Cook, Crack & Eat, The Art of Cooking with Seafood

A Series of Cooking Classes with Chef Paul Drew of Atlantic City’s Phillips Seafood Restaurant

Ever wonder how to create the most incredible seafood dishes at home in your own kitchen? Well, wonder no more. Chef Paul Drew, of Atlantic City’s Phillips Seafood Restaurant, is offering Cook, Crack & Eat, a series of seasonal seafood cooking classes designed to help you learn the tricks of his trade. Sign up for one or all three. You will be guaranteed an afternoon of learning, laughing and lingering over a demonstration, some wine and a great meal with the chef. Here’s the schedule:

  • Crabology. Saturday, April 3, 2010. What’s the difference between crab Claw Meat that sells for $11 a lb. and Jumbo Lump that sells for $30 a lb.? Which grade works best in what dishes? If you love crab and want to learn more about how to buy it and serve it, this is your chance to learn. Chef Drew will take you through a crab tasting and demonstrate how to make a variety of hors d’oeuvres. You’ll drink a little wine, enjoy some food, and learn a lot about your favorite crustacean. This class will surely crack you up!
  • Clam Bake for Two. Saturday, May 1, 2010. Learn how to shop, select, and whip up one of our favorite one-pot meals. Then we’ll show you how to combine it all to create a meal that includes whole Maine lobsters, snow crab legs, shrimp, clams, mussels, potatoes and corn on the cob. We’ll give you all the tips and some of the tools you’ll need. And you’ll enjoy a glass of wine and a clambake with us in the restaurant before you head home prepared to share your new skills with friends and family. Yum!
  • The Freshest Catch, Saturday, June 5, 2010. Salmon. Barramundi. Flounder. Mahi-mahi. It’s all so good. But how do you select it, clean it, grill it, or stuff it with crab? Learn all of this and more from one of America’s most proficient seafood experts. Enjoy lunch, wine, and discuss all the intricacies of a great meal with the chef. This is no fish tale!

Cook, Crack & Eat presents a great opportunity to meet and learn from one of Atlantic City’s top toques. Chef Drew is a British import that landed in America in the 1980s. And ever since he has been cooking his way through some of the area’s top hotel restaurants. His crowd-pleasing style is sure to entertain. And you can be sure each class will be fun as well as educational.

Interested? The cost for one class is $65 and includes the chef demo, wine, lunch, and a swag bag to go. Classes begin at 11:30, and space is limited, so register early. Or, sign up for the series and save at $175.

Phillips Seafood Restaurants is among the largest-grossing family restaurant groups in the country.  Its sister company Phillips Foods is the number one producer of crab meat in the world; it sold 11 million pounds in 2006.

Call the restaurant to register at 609.348.2273. Phillips Seafood is located in The Pier Shops at Caesars, One Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic City, NJ 08401.

French Regional Dinner at Bistrot La Minette, Périgord

Bistrot La Minette’s Chef Peter Woolsey is determined to take you on a culinary journey through France. That’s why almost every month he creates an authentic dinner featuring a multi-course feast from different regions.

February’s dinner will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, February 24 and 25. It will feature the savory foods of Périgord, a region known for its truffles and foie gras. The chef finds particular inspiration for this menu from Paula Wolfert and her cookbook “Cooking of Southwest France,” which is an homage to the area’s culinary traditions.

This four-course prix-fix dinner costs $35, or $50 with complimentary wines.

Here is the menu:

Terrine de Foie Gras

Duck liver terrine, house-made brioche, fig compote

St. Jaques Poêlé aux Truffes Noirs et Noix

Pan seared scallops, black truffle oil, walnuts, frisée, walnut vinaigrette

Magret de Canard aux Pruneaux

Seared duck breast, prune sauce, confit potatoes

Pompe aux Pommes

Puff pastry, apples and almonds

Bistrot La Minette is located at 623 S. 6th Street (between South and Bainbridge Streets). For reservations call 215.925.8000 or go to http://www.bistrotlaminette.com/.

Katz to Cook at the Beard House!

David Katz

Mémé Restaurant/ Philadelphia

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 7 p.m.

David Katz first drew acclaim at M in Philadelphia’s Morris House Hotel, where he earned the respect of Philadelphia Inquirer’s Craig LaBan for his “minimalist but very effective” culinary approach. Now the chef and owner of Mémé, Katz continues to charm critics and locals alike with his rustic yet brilliantly crafted New American cuisine. The Beard House is located at 167 West 12th Street, New York. Call 212.627.2308 to reserve or click http://jamesbeard.org/?q=node/1887.

  • JBF Members $125
  • General Public $165

Small Indulgences

Bistrot La Minette’s Chef Peter Woolsey Creates Hand-Made Chocolates To-Go

Michel Cluizel, one of Paris’ most famous chocolatiers believes, “To arouse pleasure, chocolate must delight the palate like no other exquisite sweet.”

Perhaps that’s why Bistrot La Minette’s chef Peter Woolsey selected Cluizel’s particular brand to craft his own signature chocolates. He’s now selling beautifully packaged tin boxes, wrapped in red ribbon, filled with six perfect morsels each more indulgent than the next. “It’s a perfect gift for Valentine’s Day or any day,” says the chef Woolsey. Each piece of chocolate is handcrafted. In every box you’ll find one raspberry ganache, one chocolate ganache, a peanut butter ganache, a chocolate-dipped candied orange peel, a hazelnut truffle and a rosemary “barrel.”

Pick up a box at Bistrot La Minette at 623 S. 6th Street (between South and Bainbridge Streets) in Queen Village for $10.

Bistrot La Minette is located at 623 S. 6th Street (between South and Bainbridge Streets) in Queen Village. For reservations call 215.925.8000 or go to http://www.bistrotlaminette.com/.