Local Vendor Spotlight: Chef Jean-Pierre's

Wednesdays are typically my kid free night, at least for a few hours. Normally I try to shove some serene food shopping into that space. And yes, food shopping can be serene given how NOT serene it is when your kids ask for everything they see, including the random frozen dinner,  movies, magazines, Matchbox cars (why are they in the food store, again?) and candy. And when they realize they aren't getting any of those things, they begin to get really creative and ask for anything at all just so they can get SOMETHING, ANYTHING that makes this two hours of their lives purposeful. It never, ever works. I have become the master of straight out ignoring their requests, or picking up a package of chicken breast and really concentrating on the label. This is usually their sign that I've completely shut down.

But this week, when I had a million things to do for my upcoming vacation, I decided to play mom hooky and attend a local cooking class instead. My justification of this was that I'm supporting my local businesses and learning something at the same time, which is absolutely true. And I havent even gone into the great meal I ate while I was there.

So my local vendor spotlight this month is Chef Jean-Pierre in Newtown. This is my second time attending one of his classes, and the second time I have left inspired and well fed!

There is an extensive schedule of classes, with different themes including seafood, sauces, various regions of France, Italian and Spanish specialities, souffles....the list is extremely varied. Everyone can easily find something that interests them.  And he also hosts "Cooking with the Chef" as well, which is hands on versus observing, and private parties for 10 people and up (week) or 15 and up (weekend).  Here is the link to the classes.

On Wednesday, the menu was four course (which it typically is) and included Jean Pierres pizza, gazpacho, braised lamb cheeks over pasta, and cold souffle Grand Marnier.  It was aptly named "Tastes of Italy".

If you know me personally, you know that I am ridiculously picky with what I eat. There's a rumor going around that I don't eat vegetables yet have a massive veggie garden. But on many occasions lately, I have been promising myself that I will go outside of my very small "comfort zone" and try new things. Yes, I'm 35 and I still have to convince myself to try new things.  At least my kids can't say that I don't practice what I preach, at least on this topic.  Cursing and swearing? General unsavory behavior? We'll leave those practice what I preach topics until another time.

The first course was Jean-Pierre's pizza. This consisted of flat bread pizza topped with tomato paste,  a layer of an eggplant mixture, artichoke, swiss cheese.  He served this garnished with sprouts, with an anchovie stuffed cherry tomato topped with fresh basil pesto. Okay the anchovies where way out of my comfort zone, but I tried it anyway. It's safe to say I will never eat another one. But the rest was very good.



 The next course was gazpacho. Again, not something I run to order or even make. But it looked like summer in a bowl, and I did try it. It was peppery and spicy and very good, although cold soup is not my cup of tea.  Errr...my cup of soup.  I have no basis for comparison, but I would imagine if you're a gazpacho fan, that this was very, very good. And the chef goes slowly enough for you to scribble frantic notes (me) and also is not annoyed by ill prepared bloggers who have to run to the 7-11 across the street for camera batteries (also me).



The next was the main course.  Chef instructed us on braising (he also has two tv's that allow for an aerial view) and cooking down vegetables which later served as sauce for the veal. That was a new technique for me, and the end result was fantastic. It topped off the slow cooked (3 hours!) veal that was served over pasta. This pictures do not do it justice, but it was really difficult to photograph for some reason.



Lastly, he pre-prepared cold souffle Grand Marnier. While prepping the plates, he provided instruction on how to make them. Very simple, and very delicious. I did also learn that if I was a chef, I'd undoubtably be obese. And quite possible drunk most of the time.



Speaking of drunk, the class is a BYOB, so depending on the menu, bring a fantastic white or red. I brought an organic Red, which was great, by Frey. All in all, a wonderful experience yet again. It is great with a group, and a fantastic date idea. Not too much talking, but no awkward silences!

Plus, on my way home I drove through Tyler State Park and got to take some beautiful pictures, and got whistled at by a group of clearly vision impaired young men. I really did arrive home with a big old smile on my face.



And in case you forgot, or I forgot to mention, I am leaving tomorrow for my Mid West/West road trip. First up is South Bend, IN, then on to Crab Orchard, NE. Followed by Vail and Leadville, CO. Then who knows where. So this will probably take on the tone of "travel blog/log" in the next weeks, with all kinds of random topics mixed in. I'm so glad you're along for the ride!