our Thai cooking class. Dishes include minced pork northern style, spicy chicken soup, deep-fried fish in a garlic sauce, sweet and sour vegetables, stir-fried noodles and sweet rice pudding
• Monday 07 November at 6pm – Classic French cooking (R370pp). This French cookery class is a perfect introduction to French cuisine, which includes cheese soufflé, potato and leek soup, coq au vin, potato gratin, and tarte tatin.
• Monday 14 November at 6pm – Jamie’s Ministry of Food – quick meals and pastas (R370pp). We consider Jamie Oliver’s latest book his best. It is a perfect book for any beginner. Learn the secrets to effortless meals in this Jamie Oliver cooking class, including spicy Moroccan stewed fish with couscous, chicken and leek stroganoff, broccoli and pesto tagliatelle, classic tomato spaghetti, macaroni cauliflower cheese bake and banana tarte tatin, with a wicked twist.
• Sunday 20 November at 6pm – Alternative to a traditional Christmas dinner (R390pp). Easy stylish festive entertaining in this cooking class, an alternative to the traditional Winter Christmas food, including chicken liver pâté, sun-dried tomato soup, roasted medallions of sirloin, waldorf salad and a Christmas pudding.
• Monday 21 November at 6pm – Entertaining with Asian undertones (R380pp). A cooking class aimed at hosting an elegant dinner party for six with an Asian taste, including duck and bean sprout springrolls, lemongrass vichysoisse, Crispy skinned fish and crème caramels.

Book of the week

A Taste of the Unexpected

Every once in awhile a really absorbing book crosses our desk.  One such book is Mark Diacono’s A Taste of the Unexpected. He reveals that it is no harder to grow the unusual and utterly delicious than it is the entirely ordinary. Each chapter gives fundamental advice on conditions each plant thrives on, varieties available, growing methods and process of harvesting. In addition he includes a number of mouthwatering recipes for all of the crops featured. It is a book that we will definitely be using as a constant source of reference at Wickedfood Earth. ….Click Here for reviews of all our cookbook reviews.

Food quote of the week

“Life is too short to grow unremarkable food. It’s simply not worth the time or effort and – happily- it’s no more tricky to grow the utterly delicious than it is the entirely ordinary.” – Mark Diacono, A Taste of the Unexpected

Recipes of the week:

Pumpkin Butterscotch Pie

Halloween is becoming big around the world.  One of the dilemmas is what to do with the leftover pumpkin after the party.  Flesh freezes very well as is, just cube and pop into the freezer. A wide variety of delicious dishes can be made from it. In this fun take on pumpkin pie, a little whiskey really puts the “Scotch” in butterscotch. ….Click Here for all our recipes.

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, SUNNINGHILL

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

Hi all,

Well it’s voting day.  Hope you all go out and exercise your democratic right, irrespective of which political party you vote for. And to all those candidates out there, good luck.

At Wickedfood Cooking School, you also seem to be voting with your feet. Most of our individual classes fill up pretty quickly when published, thank you. Our June programme is now up on the website.  We still have a few spaces open in most of the classes outlined below, including our ever popular Sushi making class.

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  May and June 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 22 May at 4pm – Hearty winter Entertaining (R360pp). No fuss dinner party for six. This cooking class is perfect for winter entertaining. Dishes include mushroom soup, Caesar’s salad, braised chicken, mini vegetable filo pies and chocolate pudding.
• Monday 23 May at 6pm – Jamie’s America – … on Cajun food (R390pp). Jamie Oliver’s book, Jamie’s America, is based on his recent travels through the USA. We re-interpret some of the dishes in this Jamie Oliver cooking class, and put them together into a themed Cajun cooking class menu, including hush puppies, blackened fish steaks, jambalaya, spicy meat gumbo, dirty Cajun rice and bread pudding.
• Tuesday 31 May at 6pm – Sushi 1 – The basics of sushi making (R375pp – maximum 18, so book early). The increasing popularity of sushi around the world has resulted in many more people wanting to learn the basics of sushi making, this cooking class shows you how to do the following – cutting fish, making rice, California and maki rolls, nigirizushi (finger), and hand rolls.
• Sunday 05 June at 4pm – Flavours of the South African Portuguese Table (R360pp). In this Portuguese cooking class we blend a mix of traditional and contemporary Portuguese food which has been adapted to a South African palate which includes trinchado, chicken livers, caldo verde, chicken peri-peri, Portuguese salad and crème caramel.

Cookbook of the week

Food from Plenty

A weighty, beautiful book containing over 300 recipes. What really sets this cookbook apart, is its approach to recipes.  It starts where all good cookbooks should, with roasts, roast chicken to be more exact.  Once you have mastered the basics, author Diana Henry, gives the cook 9 additional recipe ideas for different flavours with roast chicken. Added to that are great ideas on what to do with leftovers. … Click Here for the full story.

Food quote of the week

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” – Virginia Woolf,

Recipes of the week:

Spare ribs

This is sticky finger food at its very best.  This recipe is from our cookbook author of the week, Diana Henry.  Rather than roasting, try cooking these tasty ribs on a braai, or smoke in a kettlebraai, as we do at Wickedfood Cooking School, in our outdoor cooking class. Also try the marinade with chicken wings or drumsticks. ….Click Here for all our recipes.

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.