November 2006

The Holidays are coming! Is that a good thing or bad? Are you terrified of making Thanksgiving dinner? Of having friends over for cocktails and actually feeding them something? We have classes to help. Are you worried about spending the time in the kitchen while your guests have all the fun? We can cater your party. Would you like a fun, different party this time around -- one where the guests get to play in the kitchen too, and you don't even have to clean up the house? We can host your party at the Paulding & Company kitchen. Just give a call, send an email, or sign up for a class, and we will provide the solution you're seeking.

November and December Classes

Get ready for the holidays with great classes! First up: Thanksgiving Dinner Dress Rehearsal, a class I teach every year. We make a traditional meal from start to finish, including turkey, all the trimmings, and two kinds of pie. This year it's November 5th -- this Sunday, 2-6 PM. If you're interested, do sign up before it's too late. Registration will close Friday.

Another great class for holiday cooks is my extra-inexpensive Tapas class on November 15th, a Wednesday evening, from 6:30 - 10 PM. This bargain class (it's only $35!) will make food to enjoy, and also for the next evening's Emeryville Chamber of Commerce mixer, set to take place at the kitchen for the second November in a row. Last year we were striking the Top Chef set, and the class was a bit of a challenge, as was the mixer, in the half-restored kitchen. This year we'll not have these problems at all. The link to sign up for all the classes is right here in the newsletter, just click on the class and follow instructions. There are only a few spots left, so don't delay.

We're also offering great holiday-related classes from Charlene Reis, whose classes for kids (and in some cases their parents too) are scrumptious. Check out her Thanksgiving class for parents and kids, a "twist" on the event that will also feed the needy, as well as her Gifts from the Kitchen for kids and teens -- a great way to encourage creative gift giving.

Ayako Iino and her recipes will be featured in the upcoming Chronicle food section (November 1st), in an article on Miso. So if you want to sign up for either her two November classes, do it soon -- they will likely overflow after the article comes out.

Rosetta Costantino has, as always, a full roster of sumptuous classes for the holidays, culminating in her Christmas Eve in Calabria (Dec. 9), an extravaganza of seafood with no less than 13 dishes.

One class that you might also consider a good investment (or a great gift to any cook) is our ever-popular Knife Sharpening and Knife Skills class. Two new sections have been scheduled, on November 13th and the other December 11th. These classes, which are co-taught by Eric Weiss, master knife sharpener and Charlie Vollmar, a chef who has taught knife skills to many other chefs and home cooks, are worth every penny in terms of your development as a skilled, efficient cook. Nothing makes your time in the kitchen easier and more enjoyable than being able to work with well-honed knives, in an efficient manner. This is the class to teach these skills. Having taken it myself, I can say with some assurance that even after teaching cooking for 18+ years, I learned a lot. I highly recommend this class.

I have to share one comment from a student. Not just any student, but Richard Green, an educator with a great resume, including being the well-loved former Principal of the Adult School and retired Assistant Superintendent of Schools for Piedmont, as well as Director of Special Education Services. He attended my just-ended Basic Cooking series (next one in January), and here’s what he said on his evaluation form:

"I can't say enough about the quality of this class. Terry was always very well prepared, with carefully selected ingredients and recipes designed to challenge yet give us self-confidence with the cooking skills. Before cooking she both verbally and visually walked us through and demonstrated each dish, while patiently answering questions and gently guiding us through the process. I believe each of us learned a great deal while having a lot of fun along the way. Many thanks to Terry, a truly outstanding instructor."

At the Market

The natural progression of the seasons and shorter days have brought dramatic changes at the farmers markets. Gone are the peaches of summer, the fall plums are coming to an end, and the pears and apples are in full swing. Pumpkins and all the winter squash are brightening up the market along with persimmons and pomegranates. Here's a cheap trick: Buy the Hachiya variety persimmon, which are the dome-topped ones that are astringent if eaten before they are soft as jelly. Let them ripen and then freeze them. Eat for dessert as instant sorbet, after they've thawed for a half hour--but first, when you take them from the freezer, run under hot water and the skin will come right off.

Brussels sprouts are popping up here and there on the stalk. This is in my mind the only way to buy them, as they tend to develop an unsavory bitterness if left off the stalk for any amount of time. On the stalk, you can tell they are fresh. If you dislike them it's most likely because you've never had them properly prepared--for simple boiled sprouts, snap from the stalk, cut a deep X in the base so the inside cooks as fast as the outside, and steam or blanch in boiling salted water till just tender. Or, slice them and sauté in olive oil with some hazelnuts or even some chestnuts … another great fall favorite. Ah, but you say Chestnuts are SO very hard to prepare--I have to agree. You have to peel when they are HOT not just warm. A few chestnuts or a party project is one solution, but the other is buying the vacuum packed peeled chestnuts now readily available in delis and specialty stores such as the Pasta Shop. They are wonderful and effortless.

Dark greens like kale get better as the weather cools, and broccoli and cauliflower are wonderful now too. There are still eggplants, peppers, beets and the fall artichoke crop is coming in -- some of the most flavorful local artichokes of the year.

This Month's Recipe

Looking at the growing list of recipes I've put up each month, I realize I've never posted a dessert. So, this month you get one. There are some awesome pears in the markets now, both farmers market and the stores. I recently tried the Concorde pear, one I'd never before seen (found at Berkeley Bowl), and it has a honeyed, lovely flavor and firm texture perfect for this recipe. You can use any firm pear however, and still have a great dessert.