Anna Johnson

Black Manhattan Cocktail Recipe

ajohnson — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 21:57:50 +0000

Black Manhattan Cocktail Recipe ajohnson Mon, 10/07/2024 - 17:57 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1440/public/content/blog-article/header-image/Black%20Manhattan%20HEADER.jpg.webp?itok=THgxtiwH Perfect for spooky season! October 7, 2024

By Anna Johnson

Anna Johnson is the Content Manager at the 51�Թ� Los Angeles as well as a current Plant-Based Culinary Arts student. She loves telling stories about anything food and beverage-related, with a special interest in sustainability, accessibility and advocacy within the hospitality world. Follow her culinary school journey on social media at @yumgoddess.

The Black Manhattan is a drink that's timeless, refined and Halloween-themed, making it perfect for both an upscale party or a relaxed night at home handing out candy.

When asked to make a "spooky" cocktail suitable for October, ICE Instructor and Mixologist Garrett Mikell immediately understood the assignment.

He turned to a Black Manhattan, a variation on the classic Manhattan cocktail that replaces sweet vermouth with Amaro Averna, an Italian liqueur. The amaro imparts some slightly different bitter notes than the vermouth and, in true Halloween fashion, gives the drink a dark, mysterious hue. Garrett says that any amaro liqueur will work in this application as long as it's sweet enough.

Because of this, when Garrett makes a Black Manhattan, he takes his recipe to the next level by using Amaro di Angostura instead. This amaro's flavor profile is a bit more warming than Amaro Averna, and, in Garrett's opinion, elevates the beverage.

Get spooky with our mixology classes (which are open to the public) at ICE

"I personally love using Amaro di Angostura because it pairs great with the Angostura bitters that are already in the drink," he says.

This Black Manhattan recipe follows the traditional Manhattan cocktail formula: two ounces rye whiskey, one ounce Amaro di Angostura and two dashes of Angostura bitters. The 2-1-2 ratio is easy to remember for this drink specifically, since it's the phone area code for the drink's namesake borough of Manhattan in New York City.

When it comes to the dashes of bitters, using the full amount is non-negotiable.

"Make sure to use strong dashes," he says. "At home most people tend to go light on the bitters, but they're what make this drink."

Garrett, who is a proud self-proclaimed mixology nerd, also advises home mixologists to make and mix the drink with uniformly-dense square ice cubes. Using high-quality ice like this will help the drink dilute evenly as it's mixed, creating a smooth, tasty final product.

"You should be treating mixology like a lab," Garrett says. "If a drink dilutes improperly, we're dealing with both lost flavor chemicals and also potentially lost profits when you're working at a high-volume bar."

Here's how to make this elegant, perfectly-eerie drink at home. (Plastic spider decoration optional.)

Black Manhattan

Makes 1 drink

2 ounces rye whiskey
1 ounce Amaro di Angostura (or Averna amaro for a traditional Black Manhattan)
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Luxardo brand maraschino cherries, for garnish

Add the whiskey, amaro and bitters into a mixing glass with cubed ice and stir until appropriately chilled.
Strain into a coupe glass.
Gently drop one cherry into the drink as a garnish.

Cocktails Mixology Recipe Beverage

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Recipes Step 1- Add the whiskey, amaro and bitters into a mixing glass with cubed ice and stir until appropriately chilled; Step 2 - Strain into a coupe glass; Step 3 - Gently drop one cherry into the drink as a garnish;

Corpse Reviver #2 Recipe

ajohnson — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 21:29:02 +0000

Corpse Reviver #2 Recipe ajohnson Mon, 10/07/2024 - 17:29 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1440/public/content/blog-article/header-image/Corpse%20Reviver%20%232%20HEADER.jpg.webp?itok=dltYmVA7 The ultimate Halloween cocktail October 16, 2024

By Anna Johnson

ICE Instructor and mixologist Garrett Mikell has the perfect drink for spooky season, and it's a classic.

In 51�Թ� Instructor and mixologist Garrett Mikell's many years behind the bar, he's made his fair share of Halloween-themed drinks. He recently shared his take on the Black Manhattan, a classic cocktail with amaro added for a dark, eerie hue. He's made many a steaming dried ice concoction and has dabbled in plenty of spooky, smoky beverages.

But, when it comes down to it, the ultimate Halloween cocktail is one many craft cocktail fans have probably heard of. It's a standby sip that has been around for nearly 100 years. It's classy, easy to drink and also historically claims to bring a person back from the dead. It's the Corpse Reviver #2.

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The drink's legacy is first dated back to the Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddock, which was originally published in 1930. Many sources credit Craddock's book with creating the go-to recipes for many cocktails, including the Corpse Reviver #2. The bracing adult beverage was apparently created with a clear purpose in mind.

"The Corpse Reviver #2, true to its name, was the first 'hangover cocktail,' in that it was invented to get you out of a hangover," Garrett says.

There also exists a Corpse Reviver #1, which was supposedly first detailed in 1871 and then again in the Savoy Cocktail Book. The two drinks are quite different in composition, and Garrett says that the Corpse Reviver #2 is infinitely more popular in modern bars.

Garrett makes his Corpse Reviver #2 following the traditional recipe. He first rinses a coupe, Nick and Nora or martini glass with absinthe and then shakes together four ingredients in equal parts:

Gin
Lillet Blanc
Orange curacao (Pro tip: Garrett says it's worth it to buy high-quality orange curacao for this drink)
Lemon juice

After shaking, he strains the mixture into the absinthe-rinsed glass and is left with a slightly green, bitter drink that will, allegedly, bring someone back from the dead. But only in moderation.

"In his book, Harry Craddock famously said 'Four of these will un-revive the corpse again,'" Garrett says.

In addition to making the drink, Garrett also demonstrated a traditional way of enjoying absinthe: an absinthe louche, a combination of absinthe and cold water that results in a milky green-colored drink that almost seems like it's glowing. This semi-opaque color comes from the cold water breaking up the molecular bonds of the absinthe during the distillation process.

The absinthe louche.

Though "louche" is the technical term for this combination, the process is relatively simple in that it's just diluting the absinthe with water. Garett streamed the ice cold water into the glass over a long-stemmed spoon, but many bars use a small faucet positioned over a sugar cube balanced on top of the glass of absinthe to do the same.

According to Garrett, the purpose of diluting the absinthe is two-fold.

"Traditionally you mix water into absinthe for safety, because it's so high-proof," Garrett says. "It also brings out the flavor."

The diluted absinthe is perfect for delicately sipping and enjoying. Though absinthe is present in a Corpse Reviver #2, it's only used as a rinse and then discarded. If the drink is shaken correctly, though, all of the flavors of the drink come through, including the absinthe.

"It's important to shake it vigorously and quickly, otherwise you're going to dilute it before it becomes cold and bracing," Garrett says.

To serve, you can double strain the drink or choose to have a few small ice pieces in it. Garrett likes the ice pieces, but it comes down to personal preference. He also likes to garnish his Corpse Reviver #2 with a single Luxardo brand maraschino cherry, for the drama of the red and green together.

It's a perfectly spooky, perfectly bitter drink. Make one soon to enjoy a sip of cocktail history.

