Category: Cooking Classes

Creating Favorite Meals with Food Jules

Creating Favorite Meals with Food Jules starts Sat, 4/14 at Chalk Hill Middle School for kids ages 7-12.

Join Liz Cerrato, owner of Food Jules, as she shares some of her all-time favorite recipes, from savory starters and hearty entrees to decadent desserts. Each week, students will work in teams to create some favorite meals, using simple cooking techniques and wholesome ingredients. Students receive their own cookbook at the end of the session. Ages 7-12.

Dates: Saturday (4/14, 4/28, 5/5, 5/19, 5/26, 6/2)
Time: 2:00pm – 3:30pm
Location: Chalk Hill School Cafeteria
Cost: Resident $125.00 / Non-Resident $138.00
Min: 10 children / Max: 20 children

Register online at http://www.monroerec.org today!

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NEW Cooking Class for Kids

Food Jules will be hosting its first six week session of cooking classes at Chalk Hill Middle School in Monroe, CT for kids ages 7-12 as part of the Monroe Parks & Recreation Spring Program. SIGN UP TODAY to take part in this fun, educational and team building program!

This session’s theme will be “Creating Favorite Meals with Food Jules”. Join Liz Cerrato, owner of Food Jules, as she shares some of her all-time favorite recipes, from savory starters and hearty entrees to decadent desserts. Each week, students will work in teams to create some favorite meals, using simple cooking techniques and wholesome ingredients. Students receive their own cookbook at the end of the session.

Dates: Saturdays, April 14, April 28, May 5, May 19, May 26, June 2

Time: 2:00PM – 3:30PM

Sign up online at http://www.monroerec.org/info/activities/program_details.aspx?ProgramID=27058. Hope to see you there!

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The Panini Press

Today, I bought my first panini press. What an amazing little machine…. makes sandwiches and quesadillas look amazing!

In the past, I have used my stove top griddle pan or just my skillet to make paninis and quesadillas etc. It works just fine, especially if you don’t want to own another kitchen gadget. However, since our space in our cooking class at Daniels Farm doesn’t have a stove, I thought it was the perfect excuse to purchase one of these beautiful machines. I purchased a small, Cuisinart Panini Press but it does the job and I foresee a lot of grilled sandwiches in my future!

On tonight’s menu, I made Tomato, Mozzarella and Pesto Panini’s. These were absolutely delicious and so easy to pull together for dinner. I used my homemade pesto sauce for the sandwiches but there are a lot of top quality pesto sauces at your local supermarket or farmers market. If you want to make your own, it’s super easy to make in your food processor or blender and so delicious!

I also tested out some Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas in my new Panini Press. I think I prefer these quesadillas to the Chicken ones that I usually get at Mexican restaurants and so much healthier, filled with black beans, corn, green and red peppers, onions, fresh garlic, tomatoes – just so YUMMY!

So, make it a Panini night tonight with these delicious recipes!

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Bacalhau

Did you know that Bacalhau (salted codfish) is the national dish in Portugal? This fish is so popular that there are over 365 recipes for it, one for each day of the year!

Last week was our final session in “Cooking Around the World with Food Jules” as part of Stepney Elementary’s Arts & Imagination winter session. So, we decided to visit my family in Portugal, eat some of their delicious food and experience their fun culture. Portugal was a whole new experience for all of my students, as none of them (except Lilliana) had ever eaten Portuguese food and they loved it.

We started by making a classic Bacalhau appetizer, Pasteis de Bacalhau (Codfish Fritters). At first, the kids were hesitant to try a “new” type of fish but as soon as they took a bite out of them, they were all in love. YUM!

Pasteis de Bacalhau

The Portuguese love to talk about food and eat a lot of good food, so much so that they take a two hour lunch break and eat a three course meal, starting with a soup. A classic Portuguese soup is Caldo Verde (Green Kale Soup), made with Kale Greens, Potatoes and Chorizo (Portuguese Sausage). We made a vegetarian version without the sausage. I was so proud of all my students for doing such an amazing job making this soup and for eating it. It is nutritious and delicious, loaded with vitamins!

Caldo Verde

We also made Rabanadas (Portuguese style “french” toast). Oh my goodness, the kids were all over these! They are a classic treat during the Christmas Season, so sweet with cinnamon sugar.

We, Portuguese folks, love dessert and enjoy many different types of sweet treats but my absolute favorite are these rich custard cups from a town in Portugal, named Belem. So, for our final dish, we made Pasteis de Nata, delicious pastry cups filled with a sweet custard. This was so popular in my class that we will be making them, along with other delicious cultural foods, as part of our cooking class in preparation for the International Festival on March 30th. You must try to make these at home, they will be your new favorite sweet treat!

Thank you to all my Food Jules students for another fun and successful cooking program. See you in April!

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Sawatdee (Hello in Thai)

Wow, it’s been a busy week for Food Jules! We had our weekly classes at Stepney, a catering job for a business forum, a birthday cooking party and a girl scout brownie troop cooking class. It’s been awesome!

Last week, our Arts & Imagination students and I traveled to Asia and visited both India and Thailand. What an adventure in our kitchen with so many wonderful smells and tastes. I absolutely LOVE both Indian and Thai food. It is delish and really makes an impact on those taste buds.

To start, we baked some Indian Samosas (pastries filled with potatoes, peas and carrots) and Thai Spring Rolls (vegetarian style). Yes, we baked them. I have this obsession with taking a typical “fried” item and learning how to bake it so it comes out just as crispy and delicious without all that added fat from deep frying. Well, we got it right with these delicious Samosas and Spring Rolls. No need to fry these, at all!

Then, for our main course we made some Indian Malai Kofta (vegetarian style “meatballs” filled with potatoes, peas and carrots and cooked in a tomato and cream sauce with fresh ginger and lots of other Indian spices) along with the popular, Chicken Pad Thai (stir fried noodles with chicken, red onions, carrots, eggs and green onions). For a little crunch, we topped off the Pad Thai with sesame seeds instead of peanuts.

Oh and for the finale, we ate some creamy, Kheer (Indian Rice Pudding). Everything was amazing! So much so, that I am getting so hungry right now as I write this post.

The students are doing such an incredible job, creating all these delicious, cultural dishes. They are going to be cooking extravagant meals for their families really soon. It’s great and I am so very proud of their accomplishments this semester.

Well, this week is our final week for the Winter Session. I think you all can guess where we’ll be heading on Tuesday! Here’s a hint, “Pasteis de Nata, here I come!”

Namaste (Goodbye in Hindi)

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