...It's Been A Long, Long Time

Somehow it seems appropriate to start back with a basic post of a Roast Chicken lightly cloaked in Fennel Pollen. A combination of some of my most loved places - Provence, Italy and Morocco. Poivrons Farcis/Stuffed Peppers with an Apricot and Almond Risotto and a Rosé Wine sauce. Classes will be resuming this Fall as I've come back into better health. What has changed with A Cook With A View is my focus. Cooking is how I relax. Teaching provides joy and relief from other areas. Seeing the "light" flicker on in a students eyes inspires more passion, storytelling and laughter each time. Your excitement and coaxing have carried me more than you realize. The blog may change. A new website is forthcoming. Life is getting simpler, exciting and colorful. Technique remains my focus in each class with the upcoming demonstration classes and events. New Dinner with Wine Pairing classes will be added once a month based on my travels around the world as a Menswear Designer of 20 years.  I look forward to seeing you, meeting you and sharing it all with you within my home. 

Classes for the Emergence of Spring

A Cook With A View

presents

Comfort and Exotica

New Classes for the Emergence of Spring

&

Continuations Into

The Foundations of Becoming a Great and Confident Cook

“There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the passion of life.”

~Federico Fellini

   The changes of one season to the next mimic the ongoing changes we experience within our lives day by day, moment by moment. One thing that remains constant is the room to grow and expand our horizons with new tastes, flavors, techniques and experiences in our own humble kitchens. Old techniques will be further delved into, as in the basics of making a quality Stock and transforming it into an exotic and enticing broth. Pasta is carried a step further with the additions of Ravioli and an introduction to Gnocchi into your culinary repertoire. The secrets of a quick and truly easy Puff Pastry and the magical appetizers, entrées and desserts that come forth from it, will inspire your creativity. We’ll travel and discover the exotic allure of various Asian cuisines with culinary memories and recipes from a past life on the road in China, Japan and Thailand. More exotica are uncovered within the mystical realms of the Moroccan table. And lastly, as promised, Beginning Bread Basics with baby steps leading to a comforting, warm slice of simple yeast breads slathered in homemade butter and jams. Yes, I did say homemade butter.

   I am truly excited to finally begin our cooking adventures with you all and look forward to seeing my old friends and making new ones along the way. The recipes have been tested and tried, written and re-written in anticipation of sharing amongst my culinary friends. As with everything in life, as well as in the kitchen, remaining Steadfast and Fearless with a big measure of Patience and Passion are the best ingredients in our lives and in our kitchens.

March 31^th, 2012 Saturday 10:00 a.m.

~Mairzy Doats and Little Lambs Eat Ivy ~

Springtime or anytime, there’s nothing like the succulence of a well-prepared lamb dish. Gamey? Not if you know how to choose, prepare, season and cook it properly. From stewing and grilling to roasting and skewering, the various techniques you’ll choose to cook up your lamb will surprise yourself and your guests with tastes from around the world and back home again.

v  Mom’s Sunday Garlic Studded Roast Leg of Lamb with New Potatoes

v  Irish Lamb Stew

v  Italian Grilled Fennel Lamb Chops with Red Onion Marmellata

v  Honeyed Apricot Lamb Skewers with Fresh Mint

v  Greek Shepard’s Pie

v  Rack of Lamb with a Mustard Herbed Crust

Getting to know your butcher and where your meat comes from is key to a perfect lamb dish. Use all of the fabulously refined senses that I know you possess – sight, smell and touch. Starting with those, the tastes you create will be out of this world!

$50 per person

A limit of 15 spaces will be reserved on a first come/first serve basis. Class length 3 hours.

The Beginnings of a Beautiful Tomato Marmellata to Anoint the Lamb

April 7^th, 2011 Saturday 10:00 a.m.

~Sensational Soups ~

Why is it so comforting when a steaming bowl of hot, absolutely delectable soup is placed in front of us?  Memories from childhood and the comfort felt on a cold day or evening? No matter what the senses recall, nothing say “Comfort” like soup. By changing a few ingredients, we’ll find that making a recipe your very own is easier than you think!

v  Beef ³ Barley Soup

v  Joe’s “BLP” or Bacon &  Leek Potato Soup

v  Spring Vegetable Minestrone with Gremolatta

v  Potage St. Germaine (A French Take on Fresh Pea Soup)

v  Senegalese Sweet Potato and Peanut Soup with Shrimp

v  Waterzooi, a Belgian take on a creamy chicken soup

Twisting familiar techniques to transform everyday ingredients into that which is more memorable and romantically exotic is simple. Really! Onward we charge into the not-so-dangerous liaisons and thickening tricks for those sumptuous and sensational soups.