Corpse Reviver #2

Makes 1 drink

Absinthe, for rinsing the glass
0.75 oz gin⁠
0.75 oz Lillet Blanc
0.75 oz orange curacao⁠
0.75 oz lemon juice
Optional: Luxardo brand maraschino cherries, for garnish

Add enough absinthe to the glass to coat the sides. Swirl it around the edge of the glass if needed. Set aside.
Add the gin, Lillet Blanc, orange curacao and lemon juice to a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously.
Discard the absinthe from the glass and then strain the drink into it. You can double strain the drink to remove any ice bits, if you would like.
Serve as is or garnish by gently dropping in a single cherry.

Mixology Drinks Beverage Recipe

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Recipes Step 1 - Add enough absinthe to the glass to coat the sides. Swirl it around the edge of the glass if needed. Set aside; Step 2 - Add the gin, Lillet Blanc, orange curacao and lemon juice to a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously; Step 3 - Discard the absinthe from the glass and then strain the drink into it. You can double strain the drink to remove any ice bits, if you would like; Step 4 - Serve as is or garnish by gently dropping in a single cherry;

Chef Shawn's Sizzling Summer Salad

ajohnson — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 17:11:10 +0000

Chef Shawn's Sizzling Summer Salad ajohnson Tue, 07/16/2024 - 13:11 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1440/public/content/blog-article/header-image/Stone%20fruit%20salad%20header.JPG.webp?itok=yrTMbrMu July 16, 2024

By Anna Johnson

When the weather is boiling, many a home cook turns to cool, refreshing salads.

Salads aren't frequently on the menu for Shawn Matijevich, the Lead Chef of the Culinary Arts & Food Operations online program at the 51�Թ�, but when they are, he makes sure to use the best possible ingredients.

"I don't make salads all that often," Chef Shawn says. "But when I do, I go with what's in season, really ripe, and wants to be eaten."

For this recipe, Chef Shawn jumped at the opportunity to use one of his favorite oft-underrated summer ingredients: stone fruit. For his recipe, he chose a peach, plum and nectarine, but any combination of stone fruit will work.

But Chef Shawn, being Chef Shawn, had more in mind. He decided to take his simple stone fruit salad to the next level. His weapon of choice was a tool you may already have in your kitchen: a SodaStream.

Related Dazzling Recipe from Chef Shawn: Cartoon-Style Turkey “Leg” Roast

Chef Shawn added all of the sliced fruit to the canister of the SodaStream, ran the machine to inject carbon dioxide into the chamber and, by doing so, carbonated the fruit. Incorporating carbon dioxide gas makes the fruits fizzy, almost like solid bites of fruit soda.

This technique also works using an iSi canister. This tool, which is also sometimes called a whipped cream canister, uses CO2 cartridges to inject carbon dioxide into its chamber. Though iSi canisters work well for making whipped cream, Chef Shawn often finds himself innovating with the tools for recipes just like this.

"Lots of people have these cream whippers at home. There are a lot of fun things you can do with them," Chef Shawn says.

Chef Shawn plating the salad.

For the body of the salad, Chef Shawn created a hearty goat cheese mousse. Aside from being delicious, it literally acts as the glue to hold all of the elements together in the structured plating.

If you have leftover mousse, it will keep well for a few days in a sealed container in the fridge. It pairs great with greens and works well as a sandwich spread. It also tastes great eaten on its own with a spoon.

As a complement to the base of the salad, Chef Shawn chose to make a balsamic fluid gel rather than a vinaigrette in order to highlight the vinegar's flavor. Since the fluid gel is just vinegar and a thickening agent, it is sharp, bright and acidic — perfect to balance out the creamy mousse.

"The salad is so creamy from the goat cheese that it doesn't need extra fat from a vinaigrette," Chef Shawn says.

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Here's how to make the salad at home.

Sizzling Stone Fruit Salad with Goat Cheese Mousse

Yield: 6 salads

For the Balsamic Fluid Gel:

150 grams high quality balsamic vinegar
2 grams agar agar

For the Goat Cheese Mousse:

240 grams goat cheese
100 grams heavy cream
100 grams sour cream
75 grams chicken stock (or vegetable stock or other flavorful liquid)
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Optional: other spices, such as coriander, cumin, ginger or cloves

For the Carbonated Fruit:

1 peach
1 white peach
1 plum
1 nectarine
30 grams honey

For Assembly and Serving:

Carbonated fruit (recipe below)
Balsamic fluid gel (recipe below)
Goat cheese mousse (recipe below)
1 jicama
1 black radish
1 bunch upland cress
Edible flowers (for garnish, as needed)
Maldon salt (as needed)

For the Balsamic Fluid Gel:

Mix the vinegar and agar agar together in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Make sure the mixture boils for at least 30 seconds.
Remove the pan from the heat and pour the gel into a heat-safe container. Place that container in an ice bath. Let the mixture cool until it becomes firm.
Once cooled, cut the gel into small pieces and blend it in a blender until it becomes smooth.

For the Goat Cheese Mousse:

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
Optional: In a metal bowl, toast the top of the mixture with a handheld torch and fold in the toasted parts until desired level of caramelization is reached.
Pass the sauce through a fine mesh strainer to remove any chunks.
Place in an ISI canister and chill until the mixture is below 41F°.
Charge the canister with two whipped cream chargers before plating.

For the Carbonated Fruit:

Cut your fruit into slices.
Gently toss the sliced fruit in the honey.
Place fruit slices into either an ISI canister or a SodaStream. If using an ISI, charge with two CO2 canisters. If using a SodaStream, follow the manufacturer's directions.
Allow the fruit to sit under pressure for at least 2 minutes before carefully releasing the gas.
Serve the fruit immediately, as it will lose carbonation the longer it sits.

For Assembly and Serving:

Slice jicama into 1/16" thick slices on a mandoline or slicer. Tear into your desired shape.
Slice black radish paper thin using a mandoline or slicer.
To plate the salad, spread the goat cheese mousse onto the jicama slices like a sandwich. Invert onto the plate so that the jicama slices are on the outside and the mousse is in the middle hot dog style, using the jicama slices as the "buns."
Place carbonated fruit, upland cress, black radish and edible flowers on top.
Add dots of balsamic gel around the salad.
Finish with Maldon salt or other finishing salt to taste.
Consume immediately, as the carbonation is most fresh when eaten right away.

Summer Vegetables Vegetarian Salads

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Recipes Slice jicama into 1/16” thick slices on a mandoline or slicer. Tear into your desired shape. Slice black radish paper thin using a mandoline or slicer. To plate the salad, spread the goat cheese mousse onto the jicama slices like a sandwich. Invert onto plate so that the jicama slices are on the outside and the mousse is in the middle hot dog style, using the jicama slices as the "buns." Place carbonated fruit, upland cress, black radish, and edible flowers on top. Deposit dots of balsamic gel around the salad. Finish with Maldon salt or other finishing salt to taste. Consume immediately, as the carbonation is freshest when eaten right away.

