Ferneau Cooking Class - Outdoor Grilling

I have had the best Mother's Day ever!  I stayed in bed while my daughters served up breakfast in bed, consisting of a microwave - scrambled egg and a slice of bacon, delivered on a cookie sheet with 2 Hallmark cards.  Then we watched the movie Parental Guidance, and it was perfect for the occasion.  Earlier on in the weekend, I had received an email from a gentleman who needed a Mother's Day gift certificate to a Ferneau Cooking Class.  I think pretty quickly on my feet, and I try to provide a quick turnaround time of customer service, so I was glad to be able to get this man out of a bind on his day - before - request.  He reminded me of my brother and his last minute holiday shopping for his wife and/or previous girlfriends.

Ferneau Cooking Classes dazzle newcomers a bit.  Almost always, someone will wonder in, look around at the beautiful space where we conduct our classes, at Ridge at Chenal Valley, and express their awe over the beauty.  Apartment living in Chenal Valley is closer to resort style living, and the amenities have surpassed those of the days when I was in my early twenties moving from apartment to apartment looking for lower rent and a better pool.  These days, I feel like I live in a hotel.  Like a W Hotel.  Where I get to hold cooking classes, meet other foodies, and enjoy food masterfully crafted by one of Little Rock's best Executive Chefs, Chef Donnie Ferneau.  Those pork chops....some of the best I've ever had.  He has a way of making the simplest things so flavorful and perfectly tender.  And you can tell he has fun doing it.

My friend Debbie of Dining with Debbie joined us for the Outdoor Grilling class where we started in the clubhouse kitchen prepping ingredients, then we all meandered outside together to the full kitchen area along the poolside.  Ferneau Cooking Classes are like having a fun cookout where you get to meet other people who love food.  You get 3 courses for $50, and wine is included as well as the featured cocktail.  Then the cleanup is on us, too.  We have quite a beautiful, scenic view outdoors with lots of green trees and two gazebos.  Like I said...Resort style living.  

We serve the meals up family style, and we all enjoy visiting with each other as we chow down on the food.

The appetizer that Chef Ferneau started us with was a Bruschetta with Tomato Concasse, a term that you'd know if you joined us for a Ferneau Cooking Class.  The brilliant chef talks along the way, explaining his cooking techniques as well as introducing you to food terminology that you can then share with friends later on, but try not to sound like a pretentious food snob!  (I'm a big fan of Jack Handey.)

When Chef Ferneau came to speak to my daughter's second grade class about the importance of nutritious food, he said that grilled vegetables were some of his favorite things to eat.  And we all had plenty on this night!  Lately I've really enjoyed the grilled green onions!

I don't cook with a blender, mixer, or other large and cumbersome food processor, so its refreshing to see my friend Chef Donnie whip up some good sauces by hand.  This chimichurri was delicious atop the bruschetta as well as alongside the grilled pork chops and flank steak.

The potatoes with herbs were pretty enticing, wrapped in foil and roasted on the grill.  I even gave up my  no carbs after 2:00 rule. 

Hand - whipped cream.  No electronics!  Talent...

Desserts with fruit are my favorite!  Join us for a Ferneau Cooking Class and experience it for yourself.

Rockport Stew

I'm getting ready to head out the door to go to the Arkansas Times Heritage Hog Roast, and I've been noticing a few pictures of the whole hogs with their heads and eyes still intact from some of the participating roasters.  And I thought posting head - on shrimp would make people squeamish!  Ha! I've been meaning to get this recipe posted.  It came from a cyber friend Jimmy who posted it to my Facebook page a while back.  I was so glad to see this recipe.  If you're looking for head - on shrimp, check at Whole Foods.  That's where I got mine.  I enjoyed it so much, especially on a chilly May day in Arkansas.  We have some crazy weather, people.  This recipe is from Caller.com

Southern Gourmasian Gnocchi

I can tell when I talk to the owner of  The Southern Gourmasian food truck that he's the type of person who has wheels turning constantly in his mind.  I've been following the truck for a while now, and the friendly chef is usually asking me my opinion of some idea he has or telling me about a food plan that he has soon.  (He appreciates that I have a passion for food and knows that I write a food blog.)

My day job is in advertising, and I've had the pleasure of talking to business owners over the years about what makes their business better, why people should choose them over the competition, and how they will keep customers coming back when I send them there via radio, TV, print, or Internet.  I see how some business owners just constantly have wheels turning.  It's a great thing.  Who knows what makes one business thrive while the other fails.  I asked this of Pleasant Ridge Town Center's Angie J. herself during a meeting.  Look at how much Schickel Development has grown!  Amazing!!  In 2008, I thought we were experiencing an economic downturn.  But they were building Pleasant Ridge Town Center as well as The Promenade at Chenal.

