I am offering a reprise of the Crabapalooza Class on December 28th.

We'll be preparing 4 Dungeness Crab Appetizers.

My Thai inspired Crab Cakes with Green Curry. Artichoke and Crab Beignets with Preserved Lemon and Harissa Aioli, Crab Croquettes with Charmoula and Crab Mac and Cheese Cupcakes.

Class is at my home in Elk. 85.00 per person .

Come Join in! It will be fun and delicious!

                                                          All Sorts of Pastry!

                                        From sweet to savory, fancy to simple, a starter to a main to a dessert.

 New flavors to explore and grace your holiday fare!

 We'll spend November demystifying the perfect pastry dough and using it in creative ways with the   bounty of the seasons harvest.

Series begins ySaturday, November 9 with the following classes every Saturday of the month.

November 9- Roasted Butternut Squash, Black Bean and Sheep Feta Empanadas , Aji Amarillo

                      Apple and Cheddar Dumplings

November 16- Savory Individual Beef, Roasted Vegetable and Potato Pies, Thyme Glaze

November 23- Persimmon ( if available) Tart Tatin, Jam Galettes

November 30- Thanksgiving Leftovers En Croute! 

11am-2pm  at my home in Elk. Class is limited to 5 persons.

$250.00 for the 4 classes .  If there is an open spot you can drop in for a single class for $75.00.

Email me to sign up. shanitaji@gmail.com

Dinners on the Bluff

                                         Come dine with me for a bespoke curated evening meal !

                                  Celebrating the bounty and beauty of our Mendocino County

                                                          For more information email me at shanitaji@gmail.com

All About Fish!

 I am offering a series of classes beginning Saturday October 5th, 19th and 26th.

We will explore the art of cooking fish. Each week we will take one particular fish variety and prepare it   as a complete entree. The fish we will work with is subject to availability so I can't post quite yet what we will be using.

We begin the series with a celebration of our local Albacore, creating a Japanese inspired Nicoise. 

Week 2 we will create a favorite from Portugal. Calderada. A poem of a fish stew fragrant with Thyme, Saffron and Fennel Pollen.

 Week three we explore a Lebanese classic that is typically served at Lent, Wild Caught Halibut with a Lemony Tahini, Fried Onions and Toasted Pine Nuts, glittered with Pomegranate!

My focus will be on wild caught , only the most fresh, not ever farmed seafoods.

Class fees are 250.00 for the 3 week commitment. Class size is limited to 5 persons.

If you are unable to make a class there is no make up available.

If you want to sign up for an individual drop in the cost is $75.00 and this is providing an opening is available.

                                                            Finally! 

                        

Friends and Fans of ShannonFood, beginning in September of 2023 I'll be offering a series of cooking classes here at my home in Elk.

Class size is limited to 4 people and will include written recipes, instructions, demonstration and hands on participation. Followed by a wonderful shared repast we all create together.

Classes will commence Saturdays at 11am and wrap up about 2pm, which will include our meal together.

Each individual series is 4 weeks and is $200.00 per person for each series.

The September series is titled ' Creating Umami'.

Here we will dive into the building of flavors using certain ingredients that bring magic and elevated flavors. We'll do a different cuisine each week to explore how many cultures use ' Umami' to distinguish flavors that inspire and delight.

October's offering ' The Art of Presentation'

No tweezer or squirt bottle funny business here. Again, we'll explore 4 different recipes, creating an entire composition , honoring the beauty and authenticity of each ingredient. Focused on the aesthetics of texture, color, flavor, and presentation.

November' Holiday Repasts'

Here we will create together, new takes on the old holiday standards, using uncommon ingredients, inspiring flavors and new concepts to make our holiday dishes surprising yet still rooted in the comfort of our favorites.

Should there be more interest , I'll add more in the future.

To sign up email me at shanitaji@gmail.com

Summer is Here!

 

                                                        A Sort of Improvised Nicoise

Shishito Pepper and Roasted Corn Croquettes

It's corn and pepper season!