Who is Online Culinary School Good For? Meet These 4 Graduates from ICE

ajohnson — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 22:08:08 +0000

Who is Online Culinary School Good For? Meet These 4 Graduates from ICE ajohnson Fri, 06/28/2024 - 18:08 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1440/public/content/blog-article/header-image/CAFO%20graduates%20group%20header.jpg.webp?itok=Dmtbii7J Culinary Arts & Food Operations Online graduates with Lead Chef-Instructor Shawn Matijevich at ICE's commencement ceremony. Meet some of the business owners, cooks and parents who graduated from ICE's Culinary Arts & Food Operations program in 2024. June 28, 2024

By Anna Johnson

As the 51�Թ� continues to grow, so too does our number of graduates. In May 2024, ICE celebrated the second class of Culinary Arts & Food Operations online graduates, with many more to come.

These alumni attended culinary school online for various reasons, including accessibility and ease of scheduling. In doing so, they chose to find their culinary voices by attending an accredited online culinary school with a curriculum developed by expert faculty.

The growth only continues for online culinary school at ICE. Since launching the Culinary Arts online diploma program, ICE has also also launched Plant-Based Culinary Arts & Food Operations online and most recently Baking and Pastry Arts & Food Operations Online.

But who is online culinary school good for, really? Meet four of our recent graduates and hear directly from them about why they chose the online culinary program at ICE.

Meymuna Hussein-Cattan

From left: ICE Chairman and Founder Rick Smilow, ICE graduate Meymuna Hussein-Cattan and ICE Lead Chef-Instructor Shawn Matijevich at commencement.

Meymuna Hussein-Cattan started her culinary school journey just as another chapter of her life was also unfolding — motherhood. Meymuna began the program not long after giving birth. Thanks to the flexible schedule of the Culinary Arts & Food Operations program, she was able to balance family life and school work enough to be able to enjoy both.

Though Meymuna has always loved food, her relationship with the restaurant world before ICE was solely as a business owner.

"When I first started [at ICE], you could have called me a 'hobbyist,'" Meymuna says. "And now, I feel like it really upgraded my understanding of the culinary arts and also, what I've chosen to be — committed to excellence.”

Meymuna is the owner of Flavors from Afar, a Los Angeles restaurant that partners with the Tiyya Foundation to host refugee chefs who present curated, rotating menus of dishes from their home countries. The restaurant has made waves since opening in 2020: it was named as one of the LA Times' 101 Best Restaurants and a Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand for two years in a row.

Aside from Meymuna, Flavors from Afar has a very near connection to ICE Los Angeles — Restaurant & Culinary Management graduate Kenna Copes was the former head chef at the restaurant. Seeing Chef Kenna's exemplary work ethic and skills firsthand is what inspired Meymuna to look into culinary school at ICE for herself. She wanted to be able to help her team as a business owner and as a chef.

"I think it takes a team effort," Meymuna says. "Front of house and back of house should be working together simultaneously. I could now not only market the restaurant, but I could roll up my sleeves and help out as a prep cook."

After 16 months of communicating online, Meymuna and Chef Shawn take a photo together in person.

As her career continues to flourish, Meymuna feels confident about her choice to pursue education at ICE.

"If you're on the fence [about] going to culinary school, I would say just jump in anyway with two feet," she says. "It's only going to make your career and your journey that much better and refined. And if you choose not to [go], I think you'll miss out on learning who you could become in the process."

Jason Sims

Jason Sims (center) with ICE LA commencement speaker Chef Evan Funke and ICE Chairman and Founder Rick Smilow at commencement.

After 40 years in the hospitality industry, Jason Sims was ready to start cooking. He's currently the owner of the Merritt House Hotel in Monterey, California and has worked in many food and beverage and hotel properties during his professional life.

The Culinary Arts & Food Operations online program found Jason at the perfect time. He was searching for ways to further his career, and found an online option that worked for his schedule as a business owner and was accessible to his location in Northern California.

Courtesy: Jason Sims.

When Jason started the program, he faced some initial challenges with the technology involved in taking a 16-month online program, but he quickly adapted with help from the program's Lead Chef-Instructor Shawn Matijevich.

"Chef Shawn was able to help me from the very beginning, personally, since I had very little knowledge of the technology in the program," Jason says. "Chef Shawn definitely made it so that I was not feeling uncomfortable asking for help. And at this age, sometimes it's hard to ask for help. I asked, and it was a fantastic beginning to the program. And it kept me going."

Even after years in the hospitality industry, Jason says he still found plenty to learn in the online culinary school program's varied curriculum.

Every step of this program had something new and exciting to learn.

"Every day was a new challenge. And that's what I enjoyed about it. Being in the industry for 40 years, I felt I knew everything, but I did not, even in the learning aspect. What I really enjoyed was learning about different cultures when we got into more international cooking. That was a lot of fun. And it gave me a lot of creative ideas for a restaurant opportunity in the future. Every step of this program had something new and exciting to learn."

Looking toward the future, Jason has big plans for his newly-acquired culinary skills.

"The goal is for me to start catering for six months to a year or so," Jason says. "And then, there's a property next to my hotel, which I plan on putting the restaurant in within the next couple of years."

Courtesy: Jason Sims.

Zakia "Trisha" Answary

Zakia "Trisha" Answary (center, with green sash) smiles with her family at ICE's commencement ceremony. Courtesy: Trisha Answary

Zakia "Trisha" Answary always knew she loved to cook. While growing up in Bangladesh, she says she loved to watch cooking shows on TV. But, at the time, her family didn't see working in the kitchen as a viable career. So, she went to medical school.

After Trisha had gotten married, started a family and moved to Canada, cooking entered back into her life in a big way. She remembers all of the friends she and her husband used to host who raved about her cooking.

"They would go 'Oh, my God, your cooking is so good. So why don't you open something up?' But, I wanted to learn first," Trisha says.

Courtesy: Trisha Answary.

Another move to Milpitas, California with her family found Trisha spending time at home with her young children, cooking still on her mind. But traditional culinary school wouldn't work with her schedule as a homemaker. Soon enough, though, things would change.

"One day, my husband saw the online culinary program that ICE was offering," she says. "He said 'Why don't you give it a try? So, that's how I came to ICE."

When Trisha started her coursework, she found the process of cooking on her own and uploading pictures and videos of her creations slightly challenging. In the end, though, she thinks doing so helped her be meticulous with each dish as she made it, since she wanted to present the best possible product each time.

In Trisha's case, while she benefitted from the lectures, kitchen-based labs and educational materials in the online culinary program, her family also benefitted from all of the food she cooked on a weekly basis. She says her children's favorite dishes were all from the pastry section of the program.

Trisha's mother even visited from Bangladesh and tried one of the salads she made during her Fundamentals 1 course. Trisha says she loved it.

"She was from Bangladesh, we have different kinds of cuisine," Trisha says. "When she was trying the salad, I believe it was pear and cranberry salad, she said 'Oh my God, it's good! It's very good. I really like it.'"

Trisha says completing the online culinary program while taking care of her kids was a lot of work, but so worth it for her in the end. Though right now she's enjoying a bit of calm post-graduation, she hopes to one day open her own restaurant.

No matter where she ends up, though, Trisha is confident she'll be cooking.

One of Trisha's dishes made for online culinary school. Courtesy: Trisha Answary.

"I always wanted to be a chef. I enjoy cooking. I do it out of love," she says. "It's what I wanted for so long. And it was a great journey."

Jericho Chun-Lai

Jericho Chun-Lai (left) and his family at ICE's commencement ceremony.

Though ICE's Culinary Arts & Food Operations online program is accredited in many states in the United States, as the program has grown, many students have come from California or nearby states such Arizona and Texas.