It made no sense then, but look!  Little Rock gained from local shopping.  Instead of going to Dallas or the Internet, I could save on gas money, stay in West Little Rock (my favorite), engage in shopaholic tendencies, and contribute to local economic growth!  

If you've never had gnocchi, they are Italian dumplings that can be served up in any manner..with sauces, in soups, etc.  I have had these in a few places from Little Rock to St. Louis to Midtown Manhattan.  I've enjoyed them, and I've bought them in the store many times.  I've never had them home-made like these perfect little pillowy soft, tender, toasted and flavorful Southern Gourmasian gnocchi.  They need no sauce at all.  In some Italian restaurants, you can have them drowned in sauce.  I enjoyed them so much more with Southern Gourmasian's combination of pork torchon, baby mustards, grilled radishes, pickled red onion, and radish salad.  The flavor combination was amazing!!  Many of these things were from their home garden.  We foodies love farm to table food!

Eat from The Southern Gourmasian when you can, know that I highly approve of them without fail, and look forward to an upcoming cooking class with the chef himself - I'm hoping he shares his secret to the best gnocchi ever!  Okay, so it's Thomas Keller's recipe, but I'd love to watch his technique on how to get it done right!  Email me at ThanhRasico@gmail.com if you have any questions!

Cooking Class with The Southern Gourmasian coming soon!  Stay in touch!  :)

Balsamic Soy Sauce Glazed Chicken

Here's a great week night meal that you can throw together pretty quickly without having to pay a whole lot of attention to it.  I noticed often in cookbooks that people made their own barbecue sauce, and it made me wonder why because barbecue sauce is so inexpensive, easy to find, quick and convenient.  So I read the labels of just about every sauce on the shelf in the stores that I frequent.  It paid off, because at a cookout at my brother's house recently, I could quickly scan the labels of the four sauces he offered, and I knew which sauces had high fructose corn syrup and which didn't.  I was glad he had McClards, so I chose it for the delicious ribs he smoked!  Otherwise, I usually buy Stubbs if I'm buying from the store.  Of course, my husband ate his ribs with no sauce.  Some people think that's the only way to eat ribs, and they'll tell you that.  I don't care how others eat their ribs, so I don't go around telling people that dry is the only way to go.

I was glad to find an easy sauce to make at home - like the professional cookbook writers.  I usually give credit when I find a recipe, but this was jotted down on a note in my junk drawer.  I finally found a time to make it, and I was glad I did.  For the sauce, you just throw the ingredients into a small saucepan and let everything come up to a boil, a light stir, and reduce to low to reduce and thicken.

For non - sandwich eaters, you can leave the meat on the bone and just spread the sauce on top.  Gianna enjoyed hers on a lightly toasted ciabatta bun with the sauce drizzled on top.

Ingredients:

• For the marinade:  soy sauce or tamari, garlic powder, black pepper
• 8 pieces of chicken legs & 8 pieces of chicken thighs
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 c. water
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce or tamari

Directions:

1. Marinate the chicken for a couple of hours or overnight in a large sealable bag.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Bake chicken for 30 minutes.
3. Reduce hear to 350 degrees.  Bake chicken another 30 minutes.
4. Combine last 5 ingredients in a small saucepan over medium high heat.  Once it comes up to a light boil or simmer, stir to combine.
5. Reduce heat to low for about 10 minutes, then spread on top of the chicken when ready.
6. For sandwiches, toast your ciabatta bun in the oven at 400 degrees about 8 minutes.  Shred the chicken, then spread the sauce on top.

Foodie Friday Post for Arkansas Women Bloggers

I was extremely excited to get to be the guest writer for the wonderful group Arkansas Women Bloggers today for Foodie Friday!  Check out my Vietnamese Crab and Asparagus Soup with Corn at their web site!

Jumbo Gumbo 2013

Last weekend's Jumbo Gumbo Cookoff arrived just in time with perfect sunny weather after a couple of dreary, chilly, soaking wet days.  I had been looking forward to the event for weeks, since I had been invited to be a part of the Foodie Fan Club.  I, along with fellow food blogger friends Michael Roberts of Arkansas Foodies and Kevin Shalin of The Mighty Rib had the great honor of handing out our own Silver Spork awards to the team we deemed the best gumbo based on no mathematical equation whatsoever.  The table you see here where I perched my schwag for the picture op actually belonged to the chef judges who sat and tasted the top 12 gumbos, scored them by several categories and contributed to the systematically tabulated final calculation to determine the top 3 best gumbos in the competition.  When I looked over chef judge Todd Gold's shoulder at his scorecard, I saw a bunch of  numbers in rows and columns which gave nothing away.

