London Calling
It was always my parents dream to go to London for their honeymoon. Their marriage has lasted for 28 years (and counting!), but they’ve never made it to London. My boyfriend spent his semester abroad in London. My favorite city abroad during Semester at Sea was Hong Kong (an Asian twin to London). The city of bangers and mash (how could I dislike this combo?), polo (I ride), tea (I’m an old soul) and Kate Middleton (enough said) is calling my name!
Not so long ago during a cooking show audition I was asked, “Which Food Network chef do you most relate to?” Pushing my prejudgements aside and ignoring my inner chef criticism, I shared my culinary role model … Ina Garten. “Give me a nice Jewish man and stick me in East Hampton!” was how I responded. The horror on the producers’ faces was enough to tell me, “Pack your bags, this is the end of your audition.” HA! I’m not sure if it was the fact that I had spoken so truthfully or that they were shocked at my choice, I assume the former. What can I say, Ina is the only person on reality cooking TV I wholeheartedly love. In her words, “How easy is that?”
Growing up in the catering world, I worked in a specialty food store/catering company/deli during high school and always found that my calling was more of an “entertaining” rather than a chef. Swap my chef’s coat for a tattered apron and opt for family style service instead of plated courses. I can whip up a party for 50 using ingredients in my parents house on the spur of a moment, and have been known to do so. Plus, Ina always has a supply of Veuve in her fridge, can you say she’s a lady after my own heart?
How does this tie into London? Well, Ina and my (whoops! her) husband Jeffery recently taped their trip to London, sharing their favorite destinations. I can’t help but oogle Ottolenghi and it’s marvelous selections of Mediterranean food is enough to stop you in your tracks. Given the chance, I’d probably spend hours in here.
Borough Market is a given for any foodie. As is holing up in a pub. Pints at breakfast anyone? Done and done. Shopping is a must (if funds allow) and even though my inner New Yorker skepticism for anything “touristy” screams, “Don’t get on the red bus!” … I might just have to.
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Ger-Nis and Kitchen Surfing Happy House
Next Friday, April 27th I will be celebrating Ger-Nis Culinary Herb Center‘s birthday along with Kitchen Surfing in an Spring Happy Hour with cocktails and canapes full of herbs, citrus and spring produce. Click here to see more information and sign up. I will be making Spring Crudite Cups with Green Goddess Dip.
” All participants will receive 50% off for any classes of events that they sign up for on this exciting night. This is a perfect night for us to thank all of our instructors and customers as well as collect important feedback from all so that we can improve. It’s a rare opportunity for those members of the press or bloggers, photographers or writers in general to come visit us in the midst of a prime event. It’s another big spring party and you’re all invited!” – Ger-Nis
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Healthy Chicken Parm
Yes, believe it or not you can make Chicken Parmesan healthy.
- Tenderizing the chicken flattens the breast, doubly portions and allowing you to eat half.
- Flavorful way of eating chicken breasts aka white meat. I usually don’t like chicken breasts.
- Use egg whites instead of whole egg to bread.
- Bread one side only.
Healthy Chicken Parmesan (serving size one)
- One chicken breast
- 1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg white
- tomato sauce (store bought or homemade)
- mozzarella
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Take chicken breast and place between two pieces of saran wrap on in a large bag. Pound out the chicken or “tenderize” it until flattened, about 1/2″. Place egg white in one bowl and bread crumbs and Parmesan together in another. Season both bowls with salt and pepper.
Place chicken (only one side) into the egg white and then the bread crumb mixture. Place the unbreaded side of the chicken on a sprayed or lined sheet pan and top with tomato sauce and slice of mozzarella, bake for 25 minutes.
Eat immediately or store and reheat when ready to eat.
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Parson’s The New School Aftertaste Event
Spring is here and that means one thing for me … parties! New Yorkers tend to hibernate from New Year’s Eve to March 1st. Even with the soaring temperatures in January (I think we had several days in the 60′s), true “party season” begins when March does.