Jericho Chun-Lai, however, is from a bit further away. He's ICE's first online culinary student from Hawaiʻi, specifically the Big Island.

Jericho has been cooking in professional kitchens for years. He started thinking about attending culinary school while mapping out his future in the industry. As he worked his way up through various hotel kitchens, he found his bosses expecting more of him in each role.

One of Jericho's plated dishes from ICE's online culinary school program. Courtesy: Jericho Chun-Lai

"The chefs, they're wanting to see more," Jericho says. "So I told myself, if they want more, I gotta buckle down and learn more."

Jericho chose to attend online culinary school because the schedule was flexible with his full-time job and with raising a family. He says there were many days he would get home after work, open his laptop and start learning.

For Jericho, one of the most challenging parts of the online culinary program was finding the ingredients for each dish. Though the program has a set curriculum with certain dishes, ICE's online Chef-Instructors are always willing to help students find substitutions for ingredients that are hard to source in certain areas, which was the case for Jericho.

One of his favorite lessons was during the international portion of the program.

“I learned how to make sushi," Jericho says. "Coming from Hawaii that's very authentic food and cuisine. That's one memory I will take wherever I go in the culinary field."

When it came time for his in-person commencement ceremony at ICE, Jericho decided to celebrate in a big way. He, his wife and his one-year-old daughter flew to Pasadena, CA to attend the event — and they went to Disneyland afterward.

Jericho's gracious attitude and determination set him up for success at ICE. Now, he's equipped with knowledge to continue pursuing his culinary dreams.

"ICE is all you could ever ask for in an online school," Jericho says. "These instructors, the chefs, the support guys behind the scenes, they're all here for you. Coming personally from a guy from Hawaiʻi, I never thought I would go this far without ICE."

ICE is all you could ever ask for in an online school.

Onward, upward and full of flavor. Congratulations to all of our 2024 graduates!

Alumni Culinary Arts Graduation

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From Extern to Junior Sous Chef: ICE LA Grad Megan Fogarty's Journey

ajohnson — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 22:17:59 +0000

From Extern to Junior Sous Chef: ICE LA Grad Megan Fogarty's Journey ajohnson Tue, 06/25/2024 - 18:17 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1440/public/content/blog-article/header-image/Megan%20Fogarty%20header.jpg.webp?itok=gYwEawUL From left: ICE President and Chairman Rick Smilow, ICE LA Director of Restaurant and Culinary Management Mishel LeDoux, Chef Evan Funke, ICE LA president Lachlan Sands, ICE graduate Megan Fogarty. Meet the chef who worked her way up at République just three years out of school June 26, 2024

By Anna Johnson

Just three years after graduating from 51�Թ� Los Angeles, Chef Megan Fogarty is booked and busy.

Every shift, Chef Megan gets to cook in a building built by Charlie Chaplin nearly 100 years ago. She's a Junior Sous Chef at République, the long-standing LA darling restaurant by Chefs Walter and Margarita Manzke, which is housed in a historic 1928 building in Los Angeles' Miracle Mile.

Chef Megan has been at République since graduating from ICE with diplomas in Culinary Arts and Restaurant and Culinary Management in 2021. She started in the kitchen on her externship as the last part of her Culinary Arts program and has stayed and worked her way up since.

"When I first started at République, it was one of the most terrifying experiences I think I've ever had in my career," Chef Megan says. "Now to look back on that and see that I'm somehow one of the top cooks there is absolutely crazy. And I credit a lot of that to ICE."

Related: How to Choose Your Externship

Though Chef Megan had worked in restaurant kitchens before school, she says her time at ICE set her up for success. She credits her ICE education with reinforcing her skills and helping improve her confidence in the kitchen.

"Giving us that foundation to go out there and apply it in the real world setting is definitely something I take from ICE,” she says.

She also remembers the small moments spent working alongside and bonding with her classmates. One of her favorite parts of culinary school was learning from her fellow students, many of whom had different backgrounds and work experiences than she did.

"I think that aspect really translates into the work setting," Chef Megan says. "Especially in the back-of-house. You're spending hours and hours with these people and learning from them as they're learning from you."

Chef Megan's journey to Junior Sous Chef at République speaks volumes about her skills and tenacity. She also recently staged at the legendary three-Michelin-starred restaurant The French Laundry.

That's why she was the perfect choice to appear at ICE LA's 2024 commencement ceremony as the alumni speaker, where she delivered a speech about her experience entering the culinary industry for the first time.

Watch Chef Megan's speech:

Her ultimate message to all of the graduates as they enter the world of hospitality? You can never care too much.

"At the end of the day, we're here to cook food for people — we are in the industry of hospitality," Chef Megan says. "If you can take that knowledge and those simple skills and apply them to not only your cooking but in how you work with people and others, I think it'll do wonders in this industry."

Chef Megan's future is bright. Though she has previously considered a long-term goal of opening her own restaurant, she's now leaning more toward exploring the world of private cheffing. She loves the idea of getting to know a client and their family deeply enough to create tailored, delicious experiences for them.

But, before Chef Megan moves to the next step of her career, she says all she wants to do is learn and grow in as many kitchens as possible.

Her guiding principle is clear. As she reminded graduates in her commencement speech, Chef Megan will always strive to deliver joy through her food.

"Hospitality is about creating moments of joy," she says. "Moments of comfort and connection. Lucky enough for us, we get to provide these feelings through the one thing everyone in the universe can understand, which is food."

More ICE Alumni Stories

Alumni Graduation Los Angeles

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ICE Alumna Gabi Chappel is a “Next Level Chef”

abaker — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 18:55:01 +0000

ICE Alumna Gabi Chappel is a “Next Level Chef” abaker Wed, 04/24/2024 - 14:55 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1440/public/content/blog-article/header-image/Gabi%20Chappel%20header.jpeg.webp?itok=YRcpBnWZ Chef Gabi cooks with Gordon Ramsay on "Next Level Chef." CR: Lorraine O’Sullivan / FOX. ©2024 FOX Media LLC. Catch her on the third season of Fox's cooking competition show. April 24, 2024

By Anna Johnson

51�Թ� alumna Gabi Chappel is leveling up on Fox’s “Next Level Chef.”

The Plant-Based Culinary Arts (formerly known as “Health-Supportive Culinary Arts”) graduate is one of the final competitors on the cooking competition show, hosted by Chefs Nyesha Arrington, Richard Blais and Gordon Ramsay. She’s also ICE New York’s 2024 Commencement Alumni Speaker and is set to speak at graduation on May 22, 2024.

Clearly, this is a huge year for Chef Gabi. She’s one of the last five chefs left on “Next Level Chef,” which eliminates one competitor a week. The show’s winner receives a $250,000 prize and year-long mentorship guidance from all three of the judges.

As of the time of this article, Chef Gabi has won four challenges out of the 13 episodes that have aired and has received extensive one-on-one direction and feedback from Chef Ramsay after he personally chose her as a member of his “team” for the show.

For Chef Gabi, who primarily cooks plant-based food, these wins are extra sweet, since they demonstrate her versatility. In episode eight, her New York strip steak was named the best dish of the episode.

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“Anyone can cook a great steak,” Chef Gabi says. “But being able to elevate a dish utilizing spices, vegetables, other elements to make something unique, different and crave-able goes beyond a traditional style of cooking.”

