June 2016 - Spaghetti and Meatballs

Hi Everyone, Service Coordinator here. Mary Helen Rogers' Friday Feast group didn't happen in May, so we're skipping ahead to June here.

This month, we made a New York Times recipe for Spaghetti and Drop Meatballs with Tomato Sauce (http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016833-spaghetti-and-drop-meatballs-with-tomato-sauce). The whole recipe is supposed to take 30 minutes to complete, however ours took longer because we doubled it to have enough for everyone (and for the leftovers the spouses at home love).  Of course we also had to make some nice crusty garlic bread too...

Mangia!

garlic bread buttered and ready to bake

family style spread

mixing up the meatballs with parmesan, egg, breadcrumbs and parsley

see you in 20 minutes, you handsome loaf

I can't believe how consistent the class made our meatballs. Perfect little golf ball size!

ready to cook

searing the meatballs in the stockpot, before we added onion and garlic

finished product, minus parsley

bread is essential for sauce moppage

boiling tomato sauce: the meatballs finish cooking while the sauce thickens

bingo bango

sizzling away

April 2016 - Bacon Corn Chowder with Italian Bread Bowls

Hi everyone! In April, Mary Helen Rogers' resident cooking class cooked up some rich and creamy Bacon Corn Chowder, and also the Italian bread bowls to eat it from! The salty savory bacon paired really nicely with the sweet corn and hearty potatoes. Adding a sprinkling of shredded cheese on top was the perfect finish.

Check out the process:

red potatoes, onion, celery, and red bell peppers made the veg base of our chowder

crisping up our bacon first, saving those tasty brown bits and bacon fat to cook the veggies in

can't have corn chowder without corn...half was pureed, half was left whole for texture

we made our own bread for the bread bowls!

they turned out great- that sheen is from the egg wash

bacon and corn... salty and sweet match made in heaven

making the bowls...

scooping out the bread guts, to save for later dipping in chowder

voila!

regular bowl for the carb conscious ;) This bacon corn chowder was delicious

March 2016 - NYT chicken recipe

Ok, we outdid ourselves this month. The New York Times recipe for Garlicky Chicken with Lemon-Anchovy Sauce might be the tastiest thing we've cooked yet. This is the recipe:  http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015290-garlicky-chicken-with-lemon-anchovy-sauce

Our side dishes were roasted sweet potato fries  with garlic aoli dipping sauce, and an arugula salad with parmesan (and who are we kidding, we poured on some of that aoli too). Our breath may have been pungent after all this garlic, but we were SATED. One of our group members even brought a homemade banana bread for dessert!

  Look at this amazing food:

we couldn't stop eating these sweet potato fries

salad, fries, our amazing chicken, and some good crusty bread to top it off. Garlic aoli found its way onto everything by the end of the meal...so tasty

homemade banana bread from one of our class members

i mean...look at it! chicken thighs are much more moist and flavorful than breast, and the garlic anchovy lemon sauce was out of this world.

February 2016- Quick Gumbo & Rice 'n Beans

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

We decided to go Deep South in this month's cooking class. I was a bad host and didn't take too many pictures of our feast, but rest assured, it turned out great!

We made:

v   Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

v    Rice & Beans

      Cornbread

we used a rotisserie chicken to cut down on our prep time

waiting....waiting...

homemade cornbread

andouille sausage, chicken breast, okra and the holy trinity all cooked together in harmony

red beans n rice

that'll fill you right up

Pizza night!

Sometimes there's just nothing like pizza. It has all the food groups, right? Our little cooking group made 3 wonderful unique pizzas during this class, from flatbread-style to chewy pan crust. We also made some amazing garlic knots and a fresh side salad.

Check it out!

can you smell that basil?

pizza #1 was a thin crust with veggies and grilled chicken

pizza #2 was similar, with olives and pepperoni added

these garlic knots, made with premade breadsticks, were DELICIOUS

salad with grilled chicken and veggies

the finished pan crust pizza

mmm...pizza....

Me Encanta Enchiladas

In California, we get the luxury of an abundance of cheap and delicious Mexican cuisine in practically every neighborhood. Many dishes are easy enough to make at home, as well! Our cooking class made some delicious cheesy chicken enchiladas from scratch, like abuela used to do.

Mira:

cooking up our Spanish rice

groceries

shredding the roasted chicken by hand for the filling

chopping cebollas (onions)

teamwork makes the dream work

so fragrant

our chicken soaked in some enchilada sauce

prepping the dish for baking

filling, rolling, and dousing with sauce

filling and rolling team

you must give both sides of the tortilla a dip in the sauce before rolling to get all the flavor and texture

is there such a thing as too much cheese? nah

chips&guac

the finished enchiladas!

ooey gooey perfection

our feast was delicioso