Don't Miss Our Sell-Out 'Taste of Asia' Class

Chef Avram Wiseman has long been a connoisseur of Asian cuisine, and has run a recreational class each semester on it which always fills up. It's super-awesome and super-yummy. Don't miss it this time around!

Taste of Asia explores the exciting flavors and cooking techniques of the Asian continent. Chef Avram Wiseman teaches recipes from countries such as China, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam as well as some of his own Asian inspired creations. This is a must-take class, which will give you flavors and secrets to making sauces unique to the Orient to wow your family and friends.

Mon, July 11, 7:30 – 10:30 pm

$75 – CALL TO REGISTER – 718.758.1339

Raise Your Glasses! It's 'Cocktail Party' Culinary Date Night

Join us for a festive evening of creative cocktails, finger foods and fun! Couples will cook together to create a cocktail hour inspired menu that will include a special selection of tasty bites and signature drinks.

This stand-alone class will be offered three times:

Wednesdays: July 6th, August 3rd or August 24th
7:30pm to 10:30pm

$150 per couple

CALL TO REGISTER – 718.758.1339

Recipe from 'Taste of Asia' Class

In honor of his always sold-out class Taste of Asia, Chef Avram Wiseman provides a beautiful and not overly complicated recipe for Japanese cooked chicken roll.


Ingredients:

Chicken cutlets 1 and 1/2 lbs.
Sushi rice 3/4 cup
Rice vinegar 3/4 oz
Sugar 1 teaspoon
Salt 1/2 teaspoon
Nori seaweed sheets 2 ea.
Asparagus, medium 4 ea.
Carrots cut into ¼ inch strips1 ea
Red pepperscut into ¼ inch strips 1 ea.
A/P Flour 4 oz
Eggs, large 2 ea.
Panko crumbs 2 cups
Salt and pepper to taste
Canola oil for frying




Procedure:

Prepare the sushi rice by following directions on the bag(or rice cooker instructions). While the rice is cooking, mix rice vinegar, salt and sugar in a small bowl. When the rice is cooked, turn it out into a wooden mixing bowl. Immediately, drizzle the vinegar syrup over the cooked rice and mix in gently with a rubber spatula until the rice is room temperature. Cover with a moist paper towel and reserve.

Blanch the carrots and asparagus separately and reserve.


Butterfly cut and lightly pound the chicken breast between sheets of plastic wrap. Form a rectangular shape with the chicken breasts. Lay a sheet of Nori on the chicken. Spread a thin layer of rice over the bottom half of Nori, and then carefully place an asparagus spear, carrot stick and red pepper strip on the rice. Roll the entire preparation into a "log." Place in freezer until frozen.

Remove from the freezer. Remove the plastic wrap. Dredge the frozen log into seasoned flour to lightly coat entire log, especially the ends! Shake off excess flour. Coat in beaten egg mixture, and roll in Panko crumbs.

Drop chicken log into hot canola oil (325º). Fry until golden brown. Place chicken in a 325º oven for 30-35 minutes.

Chicken is ready to serve when internal temperature is 155º. Check with an instant read thermometer. Carefully slice with a serrated knife. Serve immediately.

Culinary Boot Camp Starts July 7th!

An intensive culinary experience designed for everyone from the frustrated home cook who finally wants to learn to “really cook” to the budding chef looking to take his or her kitchen prowess to the next level. Learn some of the same basic culinary fundamental skills taught to chefs in the finest cooking schools. Topics covered include: knife skills, principles and application of all the major cooking methods, how to cook poultry, meat & fish, plating & presentation, and more. This program is a must for anyone who is tired of ruining dinner or conversely, dares to call him or herself a good cook!