She attributes much of her ability to think outside the flavor box to her training at ICE.

“I feel like at ICE, there were so many different flavors and different ways of looking at food,” Chef Gabi says. “I looked at food so differently, and I feel like it really helped me create my own perspective and my own spin on dishes — that ended up standing out in some ways.”

On the show, Chef Gabi is classified as a “social media chef,” which speaks to her background in food media and her current Instagram following of over 50,000. However, cooking professionally on TV was never originally in her plans, and her journey has been anything but conventional.

After graduating college with degrees in journalism and Spanish, she moved to New York City to work in production. A love of hosting and interviewing, born from Chef Gabi’s journalism background, led her to audition for various casting calls. Though she didn’t know it at the time, one of those calls was for the food media publication Epicurious.

“That was like a random casting call,” Chef Gabi says. “They didn't even say who it was for. They just asked for ‘people who like food,’ and I was like ‘That’s me!’”

That audition led her to work on Epicurious’ popular YouTube Series “Four Levels,” where Chef Gabi cooked as a “Level 2 Chef” — what she describes as a “pretty good home cook.” In the series, Chef Gabi’s dishes held their own against dishes from Chef and ICE alumna Esther Choi, Chef Rawlston Williams and ICE Pastry & Baking Arts Chef-Instructor Penny Stankiewicz, to name a few.

Shooting the “Four Levels” series reminded Chef Gabi just how much she loved cooking even though she was still working as a digital producer to pay her bills.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, it brought with it a wave of career inspiration for many Americans. For Chef Gabi, it felt like a sign. She reevaluated her life, quit her producing job and decided her future was in food.

“I was just like, ‘I'm doing it’ and I went to ICE,” she says. “That was my big step into making it my career. The rest is history.”

At ICE, Chef Gabi fondly remembers her time spent with Dean of Students Elliot Prag (who taught in the program at the time) and Director of Nutrition Celine Beitchman. Her time with both ICE Chefs taught her much about techniques, flavors, nutrition, sustainability and so much more.

One of Chef Celine’s quotes particularly sticks with Chef Gabi as a guiding light for her current career in the spotlight. While Chef Celine was teaching a class about quality ingredients, she told the group that though their small community cared deeply about nutrition and the sourcing of ingredients, the world at large didn’t feel the same way.

“Chef Celine said ‘It’s nearly impossible to get that message out to the masses. I don't know what it's going to take. But, hopefully, at some point, someone can do it.’ And I remember at that point, as she said that I was thinking, ‘I want to be that person,’” Chef Gabi recalls. “That stuck with me. And so here I am, I'm out there and I'm doing it. I'm in the public eye in a way that I never necessarily imagined. But — that's the goal.”

Chef Gabi carried out her externship at Olmsted in Brooklyn, where she found herself working in a high-volume kitchen at an acclaimed restaurant. From there, she ventured into the world of creating pop-up dinners with special plant-based menus curated for each season, which she loved.

She strongly believes that working the line at a restaurant is only one of many varied ways to engage as an artist in the world of food. But, she says, like any artistic venture, lots of practice is required.

“Even if you don't want to work in a restaurant, find some other outlet to cook regularly and to cook consistently,” she says. “Because putting in those reps really adds credibility to what you're doing and helps you develop your style.”

If her career is any indication, practice often pays off.

Though working as a social media chef wasn’t Chef Gabi’s original plan, she’s embraced it. Her favorite part of “Next Level Chef” is the mentorship she’s gotten from working with Chefs Ramsay, Arrington and Blais and that’s what she’s taking away, regardless of whether she wins or loses.

Chef Gabi will soon be sharing her advice and guidance with ICE graduates at commencement on May 22. Leading up to the ceremony, Chef Gabi can be found competing on “Next Level Chef” on Fox, airing on Thursdays at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT.

Though Chef Gabi is open to competing on TV again, her future plans are to create more pop-up dinner events and to share the knowledge she’s learned from her years in the industry.

“I feel that I'm at a point where I can now start to just make some of this knowledge more available to other people,” she says. “Whether that's through video, through experiences, through classes or through other foundations. I am most excited to start teaching people or helping people learn more about these things that I'm incredibly passionate about.”

Food TV Alumni Awards and Honors

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ICE Launches New Scholarships

ajohnson — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 22:27:42 +0000

ICE Launches New Scholarships ajohnson Thu, 03/21/2024 - 18:27 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1440/public/content/blog-article/header-image/ICE%20LA%202023%20Commencement%20Header.jpg.webp?itok=Xbwf3lgx The combined value is worth up to $686,000 March 22, 2024

By Anna Johnson

The 51�Թ� is proud to offer more scholarship opportunities to potential students than ever before.

ICE recently announced two new scholarships worth up to $35,000 and 195 high school scholarships worth up to $651,000. All are for students pursuing their dreams in the culinary and hospitality industries and all scholarships reflect ICE's vibrant history, alumni and commitment to culinary excellence.

These new scholarships are steps in ICE's continual journey of growth. Year after year, the school has sought to support students seeking aid, and in 2023, was able to award over $700,000 in scholarships. That's nearly $300,000 more than was awarded in 2022. This year, ICE is set to exceed $700,000 in awarded scholarships, if all 195 high school scholarships are accepted.

Learn More and Apply

The first of these new scholarships honors Mashama Bailey, the James Beard Award-winning Executive Chef and Co-Founder of The Grey in Savannah, who graduated from ICE with a Culinary Arts diploma in 2000. The Chef Mashama Bailey Tuition Waiver will offer $20,000 to the recipient and can be used to attend the Culinary Arts program at ICE's New York or Los Angeles campuses. In honor of Chef Mashama's and The Grey's focus on American Southern cuisine, preference for the scholarship will be given to applicants who show interest in pursuing the same specialty.

Chef Mashama says she is honored that ICE has created a scholarship in her name.

"I’m very pleased that it is tied to the recipient having a focus on regional cooking since I focus on the rich layers of cooking Southern cuisine and 'port city' ingredients in my restaurants, and I want to inspire others to do the same,” she says. “To be able to connect with your community or region through food is a remarkable thing, and this scholarship encourages that tradition.”

“To be able to connect with your community or region through food is a remarkable thing, and this scholarship encourages that tradition.”

ICE Alumna Mashama Bailey accepting the 2022 James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Chef.

Chef Mashama's legacy runs deep at ICE and will continue to thrive with all of the new talent fostered in her name. The deadline to apply for consideration for the scholarship is April 5, 2024.

The second scholarship also pays tribute to a rich legacy — one that helped shape ICE into the school it is today. That scholarship is the FCI Legacy of Excellence Tuition Waiver, named in honor of the French Culinary Institute, which later became the International Culinary Center.

In 2021, ICE entered into a licensing agreement with ICC as the school closed, which allowed ICE to carry over FCI/ICC course offerings, such as the Intensive Sommelier Training course, as well as hire many former FCI/ICC staff. The scholarship will offer $15,000 to one student to be used toward any of ICE's career programs at the NY or LA campuses. Those programs include Culinary Arts, Pastry & Baking Arts, Plant-Based Culinary Arts, Restaurant & Culinary Management and Hospitality & Hotel Management.

