Cooking Basics For Adults November 9, 2019

Cooking Basics For Adults Nov 2, 2019

Chef Scott's Surprise Menu

Last Week Chef Scott Share A New Term With The Class. The Term is

 Mise en place.

 Mise-en- place is a French term for having all your ingredients measured in individual dishes, peeled, grated, cut, and sliced before you begin cooking. All tools needed for cooking, mixing bowls, pots and pans are all arranged and assembled in an organized manner to make the food preparation go smoothly.

Our Recipe: Nov 2, 2019

• 1 Cup Corn
• 1/2 Red Onion
• 2 Green Onions
• 3 Cloves of Garlic
• 1/2 Serrato Pepper (remove seeds)
• 1/4 Cup Cooking Oil  
• 1/2 Lime
• 2 Cup Beef Stock
• 2 Tbls Butter Milk
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Saute Onions, Garlic, Cilantro, add Corn, and half Serrato pepper, add Beef Stock and Seasonings of Your Choice. Let ingredients simmer about 3 minutes. Set Aside. After 3 minutes add Buttermilk, fold in and mix well.

20 Shrimps.. saute the shrimp in oil until golden. When Shrimps are done you can set up your plate in the fashion that Chef Scott has presented and Squeeze the Lime over the Shrimp and garnish with Cilantro.

Chef Scott's Presentation

Mrs. Marie Turner's Presentation

Cooking Basic For Adults Session 3

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Rainbow Recreation Center Culinary Academy
                                                                             
Session 3: PAELLA On The Menu

What is Paella?  Paella's history originates in the Albufera lagoon on the east coast of Spain adjacent to the city of Valencia.
Paella is a Spanish dish of rice, saffron, herbs, spices, vegetables, chicken, or shellfish cooked and served in a large shallow pan.

Our Paella rendition was slightly changed, Chef Scott's choice of meats for today is chicken and pork. Paella pans are used for this process but we substituted using medium-sized skillets.


As usual, Chef Scott completed the Paella meal before our arrival. Everyone was welcomed to taste his Paella before we got started on our own. Chef Scott lined up all the ingredients we needed on the marble counter except the meat, which was brought out after the discussion. With hands washed and aprons on we gathered around the counter as Chef Scott explained how all ingredients would be processed to make a successful pan of Paella.

The ingredients used for our Paella is as follows:

deboned Chicken thigh and deboned pork chop diced to bite size pieces.

Salt

Pepper

2 Tablespoons Olive oil to cook meat until done and brown

1 Cup Cut green beans- Fresh or frozen

1 Cup Lima beans-Fresh or frozen

4  or 5 cloves chopped garlic

1 handful of parsley chopped, to add a the end

 1/4 tea of saffron sprigs

1-1/2 Tablespoon smoked paprika

1 Medium size sprig fresh rosemary

 A cup of Arborio rice

1/2 Cup tomato sauce

1 1/2 Cup chicken broth

Using Chicken only  I washed it and pat dry, then moved the chicken to my cutting board and with a sharp knife removing excess fat then I began to cut the chicken in bite-size pieces. I placed the chicken into a bowl setting it aside before frying.  My next step was taking the knife and cutting board to the sink, washing with dish soap and water scrubbing them both well to rid of any chance of cross-contamination.

My next step was to get the skillet heated adding 2 tablespoons of olive oil. I season my chicken with little salt and pepper safely moved it to the skillet of hot olive oil to fry. Being in close proximity to my cutting board I began dicing garlic while keeping an eye on the chicken. With the dicing done I returned to the chicken making sure all sides were browning.

Next,  I added the cut green bean and limas to the cooked chicken and mixed in all remaining ingredients, one after another tomato sauce,, rice, broth, saffron, garlic, rosemary,  and smoked paprika.
All ingredients were gently stirred but not too often. Chef Scott informed us that stirring often will cause the starch to release quickly from the race and this we must avoid. Paella is cooked with high heat until the liquid absorbs into the rice. When the rice is tender parsley is sprinkled on as a topper your Paella is ready to be served.

Saffron called threads are collected and dried to be used mainly as a seasoning and coloring agent in food.

Saffron is the most costly spice by weight. Wikipedia

The Paella Presentation

Paella, in my opinion, can be listed as an easy meal to prepare, it doesn't take long to cook. Paella is a new experience for me, it is a very tasty meal, a meal I am sure my family and friends will enjoy with it's bursting flavors of saffron and other accompanying meats, rice, vegetables, herbs, and spices.

This concludes PAELLA On The Menu.

 Come back next week for Session 4 as prepare our next surprise dish at the Culinary Academy'S Cooking Basics for Adults with Chef Scott Marsh.

