My Love of Marcel’s Cooking Classes by Graeme Reinhart May 30, 2018 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment Welcome to our guest blogger Graeme Reinhart who has been taking classes in the Marcel’s kitchen since we opened and is currently enjoying his time in our classes for 12 – 16 year olds. Read on for more about Graeme and his love of cooking. Thanks for sharing, Graeme! ************************************************************************************************************ How long have you been taking classes at Marcels? I think I’ve been taking these classes for close to 6 years. I know I was really excited when I got to start going to the Mid-Kid classes. Now I’m in the Big Kid classes. What do you enjoy most about the cooking classes? I enjoy learning how to cook and learning new techniques, such as when we learned different knife skills. The first trick I remember Chef Jamie teaching us was to always crack your eggs into separate bowls in case one egg wasn’t good. I also remember the tip about washing your hands with a metal spoon to get rid of the garlic smell. And of course, I like getting the discount to use at the end of class so I can get some new cooking gadgets. What are some key things you have learned from these classes? The tips and tricks; why certain things in cooking are the way they are, and what gives certain foods their taste. How would you like to use these skills in the future? I want to continue to learn more advanced skills because it seems like we are refining our skills in these classes. I like to know the correct way of doing things because the correct way is usually easier and if it is the correct way, it usually tastes better! Chef Robin told us to always cut peppers with the skin down, that way it’s easier to cut them. She also taught us the right way to cut an onion, and I’m still trying to remind my mom not to cut the root! Can you tell of a time you made the recipes outside the cooking class? I’ve made the jalapeño coleslaw chicken sandwiches for out of state friends. I make the egg drop soup every so often as an after school snack. I also liked recreating the lemon chicken, lasagna and a lot of the desserts too. I still need to make the clam chowder that was so good. Do you have a favorite kind of food you like to eat? I’m pretty adventurous. I love trying new things so I wouldn’t say I have a favorite. Any thoughts of becoming a chef? No, not at all. I think it’d be difficult job, but I do want to learn how to cook better. What kind of class would you like to see that you haven’t experienced yet? I’d like to cook foods from exotic countries and learn more advanced techniques. To register for one of our fabulous kids classes, click on the appropriate age below: Little Kids (ages 6-8) Mid Kids (ages 9-11) Big Kids (12-16)
Whole Wheat Berry Waffles October 11, 2017 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment Whole Wheat Berry Waffles 2017-10-11 12:39:09 Print Ingredients 1 cup whole wheat berries - not the flour - just the berries 1 1/2 cups milk 2 eggs 1 cup sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/4 cup oil 3/4 teaspoon salt Instructions Put wheat berries and 1 cup milk into Vitamix. Blend on high for 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup milk and blend an additional 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients - blending quickly — and cook on hot waffle iron until golden brown. You can also use this batter for pancakes. Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins February 16, 2017 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins 2017-02-16 09:47:32 Print Ingredients 3 ripe bananas 2 eggs ½ cup Greek yogurt or sour cream ½ cup milk or almond milk ½ cup maple syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup of whole wheat flour 3 tablespoons ground flax ½ cup dark cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt ½ cup dark chocolate chips Instructions Preheat oven to 350˚ F. Mash bananas in a large bowl. Add eggs and combine thoroughly. Then mix together the remaining wet ingredients: Greek yogurt, milk, maple syrup and vanilla. Add in dry ingredients (flour, flax, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt) and mix until fully incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour mixture into a greased muffin tin, filling each up about ⅔ full. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the muffin. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. By Jenny Chang Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/
Heart-Shaped Dried Cherry and Chocolate Chip Scones February 7, 2017 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment Heart-Shaped Dried Cherry and Chocolate Chip Scones 2017-02-07 19:52:45 Yields 12 Print Ingredients 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 7 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, diced 1 teaspoon (packed) grated orange peel 3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips 3/4 cup coarsely chopped dried tart cherries 2/3 cup chilled buttermilk 1 large egg yolk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon almond extract Milk (for glaze) Instructions Butter and flour baking sheet. Whisk 2 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Add butter and grated orange peel; rub in with fingertips until coarse meal forms. Mix in chocolate chips and dried cherries. Whisk buttermilk, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and almond extract in small bowl to blend. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients; stir with fork until dough comes together in moist clumps. Gather dough into ball. Press out dough on lightly floured surface to 3/4-inch thickness. Using 2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out scones. Gather scraps, press out dough and cut out additional scones. Transfer to baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.) Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush scones lightly with milk; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until scones are crusty on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 15 minutes (or up to 20 minutes if refrigerated). Serve warm or at room temperature. By Teri Hiben Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/
French Apple Cake October 6, 2016 by Jill Foucre 1 Comment French Apple Cake 2016-10-06 10:44:27 Print Ingredients 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 teaspoon baking powder Pinch of salt 4 large apples (if you can, choose 4 different kinds) 2 large eggs 3/4 cup sugar 3 tablespoons dark rum 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled Instructions Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter an 8-inch springform pan and put it on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and put the springform on it. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in small bowl. Peel the apples, cut them in half and remove the cores. Cut the apples into 1- to 2-inch chunks. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk until they're foamy. Pour in the sugar and whisk for a minute or so to blend. Whisk in the rum and vanilla. Whisk in half the flour and when it is incorporated, add half the melted butter, followed by the rest of the flour and the remaining butter, mixing gently after each addition so that you have a smooth, rather thick batter. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the apples, turning the fruit so that it's coated with batter. Scrape the mix into the pan and poke it around a little with the spatula so that it's fairly even. Slide the pan into the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean; the cake may pull away from the sides of the pan. Transfer to a cooling rack and let rest for 5 minutes. Carefully run a blunt knife around the edges of the cake and remove the sides of the springform pan. (Open the springform slowly, and before it's fully opened, make sure there aren't any apples stuck to it.) Allow the cake to cool until it is just slightly warm or at room temperature. If you want to remove the cake from the bottom of the springform pan, wait until the cake is almost cooled, then run a long spatula between the cake and the pan, cover the top of the cake with a piece of parchment or wax paper, and invert it onto a rack. Carefully remove the bottom of the pan and turn the cake over onto a serving dish. Notes The cake can be served warm or at room temperature, with or without a little softly whipped, barely sweetened heavy cream or a spoonful of ice cream (vanilla or cinnamon). By Rita Cevaal Adapted from Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan Adapted from Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/