The Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories: Beef Technique Class + Recipe

The admission to this class was provided by The Gourmandise School but the opinions expressed here are my own.

The Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories is located at Santa Monica Place in Santa Monica, CA. This was my first time experiencing a structured class at a cooking school. I have worked in the food industry for 11 years at Disney, picked up cooking techniques on the job and learned at home from my parents. Nowadays, I apply these cooking techniques to the food I create for contests/competitions/recipe development and they give me insight when judging food competitions as well.

Our instructor provided a quick overview of beef cattle, going over which cuts work best with different cooking methods like high heat grilling versus slow and low roasting and braising. We then got to work with three different types of beef: ground beef, skirt steak, and New York steak in three different recipes.

We started by creating a marinade for a Sweet & Spicy Skirt Steak so the meat could marinate while we worked on the other recipes.

Then we started chopping and mixing ingredients for Classic Meatballs on Grilled Bread and then rolling them into meatballs.

While the meatballs were baking in the oven, we started on the tomato sauce. When the meatballs were ready, they took a dunk into the sauce.

After grilling some crusty bread, we topped the bread with the meatballs draped in sauce and garnished with fresh basil leaves. They came out beautifully. The methods and ingredients I would change the next time I made these: Chop the onion finer so it would integrate into the meatball mixture better (my bad). Either melt a slice of provolone or mozzarella on the bread and/or garnish with shredded parmesan.

By now, the skirt steak had enough time to marinate and it was off to the grill. We like our steaks rare to medium-rare so our steak was done before anyone else. We let it rest for about 5 minutes, sliced it against the grain, and served with rice. The marinade flavor penetrated the meat and gave the outside a nice caramelized crust from the grill marks. This would be a great recipe for a barbeque yet fancy enough for an intimate dinner. I can even see this sliced and placed inside a baguette like banh mi with pickled vegetables.

The final recipe was the classic, Steak Diane. This is an entrée you would see on a classic steakhouse menu. I have always wanted to learn how to make it and it was much easier than I thought. Below is the recipe so you can see for yourself how easy this classic is to make. Try the Horseradish Mashed Potatoes as a side too.

Steak Diane

(Reproduced with permission from The Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories)

1 – 8 oz. New York Steak

1 tbsp minced shallots

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

½ cup vermouth

½ cup beef stock

2 oz. butter

1 tbsp minced parsley

1. Heat a heavy-bottomed sauté pan. Sear steak three minutes per side. Place steak on serving plate.
2. Sauté shallots, then deglaze with vermouth, Worcestershire, mustard, and beef stock. Reduce by one half.
3. Finish with butter and parsley.

Horseradish Mashed Potatoes

(Reproduced with permission from The Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories)

2 bakers potatoes; peeled, cut in half, and held in water

1 tbsp prepared horseradish

¼ cup sour cream

2 oz. butter

1. In a saucepot, combine potatoes with enough cold water to generously cover.
2. Add salt to the water. Boil the potatoes until fork soft. Drain potatoes and place back into pot.
3. Mash potatoes with butter. Add sour cream, horseradish, salt, and pepper to taste.

No matter what your cooking level (beginner to advanced), The Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories has a class for you. I would say I am closer to advanced in my cooking knowledge, yet I still learned a lot of new techniques and just more about beef in general. This is a great date activity (since you work together and then you get to eat), a fun outing for friends (girls/guys day out), and only a couple of blocks from the Santa Monica Pier and beautiful Pacific Ocean.

For more information:

The Gourmandise School of Sweets & Savories

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Celebrate Hatch Chile and California Variety Grape Seasons with Melissa’s Produce + Recipe

With Hatch Chile and Grape seasons in full swing, I was inspired to celebrate them both a single dish. I love sweet and heat together. With products from Melissa’s Produce, it is easy to make fresh, flavorful dishes in no time at all.

If you are a hatch chile head like me, here is a link to the 2018 Hatch Chile Roasting Dates & Locations

Crispy Hatch Chile Chicken Cutlets with Muscato Grape Sauce

Serves 4

1 package Melissa’s Quinoa with Lemon Seasoning Packet

1 cup vegetable shortening

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 cup flour

1 tbsp Melissa’s Spice Grinder Garlic & Herbs

2 eggs

1 package Melissa’s Hatch Chile Clean Snax

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 cup Melissa’s Hatch Valley Sweet Onion, diced

2 cups Melissa’s Tri-Color Muscato Grapes, halved

1 cup Moscato wine

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp potato starch

1 tbsp water

Parsley for garnish

1. Prepare quinoa: In a fine mesh strainer, rinse quinoa thoroughly in water and drain. In a saucepan, add quinoa and seasoning packet to 2-3/4 cups of water and cook until all the water is absorbed (10-15 minutes). When done, the grain appears translucent and the germ ring will be visible. You can also use a rice cooker. Keep warm.
2. In a saucepan, heat extra virgin olive oil over medium heat and sauté onions until translucent. Add Muscato grapes, Moscato wine, and mustard. Bring to boil. Mix water and potato starch into a slurry and pour into sauce to thicken. Simmer on low heat until chicken is done.
3. In a cast iron skillet, melt vegetable shortening over medium heat.
4. Prepare cutlets: Cut chicken breasts in half horizontally to make 2 pieces. Repeat on second breast to make 4 pieces total. Place chicken breast piece between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. With a meat mallet, pound chicken breast to ½” thickness. Repeat for each breast.
5. In a dish, mix flour and garlic & herb seasoning. In another dish, whisk 2 eggs. In a food processor or spice mill, grind Hatch Chile Clean Snax until course consistency, like bread crumbs or cornmeal. Place ground mix into a third dish.
6. Unwrap chicken cutlet and coat in flour mixture and shake off excess. Dip into egg coating both sides. Coat in Hatch Chile Clean Snax crumbs and place into heated skillet. Fry 2 minutes on each side to golden brown. Remove to a paper towel lined plate or baking sheet until ready to serve.
7. Place a scoop of fluffy quinoa on a plate. Place the fried chicken cutlet to the side and top with Muscato grape sauce. Serve immediately with a glass of Moscato.

For more information:

Melissa’s Produce

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