Thursday, February 24, 2011

Next Great Kosher Chef's Mustard Grilled Chicken with Mango Mint Salsa





Coordinated with the release of the trailer of The Next Great Kosher Chef, we are happy to share a recipe from the winner of the contest, Next Great Kosher Chef Jasmine Einalhori. She is now known all over the internet as a "Jewess with Attitude!"

By winning the contest Jasmine secured herself a spot in the Professional Culinary Arts Program at Center for Kosher Culinary Arts. She is currently a student here. Learn more about the program by visiting us here.




Mustard Grilled Chicken

4 large chicken breasts, scalloped or butterflied
¼ cup Dijon mustard
¼ cup dry sherry wine
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 large garlic clove, pressed
Olive oil
1 Tablespoon of dried thyme (oregano, basil, or dill can also be used)
Ground peppercorns and salt, to taste

Drizzle olive oil on chicken to lightly coat. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and marinate the chicken for one hour to overnight. The longer the chicken marinates, the better results you will get, though it can be grilled immediately. Use a grill pan or bbq and grill the chicken on a high heat. For a nice grill-marked chicken breast lay your chicken breasts on the grill and then after about 2 minutes without flipping the breast turn the chicken 90 degrees to the right for the classic cross-hatch look. Top with mango mint salsa and serve hot.

Mango Mint Salsa

2 ripe mangos, peeled, pitted and diced
¼ cup chopped(1/4 inch) red onion
1 cup red, orange, and yellow baby peppers (regular bell peppers are also ok)
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
2 teaspoon finely minced jalapeƱo pepper, seeds removed (for spicier salsa leave seeds)
1 ½ tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ¼ teaspoon cumin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Over your stove top or oven, roast the whole peppers, just enough to give it a grilled marks and a slight roasted flavor. Set aside to cool, then chop and add them to all the other ingredients.

Serve salsa either with the chicken or as a side dish with a nice bowl of tortilla chips.

Chicken Alla Olive


Ingredients:

1 medium size chicken

1 large blond onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp. fennel seeds and/or fennel herb

1/2 lemon grated and/or pieces of the rind

2 tbsp. fresh Mediterranean herbs (sprigs of rosemary, leaves of sage, thyme, marjoram)

1/2 cup dry white wine vinegar

1/2 cup green olives pitted and crushed

4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

freshly ground black pepper


Heat the oil in the pan, add the onion and gently cook for 10 minutes. Meanwhile wash and clean the chicken and then cut into quarters, then into eighths without breaking the bones.

Add the garlic and fennel seeds to the soffritto. Add the chicken and sear it. Pour the vinegar. Add the herbs and the rind of the lemon. Allow the flavors to seep constantly stirring. Add the pepper. Add the olives then cook, covered, on low heat for about 40 minutes. When it is ready, let it rest for a few minutes and then serve. Serves 4.

The Next Great Kosher Chef Movie Trailer




Here's the long-awaited trailer for upcoming film The Next Great Kosher Chef! This is the televised version of the contest that was written up in The New York Times, The Forward, The New York Jewish Week, The Jewish Press and elsewhere!



The Next Great Kosher Chef, coming soon! Are you ready??!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

CKCA Pro Program Alumni Competition!


Calling all CKCA pro class alumni -- Now's your chance to show us how far your skills have come! Alumni competition night will pit six teams of two alumni each against each other in an "Iron Chef" style market basket challenge. You and your alumni teammate will have one hour to cook an entree and two sides from a basket of surprise ingredients. Judges Chef Avram Wiseman and school director Jesse Blonder will score each team on taste, presentation, creativity and most important, teamwork!

Which team will win? The Class of Spring '09? Summer '10? Winter '11? We'll find out soon enough. The winning team will receive $150 towards classes at CKCA and the title of Reigning Alumni Champs!

The event will be Motzei Shabbos, March 12th, from 8:30pm to 10:30pm. The cost to participate is $140 per team.

For more info, visit the event here.


Call Jesse at 718-758-1339 to register your two-person team in the competition!