$40 per person

A limit of 15 spaces will be reserved on a first come/first serve basis. Class length 3 hours.

April 14^th, 2012 Saturday 10:00 a.m.

~Duck, Duck (no goose) ~

What is it about duck that strikes fear in the hearts of the everyday cook? Fat? Spattering? Messy ovens? Come on! There are numerous techniques to deal with the fat. Too rich? Get over it! The mouthwatering lusciousness that is received from a properly cooked duck is beyond compare. The techniques involved are curiously simple, yet impressive enough to put a feather (Mallard, of course!) into your expanding kitchen repertoire of knowledge. Come, fly with me and let’s have some fun in the reeds.

v  Roast Duck with Apricot and Chinese Five Spice Glaze

v  Raspberry & Port Duck Breasts with Gorgonzola Pear Risotto

v  Roast Duck in Chinese Pancakes with Plum Sauce

v  Duck aux Clementines

v  Duck Confit with Tea & Honey Braised Fruit

No quacks or kinks in this experience. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at your new found confidence and ease in creating an extra-ordinary meal for those you love.  

$50 per person

April 21^st, 2011 Saturday 10:00 a.m.

~Turning Japanese ~

Sushi? No. Let’s start with something everyone will eat. Japanese cooking depends, as in all other cuisines, simple, fresh and perfect ingredients. Fussy? No, but exquisitely flavored that you’ll wonder why you hadn’t explored this cuisine before. Learning the secret of an incredibly delicious Teriyaki sauce, Crisp and elegant Tempura that may be adapted from herbs to shrimp

v  Beef Negamaki – oven-grilled sake beef with scallions

v  Chicken Teriyaki – not on a stick!

v  Seared Spring New Potatoes

v  Grilled Salmon Yakatori with a light Wasabi Sauce

v  Chicken Nanban Udon, otherwise known as Chicken Noodle Soup!

v  Double Ginger Green Tea Ice Cream

Easy Spring into Summer techniques and recipes for simply fantastic dining and entertaining. And you thought Japanese cuisine was all sushi, sashimi and seaweed?! That’s another class! Vegetables and Salads complete this introduction into an ancient and elegant cuisine.

$40 per person

 limit of 15 spaces will be reserved on a first come/first serve basis. Class length 3 hours.

Learning Texture in a Hands-On Pasta Class

April 28^th, 2011 Saturday 10:00 a.m.

~Gnocchi ~

An Easy Introduction

Making these feather-light pillows you’ll swear an angel helped you in the kitchen. Let your family think you slaved for hours perfecting these undemanding Ricotta Gnocchi or Gnudi, as they are known in Italy. Spectacularly simple variations are only limited to your own imagination. Vieni a mangiare con Giuseppe and let’s have some fun!

v  Basic Ricotta Gnocchi with herbs

v  Spinach Gnudi with a simple Marinara

v  Butternut Squash Gnocchi with a Brown Butter and Sage Sauce

v  Parisian Gnocchi with Arugula Pesto

Be careful! I warn you. The delicate texture of these Gnudi is so delectably delicious you’ll want to eat the entire platter yourself. Oh go ahead. I won’t tell anyone. I promise. This will be a semi-hands on class so that your textural experience is complete – from hands to stomach. Vieni a giocare con me in cucina! Come play with me in the kitchen!

$40 per person

A limit of 15 spaces will be reserved on a first come/first serve basis. Class length 3 hours.

May 5^th, 2012 Saturday 10:00 a.m.

~Puff! ~

Truly Simple, Easy and Magical Puff Pastry from Scratch

Scared? Don’t be. I’ll hold your hand and guide you into the magical world of making a Real and Buttery dough from scratch. We’ll get out our aggressions and mix, pound and roll flour and butter into the spectacular ingredient it is, Puff Pastry. From there, we’ll create unforgettable appetizers and hors d’ouevres and learn how to make a magnificent entrées en croute along with pot pies. Did I hear you say Dessert? Okay, twist my arm! Go ahead. You don’t have to ask me twice. Puff pastry - So easy. So Simple. So Crisply Decadent.

v  Spinach and Feta Palmiers

v  Seeded Cheese Straws

v  Salmon en Croute with Caper Lemon Crème

v  Provençal Onion, Bacon and Mushroom Tart

v  Light and Airy Strawberry Napoleons

v  Apple Tarte Tatin

Okay, okay. So you tell me you’re too afraid to try and make it from scratch? Give it a try anyway. This will demonstrate the quicker version with still perfect results. You can always go back to that margarine-laced stuff at the supermarket. I won’t hold it against you, but my recipes are “to live for”.