For the second year in a row I had the honor of catering Parsons The New School for Design’s Aftertaste Event. In case you missed my black and white themed menu, check it out.
This year the party was an intimate cocktail party for 100 with plated and stationed canapes in the theme of Synesthesia, which included the mixing of colors, tastes and sensations for guests. Synesthesia is the neurological condition in which a person involuntarily experiences one sensory through another sensory experience. Bored yet? I promise that’s just the fancy jargon.
What it meant for me was beautiful colors, textures, tastes and produce to work with. We concentrated on citrus and using the full palate of end-of-season citrus from lemon into blood orange. Check out the menu below.
Menu
Duo of Soups
Lemon Butternut Squash Soup with Chives
Roasted Tomato and Orange Soup with Orange Curl
served in glass test tubes and garnished with pop rocks
Personal Crudite Cups
served in hollowed out Amy’s Bread and served with lemony herb dip
Beet Chips
honey infused goat cheese, micro greens and dried kishus
Beet Blood Orange & Beet Meyer Lemon Deviled Eggs
elegantly pink and yellow and served with candied lemon peels and pickled beets
Mahi Mahi Ceviche
meyer lemon, black sesame seeds and watercress
Sweet Potato Sliders
served with coconut meringue, candied bacon and pecans
Pork Confit Crostini
shredded and served over a bed of colorful roasted baby carrots
Citrus Colored Macaroons
Lemon
Orange
Passion Fruit
Photos are compliments of my iPhone and the very talented Lee Gibson, visit his site here.
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Meyer Lemon Love
There are few ingredients in winter produce I don’t get sick of. Root vegetables begin to loose their appeal by mid-February and the lack luster selection of fruit makes me reach outside my “local” and “seasonal” notions and splurge on berries at Whole Foods.
The one things I don’t ever get sick of are Meyer Lemons. The insanely sweet yet tart lemon will transform the way you think about lemons, lemon juice, salad dressings, cocktails and pretty much any dish you’d use lemons for. There’s not really a good way to describe the taste of one … you just have to try them.
Fresh Direct might not know they have the best deal in town … 2 bags for $4. Sometimes these babies run for about $3.99 a lb. so this is a steal. Buy them and then make the relish below, compliments of Food & Wine Magazine.
And if you really love them, as much as I do, join me for my Meyer Lemon Love class at Ger-Nis Culinary and Herb Center.
Meyer Lemon Relish
adaptation from Food & Wine Magazine
Ingredients
- 1 large Meyer lemon—peeled, peel very thinly sliced
- 1 shallot—1/2 minced, 1/2 very thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Pinch of crushed red pepper
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Finely chop the lemon pulp, discarding any seeds, and transfer to a bowl. Add the lemon peel, minced and sliced shallot, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, parsley, olive oil and crushed red pepper to the bowl. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
The relish can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
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Today Show with Thirsty Girl and Leslie Sbrocco
Kathie Lee and Hoda Kotb might be my two favorite people to watch on TV. And they’re even nicer, wackier, and yes, boozier in person. Can you blame them? From the moment you walk into 30 Rock you’re welcomed by smiling, nice and thoughtful people.
I’ve had the pleasure of attending the Today Show twice now with my boss, Leslie Sbrocco aka Head Thirsty Girl of Thirsty Girl, a site for women who love to eat, drink and travel. Sound like me right? This time around she was sharing her picks for Valentine’s Day. Watch the video below, will you be getting “naughty” or “nice” … ?!
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
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Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Need a perfect treat for Valentine’s Day? Chocolate covered strawberries.
Despite the fact that the holiday is over-rated and in my opinion, dumb … who doesn’t like or appreciate chocolate covered strawberries? You can even dress them up as your favorite football players (see below).
Take chocolate (preferably dark) and melt over a double boiler. Then dip stem-on strawberries into the melted chocolate and allow to harden. Putting in the refrigerator helps.
