Special seasonal recipes mentioned on KMBZ Channel 9
PUMPKIN QUICHE WITH MAPLE BACON AND MAYTAG BLUE CHEESE
1 ea prepared flaky pie dough crust
2 cups prepared pumpkin meat
3/4 cup whole milk
4 ea eggs
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 lb maple cured bacon cooked crisp
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Roast off your Hubbard, butternut squash, or Cinderella pumpkin meat side down in the oven for 1 1/2 hours at 350 F degrees. Let cool and scrape out the seeds, then meat. Line the tart shell or spring with pan spray. Roll out the pie crust and place in the tart pan, place a circle of parchment in the center of the crust, and top with 1/2 cup of dry beans to keep the crust from puffing too much during this baking time. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from the oven and set aside. Meanwhile, mix the pumpkin/squash meat with the milk in a blender, then beat the eggs and cream and fold in the bacon. Stir in the Maytag Blue cheese, then season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour into the pastry shell, with the oven set at 425 F, bake the quiche in the oven for about 15 minutes, then lower the temp to 350 for 30 minutes until set. If the pumpkin mix starts to brown, cover it with some aluminum foil to prevent it from browning prematurely Remove to a cool counter and let stand for 15-20 minutes. Serves 4-6 people.
SWEET & SPICY PEPITAS
CLEAN PUMPKIN SEEDS After scooping the seeds out of the pumpkin, put them into a colander and run cool water over, rubbing the seeds with your hands to remove the bits of flesh. This may take a few minutes but makes great pumpkin seeds for eating.
DRY PUMPKIN SEEDS Don't use paper towels! Instead use parchment paper or foil and let air dry for 4 hours or up to 3 days.
EAT THE WHOLE PUMPKIN SEED? The pumpkin 'seed' itself is actually housed inside a hull, a fibrous shell. Some people enjoy this outer shell, while others don't, you will have to decide for yourself.
3-4 cups of seeds from a pumpkin or winter squash, washed well.
SIMPLE SYRUP
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
Bring water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan. Drop seeds into hot liquid and let cook for 4 - 5 minutes. Drain seeds in a colander.
SPICE RUB (enough for 4-5 batches)
1 tbsp Smoked Spanish Paprika
1 tbsp Turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)
1 tsp Madras Curry powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp black pepper
TO ASSEMBLE
Moist seeds
Spice rub
Turbinado, raw sugar
Place moist seeds on a piece of parchment. Toss with just enough rub to lightly coat. Toss with just enough sugar to coat. Separate into individual seeds or small clumps to bake and toast at 300 degrees F for 6-8 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Store in air tight container for up to 2 weeks.
CINDERELLA CUP CAKES WITH WHIPPED MASCARPONE
4 ea eggs2 cups sugar
3/4 cup Olive oil
2 cups fresh cooked Cinderella pumpkin
2 cups Pastry flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 lb cream cheese
4 tbsp butter softened
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix and sift all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Put the eggs and sugar in a food processor and blend. Add the olive oil with the motor running. Add the pumpkin puree. Bake in 2-4 oz baking cups for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes clean. Cool on a baking rack fr 30 minutes before finishing. To make the filling, cream the cream cheese, butter, sugar, and vanilla with the paddle attachment at medium high for 3-4 minutes. Add the mascarpone cheese and mix on low for 30 seconds to simply fold in. Fill the center of the cup cakes with the cream by cutting a cavity in the top or making a hole and piping it inside.
AND HERE'S WHAT ELSE IS COOKING...
Learning to cook just got easier with our ON-LINE REGISTRATION SYSTEM! Just click on "Class Schedule/Register For Classes" and with a few quick entries you are registered and have set up an account with us. Once completed, you can come back and sign up for your favorite classes, keep track of personal class history, order gift certificates, check any class credit you have, etc. You have no excuse for not expanding your culinary horizons! (Of course you can still talk to a real live person if you choose!)
Our "open to the public" STAFF LUNCH has exceeded our wildest expectations! Join us on Tuesdays for lunch from 11:30-1:30 where we get the opportunity to show off! (Pssst! We've begun work on a cookbook that contains recipes from these very popular menus...but don't tell anyone yet, because we aren't sure when it'll hit the press.)
We've EXPANDED OUR PROFESSIONAL CULINARY ARTS PROGRAM to include a day-time session for Pro Series I, a Pro Series II providing more true culinary fundamentals as they are applied to various ethnic and regional cuisines, a Pro Series III dedicated to Sauces and a Pro Series IV - Pastry Arts Series. That's some serious culinary instruction I'd say!
Give us a weekend, we'll turn you into a cook. It's that simple. Become a culinary weekend warrior in our 3-DAY COOKING BASICS "COOK-A-THON" in which you'll be introduced to the basics of cooking such as knife skills, braising, pan-sauteing, sauces, vegetables, salads, desserts and much more.
