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

Hi all,

The end of the year is always a busy time at Wickedfood Cooking School with Christmas and end-of-year functions.  If for some reason you have been unable to organize your end of your function in time, why not consider January, when all your colleagues are freshly back from a deserved Christmas break.  Contact Cilla on (076) 236-2345 or sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za for more information.

We have one individual cooking class left for this year,  Alternative to a traditional Christmas dinner.  See the overview below.

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

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.

We have one more individual class for this year, our annual Alternative to a traditional Christmas dinner cooking class.

• Sunday 20 November at 4pm – 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.

The School will be closed from 16 December 2011 and re-open in mid January 2012. January And February cooking classes for individuals will go live within the next week, with some exciting new ideas.

Book of the week

The Food of Spain

Food quote of the week

“My tongue is smiling.” – Abigail Trillin

Recipes of the week:

Almond Cake

There are almond cakes from all parts of Spain, but this one is special. Pilgrims and tourists who visit the great Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, where the relics of the apostle Saint James are believed to be buried, see the cake in the windows of every pastry shop and restaurant. It is usually marked with the shape of the cross of the Order of Santiago. This deliciously moist and fragrant homey version is without a base. ….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.

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.  To prepare, ether boil without adding any water, or roast in an oven until soft.   Then use for a variety recipes as outlined in the references below. In this fun take on pumpkin pie, adapted from a Bon Appétit recipe, a little whiskey really puts the “Scotch” in butterscotch.

Every once in awhile a really absorbing book crosses our desk.  One such book is Mark Diacono’s A Taste of the Unexpected . He quite rightly believes that it is a waste of time and effort growing the usual fruit and veg available on the supermarket shelves, they are usually cheap to buy and don’t taste that much different to what’s available at the shops.

In A Taste of the Unexpected Mark discusses growing  the more unusual fruit and vegetables – Tree Fruit, Nuts, Soft Fruit, Herbs & Spices, Beans & Greens, Leaves & Flowers and Buried Treasures. 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.

The book is winner of the Guild of Food Writers Food Book of the Year Award 2011.  Author, Mark Diacono, is head gardener at River Cottage and owner of Otter Farm, which has become known as the ‘Climate Change Farm.’ On his farm in Devon, Mark grows gourmet delights such as gojiberries, Egyptian walking onions, kai lan, salsify, Chilean guava, day lilies and Szechuan pepper.

Exciting and inspirational, A Taste of the Unexpected will redefine your approach to growing your own food. As Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall of River Cottage puts it “…I believe that this is a book that will, if you let it, if you really use it, change how and what you grow, what you cook and how you eat, forever and for the better.”

It is a book that we will definitely be using as a constant source of reference at Wickedfood Earth.

Interested in buying this book? Visit - Red Pepper Books – The South African online bookshop, is able to offer you great prices on any book you are looking for, and they deliver to your door. Pay only R369 for this book (Recommended Retail Price = R410)!  Red Pepper Books is offering Wickedfood Cooking School subscribers an EXTRA 10% off this book. Simply type in the promotional code WICKEDFOOD on the shipping page of the checkout process and your purchase will be reduced by a further 10%, and therefore pay just R332.10, a total saving of R77,90.

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.

Asparagus is one of the first spring vegetables to arrive on the shop shelves. We are loving them at Wickerfood Cooking School cooking classes. They are now at the height of the season, with prices coming down all the time. Buy local, the fresher the sweeter. Here are two simple recipes, one for white and the other for green asparagus, as well as a delicious easy-to-prepare sauce.

Sauteed Asparagus

Cooking asparagus in a heavy-based frying pan, preferably cast-iron,  with a tight fitting lid, concentrates its flavour rather than diluting it, as in steaming or boiling. This recipe works best with green asparagus, especially the thinner ones.

1kg asparagus
2T  butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Rinse asparagus in cold water and trim off tough ends of stalks.
2. Put butter in a heavy cast-iron frying pan, with a tight-fitting lid and heat until butter is foaming.
3. Lay asparagus in the pan and shake from side to side to coat asparagus gently with melted butter. Cover tightly and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. Check asparagus and turn as needed to make sure the stalks cook evenly and don’t burn.
4. Continue cooking 5 minutes longer, or until asparagus is tender but still crisp and bright green.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve hot.

Serves 4

Preparing Fresh White Asparagus

Unlike its green-skinned counterpart, white asparagus has a tough, bitter peel that needs to be removed before cooking. The following is the classic way of preparing white asparagus (alternatively, they can also be steamed).

4L water
2T  salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3T  butter
1kg fresh white asparagus

1. Bring water, salt, lemon juice, and butter to a simmer in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Meanwhile, trim about 2cm from the ends of white asparagus. Lay spears on a work surface, then peel thin skin from each with a sharp swivel-blade vegetable peeler, starting 4cm from the top and running the length of the spear. (Spears are brittle and can snap when peeled in midair.)
3. Gather spears into 2-4 bundles, tie loosely with kitchen string, and lower into simmering water. Cook, increasing heat to medium-high to maintain a simmer if necessary, until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 8-10 minutes, depending on thickness of asparagus.
4. Lift bundles from simmering water with kitchen tongs and drain on paper towels.

Serves 4

Olive Oil Sabayon

This is a delicious light, yet elegant sauce to serve with asparagus or artichokes (also great over steamed fish).

1 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Place wine and vinegar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce by three-quarters, cool, then transfer to the top of a double boiler.
2. Add egg yolks to wine reduction. Set over simmering water over medium heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until yolks thicken enough to fall into thin ribbons when whisk is lifted from pan.
3. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in olive oil. Thin, if necessary, with 1–2 tbsp. water.
4. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

For more asparagus recipes  …. 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.