Classroom Chatter

I can still taste the smoke from the American Royal!!!

Three glorious days of smoking, grilling, and partying at the biggest BBQ bash in the world have given me a whole new perspective on BBQ…  The Midwest BBQ Institute here at The Culinary Center of Kansas City competed in the American Royal BBQ Contest for the very first time on October 1st – 3rd and I was lucky to be able to spend all weekend with the team!!!  It’s true one of the perks to this job is that I get to hang out with the very best BBQ’rs learn, cook, throw parties, and of course… I get to eat the BBQ!!!  We had a killer weekend, but here are the highlights!

On Friday we went to the contest first thing to pitch our tent, put up our pig chef poles (did you see that picture in the Kansas City Star folks???), and get dinner on the fire.  We also welcomed our BBQ Inner Sanctum … four awesome new friends who took the whole weekend as a class!  (Jealous? There’s always next year!)  We all got right to work for our Smokin’ Schoolhouse party… and a smokin’ party it was.  We had fantastic live music provided by none other than the Manager of Merriment herself Maria Dickson and her swingin’ jazz quartet, amazing Sister Mary’s Bloody Knuckle Cracker cocktails at the bar, and dancing and reveling shortly ensued.  The food, have I mentioned the food yet at the party? Well… let’s just say none of the other tents were sporting smoked brie en croute and chocolate chip cookies with bacon!

Now let’s talk about the contest, I’m not sure what I expected… but Saturday and Sunday were amazing!  Saturday morning when I came in, the team was already up, full of breakfast, and working on the competition sides and dessert.  Let me tell you Matt’s squash side dish was INCREDIBLE, and the beans? Well let’s just say I’d take Bruce’s classes just for that recipe alone!  The most exciting bit is the turn in though, a rush to the judges in the tiny time window allowed for turn in, hoping you don’t drop the box, hoping no one knocks you over, hoping the klutz gene stays dormant just for this one day… whew, all turned in without a hitch… that was a rush!

Saturday night was my favorite moment of the entire weekend… we all took an evening to relax. We lit candles, The Main Dish set a beautiful table and made her famous spinach salad, Chef Matt grilled up steaks the Flintstones could have been proud of, and we drained several bottles of very nice wine.  That moment where we all came together, looked around at all of our hard work, our new friends, our old friends, and just enjoyed the evening was the highlight for me.  Those moments are the reason I love cooking.

Sunday was the main event, the meats! Well let me tell you how much I did NOT know about competition BBQ.  The brisket the team turned out was unlike any brisket I’ve ever eaten… seriously, I almost didn’t believe it could possibly be the same cut of beef.  The ribs? Well, the taste of that rib lingered in my mouth for at least an hour… I avoided gum, I avoided getting a glass of water, it was THAT good.  I also watched the MBQI team work like a well oiled BBQ machine. Chef Richard is so very delicate in the kitchen, when he’s there in his element he’s something like a very fine pianist, the kind that makes you want to stare at his fingers in amazement while he plays.

Are you drooling yet? Don’t worry, we’ve got tons of MBQI classes coming up soon you can get in on and I know one thing is for sure… get ready because we’re going back to the American Royal next year!

Smokalicious!

Rachel Ciordas

“Dean of Deliciousness”

Manager of Culinary Curriculum

Classroom Chatter

This week at the Overland Park Farmer’s Market I showed people how to make French Potato Salad with Radishes and Green Onions.  This is a simple dish, the kind that I really love, it speaks to the kind of food we can all relate to, comfortable, elegant but really simple.  I’ve made this recipe dozens of times and while it contains a few ingredients that may not have been in Mom’s potato salad (capers) it still reminds me of picnics, cookouts,  and time spent with family and friends.  That’s the best kind of cooking, the kind that brings people together and conjures up great memories of the little moments in your life.

Over the next few weeks we’ve got classes full of great memories waiting to be made:

Advanced Cake Decorating: Wedding Cakes on Saturday 5/15 at 10am – Talk about memories! Everyone remembers their wedding cake, what better gift for your daughter, sister, granddaughter, or friend than  a custom hand decorated wedding cake by you!

Smoking 101: The Art of Smokeology on Sunday 5/16 at 10am – This is about summer, BBQ’s, ribs, and more! Just think of all of the backyard fun in your future!!!

Saucemaking: Italian Sauces on Wednesday 5/19 at 6:30pm – Think big family dinners and quick pasta sauces that make you look like a rock star even when it’s a rushed weeknight!

Mmmm… so many great memories  involve the smell of fresh baked goods.  Fresh apple cake with apples just plucked from the tree with  my grandma, home baked bread, cookies one of the first things we’re allowed “help” with as a child. We’re recapturing those moments with Tiny Tots: It’s all about the dough on Saturday 5/22/10 at 10am.

I can’t let you escape without telling you about The Executive Chef’s Private Table: Springtime in France on Saturday 5/22 at 6:30pm.  This is a seriously amazing opportunity.  Chef Matt is cooking up an elegant dinner, and demonstrating everything course by course with a very small group of guests.  This is a chance to get personalized attention with Chef Matt, and a very unique dining experience!