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.

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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.

One of the lasting impressions from the movie Julie & Julia was Julie’s frustration and eventual triumph over boeuf bourguignon from Julia Child’s book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. This hearty beef stew is a centerpiece of one of the movie’s more appetizing food scenes. Here is the recipe, as it appears in the book:

As is the case with most famous dishes, there are more ways than one to arrive at a good boeuf bourguignon. Carefully done, and perfectly flavoured, it is certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man, and can well be the main course for a buffet dinner. Fortunately you can prepare it completely ahead, even a day in advance, and it only gains in flavour when reheated.

Vegetable and Wine Suggestions
Boiled potatoes are traditionally served with this dish. Buttered noodles or steamed rice may be substituted. If you also wish a green vegetable, buttered peas would be your best choice. Serve with the beef a fairly full-bodied, young red wine, such as Beaujolais, Côtes du Rhône, Bordeaux-St. Émilion, or Burgundy.

1. Remove rind from bacon, and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, 3mm wide and 3cm long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1L of water. Drain and dry.
2. Preheat oven to 220°C .
3. Sauté the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you sauté the beef.
4. Dry the stewing beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon.
5. In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sautéing fat.
6. Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 180°C .
7. Stir in the wine, and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers very slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.
8. While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Set them aside until needed.
9. When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat.
10. Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. Recipe may be completed in advance to this point.

For immediate serving: Cover the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in its casserole, or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles, or rice, and decorated with parsley.

For later serving: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to the simmer, cover, and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

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 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 events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

Anyone watching television, or who has been fortunate enough to visit Australia will realize that they have a vibrant and exciting food industry.  One of the rising stars is  Bourke Street Bakery, situated in the hip foodie enclave of Sydney’s Surry Hills, selling artisanal baked goods of the highest order. The bakery’s long queue of customers waiting for their daily fix is testament to the popularity of their utterly delicious wares – from rustic breads such as their famous spelt sourdough to the flaky pork and fennel sausage rolls and the addictive sweet pastries -  ginger brulee and pistachio tart.

Fortunately for those of us who are not able to visit the bakery, we can now recreate many of their delicious offerings from the inspiring cookbook of the same name.  It is the ultimate baking companion with clear and concise instructions aimed at the novice home baker while remaining an inspirational and technical reference for professionals. Passionate owner-bakers Paul Allam and David McGuinness share their secrets for more than 90 of their exceptional creations. Complementing the mouthwatering recipes is a wide selection of evocative photographs depicting the various recipes as well as capturing the sole of the establishment.

So who are the people behind this successful bakery?  Paul Allam and David McGuinness are both well-travelled chefs with a passion for good food and artisan baked goods. India was David’s inspiration for the bakery’s famous ginger brulee and pistachio tart. They started Bourke Street Bakery in 2004 and opened A second shop, Central Baking Depot, in Sydney’s CBD in 2008.

Click on the links below for two delicious recipes inspired by book:

Carrot cake

Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe

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

Wickedfood Cooking School, Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Wickedfood Cooking School 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 events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

As with all Dorling & Kindersley books The new complete book of Self Sufficiency, subtitled  The Classic Guide for Realists and Dreamers by John Seymour is not only highly informative, but also beautifully produced.  This new edition of an enduring classic from the founding father of modern self-sufficiency, is still the key reference to living off the land. Covering all the practicals from ploughing fields to milking cows as well as information on how to create an urban organic garden and harness natural energy, this is perfect for anyone aspiring to the self-sufficient lifestyle.

John Seymour was  committed as ever to living a better life, more simply and was acknowledged as the founding father of the self-sufficiency movement. He was an active campaigner for the countryside and the environment. Students come from around the world to learn about his lifestyle and philosophies at the School of Self-Sufficiency he established in southern Ireland. He died in 2004.

Venison comes in a number of guises, from large antelope to birds and rabbits.  Now is a great time to be eating venison, and in honour of the season, Wickedfood Cooking School will be running a venison information evening on Sunday 22 August.  Rabbit is one of the healthiest meats to eat, it is very lean and extremely tasty if cooked correctly.  The recipe below is based on one from Raymond Blanc‘s autobiography, A Taste Of Raymond Blanc.  At the end of this article, we have also included a variety of rabbit dishes from some of the top publications around the world.  Enjoy.

Mustardy Braised Rabbit With Carrots, click on the picture for the recipe (Photo - Andrew Scrivani - New York Times)

1 whole rabbit (±1.5kg), cut into  pieces – click here to see how

4 pinches sea salt

2 pinches black pepper

1 heaped tbsp Dijon mustard

1/4 cup plain flour on a plate

3 T butter

1/2 white onion cut in 6

6 cloves garlic, skin on

I tbsp white wine vinegar

1 glass white wine (’150ml), boiled for 30 seconds

1 glass water (150ml)

6 whole black peppercorns

2 sage leaves

1 sprig of tarragon

1 bay leaf

For garnishing:

1T chopped parsley or chives (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 120°C.
2. In a large bowl, season the pieces of rabbit with the salt and pepper, then mix in the mustard until each piece is coated by a thin film. Dip each piece of rabbit into the flour. Pat off excess flour from each piece.
3. In a thick-bottomed, 25-30cm ovenproof casserole dish on a medium heat, melt 2T  of the butter, then sear and colour the rabbit pieces on each side for 7—8 minutes. Season a little after 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
4. Add the remaining butter and over a medium heat sweeten the onion and garlic.
5. Return the rabbit, add the vinegar and reduce  the liquor to a syrup.
6. Add the wine, water, pepper and herbs, cover with a lid and cook in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
7. When the rabbit is cooked, transfer to a serving dish. Allow the liquid in the casserole dish to reduce on a high heat by a third, then stir in some chopped parsley, chives or your favourite soft herbs. Pour the sauce over the pieces of rabbit and serve with French beans, Swiss chard, braised lettuce or any other seasonal vegetables.

Serves  4 to 6

VARIATION

Of course, any of your favourite herbs and vegetables can be added to the dish. Olives and wild mushrooms would be lovely. And once you understand the technique, you can use chicken.

Other rabbit recipes

Rabbit recipes – Saveur magazine

Rabbit with mustard sauce (Lapin à la moutarde)

Rabbit with Mustard Sauce

Braised Rabbit with Mustard and Summer Savory

Braised Rabbit with Dijon Mustard & Rosemary

Braised Rabbit