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Day 2: Sunday, 10/4 10am-12:15pm: “Seasonal Greenmarket Plates” with Alexandra Guarnaschelli

I was thrilled to begin my Sunday morning with Food Network star and executive chef of NYC’s Butter restaurant, Alex Guarnaschelli. “I fell in love with you on ‘The Best Thing I Ever Ate.’  You are so funny,” I gushed, realizing that my creepy compliment just came out like word vomit.  You know that gross feeling you get after one too many cocktails?  You’re lying in bed and the room is spinning out of control.  And before you know it, you’re dramatically hugging the porcelain god, as if you were bidding adieu to your long-distance boyfriend. “Word vomit” is “alcohol vomit’s” first cousin: it happens when you’re so excited about someone or something, that an uncontrollable gush of awkward compliments/opinions, etc. come shooting out of your mouth. “Hahaha, thank you,” Chef Alex chuckled, “That is definitely one show where the Food Network can call me up at any given time and I’m thrilled to participate.”  I couldn’t believe it; maybe I hadn’t geeked her out, after all.  Aside from Chef’s sense of humor, I knew there was a reason that I adored this woman so much.

Both the kitchen and the amount of participants appeared to be bigger than yesterday’s (class with Marcus Samuelsson).

Since I was covering this class for my website, I played more of an observant role, taking lots of notes and pictures rather than cooking. 

Why are you so obsessed with Chef Alex?

Alex Guarnaschelli was someone that I was drawn to from the moment she opened her mouth.  "Sunday is my day off, but here I am!  Clearly, I must enjoy working on my day off, since my new television show on the Food Network is called "Alex's Day Off!" She’s funny as hell, down to earth and doesn’t put herself on the “I’m a famous chef and you’re not” pedestal. I swear, I felt like I’ve known her for years! During Sunday’s class, Alex used descriptions such as “ginormous” and “ghetto fabulous,” before proceeding to tell the class that “leeks aren’t sexy,” and “in order to pick the best vegetables at the market, you’ve got to fondle them!  Who gives a good god damn if people look at you funny?” Enough said.

What did you learn?

How cool is this? Lee Anne Wong, a contestant from season 1 of “Top Chef,” formally introduced Chef Alex to the class. Of the 2+ hours scheduled for our course, Chef spent half of the time speaking, which didn’t bother me one bit! Ms. Guarnaschelli iscertainly a person that I could bare listening to for hours on end.  Here are some points that I took particular interest in/learned from:

• For the best-tasting vegetables, make sure to purchase them whole (we’re talkin’ stems-on and roots in tact)…not pre-cut, chopped, etc.

• Store artichokes and herbs (not together) in a vase of water, just as you would do for fresh flowers.

• For Alex, buying “organic” isn’t as important as knowing both the farm and farmer that raised the fruit/vegetable. A personal favorite worth mentioning? Chef swears by Stokes Farm in Old Tappan, New Jersey.

• Alex’s favorite days to shop farmer’s markets in NYC are Wednesday’s and Saturday’s.To keep abreast of schedules/happenings at markets across the city, follow this link: www.cenyc.org.

• Never toast nuts in a saucepan, rather, utilize the oven’s 360-degrees’ worth of heat.

• Unlike pasta, vegetables should not be cooked al-dente.

• Always taste the seasoned water you plan to use before boiling your vegetables. Add salt!

• Chef Alex swears by “Le Blanc” nut oils. Click *here* for more info about the brand.

How many recipes was the class assigned to cook?

There were four recipes. Forgive me, but I don’t have their given names.

• Grilled shrimp with walnut pesto and pan-roasted fennel bulbs

• Chicken liver crostini (no picture)

• Leeks vinaigrette

• Swiss chard & leek gratin (no picture)

How was the class divided?

Twenty-four students were divided in to six groups of four.  Here’s the part that shocked me: every group was assigned to make one of each recipe…in one hour!!  Needless to say, the class ran over time a bit, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that most groups accomplished the tedious 4-recipe task!

So, how was the food?

While I didn’t lay a finger on the chicken liver (not a fan) and wasn’t able to taste the gratin (it wasn’t ready when I had to scoot out for lunch), I was lucky enough to sample the shrimp and the leeks vinaigrette.  As you can see in the pictures below, this was truly a feast for all of the senses.  My biggest, and most delightful, surprise came from the roasted fennel bulbs!  I was expecting to be overwhelmed by a perfumey, licorice aftertaste; but to my delight, the bulbs were mild, buttery and soft with a similar consistency to a sautéed onion.

To my not-so-pleasant surprise, today’s lunch spread, courtesy of Southern Hospitality, was identical to yesterdays.  It reminded me of dinners at grandma’s house: the lady was a good cook when she wanted to be, but 9 times out of 10, she would serve us reheated food from her overstocked freezer.  “Ew,” I would whisper to my mom, “this is the same junk we ate for dinner here last time!”  And by “last time,” I was referring to the prior month.  The freezer burn aftertaste was almost too much to bear, prompting my parents to make religious trips to the Taco Bell drive-thru post-dinner.

Lunch Q&A series: Gillian Duffy interviews Dan Barber

Gillian Duffy’s interview with Dan Barber (a.k.a. the East Coast’s male version of Alice Waters) was brilliant.  As a child, Barber fell in love with the land and the lifestyle at his grandmother’s cattle farm in the Berkshires (Massachusetts), which was quite a world apart from his home in Manhattan's Upper Eastside.  

“You can’t co-op local (food)…the best way to educate people is to have them taste delicious food…a (food) revolution can come through good flavor…my definition of sustainability is buying or participating in a food chain that betters ecology,” explained Barber.

Despite my undying love for Q'doba cheese dip, I greatly respect and appreciate the farm-to-table/local food systems’ movement.  Others, including Barack and Michelle Obama, who dined at Barber's Blue Hill restaurant on a recent visit to Manhattan, would agree.  This year alone, Dan Barber was named one of Time Magazine’s “100 of the world’s most influential people,” and James Beard’s “Outstanding Chef.”    

"Classic American Desserts" with Melissa Murphy 

While each of the class participants created individual pies, we were told that they (the pies) needed 1.5 hours to bake.  "You all can pick up your pies at 6:30pm," Chef said.  "In the meantime, please feel free to take any leftover ingredients home with you."

Dara and I looked at each other with wide eyes.  "No way in hell am I waiting around for my pie until 6:30pm!  Shoot, it's just 4:45pm right now," I chuckled before filling up containers with my leftover ingredients.

Isn't Chef adorable?  Watch out though, she's no joke in the kitchen!  Our group of three got reprimanded one too many times.

Since I was too impatient to wait 1.5 hours for the pie I made in class to bake, I decide to make an apple tart at home using my remaining pie dough and apple filling.

…

Until we eat again,

Lindsay, The Lunch Belle