Dawna NolanIf you're one of those diners who's happiest to eat your meal while watching the chef prepare it, then you'll love what's coming up at Barbrix. You may already know about the small number of counter seats in back at the Silver Lake Restaurant/Wine Bar (or Wine Bar/Restaurant) where diners can watch Chef Don Dickman's moves as he dishes out small plates of goodness, but starting in September, a lucky few can sign up for Saturday morning cooking classes with Chef Don where he'll teach you his moves. And according to the Chef, “After a class with me you'll have confidence AND swagger!” C'mon, you know you want swagger! We also scored a recipe for one of Chef Don's popular Barbrix dishes for you, find it after the jump.
Chef Don's food philosophy, “using great ingredients with simplicity and respect,” translates to a solid and straightforward class that offers practical tips and strategies for the home cook. At a recent test run class, Chef Don took a group of six through preparing, cooking, and eating a four course menu in just a few hours. Courses included Roasted Cauliflower Salad, Ricotta Gnocchi, Grilled New Zealand Blue Nose Sea Bass, and Adria's Favorite Ginger Shortcakes.
Finished salmon dish from Barbrix Cooking Class; Credit: Dawna Nolan
Details are still being finalized, but for more information, visit the Barbrix website and sign up for the newsletter, a forthcoming edition will let you know cost, schedule, and how to sign up. In the meantime, if you want to try one of Chef Don's popular Barbrix dishes at home, here's a recipe to get you started:
It will look this pretty when you make it too!; Credit: Dawna Nolan
Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Green Beans, Chickpeas & Charmoula Dressing
1 head Broccoflower
1 head Purple Cauliflower
1 head Orange Cauliflower
1 Lb. Blue lake Green Beans
2 cups Chickpeas, cooked and drained
1-2 cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/2 cups Charmoula Dressing (recipe follows)
Salt & Black pepper
Method:
Make the Charmoula dressing and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut all cauliflowers into bite-sized pieces. Toss cauliflower in a large bowl with extra virgin olive oil (enough to coat thoroughly) salt, and black pepper (to taste).
Evenly distribute the cauliflower pieces in an even layer in a roasting pan. Roast for ten minutes, then stir pieces to redistribute and place back in the oven to finish roasting. The cauliflower should be nicely browned and fully cooked through before removing from the oven to cool (total cooking time varies, but should be about 20 minutes).
While cauliflower is roasting, set a large pan of water on stove to boil. When water comes to a full boil, add some salt. Make sure to have a large container of ice water nearby so that when the beans are just cooked, they can be “shocked” in ice water to prevent overcooking. (Please do not break this important Chef Don rule of “getting the ice” before cooking the vegetables.)
Place green beans in boiling water and blanch until bright green and slightly tender, but still crisp. Remove green beans and plunge into ice water to chill. When green beans are cooked, chilled, and drained, they may be cut into smaller pieces for the salad.
To assemble salad, toss cauliflower, green beans and chick peas with the Charmoula dressing and salt & pepper to taste. Pile mixture in the center of a salad plate. Enjoy.
Charmoula Dressing:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 peeled garlic cloves
2 tsp. Paprika
2 tsp. Ground Cumin
2 tsp. Ground Coriander
pinch cayenne pepper
1 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, stems removed
1/4 bunch fresh parsley leaves, stems removed
1 cup + 2 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Method:
Place all ingredients except oil, salt and pepper in blender jar. Turn on blender and blend until thoroughly and smoothly mixed. With blender running, drizzle in the oil slowly. Add salt and pepper.
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