$40 per person

A limit of 12 spaces will be reserved on a first come/first serve basis. Class length 3 hours.

May 12^h, 2012 Saturday 10:00 a.m.

~Vietnamese Fresh ~

Spring freshness delivered in the form of exotic Vietnamese cuisine. Influenced by its past French colonization, China and the surrounding sea, Vietnamese cooking is effortlessly elegant and satisfies a healthy way of eating and dining with friends. With ingredients that may be found at local supermarkets and “Joe’s Scary Stores”, we’ll take the mystery out of this exotic and distant land and its food.

v  Pho – A soup of greens, vegetables, rice noodles, chicken or beef

v  Pork in Coconut Milk with Lime

v  Garlic Ginger Chicken

v  Goi cuon or Fresh Spring Rolls (Nime Chow)

v  Clay Pot Chicken

v  Saigon Cabbage and Chicken Salad

Turning every day ingredients, along with one or two new items, into something curiously new and alluring will surprise not only your family and friends, but I think you’ll be amazed at yourself for taking on unchartered culinary techniques and territories.

$40 per person

A limit of 15 spaces will be reserved on a first come/first serve basis. Class length 3 hours.

Something Moroccan This Way Comes

Thank you for your continued interest and support. You are all my very own Cooks With A View and for that I am truly grateful. In May we’ll continue with introduction classes on Ravioli and Yeast Breads, A Moroccan Table, followed by Salads and the Lightness of their Dressings, a new tantalizing health (but never boring!) series on Fish and Chicken.

~Joseph

Email: info@acookwithaview.com

Warming a Chill with Food & Friends

Changes. A new home. A new kitchen. Old and new friends to lend support and help amidst those changes that I am forever indebted. I must apologize for not posting to the faithful that have been reading my little blog about food and what it has meant to me and what it means to me. I'm getting used to a new kitchen and unpacking old friends who are ready to lend forth their magic with a little help from me.
We've been fortunate with a mild Winter, here in the Northeast. Today was a "balmy" 50, but the next two days we're to receive a reminder of what season we're in with a blast from the frozen north. So, with that in mind I've summoned together what onion varieties I have and made a nice pot of Onion Soup to serve to friends, warm the house and feed my soul.
Cooking has a way of making everything alright with me. It allows me to concentrate and forget the outside world for a little while and bring everything back to order. Here's wishing you all a year filled with dreams that come true, the best in health, happiness, love and of course success with everything that comes out of your kitchen.

French Onion Soup

2 Tbl. Butter, unsalted
5 Yellow Onions, large; ¼” sliced
2 Large Red Onions, ¼” sliced
3 tsp. All Purpose Flour
¼ tsp. Sugar (optional)
4 Leeks, white and tender light green portions,
   ¼” sliced
2 Garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
1 Bay leaf
3 - 4” Thyme sprigs, fresh; leaves removed
½ Cup Dry Sherry*
8 Cups Beef stock
Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper, to taste
12 baguette slices, each sliced ½” thick
¼ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for brushing
1 Garlic clove, peeled
1½ Cup Gruyère, Jarlsberg or Swiss cheese (or combination)**, shredded

In a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven over medium low heat, melt the butter until it foams. Add the onions and leeks, a pinch of salt, sprinkle in the flour and sauté, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic, bay leaf, thyme, and sugar (if using) and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until richly colored and caramelized, 45 minutes to 1 hour. (You may need to increase the heat to medium to add some color at the end.) If the onions begin to “stick” to the bottom, simply deglaze with ¼ cup of water and scrape the bottom clean with a wooden spoon.

Wilting the onions and leeks

Once you’ve reached a rich, caramel color, add the sherry and stock. Cover partially and simmer until the flavors are well blended, about 30 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove and discard the bay leaf.

Richly caramelized. Perfect also for a steak or hamburger!

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the baguette slices on a cookie sheet, brush lightly with olive oil and toast in the oven for 5-7 minutes or until golden and lightly toasted. Rub each slice lightly with the raw garlic clove. Set aside.

A few choice cheeses to melt and anoint over the croutons.

To serve, preheat the broiler. Ladle the soup into individual oven-proof soup bowls. Place 2 or 3 slices of bread on top of each bowl and mound with cheese. Slide under the broiler about 6” from the element. Broil until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.

An abundance of warm and comforting richness.

*May use a dry white or red wine.

