Kids Classes Sold Out! Join us for adult cooking class October 22

We are thrilled by the demand for our Kids Classes – they are sold out – and can’t wait to start cooking this Saturday with your kids.

We still have a few spots left on next Thursday October 22nd at 7pm for an adult cooking class at Designer Appliances, Montclair, NJ.  Would love to see you in the kitchen for some healthy cooking -no sugar or carbs. Cook and join us for a delicious dinner!

Reserve here.

This Little Piggy Is Cooking!

This Little Piggy and Chef Karan Fischer are pleased to announce the Montclair Culinary Academy.

To start with we will be offering a series of children’s cooking classes (age 8 – 12) on Saturday mornings on October 17, 2015 at Designer Appliances (they have a fully functioning kitchen in their state of the art showroom) as well as an adult class on October 22, 2015.

Here’s an outline of the classes (more information on the website):

• Class 1: La Cocina – The Foods of South America
• Class 2: A Taste of Paris
• Class 3: Halloween Happenings
• Class 4: Sushi Making 101

We will be using fresh, organic food and the junior chefs will be able to take their tasty creations home.

The classes are filling up fast so please register soon.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Look forward to seeing you and your junior masterchefs there!

• 

Freekah Salad

This is a great salad to make while tomatoes are still plentiful. I think we only have a few more weeks left so make this freeking awesome salad before it is too late. The recipe is on Barista Kids What’s for Dinner?

The Third Annual Fall Food Classic

Please join us if you can Thursday October 16 for the third Fall Food Classic fundraiser lunch. Tickets $25 in advance.

Leek and Potato Soup

With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner here’s something naturally green, very easy and cheap to make: leek and potato soup with a shamrock crouton.

The recipe is over on my What’s for Dinner? column on Barista Kids.  There’s no need to wait to the 17th to make this.

Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhaoibh!

Brussels sprouts, pecan & parmesan salad

Following the Thanksgiving pie-fest this is what we’ve eaten a lot of. Really easy, fresh with a bit of a crunch (in a good way).

 

Yup. You guessed it the recipe is over on my What’s for Dinner? column.  Do yourself a favor and make a few of this before the Christmas binge begins.

Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

The Ladies™ love a good pot pie. I will often buy one but depending on where you go, they can be too salty, too creamy, too herby. This one is just right. It is not totally from scratch as the puff pastry is store-bought. Forgive me but life is too short for that endless folding and waiting.

The recipe is in my What’s for Dinner? column on Barista Kids. If you want a wine pairing with it – a bold Chardonnay does the trick. Fall is definitely here.

The Second Annual Montclair Fall Food Classic

It has been almost a year since the inaugural Fall Food Classic.

Thanks to Kings  and their Act Against Hunger initiative, and some of our finest local chefs, it is happening again.

Mark your calendars with November 15th for the second annual Montclair Fall Food Classic to raise money for the lunch program at the Montclair Citadel Salvation Army.

It promises to be a delicious lunch with food from some of my local favorites. We welcome the return of  our original chef contributors – Osteria Giotto and The Orange Squirrel. And are thrilled to have newcomers SO Tasty Vegan  and Uncle Moustache on board.

Tickets go on sale very soon, and if it is anything like last year they will sell like hot cakes!

Fall Salad – Yellow Beet and Goat Cheese Salad

I came to the realization that my What’s for Dinner? column was risking becoming what’s baking? I needed to do something savory as the emphasis had been too much on sweet.

With this summery October weather I wanted a salad, albeit one with a bit of autumnal heft. The goat cheese I bought from Valley Shepherd at the Montclair Farmers Market yesterday inspired this dish. Having splurged and then gorged on several of their delicious cheeses for lunch I needed something healthy to go with the soft creamy goat cheese. This yellow beet with goat cheese salad, caramelized onions and lentils was just the ticket.

Here is the recipe over on Baristanet.

Blackberry Buckle recipe

A few weeks ago we had a lovely weekend with friends, Marianne and Erik, at their beach house. They love food and are fabulous hosts so we had a fantastically well-fed weekend – the culinary highlight being Erik’s 10-hour slooooooooooooow smoked ribs. During the weekend Marianne baked a truly delicious blueberry buckle that I became obsessed with. I tinkered with a few recipes – I made raspberry and peach buckle, which was fine, but blackberry was the winner. This blackberry buckle recipe is a perfect pudding for the slight fall chill in the air.  The recipe is in my What’s for Dinner? column on Barista Kids.

If you are missing summer already here are some photos of a glorious day we had at the Westhampton Farmers’ Market.