Lucky Girl

It was not until this week that I realized how lucky I am to have so many opportunities to learn at school. This week was filled with three different Chef Demonstrations. All of them given by distinguished chefs that probably deserve an entry of their own, so below is a taste of one.

On Monday, Chef Craig Koketsu, Executive Chef of Park Avenue (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall) and Quality Meats, came and cooked for us. It was an unusual demonstration (given his Quality Meats background) in that his demonstration was on tofu. However, he made some unique and flavorful dishes that gave a lot of life to tofu (and in one he paired it with pork, so I guess that's cheating a little...haha). He kept us engaged with funny stories from his kitchen at Park Avenue, as well as explaining the challenges he faced when the school asked him to create a three course tofu demo. He has not had much experience cooking tofu, and wanted to create something that tasted good but also simple enough for a home cook to replicate (this demo was sponsored by House Foods America Corp and there were members from this organization at the demo as well). Here is what he came up with:

Spiced-Seared Tofu with Avocado, Beets & Cucumbers:



His avocado puree was really delicious - had just the right amount of spice! One tip from the Chef -instead of using lime juice in his puree, he uses powdered vitamin C because the liquid of the lime increases the oxidation time of the avocado giving it a brownish color. By using the powder, it helps to retain the bright green color.

Mabo Tofu Gnocchi:



Tofu Rice Pudding with Rhubarb, Pine Nuts & Thai Basil



Fun Fact - Chef Craig will be catering an event at Cornell University this weekend, and at the schools request he has been asked to provide a vegan dessert. He will be making the Tofu Rice Pudding for the event, less the gelatin that was in the one prepared for us.