**For a change I like to mix in Stilton, Gorgonzola, Pecorino Romano or a French Bleu, whatever is in the refrigerator.  

A Season of Change

I have to say that of all the seasons, Fall is my favorite. Could it be that the heat of Summer is over and the humidity is finally breaking? The nights becoming crisp and my favorite sweaters pulled on to ward off the chill. Maybe its the long walks, scattering a path amongst the crimson, burnt orange and golden leaves with my comfortable, old boots.

This is when recipes come to life in my mind. Awakening the senses within and creating new flavors and twist on old favorites. Fall has always been my most creative time. It's when I think of roast pork with polenta, a hearty cut of beef braised in a robust wine with rosemary and sage. Apple cobblers and pear crisps. Hearty breads studded with rich black olives and walnuts paired with a small slice of Gorgonzola. Making lists of guests to have over for an intimate dinner or two or three or more.
I've been remiss in posting lately and apologize. Sometimes paths change in life and my kitchen is following down a new path and to a new location. It's been a year for change and a season of changes. All good. All new. All fresh. And all for you to feast upon.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel and it's bigger and brighter and better. Classes continue at the Grange every week. If you're not receiving the latest and greatest of selections that I've posted, kindly drop me a line and I'll be happy to send them to you. I'd love to see you in person. Thank you for your continued support and following with more recipes and tastes to come,
~Joseph

A Culinary Inheritance, Clam Chowder

To all my faithful readers and cooks with their views, kindly forgive the lack of photos. They will follow. My kitchen is changing, as is life and I'll post them soon! ~Joseph

Long, long ago when I was not even the merest glint or gleam in the eye of any ancestor on my mother's side, the shores of some place new beckoned for something different to those that I am a part of so long ago. A new place to put down roots and explore, "set up shop" so to speak. Those same ancestors leaving England to escape persecution and settling in New England, siding with the King and then high-tailing it up to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which has to explain my love of anything British forwarded to my own karmic existence these many centuries later. When things calmed down in the newly formed United States, they crept back down into Maine and Massachusetts and lived off the land and sea to sustain their livelihoods.
As a boy, we would fly from California to Boston and then drive up to my Aunt Doris' farm in Gorham, Maine for Summer and Winter vacations. One late Summer trip, my Uncle Bud and my Father drove over to the harbor in Portland, in that old two-tone green and rust truck, to bring home some Littleneck clams, chicken (1 pound) lobsters, as well as a behemoth of a specimen who's faded claw sits proudly on my bureau as a reminder of that trip that instilled a lifelong love affair with New England. It felt like I belonged somewhere, finally. How could I know this without really knowing the family ancestry yet? Was it the "common sense" lifestyle that I experienced on the farm? Wading through the little river in the "back forty" to gather wild blueberries with my Cousin John that were to be made into my Aunt's lusciously simple blueberry pie to be eaten after all of those lobsters? Or could it have been that clam chowder? Possibly. That same shoreline recipe brought down from those ancestors so long ago waking and stirring that hidden passion that said to me, "You'll come back. We know you will."
And I did. And I still make that clam chowder when I'm alone or for company, in the same pot that my Mother used. Ladeling the milky soup into her brown and cream English china bowl on top of a handful of crushed Milk Lunch Crackers like my Father taught me. Or, if I can't find those, then some simple crushed Oyster Crackers ready to thicken my culinary inheritance.

Crackers and Bowls awaiting their chowder for my students

It's funny how if I really pay attention and if I concentrate hard enough, I can smell the salt on the wind that my ancestors experienced so long ago in this simple bowl of chowder.

New England Clam Chowder

4-5 cans Chopped Clams, drained and liquid reserved

      or 8 lbs. Quahog or Cherrystone Clams (large)*
2-8 oz. bottles Natural Clam Broth
4 oz. Salt Pork**, ¼” dice
2 Yellow Onions, medium; ¼” dice
6 Yukon Gold or Russet Potatoes, small; peeled and cut into ½” slice
1 quart Light Cream
Salt, to taste
1 tsp. Black Pepper, freshly ground
2 Tbl. Butter, unsalted; softened

Cream, Milk Lunch (if you can find them) or Oyster Crackers, crushed

Preheat large soup or stock pot over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes and then add the salt pork. Once it has rendered a few tablespoons of fat, increase the heat to medium high, stirring occasionally so not to burn and cook until it is crisp. Remove salt pork and place on paper towels to drain, discard the fat portions.

Add the onion and potatoes into the pot, season with a pinch of salt and cook until the onions are translucent, but not caramelized.

