Latin Cabbage and Corn Salad

Serves 6

For Dressing

• 2 limes, juiced
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 20 grinds of fresh black pepper
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

For Salad

• 1 small head of green cabbage, trimmed , cored, and shredded
• 1/2 small head of red cabbage, trimmed , cored, and shredded
• 1 15 oz. can of whole kernal corn, drained
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, washed, dried, and finely chopped
• 1 bunch of scallion, washed , dried, and thinly sliced into rounds

Directions:

Make the dressing by whisking all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Toss al the salad ingredients together in a large bowl.

Just before serving, toss the salad with the dressing, Keep refrigerated and covered until ready to use.

Mango Salsa

LIST INGREDIENTS IN ORDER OF USE

2 Roma Tomatoes Diced

1 Mango diced

1 English Cucumber diced

½ red bell pepper diced

¼ cup Chopped Green Onion

¼ Cup Chopped Cilantro

1 tsp. Sriracha Pepper sauce

1 Tbs. Fresh Ginger Grated

3 Tbs fresh lime juice

2 Tbs. firmly packed brown sugar

½ tsp salt

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients down to the cilantro. In a separate bowl combine the ginger, mint, lime juice, brown sugar and mix thoroughly. Pour over the diced ingredients and stir gently.

Pastitsio

Pasta Layer

1 1/2 lbs. dry penne pasta

2 TBS. olive oil

4 TBS butter

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

dash ground nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

3 eggs, lightly beaten

Meat Layer

2 TBS butter

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 pound lean ground beef or lamb

1 6oz. can tomato paste

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth

2 TBS chopped fresh parsely

1 tsp fresh oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Cream Sauce

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 1 egg, lightly beaten

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Pasta

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente; drain and return to pan.

2. Melt butter until golden brown and pour over pasta, add 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese, nutmeg, salt, pepper and toss well; allow to cool. Add eggs and toss again; set aside.

Meat Layer

1. Gently saute onion and garlic in butter in a skillet until onion is soft. Increase heat and add ground meat; stir well. Cook until meat begins to brown. Add tomato paste, wine, broth, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

Cream Sauce

1. Melt butter in sauce pan, stir in flour and cook gently for 2 minutes. Pour in milk all at once and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil gently for 1 minute. Add nutmeg, salt, pepper and cool slightly before stirring in beaten egg. Transfer 1/2 cup of this sauce to the meat sauce.

Assembly

1. To assemble pastitsio, Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spoon half of the prepared pasta evenly in the bottom and top with meat sauce. Top that with the remaining pasta. Pour on cream sauce and spread to completely cover pasta. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

2. Bake in a preheated oven for 50 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting into ssquares to serve.

Pumpkin, Black Bean and Sausage Soup

Makes 3+ quarts

2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil

1 lb. Italian Sausage, casing removed

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice

2 cans (15 ounce) pumpkin puree

1 cup heavy cream

1 tbs curry powder

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

4 Tbs. sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat a soup pot over medium heat. Add oil. When oil is hot, add onion, garlic and sausage. Saute 5 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes, black beans and pumpkin uree. Stir to combine ingredients and bring soup to a boil Reduce heat to medium low and stir in cream, curry, cumin, cayenne and sugar. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 5-10 minutes, adjust seasonings and serve.

More Updates From Karla!!
Wow, I didn't realize how far behind I had gotten or how quickly this is going by!! I owe you a report on four days worth of classes!! So I better get to it. Day 2 Ciril Hitz(the Bread God), Was my morning instructor. He is now an instructor at Johnson & Whales University in Providence Rhode Island since 1997. He is originally from Switzerland. He did his apprenticeship there and many classes in France as a Pastry Chef/Chocolatier. Ciril has been recognized with numerous awards and accomplishments both in the industry and as a faculty member at Johnson & Whales. His work has been featured on the Today show and The food Network. I have attended the World Pastry Forum for three years straight now and Ciril is amazing everytime. I always come away from his class with more knowledge and some inspiration.We worked with several types of doughs, learned some new techniques and revisited some old ones. A very nice change from the barrage of chocolate we are exposed to on a regular basis.Afternoon class was Biagio Settepani & Robert Ellinger, We learned about Gluten free, Lactose Free and Kosher Baking. Both of these guys are great! They both have shops in New York and are very close friends. The Costello & Abbot of the pastry world.Day 3 was Vincent Pilon, Anil Rohira & Robert Adria. Vincent demonstrated a beautiful chocolate showpiece, Anil demonstrated tempting praliines and Robert Adria Shared his story of El Bulli. If you are a true foodie this is a story you should really look into. We watched his documentary that was created around him and his family's story. This is the story of the molecular gastronomy surge that has over taken the culinary world. He has released his book Natura, which will make you realize that there are still so many possibilities!! Well I hate rushing thru all of this there is so much to share so I will stop here for now. The last day of the championships is today so I want to get down and watch the chocolate & Sugar show pieces go up. Last night was such an amazing night. It was my birthday so I was serenaded by many of the chefs and reps on the patio. I was served champange and a beautiful ball of gourmet ice cream with a candle!!! These guys are wonderful!! Well, Im off for now. The awards ceremony and Gala are this evening so that will be fun. Talk to ya soon.
Sincerely,
Me :-)
P.S. The BBQ Sunday night was a blast too, I can't help but feel like Alice in Wonderland here!!