FCI's influence is evident in every dish an ICE student prepares using precise French techniques. The new scholarship serves to further the FCI/ICC commitment to excellence at ICE and will shepherd future recipients toward their culinary futures. The deadline to apply for consideration for this scholarship is also April 5, 2024.

Jacques Pépin, former Dean of the French Culinary Institute, gives a speech at ICE's party honoring FCI on March 4, 2024. Photo by Rick Smilow.

Additionally, ICE is offering more scholarship funds to high schoolers and recent high school graduates than ever before. This year, ICE is offering 195 scholarships in partnership with ProStart, an in-school program for high school students run by the National Restaurant Association. High school students and recent high school graduates from California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Vermont have the chance to win up to $5,000 each. In order to qualify for the scholarships, students must have participated in the ProStart program in high school and won 1st, 2nd or 3rd prize in their state-level competition.

Students who compete and place at state-level ProStart competitions in Culinary, Management, Cake Decorating (Pennsylvania only) and Burger Battle (New York and Vermont only) in the listed states may win scholarships to use toward a career program at either of ICE's campuses or online. Each member of the prize-winning teams will be eligible to receive the scholarship, if they plan to attend ICE.

The scholarship amounts per state break down as follows:

Up to 10 first prize scholarships of $5,000 each
Up to 10 second prize scholarships of $3,000 each
Up to 10 third prize scholarships of $2,000 each

These new state-level ProStart scholarships are in addition to ICE's National ProStart Competition Scholarships, where potential ICE students can win even more scholarship money by competing at the national level.

More Info on ProStart Scholarships

ICE Chairman and Founder Rick Smilow is elated that the new scholarships will honor ICE's past while looking brightly toward the future.

"At ICE, our mission is to help all who enter through our doors find their culinary voice," Smilow says. "It is my honor to help even more people to do just that. I'm thrilled to be able to offer these scholarships to deserving future students, especially given the tradition that they will honor."

ICE's progress extends even further. While our on-campus programs continue to thrive, ICE's online offerings are also expanding, with the Pastry and Baking Arts & Food Operations online program slated to start in 2024.

With continued growth and exciting new horizons, 2024 is a great year for a new ICE student to find their culinary voice.

Food News Culinary School Alumni

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Recipe: Whipped Feta, Two Ways

ajohnson — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 18:25:39 +0000

Recipe: Whipped Feta, Two Ways ajohnson Wed, 03/06/2024 - 13:25 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1440/public/content/blog-article/header-image/Whipped%20Feta%20Dips%20Header.JPG.webp?itok=RmyvN3st Whipped feta dip is a crowd-pleaser, especially paired with fresh spring produce March 6, 2024

By Anna Johnson

When fresh produce meets salty feta cheese, magic happens.

Cheese is the great unifier. There is at least one variety of cheese to pair with anything, whether the main dish is a savory dinner or a sweet dessert.

There is a cheese, however, that offers the best of both worlds: a blank, salty canvas, perfect for customization. Enter: feta.

Luckily, the 51�Թ� Los Angeles is partnered with The Original Farmer's Market, where vendor Mediterranean Market sells some of the best feta cheese around. When Chef-Instructor Robert Bordwell got his hands on some Bulgarian and Turkish feta from Mediterranean Market, he knew what he had to make: whipped feta dip.

Chef Robert's sweet whipped feta

For the dip, Chef Robert likes to whip up his cheese in a food processor until it's smooth and creamy. Since feta is so versatile, he chose to make a savory dip, with olive oil poured into the processor as the cheese is whipping, and a sweet version, in which he replaced the olive oil with honey.

Both dips are slightly salty, but have different flavor notes. They're simple to make, and pair well with any crudité of choice for dipping. In spring, fresh veggies like carrots and cucumber work perfectly alongside the salty, savory version of the dip, and strawberries are perfect for the sweet version.

Chef Robert also encourages people to get creative with the dippers.

"One thing I used to do is take scrap pieces of my cakes, cut them into cubes, soak them in syrup and bake them," Chef Robert says. "You get these bites that look like croutons, but when you go to eat them, they're sweet and perfect for dipping in something like this."

If you'd like to go the extra mile, you can also make Chef Robert's strawberry consommé, a syrupy, bright strawberry broth that he generously poured onto the sweet whipped feta. You can garnish the sweet dip with more honey and fruit of your choice, while the savory dip shines topped with some fresh dill.

Chef Robert's savory whipped feta

If you find yourself with leftover feta, bake it! Chef Robert popped some of his leftover feta into a 500° F oven with some cherry tomatoes, let it bake until it started to bubble, and then pulled out a soft, warm block of cheese perfect for scooping up with some leftover pita or bread.

Overall, whipped feta cheese dip is customizable for anyone's taste and easy to make, so give it a try to share at your next spring gathering. Or, make it just for yourself, and enjoy.

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Whipped Feta Dip (Sweet and Savory)

For the Savory Whipped Feta Dip:

6 ounces feta cheese
1/2 ounces dill (fresh)
1/2 ounces parsley (fresh)
2 ounces lemon juice
1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper
51�Թ� 1/2 cup olive oil (may need more or less depending on the moisture of the cheese)
Fresh vegetables of choice, cut into strips

For the Sweet Whipped Feta Dip:

6 ounces feta cheese
1 ounce honey
Fruit of choice, cut in half as needed, for dipping

For the Strawberry Consommé:

8 ounces of fresh or frozen strawberries (if you want more, 16 ounces of strawberries will yield lots of extra consommé)
0.8 ounce granulated sugar (if using 16 ounces of strawberries, increase sugar to 1.6 ounces)

For the Savory and Sweet Whipped Feta Dips:

Crumble feta into food processor. For savory dip, add dill, parsley, lemon juice and salt and pepper into food processor. Close the food processor lid.
Begin to whip the feta continually in the processor. Stream olive oil or honey through the top opening as the cheese whips, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Once the feta dip is smooth and creamy, remove from the processor and plate alongside crudités of choice.

For the Strawberry Consommé:

Place strawberries and sugar in a stainless steel bowl over a pot of boiling water. If you have a bain-marie pot, feel free to use it.
Cook the strawberries down until a thin broth gathers at the bottom of the bowl, about 15 to 20 minutes. Make sure to check periodically.
Once the strawberries have released their juices, take off of the heat and pour the broth into a separate container. Use to top the whipped feta dip, cakes and ice cream.

Cheese & Dairy Partners Vegetables Recipe Vegetarian

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Recipes Step 1 - Crumble feta into food processor; Step 2 - For savory dip add dill parsley lemon juice and salt and pepper into food processor; Step 3 - Close the food processor lid; Step 4 - Begin to whip the feta continually in the processor; Step 5 - Stream olive oil or honey through the top opening as the cheese whips stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed; Step 6 - Once the feta dip is smooth and creamy; Step 7 - Remove from the processor and plate alongside crudites of choice; Step 8 - Place strawberries and sugar in a stainless steel bowl over a pot of boiling water; Step 9 - If you have a bain marie pot feel free to use it; Step 10 - Cook the strawberries down until a thin broth gathers at the bottom of the bowl about 15 to 20 minutes, make sure to check periodically; Step 11 - Once the strawberries have released their juices; Step 12 - Take off of the heat and pour the broth into a separate container; Step 13 - Use to top the whipped feta dip cakes and ice cream;

Recommended Cookbooks by Black Authors | Black History Month Special

ajohnson — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 19:11:10 +0000

Recommended Cookbooks by Black Authors | Black History Month Special ajohnson Tue, 02/20/2024 - 14:11 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1440/public/content/blog-article/header-image/Cookbook%20display%20at%20ICE%20NY.JPG.webp?itok=oyrd-SVX February 21, 2024

By Anna Johnson

Food traditions often play an extremely important part in forming a person's identity.