Add the clam juice, along with the reserved liquid from the canned clams. The broth should just barely cover the potatoes.  If it doesn't, add enough water to cover them. Turn up the heat and bring to a simmer. Cook the potatoes r about 10 minutes until they are soft on the outside and but slightly firm in the center.  If it hasn't thickened a bit, smash some of them against the side of the pot and cook a minute or so longer to release the starch.

Turn the heat to low and add the clams, salt pork and cream. Add the pepper and salt to taste.  Continue heating over low heat until all of the flavors have blended, about 2-3 minutes, taking care not to bring to a boil. For a slightly thicker Chowder, smash some of the potatoes against the insides of the pot with the back of a large spoon. Remove from heat and serve either in the pot or a tureen. Add butter and stir.

Place a handful of crushed crackers into the bottom of each bowl and ladle the chowder on top. Serve at once.

*Scrub clams clean. In a large pot, bring 2 Cups Water to a boil, add clams and cover, steaming for 2-3 minutes. Lift cover and stir with a large spoon. Replace cover and continue 2-3 more minutes for Littlenecks, 5-7 for Cherrystones or up to 10 or 12 minutes for larger Quahog Clams. Strain "liquor" through a fine sieve into a bowl, throwing away any unopened clams. Sieve again slowly so not to have any remnants of sand and reserve for the soup base to replace the bottle of clam juice. Chop clams for the chowder to your taste.

**May substitute Bacon for a smokier flavor.

Savoring Summer

Ready and Set for Pickling

Meandering through the back roads of Rhode Island today, time-traveling back in history to the days of homesteading and into old colonial farmsteads, showing their well-worn years and maintained through several generations still tilling the land. Cows languidly lying beneath the oak trees in the late September sun. Goats continually eating their weight in grass and brush, clearing the land. Black sheep scattering through a wind-kissed field next to the tall stalks of corn ready to be harvested from now into the early Autumn. The same feeling I get when traveling through Tuscany with my friends Pat, Wende and Judy Witts-Francini on our food tours. A lazy day spent exploring and laughing with friends that I've known now and in lives past.
Stopping at a farm with my friend Katie to buy some ears of "popping" corn that will be dry in time for a late night snack on Thanksgiving night around the table with a game of cards amongst friends. The farmer proudly displaying a photo taken from the air of their corn maze in the shape of a large and looming, yet friendly enough cow. Taking the road further we come into a town that "feel's just right". You know the feeling. A place that you know has been waiting for you to discover it, patiently by the side of that road. North Scituate. We stopped for lunch at a small restaurant, or coffee shop, or meeting place. A spot right out of a movie set, The Village Bean. Waitresses cracking their dry New England wit with the regulars who lean patiently against the counter, glancing at us "newcomers" eating our turkey sandwiches. Then, back down the road again to my friend Doreen at Pezza Farms for a half bushel of tomatoes for my upcoming "You Say Tomato, I Say Tomatl" class at the Grange. I can never resist the freshness of her produce. A few pounds of hot cherry peppers destined to be made into gifts of jam to spread on cream cheese, to glaze a chicken or pork tenderloin. But today, a quick recipe for some pickled tomatoes to peck on before dinner or to add to my martini, in lieu of the usual olive. Very simple. Very good.

Tomatoes packed in their jars

Pickled Tomatoes

2½ pints Grape Tomatoes

8 Pepperoncini Peppers, jarred
4 Dill sprigs, fresh; stemmed
4 Garlic cloves, gently smashed
1 tsp. whole black peppercorns
1 Cup Cider Vinegar
1¼ Cups Water
2½ Tbl. Kosher Salt
1 Tbl. Sugar

Combine peppercorns, tomatoes, pepperoncini, dill, and garlic in a sterilized 2 quart glass jar with a tight fitting lid. Bring vinegar, salt, sugar, and 1¼ cups water to a boil in a saucepan; stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Pour vinegar mixture over tomatoes to ½” from the top and wipe rim clean.

Seal jar and let it cool completely. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Alternately – Process the jars, lids and rings in boiling water fully covered for 20 minutes. Remove and dry upside-down on clean dish towels. Add the tomatoes to the jars, fill with the liquid to ½” from the top, wipe rim clean for a perfect seal and top with lids. Screw on rings tightly and place in a large pot covered with water by at least 1”. Bring water to a boil and process for 10 minutes from the minute it begins to boil. Remove carefully back onto a rack and let cool for 24 hours without touching them. They’ll keep for several months this way unrefrigerated in your cupboard.

A gift for myself and my friends