Need a tutorial? Check out this video I did for GeoBeats … cheers!
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Really Simple (and Healthy!) Waffles
I woke up this morning craving something solid for breakfast. Not too heavy but still indulgent. Here’s a super easy and healthy recipe I created this morning. Batter will last for three days, so with a little preparation today you can make fresh waffles everyday this week OR make them all now and pop in the freezer and to reheat, use the toaster.
Whole Wheat Flaxseed Waffles
- 1 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour (if you don’t have any on hand use all purpose, I used whole wheat because honest, you can’t taste the difference, so why not)
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cups water (or milk, but I didn’t have any on hand)
- 1 tablespoon ground Flaxseed (omit if you don’t have)
- 1/4 cup oil
Combine all ingredients and heat waffle iron. Spray waffle iron with non-stick spray and coat pan with desire amount of batter. Cover iron and bake on both sides until desired. Top with syrup, fruit, yogurt and enjoy.
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Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook Off
So it’s been a week since the big reveal and in case you didn’t know what candied lemon peels were before, you probably do now. So does Coolio!
Compliments of Food Network
Last summer I had the privilege of working as a chef with Team Guy (Chef Coolio and Joey Fatone) on Rachel vs. Guy Celebrity Cook Off. Last Sunday the double season finale aired at 10 PM EST on Food Network. In case you missed it, check out the episode below. It was a very cool (ha, pun intended!) experience.
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Teaching and Apple Cupcakes
Few things in life can make you happier than children. Don’t take this the wrong way, but children are like dogs … and maybe spiritual leaders, but they can detect when something is off. When you’re in a bad mood, they know. Bad day at work, they know. Overcome with joy, they know. It’s like a sixth sense. For the last couple of months I’ve been teaching an after school cooking program for children grades 3-5.
Can you guys believe these students made their own pie crust?!
Below is the recipe for Apple Pie Cupcakes, a creation I made last-minute with few things on hand when I had to shoot a bio for Food Network’s Sweet Genius, where I assisted as the back-up chef. The recipe is written as a chef would read it, don’t follow it exactly, taste and use your judgement, if nothing else you’ll learn something.
I never thought I was going to be a teacher, turns out teaching people (and kids!) how to cook has become one of my strongest passions, and biggest successes in New York. Often I find myself teaching housewives in the morning, kids after school and then corporate workers in the evening.
Regardless of your ability to teach, everyone can share their passions. The thing no one ever told me about teaching is, often times the students teach you more than you teach them. Cheers to that.
Apple Pie Cupcakes (serves 12)
3 free form pie shells (divided into quarters) or homemade pie crust
6 apples, granny smith or a “less sugary apple”
sugar, to taste
2 TB all purpose flour
nutmeg, dash
2 TB bourbon
cinnamon, to taste
punch of salt
12 TB unsalted butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Separate pie shells and chill while making the filling. Cut apples in slices, and then half the slices. They should be small pieces, since we’re making cupcakes not pie. Season with sugar. This depends on the level of sweetness in your apples. TASTE the apples. If they are tart, add as much as 1/2 cup. If you think they are sweet, limit it to 1/4 cup sugar. Add flour, nutmeg (a dash!), cinnamon to taste, and bourbon. I also ask for a pinch of salt. The mixture should be wet but not soupy.
Line the muffin tins with each pie portion. It won’t be perfect. If you’d like to make them in more circle forms, use a rolling pin and shape, not necessary as they will overhang the tin. Add the apple mixture and crinkle the remaining pie shell around. Add one TB of butter on top of each muffin.
Bake until golden brown. About 15-17 minutes.
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Ashton Keefe is the founder and owner of Ashton Keefe LLC. Culinary Lifestyle Services which specializes in boutique catering, food styling and cooking classes.
I believe that everything in life should be sweet.
Contact: ashtonkeefe@gmail.com
