The Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories

Tonight Chase and I had the pleasure of attending a couples cooking class at The Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories in Santa Monica. The class theme was New Years appropriate: "Healthy and Light," for all those ambitious, health-conscious resolutions that will last at least a week. Luckily we like to eat healthy anyway (most of the time). On tonight's menu:

• Kale & Apple Salad with Ginger Dressing
• Quinoa with Confetti Vegetables
• Fish en Papillote (Tilapia)

Chase was concerned that the Gourmandise School would ask him to wear a "beard net" to cover this winter behemoth he's growing. It's 70 degrees in Los Angeles, you guys! 

I dig the beard, I guess.

Kind of.

They didn't make him wear a beard net. 

Starting with the kale salad: 

Easy and yummy. 

Kale Salad & Ginger Dressing:

Ingredients:

(Dressing)
1 teaspoon of fresh grated ginger
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

(Salad)
1 bunch kale, stemmed, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons dried cranberries
2 tablespoons white raisins
2 tablespoons almonds
1 apple, chopped (we used green, but Fuji might be better!)
fresh pomegranate seeds for garnish

To make the dressing, whisk together ginger, honey, and olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Combine kale and dressing, massage the dressing into the kale gently. Add remaining ingredients.

After that yumminess, we cooked up the highlight of the evening - quinoa with veggies. There are a lot of good quinoa recipes out there, but this one is high up on my list.

Quinoa with Confetti Vegetables:

Ingredients:

(Quinoa base)

1/2 cup red quinoa, rinsed and drained

1 cup water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cub diced carrots

1/4 diced bell pepper

1/4 cup diced celery

1/4 cup diced red onion

Herbs of choice - we used thyme and basil

(Vinaigrette Sauce)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon of rice vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Combine quinoa and 1 cup of water in a 2 qt pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to simmer. Cover and let cook low for roughly 20 minutes. Heat skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil, sauté carrots, bell pepper, celery, onion, and herbs until soft, add salt and pepper to taste. Meanwhile, whisk Vinaigrette ingredients together in a bowl. When the quinoa is fully cooked, mix in the sautéed vegetables and then the vinaigrette. 

The tilapia was also quite good, but no more inspiring than any basic fish recipe. My favorite fish recipe is by far Grilled Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos with Mango Pineapple Salsa. This week I'm going to try out this attractive-looking recipe for Brown Sugar Chili Rubbed Salmon with Avocado Crema. 

I learned two new recipes today - does one of them count for tomorrow?