These are beyond scrumptious and I serve them with a simple

Chive Aioli as not to take away from the flavors of the peppers

and corn.

you'll need a couple cups of mashed potatoes.

I prefer to use Yukon Golds, leaving the skin on, when cooked and mashed.

Blister a pint of Shishito peppers and cover til soft.

Cut 2 ears corn off the cob and roast in a little olive oil til the corn is cooked

and soft. Undercooked corn will explode when you fry them and take it from 

me , you don't want that to happen!

rough chop the peppers, remove the stem of course and mix with the corn

season with sea salt  and fresh cracked black pepper.

then mix in gently the potatoes, a beaten egg and a couple tablespoons

of flour.

let cool.

then you form the croquettes either by using two spoons to shape

or make little balls. .

You'll fry them in hot vegetable oil until golden

using a slotted spoon to remove and drain on paper towels.

They can easily be re- heated.

 

 

                                      A Culinary Ode to my Grandmother Alexandria                    

I have two powerful memories of Apricot pie. Both of which were created by the matriarchs of my family,

my maternal grandmother Alexandria who immigrated from Lebanon and my father's eldest sister Nell, also an immigrant, from Wales.

They both had this essential understanding of the Apricot, both had trees that bore abundant fruit in their respective yards, Alexandria's high atop suburban Mar Vista, California, a sea breezed enclave wedged between the beaches of Santa Monica and the West Side of Los Angeles. Nell's rambling old Victorian sat on the water's edge in the tiny town of Rodeo, California , a small little spot on the San Pablo bay north of San Francisco.

Both Alexandria and Nell knew the mysteries of stone fruits ,seemingly imbedded in their DNA.

Every June we would go to my grandmother's home to pick fruit. She would arm us with buckets and we'd make our way to the huge Apricot tree that grew on a southern slope beside her house. She was not so much a pie maker. It wasn't her culture but she made Amerdine, a shoe leather like dried fruit paste that she rolled out in sheets. One could tear off a piece and just hold it in one's mouth til it dissolved in infused one with the esssence. She used the Apricots in stuffings with roasted Lamb and blanched almonds and made a compote which was scented with Lebanese Orange Blossom Water. 

Nell, being Welsh was a master baker and her apricot pie was tart, and not too sweet , fragrant with a buttery, flaky crust, served warm with vanilla ice cream. The fruit softened and creamy, redolent.

This is my tribute to them both. Aa fusion if you will.

An Orange Blossom Scented Apricot Galette

Try to find beautiful fresh ripe Apricots, deep in color and taste.

 

Ingredients

1 pound fresh ripe Apricots.

1 cup sugar ( i prefer organic)

1/2 cup fine tapioca

the juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup Orange Blossom Water

Quarter the Apricots and place in a bowl with the sugar, tapioca, lemon juice and Blossom water. Mix well and let stand while preparing the dough.

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees

1 1/2 cups organic unbleached flour

a pinch of sea salt

1/2 lb of  COLD good sweet butter.  ( I use Kerry Gold or Plugra, the high fat contact makes for a flakier crust)

a splish of apple cider vinegar in ice water

1 egg yolk

In a mixer, mixx the flour salt and butter ( add butter in small chunks) mix with paddle til the consistency 

of corn meal. Add the water little by little til the dough forms, just enough to bind but not too much to make gooey.  Take the dough out and chill .

Roll out in a large circle, and place in preferred baking vessel, add the macerated fruit and juices, add a few pats of butter on tope and gently fold the dough around the fruit.  Make a wash of the yoke and brush on to the dough.

Bake for 1 hour or until the crust is a golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. About 10 minutes before removing from the oven, pull out and sprinkle sugar over the top.

Let cool for a bit and best served warm . 

Yummy with Vanilla ice cream or a Creme Anglaise.

An Abundant Summer Repast

                                             

                                                Beauty and Bounty from my Garden