There's my Silver Spork award.  It felt so special to have my name and claim to fame right there in print to be handed out.  I was so happy that Drake's Gumbeaux, the team I gave my award to was equally excited to receive the award.  They also received an award for ranking among the top 12 out of over 30 teams at the competition.  Outside of Jumbo Gumbo, they also won 1st place last year in the 2012 Duck Gumbo competition in Stuttgart. I just loved the flavor of their gumbo.  I have a love for gumbo, and I knew that at the prospect of having so many great choices, I would have to realize which ones I could love and leave from the ONE that I would love and return to for more.

Two more of the top 12 contestants shared their awards with me. The LSU team had a fantastic tasting gumbo which she topped with freshly fried okra.  I swear my hairstylist Michael at Caracalla just told me he had done the very same thing the last time he made gumbo.  The outcome of the crunchy okra in the saucy mix was brilliant!  This would be one of the tricks learned from Jumbo Gumbo that I will be trying!

The ortho team Brace Yo Self also had a phenomenal presentation for their gumbo topped with vibrant chopped green onions and toasted french bread predunked in the flavorful sauce for your pleasure.  If I hadn't still been thinking about Drake's Gumbeaux, I would have seriously thought about handing my Silver Spork award to team Brace Yo Self!  There were a lot of great names in attendance by the way!

They even said that I was about the fourth person who had been by to take a picture.  That says a lot.  Maybe half of cooking is making it good looking!

They even had hot sauces of your choice to the side, water to offer, and pretty beads.  I ldo love a nice ambience when I dine.

Again, another eyecatching name.  Also positioned perfectly as if to be a street sign along the walkway.

My husband was happy to be in town to enjoy the sunny goodness, away from temps of 22 below and frozen eyelashes in Alaska.  We had a great time basking in the sun, agreeing to disagree on several of the tastings, and walking around holding hands for date night/gumbo judging.

Little Rock's River Market Pavillion is always a fun place for enjoying the outdoors.  We've been here often for Farmers Markets, ice skating in the winter, and school field trips.  Look at that beautiful blue sky!

Kevin and I took a moment to pose with Francis the crawfish.  Hey, watch that claw!

The event lasted from 5 - 9 pm.  It went by pretty quickly to me.  Before I knew it, Melissa was up on the stage announcing the top 12, then Mayor Stodola took the stage later to announce the top 3.

Contestants also had the opportunity to win by Fan Favorite.  The more people stuffed your jars, the more of a chance you have to win.  Proceeds went to benefit The Allen School.

So now you've had a look at Jumbo Gumbo 2013.  Next year, come on out and "Let the good times roll." You can have a quick sampling of each of competing teams' gumbo at their booth, or you can grab a handy muffin tin, fill it with rice, leave one space open for your drink, and walk around with plenty to eat.  My advice is to get there sooner than later!

Congrats again to the Drake's Gumbeaux team!!  We look forward to seeing you at Jumbo Gumbo 2014!

Duck Breast with Shitake Mushrooms

Just in case you don't utilize the search bar to the left of my blog to look up recipes for duck breast, one of my favorite proteins, I decided to put up a new post with a new picture to reiterate my love for this superior poultry.  I found while dining across the country during my years as a pharmaceutical sales rep that duck breast is best served medium rare in the finer establishments.  The Food Network recipe here actually prepares their duck breast in almost the exact same way that I do.  In a few select upscale restaurants in Little Rock, you may find duck breast on the menu.  Probably for no less than $20 per dish.  This particular breast that I found at Terry's was also over $20 for just one breast (uncooked).  But sometimes I just crave the good stuff.  Then I go broke the rest of the week and eat stuff like plain old chicken.  I would never eat chicken this rare, though.  Duck is a big French specialty, and I love French cuisine.

Ingredients:

• 1  D'artagnan Fresh Magret Duck Breast
• 2 tbsp organic, lower sodium tamari, or soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce, optional
• 1 tbsp turbinado sugar
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp shao hsing rice cooking wine, or chicken broth
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1 8 oz. package fresh shitake mushrooms, cleaned

Directions:

1. Score the fat side of the duck crosswise without cutting into the meat.
2. Place inside a large sealable bag, add the tamari, fish sauce, sugar, & garlic powder.
3. Marinate overnight or up to 2 days.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Sear the duck fat side down in a pan over high heat for about 6 minutes, turn and sear another 2 - 3 minutes.  Place in the oven and roast an additional 20 minutes.
5. Using the remaining duck fat from the pan, add the peppers and mushrooms.
6. Add the cooking wine and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen the browned bits.
7. Add the oyster sauce and saute until the vegetables are soft and have absorbed the sauce. 
8. Let the duck rest like you would a steak before slicing into it.

Also try Shirataki Noodle Soup with Duck, another favorite recipe of mine.