2011

Parties That Cook Gears Up for Cooking Farm to Table: Classic Crostini Recipe

1 comment By The Kitchen Whisperer Filed in General, Go Green, Menus & Recipes Tagged with appetizer, Canvas Ranch, cooking class, cooking farm-to-table, crostini, csa, farm to table, fresh foods, goat cheese, tomato jam August 11th, 2011 @ 6:01 pm

As we gear up for our first Cooking Farm to Table Class this weekend, I think it’s time we give everyone a “taste” of what’s in store. No, we cannot send you a care package of ingredients used! (Though Canvas Ranch, the family-run farm where we are hosting this class, offers a Summer Season CSA program.) What we can do is open your eyes to one of our classic recipes to be featured this Saturday: Crostini of Goat Cheese and Tomato Jam – YUM. You can find this recipe in our Appetizer Recipe Library, and can find the tomatoes at Canvas Ranch this weekend!

Crostini of Goat Cheese and Tomato Jam

Ingredients
Tomato Jam:
1 1/2 pounds ripe beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes, peeled and chopped, reserving any juice
3/4 cups sugar
1 orange, peeled and sectioned, roughly chopped, reserving any juice
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon lemon (or regular) thyme, chopped

Crostini:
1 baguette, sliced diagonally into slices 1/4-inch thick
1/4 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled
7 ounces goat cheese at room temperature

Thyme sprigs for garnish

Methods/Steps
Preheat oven to 375°F.

Make Jam: Place tomatoes, sugar, orange, lemon zest/juice (including tomato and orange juices) and salt in a food processor or blender until smooth. Pour tomato mixture into a large-sized sauté pan over moderate-high heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until a jam-like thickness is achieved, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and add thyme. Transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate until it is cool to the touch, about 15 minutes. Alternatively, place bowl in freezer for 5-10 minutes.

Make Crostini: Brush the bread slices on one side with olive oil. Arrange the slices on a baking sheet and cook until the slices are golden around the edges and crisp, about 10-15 minutes. Set aside to cool. Rub one side of each crostini with a clove of garlic.

Assembly: Spread 1 Tablespoon of the goat cheese evenly over the toasts. Top with a dollop of tomato jam on the goat cheese. Garnish with a sprig of thyme. Serve immediately.

Parties That Cook’s Chicago Team Mixes Things Up with Wrigley

0 comments By The Kitchen Whisperer Filed in Entertaining, News & Events Tagged with cooking party, corporate team building, corporate team building activity, event blog, italian menu, taste of napa, wrigley chicago August 8th, 2011 @ 2:20 pm

A couple of weeks ago, Parties That Cook knocked out 11 events in 3 days… Last week was no different! Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were filled nearly to the brim with corporate team building events, public cooking classes and recipe testing! Sneaking in right before the madness began was a Monday evening corporate event hosted by Wrigley. The company opted to entertain all 24 guests in a private home in Chicago.

Guests arrived from Mexico, Canada and all over the U.S. for this Chef’s Table event. Brandy, our Chicago Operations Manager and Chef Instructor, led the guests through a quick cooking demonstration outdoors before splitting the group into teams. Don B., the Wrigley host, worked with Beth, one of our great event planners, to create a custom menu. The result was a complete success! Guests enjoyed the Italian options like the Savory Plum and Thyme Bruschetta with Shaved Pecorino Romano Cheese , Flash Fried Cornmeal Calamari with Sauce Arrabbiata and a Warm Chocolate Budino with Raspberry Sauce. They also liked dishes from our Taste of Napa Menu, including Chilled Vegetable Gazpacho with Spice Watermelon Relish, Grilled Filet Mignon with Ricotta Salata Salsa Verde and a Savory Garlic and Cherry Tomato Strata. All great choices!

In the end, Brandy reported that the guests loved the event! They were really invested in their recipes, and after the meal, many guests made a point to let Brandy know what a great time they had – we love that! Don reported that the best part was “seeing what my coworkers created, then eating it. This was successful because the team definitely worked together and enjoyed the evening… It was fantastic.” What great feedback!