In practice, a "food tradition" can be simple — cooking a recipe with a particular ingredient; a family trademark. It can also be as complex as a multi-course meal with carefully-curated foods served in a specific order to evoke meaning.

These food traditions, both small and large, hold a deep cultural significance to many Black Americans.

Nowhere is this better exemplified than in the culinary industry. Contemporary Black American chefs, including many ICE alumni, are constantly innovating in the field and redefining the scope of American cooking as we know it.

You may not even have to travel to taste their work — just check your local library.

In honor of Black History Month, 51�Թ� Chef-Instructor Gill Boyd recommended six of his favorite food-centric texts and cookbooks written by Black authors. The list explores recipes and food history through the lens of contemporary Black chefs and historians.

Books recommended by Chef-Instructor Gill Boyd and descriptions written by Rose Kernochan, Librarian at the ICE NY campus.

"Grace the Table: Stories and Recipes from my Southern Revival"

By Alexander Smalls

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Chef Alexander Smalls (right), with Chef Andrew Black (left) and copy of "Grace the Table"

Alexander Smalls, a former opera singer, burst onto the restaurant scene in 1994 with Cafe Beulah, a Harlem hot spot which attracted luminaries like Quincy Jones, Toni Morrison and Spike Lee.

In "Grace the Table," Chef Alexander combines his storytelling talent with his love for food to tell the story of his journey from his hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina, to Europe and eventually to Manhattan. A hundred of the dishes he invented during his travels are sprinkled throughout the book, including Southern Revival dishes such as black-eyed peas with arugula and macaroni-and-cheese terrine with Creole sauce.

"Grace the Table" is Chef Alexander's first book of three. His second, "Between Harlem and Heaven: Afro-Asian-American Cooking for Big Nights, Weeknights, and Every Day" was released in 2018, and his most recent title "Meals, Music, and Muses: Recipes from My African American Kitchen"came out in 2020.

"The New Low Country Cooking: 125 Recipes for Coastal Southern Cooking with Continental Style"

By Marvin Woods

For centuries, the Low-Country cooks of South Carolina have taken the diverse foods of Africa, France, Spain, and the Caribbean and turned them into one of America’s most intriguing regional cuisines. Chef Marvin Woods, chef/owner of Diaspora Foods in Charlotte, North Carolina, offers a new take on this extraordinary cuisine—transforming standards like fried chicken and gumbo into updated dishes for today's kitchen.

Chef Marvin also shares historical tidbits on how dishes and ingredients got their names, where they originated, and the indisputable importance of African-American cooks in Southern life.

"My America: Recipes from A Young Black Chef"

By Kwame Onwuachi, with Joshua David Stein

Readers will remember Chef Kwame, the James Beard award-winning chef of Tatiana, from his important memoir, "Notes from a Young Black Chef."

In his latest book, he celebrates the food of the African Diaspora, as handed down through his own family history, spanning Nigeria to the Caribbean, the South to the Bronx, and beyond. From Nigerian Jollof, Puerto Rican Red Bean Sofrito, and Trinidadian Channa (Chickpea) Curry to Jambalaya, Baby Back Ribs, and Red Velvet Cake, these are global home recipes that represent the best of the patchwork that is American cuisine.

Chef Kwame Onuwachi. Credit: TJ Kirkpatrick

"High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey From Africa To America"

By Jessica B. Harris

Acclaimed cookbook author and historian Jessica B. Harris (winner of the James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award) has spent much of her career researching the food and foodways of the African Diaspora. "High on the Hog," a bestselling book and Netflix series, is the culmination of years of her work, and the result is an engaging history of African American cuisine. Harris takes the reader on a harrowing journey from Africa across the Atlantic to America, tracking the trials that the people and the food have undergone along the way.

From chitlins and ham hocks to fried chicken and vegan soul, Harris celebrates the delicious and restorative foods of the African American experience and details how each came to form such an important part of African American culture, history, and identity.

"The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South"

By Michael Twitty

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Southern food is integral to the American culinary tradition, yet the question of who "owns" it is one of the most provocative touch points in our ongoing struggles over race. In this unique memoir, culinary historian Michael W. Twitty takes readers to the white-hot center of this fight, tracing the roots of his own family and the charged politics surrounding the origins of soul food, barbecue, and all Southern cuisine. "The Cooking Gene" was named a 2018 James Beard Foundation Book of the Year.

"African American Foodways: Explorations of History and Culture"

Ed. Anne L Bower

Ranging from seventeenth-century West African fare to contemporary fusion dishes using soul food ingredients, this book provides an introduction to many aspects of African American foodways and an antidote to popular misconceptions about soul food. Examining the combination of African, Caribbean, and South American traditions, the volume's contributors offer lively insights from history, literature, sociology, anthropology, and African American studies to demonstrate how food's material and symbolic values have contributed to African Americans' identity for centuries.

Individual chapters examine how African foodways survived the passage into slavery, cultural meanings associated with African American foodways, and the contents of African American cookbooks, both early and recent.

Hungry for More?

This list is just a taste of the rich world of Black-authored food literature. For more, please visit your local library and support Black-owned bookstores, such as BEM Books & More in Brooklyn, New York and Octavia's Bookshelf in Pasadena, California.

Cookbooks Food History

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Chef Jürgen's Elegant Tiramisu Recipe

ajohnson — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 17:50:16 +0000

Chef Jürgen's Elegant Tiramisu Recipe ajohnson Fri, 02/02/2024 - 12:50 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1440/public/content/blog-article/header-image/tiramisu-HERO.png.webp?itok=LeYzOVbm These individually-sized tiramisu servings are the perfect fancy dessert for your next dinner party. February 13, 2024

By Anna Johnson

Being a classic Italian dessert, this “pick me up” (that is the literal translation from Italian) is a crowd pleaser and everyone will have a strong idea about how they like their tiramisu.

The basics are the same — mascarpone cheese, eggs, espresso-soaked ladyfingers (made from scratch or using the traditional Savoiardi biscuits) and a dusting of cocoa powder are the staple ingredients for this delectable treat. It's such a popular dish, that International Tiramisu Day is celebrated on March 21, and it's spawned dessert competitions just for tiramisu alone.

Chef Jürgen's version utilizes a sabayon method for cooking the eggs (hello, food safety!) and a more sophisticated touch by using Marsala in the recipe. Instead of a rustic, homestyle approach, this version is made as individual servings — you are special and deserve your own small serving, no sharing necessary.