5 Thursday nights, July 7, 14, 21, 28, Aug 4, 7:30 – 10:30 pm

$375 -- CALL TO REGISTER -- 718.758.1339

Banquet Starter: Green Gazpacho

Chef Avram Wiseman shares a fancy and delicious appetizer for the upcoming banquet to celebrate the latest graduates of CKCA's Professional Culinary Arts program, which by the way, you can attend (learn how here). The students make all the food for the banquet, and now you can make one of the dishes -- Green gazpacho -- a cool and refreshing fresh vegetable starter.

Ingredients:

Bibb lettuce leaves, chopped 2 cups (4 oz)
Fresh spinach 2 cups (4 oz)
3 scallions, diced
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 cup (4 fl. oz) pareve (tofu-based) sour cream, plus extra to garnish (or if using vegetable stock, feel free to use regular sour cream)
1/2 cup (4 fl. oz) mayonnaise
2 cups (16 fl. oz) chicken broth
1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper

Preparation:

In a blender, combine the lettuce, spinach, scallions, cucumber, and parsley until the mixture forms a pureé. Gradually add in the chicken broth, sour cream, mayonnaise, mint, white pepper, and salt. Pureé the mixture until it reaches an even consistency. Refrigerate the soup until you are ready to serve.
Serve the soup chilled in individual bowls, with a spoonful of sour cream over each serving, if desired.

Join Us for CKCA Culinary Arts Open House/Graduation Banquets!

On the last days of each CKCA Professional class, we invite future prospective students and parents to join us to celebrate the graduation of our students, and we invite everyone to share in the delicious food created for the event.

The next such event for the Culinary Arts Program is June 30th at 12 noon. You will have the opportunity to meet your chef instructor, and ask questions to him as well as to the graduating students and the school director. A wonderful time is always had by all, but you must RSVP to attend.

To attend, please call 718-758-1339, and speak to CKCA director Jesse Blonder. You may also email him at info@kosherculinaryarts.com.

Chef Avram's Whole Grain Veggie Burgers!

Fighting the bulge battle or just looking for some light summertime meals? You are sure to enjoy Chef Avram's fancy and fresh whole grain veggie burger, which is made of all sorts of healthy things (not that you would know it)! Enjoy!

1 cup barley, boiled and drained
1 cup chickpeas cooked, slightly
1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal, raw
1/8 tsp Salt
1 tsp Paprika
2 tbsp Soy sauce
1/4 tsp Black pepper, ground
4 oz. Celery, minced
5 oz. Onions, minced
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
3 oz. Canola oil
2 tbsp Flour
1 Eggs, whole
6 Hamburger buns
6 oz. Mayonnaise
4 oz. Sun Dried Tomatoes
3 cups Bean sprouts, fresh
other toppings (cheese, tomato, etc) to taste

Procedure:

Puree the sun-dried tomatoes with the mayonnaise and season well with salt and pepper. Reserve and refrigerate.

Heat a medium sized sauté pan and add the canola oil. Sauté the onion, garlic and celery briefly until wilted (about 5 minutes). Reserve.

Combine the barley, chick peas, oatmeal, salt, paprika, pepper and soy sauce in a large mixing bowl. Add the sautéed minced vegetables, egg and flour and mix well. Season to taste.

Form the mixture into six burgers. Use oil or margarine to pan fry the burgers in a hot pan for about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Keep in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve. Serve on a toasted burger bun with sundried tomato mayonnaise and top with sprouts.

A Special Evening: Steak Night at CKCA

The Brooklyn Paper says this class means that "Now Kosher eaters can get in on the snout-to-tail movement." Read the full article here. We don't know much about snouts, but we do know that butchering down a primal cut of beef to its individual parts and then cooking them expertly, makes for a great class.

Thursday, June 23, 6:30 - 10:30 pm

Chef Avram Wiseman teaches the secrets to a truly great, gourmet homemade steak dinner. He’ll start off by showing you what you don’t see at the supermarket — an entire rib section of beef — and butcher it down to something more familiar — a juicy rib-eye steak. Then you’ll learn the best way to cook it at home, along with the all the traditional sides: crispy roast potatoes, “creamed spinach”, beer-battered, thick-cut onion rings, Caesar salad and more. This is a serious class for serious meat eaters!

