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Autumn Salad Mixed Baby Greens, Belgian Endive, Celery, Toasted Almonds, and Manchego (will discuss variations)
Country Chicken with Fennel, Pernod and 40 Cloves of Creamy Roasted Garlic
Silky Polenta
Crusty Toasts to Spread with the Roasted Garlic
Apple and Rum-Raisin Streusel Tart (NOT included in the 2 hours but almost….) or a store-bought dessert
RECIPES also included for the Ice Cream Tart and Liquid Center Chocolate Cakes, both make-ahead desserts. But we will not make them in class.
About the Class
For those of you pressed for time, finding the life-work balance a bit of a challenge or who just want to know how to whip up a great dinner for company in under two hours, do think about attending.
In class we’ll go through the entire meal step-by-step as TIMING and ORDER OF PREPARATION are critical here. To prepare the entire menu in under two hours without going nuts, one must know the chronology of working on the recipes simultaneously rather than one at a time.
I’ve been assured by some of you that the “under two hours” requisite needn’t include dessert, that you all are perfectly willing to serve a fabulous store-bought, local- bakery find ( a la mode!!) and call it a day. An always-welcome, no-brainer alternative.
For those of you who really want a homemade dessert, the divine fruit-streusel tart is easy and can be made oven ready a day ahead---or even baked a day ahead. I’ll also give recipes for (but we won’t prepare in class) super simple individual Molten-Center Chocolate Cakes to be made, frozen and baked off--in under 7 minutes--for serving. I often have a dozen or more stowed away in the freezer to pull out for both drop-in guests and serious entertaining.
Also a recipe for a make-ahead ice cream tart that can be kept frozen for months if well-wrapped and then pulled out when need.
This is a delicious and really handy menu for your repertoire. In addition, the individual recipes are excellent on their own--even more so considering how easy they are.
This second in my QUICK, EASY, and DELICIOUS: Start to Table in Under 2 Hours class includes one of my favorite chicken recipes of all time. I've adapted a Richard Olney classic, adding various vegetables and seasonings for extra flavor. I know 40 cloves of garlic sounds like a lot. But--please take my word for it--once roasted, caramelized and Pernod-infused, it's mild, addictive and melt-in-your mouth delicious. Eaten with the chicken or spread on country toasts, it's complete heaven.
The first course is an ideal starter for this meal---flavorful, interesting, and relatively light, and with the cheese and nuts, somewhat autumnal, though quite fine all year long. Great salad to have in the repertoire. It can even be expanded to a main course salad by adding cooked chicken or pork and/or hard-boiled eggs.
Quick polenta and Country Toasts round out the main course. Both super simple and great with the chicken (and to sop up it's wonderful jus).
Dessert MIGHT make it in the under 2 hour framework IF you're really speedy. But it might not. With these quicker menus, the assumption is a store-bought or make-ahead dessert. However, if you're super ambitious and quick, this tart might slide in under the 2 hour wire. In any case, it's easy and absolutely delicious. Buttery, crunchy streusel for the crust and on top in combination with great fruit and rum-soaked raisins. For those of you who prefer simplicity, omit raisins and/or rum with impunity. I make endless variations all year long (and you will too!)---nectarines and raspberry, peach and almond, pear-ginger, plum, strawberry....
Hoping to see you at one or both of these QUICK, EASY and DELICIOUS classes
xxxgail