In the Kitchen

What's New at Paulding & Company

February 2009

Finally some rain! I picked all the ripe tomatoes (yeah, I know they’re not supposed to be there in February) off my plants before hand, so they wouldn’t split from the extra water. In the spirit of winter tomatoes (no they are not the best flavored, but not bad, all Romas), I’ve been making tomato confit a lot. They have these great little Romanita tomatoes at Berkeley Bowl, which come from Baha--I wrote an article about them for the Emeryville Connection that should be out any day, it usually publishes the 2nd week of the month and has an on-line version; I write a monthly article so you can read it and get the recipe right on line. Sometimes you have to make use of what’s in the store, even if it’s not local--and these are SO good, people go wild for them.

I am starting to make mozzarella. Learned how from my friends at Hands On Gourmet, one of the other companies that rents my kitchen. So, add that to my ricotta making, and I’ve got two cheeses in my repertoire. Fresh mozzarella, those good, creamy tomatoes, and some classic grilled bruschetta rubbed with garlic, can’t be beat for flavor.

The kitchen has been humming along--we have very little down time this month or last, which is great. Still time for more events, more catering, more classes--and we have some new teachers hoping to start with us soon. More on that, I hope, by next month.

But right now a momentous announcement:

Summer Camp for Kids and Teens is coming! At Camp COOK! which will start off right after school ends in June, with six totally fun weeks of cooking adventures. We are planning two one-week sessions of “International Street Food” camp first--with great guest chefs from different cultures, and a Street Fair on Friday for all the parents. Healthy versions of the dishes, of course. One session for 9-12 year olds, one for 13-16’s (with a little leeway, depending on parent and student input, in terms of the ages). Then, we’ll skip a week leading up to July 4th, and come back with a 2-week session of camp and then another with a week in between, for the more mature kids (I think we’ll take some 12 year olds here).

The first of the two weeks will be serious skills work, the second, we’ll be making a cooking show--so drama, cooking, and more. Again some special guests, including a Top Chef contestant, and lots of well-known local chefs sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm. Camps will run from 9 AM to 3 PM, with arrangements for the younger kids from 3-6 at the Emeryville Rec Center (we’ll escort them on the bus). One more thing: we intend to make sure some community service hours are part of the camp, so we’ll be feeding a group of seniors at the Emeryville Senior Center a day from each long session.

How do you sign up, you ask? Email Tracy@pauldingandco.com for further information. We haven’t quite got the registration packet done, or the promo materials for that matter--but you Newsletter subscribers do get first dibs on the spots. We will have it all in a matter of a week or so--so if you’re looking for a great, exciting adventure for a food-loving kid (or two) this summer, you know where to come.

Classes

OK, class registrations have been down. We had to cancel Valentines, due to low sign-up, and I may have to cancel my Mardi Gras class Sunday the 22nd--which would be too bad. So if you want to come to it, and make some great gumbo (among other things) sign up now! Rosetta’s pizza classes continue to sell out, but she also has a Carnevale class (on Fat Tuesday) that has ample space--so you have two to choose between, Italian or Cajun.

Rosetta also has a Taste of Calabria class on the 13th with spaces available. Honestly, a cooking class is a GREAT investment! When times are tough, and you want to eat home more, what better than some new ideas, fresh dishes, and ways to make those meals more interesting?

Our great knife sharpening teacher, Eric E. Weiss, has a class on Monday March 2nd, and there is plenty of space--and Rosetta has several classes in March, too. LOTS TO CHOOSE BETWEEN! So sign up for a class, OK?

In the Market

Try a rutabaga, or a winter squash, or some great broccoli de cicco (find that at the Grand Lake market). Citrus of all sorts--pomelos, blood oranges, grapefruit, tangerines (see the recipe of the month), cara-cara oranges and more. Early carrots, leeks, lots of great greens, and at least at Grand Lake, where there are some slightly less than local vendors, good strawberries still. Fennel is at it’s peak, and if you haven’t tried a farm-fresh egg, do--deep orange yolks, amazingly good flavor. Stick to the small farm eggs, not those guys who just sell what’s also in the grocery store.

Goat Master Class

If you look on my blog, you’ll see I’ve been kinda lazy lately. Not too many entries, but I just put one in from Monday evening’s Master Class that we held at the kitchen. It was a Woman’s Chefs and Restaurateurs event, and featured goats from Jeanie McCormack’s farm, and chef Marsha McBride of Cafe Rouge, and her great in-house butcher, Scott. We broke down a whole goat, and made sausages, tartar, and chops--and ate a tasty braise I can’t wait to try for myself, with goat meat soaked in goat milk, with fennel and potato and (of course) goat cheese on top. Also, since Cafe Rouge has a meat market, you might get lucky if you go there, and find a bit of goat meat to try. It’s sweet and mild and downright wonderful.

Recipe of the month

I am sad that my Satsuma mandarin orange tree has finally finished--I probably had 500 sweet fruit on it this year; but there are lots of good tangerine varieties in the market right now. Your recipe of the month will be one of my favorites, Tangerine Soufflés, a recipe I found on Epicurious, and made a few minor changes to. YUMMY and so easy you won’t believe it. Just be sure to get organic fruit, as you’re using the skins, too. The bonus with this recipe: you get a great orange syrup, so if you want to have a Valentines brunch for instance, you can make some killer Mimosas with it.