February 1, 2012

What an amazing, exhausting and greasy day in the kitchen! Chef and Owner of Taberna, Deborah Hanson, taught us about the rustic Spanish cuisine and Spanish wines.  Her restaurant is a small gem in Brookline.  We made Pisto Manchego, a typical family lunch and Quail with garlic and Sherry. For dessert we had a wonderful Natillas. The meal we prepared exemplified simple flavors and showcased each ingredient. Chef Hanson, really explained the difference between the Spanish regions and the use of fresh ingredients that are available year round there. Even though Madrid, the region of her focus, is located inland, the coasts are only 4 hours away - fresh fish arrive daily in the markets.  

After a delicious lunch, Chef Michael Leviton of Lumiere, took us on a frying adventure.  We fried everything and anything from fried clams with semolina dredge and a remoulade, corndogs, beer batter fruit (apple)fritters to candy bars.  A lot of batter was made and a lot of oil used!  I now know how to make a perfect french fries and chips.

Key Concepts:

- Cubanelle sweet green peppers are the original bell peppers with more flavor.  The bell pepper is a man-designed pepper

--the better the ingredients you start with, the less hassle to make it taste good - good product + simple (rustic) cooking = yummy wholesome food

-key to chopping, dicing etc.  try to make as few cuts as possible.  the more aroma in the air and on the cutting board, the less the flavor in the food.

-tempura batter should be fluffy - use COLD bubbly water and little flour - its very hard to perfect this

-you can fry anything

- Always have clean oil

-Never fry foods with strong flavors and then mild ones - flavors transfer through the oil