We are delighted to welcome some talented NEW INSTRUCTORS to our accomplished instructor line-up: Gunnery Sergeant "Gunny" Jeff Jennings, leading our Ultimate Homebrew "Boot Camp" to teach you the art of brewing your own beer; cake decorator extraordinaire, Celia Shea, our rolled fondant guru; Ed Roith, who leads our Certified Competition BBQ Judging Classes; Master Artisan Chocolatier Aaron Dearinger (Annedore's) who is now my new favorite friend; Chef T.J. Stack, Executive Chef at Kansas City's beloved Savoy Hotel; and Pastry Chef Erik Sharp, who brings to the table 30+ years of experience as a pastry chef.
"FLAVORFUL WEEKEND NIGHTS AT THE CCKC" COOKING PARTIES: Join us for our unique interactive cooking parties on Friday and Saturday evenings where you will cook alongside our chefs to create great meals and learn useful cooking fundamentals. And oh yes...you'll have a great time AND get to have dinner. What a great way to get together with friends and to meet new ones! Please visit the "Schedule of Classes" for a complete description of our Flavorful Weekend Nights cooking parties offered from May through August, 2009.
SATURDAY "FREE" COOKING EVENTS! We have some creative culinary events coming up as we continue our popular FREE Saturday demonstrations! That's right...we said FREE! Also check the "Schedule of Classes" for days, dates and times.
MIDWEST BARBECUE INSTITUTE: Earn your own authentic BBQ moniker! What better place than Kansas City, one of the great barbecue capitals of the world,
to offer a serious educational curriculum dedicated to the art and science of grilling and smoking? And what better venue than The Culinary Center of Kansas City? Grilling
and smoking have become one of the fastest growing culinary techniques in this country and KC has some "smokin' hot" grilling and smoking instructors. Whether you want to be
the envy of your neighborhood or grab the gold at a barbeque competition, this is where you can learn the basics or hone your existing skills. From tools and fuel to
techniques and recipes, we won't leave a briquette unturned. Classes will be offered on a continuing basis through the year and new topics will be added all the time.
Students completing any eight courses in the MBQI program will be presented with the following at a special ceremony in class:
"Master Grillmeister," etc.)
SISTA'S GET TOGETHERS: ("Girly Girl Events") "No boys allowed" is our mantra at these popular girl-only events! Grab your gal pals and join us for these enlightening, helpful and just plain fun classes!
OUR SIGNATURE "BISTRO DINNERS:" Our answer to your requests for a "restaurant-style" experience. Hey, we just don't know how to do anything "usual" so we designed these unique all-inclusive themed dining experiences to include not only a fabulous dining experience but also a cooking demonstration and written recipes. Dinner classes identified as "Bistro Dinner #___" are very special, "one-of-a-kind" culinary dining events. It's our chance to get creative as we explore culinary themes and trends and design a gourmet menu around that theme. Dinner includes a brief cooking demonstration of one item, minimum four-course meal, a flight of three 3-ounce tasting pours of perfectly paired wines, our signature "CCKC Coffee Bar," written recipes and live music for some of the dinners. You will be seated "European-style" at larger tables with other diners like yourselves. (Let us know in advance if you are part of a group or we may not be able to seat you with your group the night of the dinner.) For groups of 12 to 30, you may privately book our "Sonoma Room" or "Santa Fe Kitchen" at no additional charge, allowing your group a more private dining experience, if desired. Additional paired wines and a full bar will be available for purchase. Expect a unique dining experience and sign up early as our Bistro Dinners fill quickly. Gratuity and tax are included in the price of the dinner. Here are the Bistro Dinner themes offered in this current schedule. Please visit our "Schedule of Classes" for a full description of the theme and menu.
REQUESTS FOR DONATIONS: It takes all kinds of ingredients to make a good dish really great. The same rings true for the effort it takes
by so many people to serve the needs in the community in which we live. Your work is important and we would like
nothing better than to say "yes" to every donation request that comes in our door (and we DO receive a lot of them!)
While we really try to do our fair share of donating to this community effort, we are a small company and aren't able
to help in every case. We would be happy to consider your donation request based on the following.
Thanks for thinking of us and considering our products and services worthy of your request for donation.
Sincerely, Laura Laiben O'Rourke, "The Main Dish"
1. Please send a written request, attn: Donation Request,
via email to cook@kcculinary.com or drop it off at The Culinary Center
of Kansas City, 7920 Santa Fe, Overland Park, Kansas 66204
2. Include a tax form at the time of application.
3. Include a list of the Board of Directors if applicable.
4. Include a cover letter stating exactly what you are requesting and why.
5. Sorry but verbal requests for donations will not be considered.
6. We will do our best to respond to your request within 2 weeks.