Tiramisu Recipe by Chef Jürgen

Yields 6 3-inch servings

For the Ladyfingers:

4 eggs, separated
100 grams granulated sugar
100 grams cake flour
Powdered sugar, for dusting

For the Soaking Syrup:

150 ml espresso
10 ml rum
10 ml Amaretto
25 ml orange juice
3 ml vanilla extract'

For the Tiramisu:

175 milliliters heavy cream
2 egg yolks
75 grams granulated sugar
25 milliliters water
50 milliliters Marsala wine
1.5 sheets gelatin, bloomed in cold water
250 grams mascarpone
Ladyfinger biscuits (from recipe)
Soaking syrup (from recipe)
Cocoa powder, for dusting

For the Chocolate Sauce:

150 gram bittersweet chocolate
125 milliliters milk
75 milliliters heavy cream
15 grams butter
75 grams granulated sugar
1 pinch of salt
5 milliliters coffee extract

For the Chocolate Decoration:

2 ounces (57 grams) bittersweet chocolate, melted
Ice cubes, as needed

For Plating:

Cocoa powder, for dusting
Chocolate sauce (from recipe)
4 ounces heavy cream, whipped
Chocolate decoration (from recipe)

Special equipment:

#3 plain piping tip
1 3-inch round cookie cutter
4 3-inch round entremet rings, 1-inch high
Stem thermometer

For the Ladyfingers:

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Make a French meringue by whipping the egg whites and the sugar together in a stand mixer, adding a little bit of sugar at a time, until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
Whisk the egg yolks lightly and fold into the meringue.
Sift the flour over the meringue mixture, a third at a time, and fold in.
Using a pastry bag fitted with a round #3 tip, pipe batter in rows on a parchment-lined 1/2 sheet pan.
Sprinkle the batter with powdered sugar.
Bake at until light brown, about 5-7 minutes.
Let cool completely before assembling tiramisu.
When ready to assemble, release each cake from the parchment paper and cut the cake into 3-inch disks.

For the Soaking Syrup:

Combine espresso with the rum, amaretto, orange juice and vanilla extract.
Set aside until ready for assembly.

For the Tiramisu:

In a medium mixing bowl, whip the heavy cream and then set it in the refrigerator to chill.
Set up individual rings on a parchment-lined sheet pan.
Lightly brush the ladyfingers with the espresso syrup.
Over a double boiler, make a sabayon with the egg yolks, sugar, water and Marsala wine. The mixture should read 145°F before removing from heat.
Add the bloomed gelatin to the sabayon. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the mixture until cool and thickened, about 7-10 minutes.
Place the mascarpone in a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir the sabayon into the mascarpone until the mixture is smooth.
Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture.
Line rings with the first layer of biscuit sponge.
Fill the piping bag fitted with the plain pastry tip with the mascarpone mixture.
Pipe the mascarpone mousse onto the biscuit and repeat until you have 3 layers of ladyfingers and 3 layers of mousse. Level out the rings with tiramisu, so the tops are flat.
Chill the tiramisu in the refrigerator until firm, 1-2 hours.
Before serving, dust with cocoa powder and remove rings for plating.

For the Chocolate Sauce:

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium work bowl.
In a saucepan, bring the milk to a boil.
Pour the hot milk over the chocolate. With a whisk, stir until the chocolate is melted.
In a separate saucepan, bring the cream, butter and sugar to a boil.
Pour the ganache into the separate saucepan and stir constantly until it comes to a boil.
Add salt and coffee extract. Stir to combine.
Store the sauce in a bain-marie until ready to use.

For the Chocolate Decoration:

Place chocolate in a microwave oven-safe bowl.
In 20-second increments, melt chocolate to 85°F, stirring at every interval.
Place ice cubes in a medium-sized bowl and cover with cold water.
Using a paper cornet, pipe small designs of your choice onto the ice water surface.
Using a small offset spatula, lift hardened designs from the water.
Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and keep refrigerated until ready to use.

For Plating:

Remove rings from tiramisu and dust the top of each with cocoa powder.
Create a chocolate sauce design on the plate and position tiramisu as desired.
Pipe whipped cream (or make quenelles) onto tiramisu.
Finish with chocolate décor on top.

Desserts Video Epicurious Pastry & Baking Arts Baking Arts

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Videos For the Ladyfingers;
Step 1 - Preheat the oven to 375°F; Step 2 - Make a French meringue by whipping the egg whites and the sugar together in a stand mixer, adding a little bit of sugar at a time, until the mixture holds stiff peaks; Step 3 - Whisk the egg yolks lightly and fold into the meringue; Step 4 - Sift the flour over the meringue mixture, a third at a time, and fold in; Step 5 - Using a pastry bag fitted with a round 3 tip, pipe batter in rows on a parchment-lined 1/2 sheet pan; Step 6 - Sprinkle the batter with powdered sugar; Step 7 - Bake at until light brown, about 5-7 minutes; Step 8 - Let cool completely before assembling tiramisu; Step 9 - When ready to assemble, release each cake from the parchment paper and cut the cake into 3-inch disks; For the Soaking Syrup;
Step 1 - Combine espresso with the rum, amaretto, orange juice and vanilla extract; Step 2 - Set aside until ready for assembly; For the Tiramisu;
Step 1 - In a medium mixing bowl, whip the heavy cream and then set it in the refrigerator to chill.; Step 2 - Set up individual rings on a parchment-lined sheet pan; Step 3 - Lightly brush the ladyfingers with the espresso syrup; Step 4 - Over a double boiler, make a sabayon with the egg yolks, sugar, water and Marsala wine. The mixture should read 145°F before removing from heat; Step 5 - Add the bloomed gelatin to the sabayon. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the mixture until cool and thickened, about 7-10 minutes; Step 6 - Place the mascarpone in a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir the sabayon into the mascarpone until the mixture is smooth; Step 7 - Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture; Step 8 - Line rings with the first layer of biscuit sponge; Step 9 - Fill the piping bag fitted with the plain pastry tip with the mascarpone mixture; Step 10 - Pipe the mascarpone mousse onto the biscuit and repeat until you have 3 layers of ladyfingers and 3 layers of mousse. Level out the rings with tiramisu, so the tops are flat; Step 11 - Chill the tiramisu in the refrigerator until firm, 1-2 hours; Step 12 - Before serving, dust with cocoa powder and remove rings for plating; For the Chocolate Sauce;
Step 1 - Place the chopped chocolate in a medium work bowl; Step 2 - In a saucepan, bring the milk to a boil; Step 3 - Pour the hot milk over the chocolate. With a whisk, stir until the chocolate is melted; Step 4 - In a separate saucepan, bring the cream, butter and sugar to a boil; Step 5 - Pour the ganache into the separate saucepan and stir constantly until it comes to a boil; Step 6 - Add salt and coffee extract. Stir to combine; Step 7 - Store the sauce in a bain-marie until ready to use; For the Chocolate Decoration;
Step 1 - Place chocolate in a microwave oven-safe bowl; Step 2 - In 20-second increments, melt chocolate to 85°F, stirring at every interval; Step 3 - Place ice cubes in a medium-sized bowl and cover with cold water; Step 4 - Using a paper cornet, pipe small designs of your choice onto the ice water surface; Step 5 - Using a small offset spatula, lift hardened designs from the water; Step 6 - Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and keep refrigerated until ready to use; For Plating;
Step 1 - Remove rings from tiramisu and dust the top of each with cocoa powder; Step 2 - Create a chocolate sauce design on the plate and position tiramisu as desired; Step 3 - Pipe whipped cream (or make quenelles) onto tiramisu; Step 4 - Finish with chocolate décor on top;