Millennium Chile Class Oct 2009

What the heck! Let's start this post with dessert first, just as we do in cooking classes at Millennium. On the decadent dessert menu this time, Peanut-Chocolate Torte, Sweet Potato Ice Cream with sugared jalapenos, and two "Bacon" -Chile Caramel sauces (smoked apples provide the "bacon" flavor).

I worked on the sugared jalapenos - aren't they lovely?


Sugar and water boiled together, sliced jalapenos added, cooked for 5 minutes, then pulled the jalapenos and rolled them in sugar. Saved the liquid and used it for the thick unstrained "bacon"-chili caramel. Yum!

A selection of chiles from the ingredients tray:

A gorgeous cauliflower mushroom:


which was one of the ingredients to the Mushroom- Corn filling:

for amazing Plantain Empanadas:

Yes, the dough was made of roasted, processed plantains and salt.

Lunch was Steamed Buns with Tea-Smoked tofu and Yuba Pancake with hoisin sauce, chile sambal and blackened arbol-shallot salsa:

Close-up of the Yuba pancake (yuba from Hodo Soy):

The buns were made with pastry flour, yeast, scallions, baking powder, and sesame seeds:

A persimmon salad with a scotch bonnet kick:


Dinner was peppers stuffed with a potato-pea curry and chard saag (made two ways, with cashew cream and coconut milk):



Cooking buddy C & I managed to ruin our potato-pea curry beyond salvation by adding fenugreek towards the end of the dish. Opps...it was supposed to be ground fenugreek. Here's a lesson I'll never forget. We added the grainy fenugreek near the end and those grains just stick in the pits of your teeth and make a previously delicious curry, a mouthful of bitterness. Well, it was my 13th class!

We had a mass of chile sauces to enjoy of varying degrees:


And beer-drunken beans with smoked onions made an additional side:



So vote in the comments for the recipe from this class you'd most like to have!

Many thanks to Eric Tucker, Chef and Teacher Extraordinaire, my enthusiastic classmates, and Thomas, Veronica, Jason and Ann for making this another fab Sunday class at Millennium.

Look at classmate Kate's flicker for more photos at:
flickr.com/photos/katedollarhyde

Here's links to the previous 12 classes:

July Cooking Class 2009

June Cooking Class 2009

Spring Cooking Class 2009

Mushroom Cooking Class

Holiday Cooking Class

Fall Harvest 2008

Indian Summer

Southern Comfort Cooking Class

Spring Cooking Class

Fall Harvest Cooking Class

Chiles Class

Tomato Class