Thursday, June 23, 6:30 - 10:30 pm
$75 -- CALL TO REGISTER -- 718.758.1339

Summer BBQ Class August 16th!

Don't miss this exciting hands-on class in which we learn how to create mouth watering BBQ style dishes both inside and outdoors. Topics covered include, bbq technique, indoor smoking with woodchips, stovetop grilling, outdoor bbq, slow cooking meat, classic bbq sides and sauces, and more.

August 16th, 7:30pm-10:30pm
$75 – CALL TO REGISTER – 718.758.1339

Avram's Famous Barbeque Sauce

Lots of people have spent time after their graduation from Chef Avram Wiseman's Pro Culinary Arts Class going through their notes, trying to find the recipe he wrote on the board for his special barbeque sauce.

Yes, it is that good! And until now, you couldn't find it in a book or written down anywhere. Now, Chef Avram is providing it to us in honor of our sold out Father's Day Barbeque class, June 19th! . But never fear, we have another Summer BBQ recreational class scheduled for August 16th (7:30-10:30pm)! Click here for details or call(718)758-1339 to reserve your spot now!

Ingredients:

8 oz. onion, small dice
4 oz. garlic, finely chopped
1 Serrano Pepper, finely diced
3 oz. vegetable oil
3 oz. red wine vinegar
3 oz. white vinegar
4 oz. molasses
3 oz. brown sugar
4 oz. honey
8 oz. veal stock
4 oz. Dijon mustard
10 oz. ketchup
6 oz. tomato paste
1 oz. dry mustard powder
2 oz. Worcestershire (or, if sauce is to be used on meat, low sodium soy sauce)
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon smoke flavor
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne pepper to taste

Procedure:

Sweat the onions, Serrano Pepper and garlic in the oil until tender. Do not color the vegetables.

Add all the other ingredients. Bring to a boil. Turn heat to a low simmer. Cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Yields one and a half quarts.

Host Your Simcha at CKCA!

Did you know that CKCA hosts and gives awesome and memorable private cooking classes? We do this on evenings, Sundays, motzei shabbos and we are able to host classes in our location in Brooklyn or in shuls, private homes, community centers, or event rooms.

We give private culinary classes to kids, to professionals, for company team building events, and for synagogue sisterhoods and even men's clubs.

We have helped celebrate birthdays, bat mitzvahs, bar mitzvahs, engagement parties, bridal parties, anniversaries and many other types of simcha!

Call Jesse Blonder at 718-758-1339 to discuss how the Center for Kosher Culinary Arts can help you make a simcha even more fun!

Five Decadent and Delicious Dairy Recipes for Shavuot

Chag Samayach! To help you plan your meals this Shavuot, we are proud to share with you five stunningly delicious yet simple recipes that can be mixed and matched for delicious and filling fancy dairy meals!



Fettucini Alfredo





Creamy Potato Leek Soup (Vichyssoise)




Pumpkin Lasagna







Oreo Explosion Cheesecake







Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake

Shavuot Treat: Fettucini Alfredo

This decadent and delicious dairy treat is a household standard on Shavuot, but most people make the mistake of putting it together as a casserole, refrigerating or freezing it and then heating it all up later for serving. This dries out the pasta and makes for a much less decadent and creamy dish.

When serving this restaurant-quality Fettucini Alfredo this Shavuot, give yourself and your family an extra treat by heating the sauce separately in a large pot, and then add the cooked al dente pasta to the pot shortly before you are ready to serve. It makes all the difference.