Gerry DeBerry

Cooking Basics for Adults at Rainbow Recreation Center Culinary Academy

Saturday, June 8th was the commencing of Rainbow Recreation Center's Culinary Academy's Cooking Basic for Adults, which will total six Saturdays ending July 13th. The class starts at 11:00 am.  Arriving early gave me the opportunity to introduce myself, settle in and have a brief discussion with Chef Scott. I found out that Chef Scott graduated from The Culinary Academy in San Francisco and he worked in many Bay Area restaurants for years. Adults attending the class will learn basic techniques to help prepare restaurant quality dishes at home. Skills learned in this class include dicing vegetables, sauteing, roasting, searing meat, how to make pan sauces, and how to make healthier substitutions of ingredients.

Chef Scott had everything prepared for our first session. Raw chicken thighs were laid out on a tray, diced vegetables in separate containers which consisted of onions, celery, carrots, garlic, portabello mushrooms, parsley, salt, pepper, butter, cooking oil, tomato paste, broth, and wine.

Class started with Chef Scott going over basic rules of the kitchen and how important it is when many individuals are in the kitchen to announce to everyone when moving about with hot skillets and sharp knives to prevent injuries.

Chef Scott demonstrated how to season and sear the chicken then moving it to the oven,  next he added the different chopped vegetables in the skillet along with the other prepared items to complete the sauce. We were all able to taste the sauce and boy was
it delicious.

Next, every student duplicates the process Chef Scott demonstrated at separate stations with cutting boards and sharp knives. With aprons on and clean hands, Chef Scott gave techniques on dicing then we all we went to work dicing carrots, celery, onions, garlic, portabello mushrooms, and parsley. Next, we seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper added a little oil to our individual skillets and began the searing process. After searing the chicken it was moved to a pan and placed in the oven until done.

With the leftover oil from the seared chicken, we added the vegetables, stirring until almost transparent adding the remaining ingredients to the complete the sauce. Every student was able to lay out the chicken and sauce in a plate for presentation.  We all enjoyed our prepared dish and boy was it delicious.

My Motto is "Always be Open To Learn Something New" 

Stay Tuned, we will share our Journey with Chef Scott.

RAINBOW RECREATION CENTER GRAND OPENING CEREMONY

Rainbow Recreation Center had it's Grand Opening Ceremony May 18, 2019. The center is located at 5800 International Blvd, Oakland, CA 94621 in the heart of East Oakland. The ceremony started off with a welcome to the community from Karen Harris, followed by an invocation from Keith Muhammad from the Nation of Islam. Many remarks were made by many key individuals who were involved with bringing the Rainbow renovation into the beacon of beautiful witnessed for all to behold. Desley Brooks former City Councilmember for District 6 was relentless in moving the Rainbow project forward during her time in office. Other speakers present were City Councilman Loren Taylor for District 6, Nicolas Williams Director Parks Recreation & Youth Development, Danny Lau Public Works, Sedrick Mitchell Community Engagement Division, Dee Rosario Board of Directors Ward 2 East Bay Regional Park District, and last but not least the one and only Horace Houston Director Rainbow Recreation Center.

The community was entertained by a song from the Rainbow Recreation Youth. Councilman Loren Taylor and Sedrick Mitchell pose with the Rainbow Youth.

There was the Ribbon cutting, Horace Houston, Councilman Loren Taylor, Desley Brooks and Keith Muhammad with hands on the Scissor.

Activities for the children, balloons, lunch, touring of the facility, photo opts, and networking.

 

 Gerry DeBerry (right), Brenda Johnson (left).  Artist Johanna Poethig (center) created the glass mosaic mural to celebrate community youth, connecting with each other and the vibrant rainbow landscape through gesture, inspired by color refraction on the surface of bubbles and in homage to local resident and famed cartoonist Morrie Turner.

Peter Richards in collaboration with Byrens Kim Design Works and Pete Stephens integrated art within specific architectural elements including the sundial, welcoming arch with a diffraction grating, shadow canopy, and holographic multi-color clerestory windows, symbolically reiterating the community's commitment to diversity and inclusivity.

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If you are a Senior Adult who engages in Technology, or you would like to become engaged, come out and join us at David E. Glover Education Technology Center, located at 6948 Foothill Blvd, Oakland, CA 94605. Just across the street from Eastmont AC Transit Center.

 DEGETC friendly staff and qualified instructors are ready and willing to assist and guide you through the technology best suits for you, whether it is  Computer Basics, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, or Animation. The Emerging Technology programs are Game Design, Virtual Reality, and Coding.

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For More Information Call: 510-382-0555  Web: www.degtc.org