1 pound dried Fettucini noodles, cooked according to package directions
2 ounces whole butter
12 ounces heavy cream
4 ounces grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese
salt and white pepper to taste
1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

Combine butter, cream and cheese in a large saute pan. Bring to a boil and allow it to reduce slightly and thicken. Adjust seasonings. When ready to serve pasta, heat sauce again thoroughly and add pasta to the pan. Heat completely, fully covered. Garnish with extra cheese and fresh chopped parsley. This recipe makes four servings but the recipe doubles and triples easily.

Lentil Salad with Cilantro and Sweet Corn

It's Shavuot, and various members of your family has been out all night, who knows where, studying Torah. You don't feel like cooking, you just feel like pulling salads out of the fridge and bringing them straight to the table. Bring this high-protein, high-flavor salad and enjoy how the flavors get even better the longer it sits in the fridge!

One bag red lentils, cooked according to package directions with an onion and bay leaf, and drained (or, 2 15-Ounce cans Eden Organic Lentils with Sweet Onion and Bay Leaf [O-K certified]), drained
3 cans yellow or white corn niblets, or 10 ears of fresh boiled sweet corn
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
2 cup chopped red bell pepper, small dice
1 cup red onion, small dice
1 cup crumbled farmer's or feta cheese
3/4 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp celery salt
1 lime, juice only
salt to taste

Combine, refrigerate and enjoy.

Mexican Vegetable Soup and Corn Bread

If you love to serve soup on Chagim, you don't have to go without since you serve dairy on Shavuot. Just skip the chicken soup this year and serve this spicy and savory Mexican vegetable soup. Wow your guests with some corn bread on the side!

Corn bread:

3 cups of all purpose flour
1 cup stone ground yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
2 sticks butter (1/2 pound), melted
3 eggs
2 cups half and half or whole milk
1/3 cup chopped chives (optional)

Sift together first five dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients and mix the dry and wet just until incorporated; do not overbeat. Pour into a square pan and let sit for 15 minutes before baking at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Warm slightly before serving.

Mexican vegetable soup:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3 carrots, minced
1 box white mushrooms, minced
2 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 leeks, white parts only, sliced
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 small pinch cayenne
1 bay leaf
10 cups water
kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Before serving: 4 oz. half and half or full cream, diced avocados, tortilla chips

Saute the onions, carrots and mushrooms in olive oil until softened. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 1 hour. Puree if you wish. Before serving, add 1 ounce of half and half or cream per serving to add creaminess, and serve with tortilla chips, sliced avocado and of course, fresh warmed cornbread!

Shavuot Treat: Spinach and Pumpkin Lasagna

This recipe from comes from Liz Kratz at Classically Kosher. It's a sneakily healthy veggie lasagna (if you use low-fat cheese) and perfect for a dairy main course on Shavuot.

1 and 1/2 boxes lasagne noodles
6-8 ounces grated low-fat mozzarella, muenster or white cheddar cheese

Lasagna sauce layer:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 bag Morningstar Farms vegetarian "recipe crumbles" (O-K-Dairy)
1 large can (35 oz.) crushed tomatoes
1 small can (5.5 oz or similar) tomato paste
1-2 cups pasta sauce or 1 can tomato sauce with salt, pepper and garlic powder added to taste
2 cups pumpkin puree
4 tsp garlic, minced
4 tsp fresh basil, minced
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1-2 dashes cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes (optional)

Spinach layer:

3 cups cooked chopped spinach (such as Bodek frozen chopped spinach), defrosted
4 eggs or the equivalent egg substitute
1 and 1/2 cups low fat or low moisture part-skim Ricotta cheese
1 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp granulated garlic
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Sweat the onion with the olive oil until browned. Add the vegetarian recipe crumbles and keep flame on medium until fully warmed. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from flame.

Defrost or prepare spinach and mix with spices and Ricotta. If you microwaved the spinach, wait until it has cooled slightly before adding the egg, to avoid scrambling.

Layer lasagne sauce first followed by uncooked noodles, then spinach, then cheese. Finish with noodles, the additional pasta sauce on top and finally cheese. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until noodles are fully cooked.