Mad Hungry with Lucinda Scala Quinn
May 29, 2011

Charity Cooking Class

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Recently CQ and I hosted a cooking class for the Zajciw family. Rachelle, her husband Paul and their two boys Paul and Nicholas traveled all the way from Michigan to cook up some good eats with us. They were the prize-winners of the class, which was auctioned off at a benefit for Mount Sinai hospital. The boys’ first time in NYC, they stayed for a long weekend sightseeing and eating with our class sandwiched in the middle.

Big Food and Mad Hungry fans, we worked to create a menu based on their MH favorite recipes that they could recreate at home: risotto cakes, aranciata cocktails, escarole salad with parmesan pressing, gnocchi with spinach pesto, shrimp scampi, and dark chocolate pudding cakes—a kitchen disaster saved by turning into hot fudge for ice cream sundaes! Check out the photos from the class above and if you want to recreate our menu, the recipes are provided below.

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LSQ, CQ, and the Zajciw family from Michigan. From left: Paul, Paul, LSQ, CQ, Rachelle, and Nicholas

1 LSQ, CQ, and the Zajciw family from Michigan. From left: Paul, Paul, LSQ, CQ, Rachelle, and Nicholas

LSQ burned her recipes. No big deal.

2 LSQ burned her recipes. No big deal.

Prepped ingredients

3 Prepped ingredients

More ingredients prep

4 More ingredients prep

Working station

5 Working station

Dessert prep

6 Dessert prep

Risotto cakes frying up on the stove

7 Risotto cakes frying up on the stove

Aranciata cocktails for the Zajciw fam

8 Aranciata cocktails for the Zajciw fam

9

LSQ explains how to turn leftover risotto into these delish treats

10 LSQ explains how to turn leftover risotto into these delish treats

Paul, Paul, Rachelle, and Nicholas

11 Paul, Paul, Rachelle, and Nicholas

Risotto cake. Yum.

12 Risotto cake. Yum.

The gang enjoys appetizers and cocktails before they get to work.

13 The gang enjoys appetizers and cocktails before they get to work.

Leftover risotto cakes

14 Leftover risotto cakes

LSQ telling everybody the plan

15 LSQ telling everybody the plan

CQ explains how NOT to hold a knife when chopping

16 CQ explains how NOT to hold a knife when chopping

Makin' salad

17 Makin' salad

Paul Zajciw chops dates for the salad

18 Paul Zajciw chops dates for the salad

Rachelle Zajciw

19 Rachelle Zajciw

Hard at work

20 Hard at work

LSQ explains how to make the salad dressing

21 LSQ explains how to make the salad dressing

Rachelle makes the salad dressing

22 Rachelle makes the salad dressing

Paul and Nicholas chop radicchio for the salad

23 Paul and Nicholas chop radicchio for the salad

24

Preheating the oven

25 Preheating the oven

Starting to make the dark chocolate pudding cakes

26 Starting to make the dark chocolate pudding cakes

Ingredients

27 Ingredients

28

Working on the filling

29 Working on the filling

Chopping chocolate for the pudding cakes

30 Chopping chocolate for the pudding cakes

Setting up the ramekins

31 Setting up the ramekins

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Adding the topping

33 Adding the topping

CQ grabs a kettle (from their own house!) for the water bath

34 CQ grabs a kettle (from their own house!) for the water bath

Chatting

35 Chatting

36

And they're in the oven!

37 And they're in the oven!

38

Nicholas uses a potato ricer for the first time to make gnocchi

39 Nicholas uses a potato ricer for the first time to make gnocchi

Making room to roll the gnocchi

40 Making room to roll the gnocchi

41

42

Peelin potpatoes

43 Peelin potpatoes

Gnocchi is rolled!

44 Gnocchi is rolled!

LSQ demonstrates how to make pesto

45 LSQ demonstrates how to make pesto

46

47

48

49

Showing to smash garlic.

50 Showing to smash garlic.

Garlic is smashed.

51 Garlic is smashed.

Back to the pesto.

52 Back to the pesto.

Time to start the gnocchi

53 Time to start the gnocchi

Getting ready to add the gnocchi in the pot

54 Getting ready to add the gnocchi in the pot

55

56

CQ has apparently said something shocking

57 CQ has apparently said something shocking

Paul adds the gnocchi to the pot

58 Paul adds the gnocchi to the pot

59

Gift bags

60 Gift bags

Beautiful table setting in the MSLO test kitchen

61 Beautiful table setting in the MSLO test kitchen

Bread and butter

62 Bread and butter

Gnocchi with pesto

63 Gnocchi with pesto

Escarole Salad with Parmesan Dressing

64 Escarole Salad with Parmesan Dressing

Fresh grated Parmesan cheese

65 Fresh grated Parmesan cheese

The whole meal, including shrimp scampi!

66 The whole meal, including shrimp scampi!

67

Minor pudding cake explosion leads to alternate dessert...

68 Minor pudding cake explosion leads to alternate dessert...

Homemade hot fudge with vanilla ice cream!

69 Homemade hot fudge with vanilla ice cream!

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71

Everybody lines up to make sundaes

72 Everybody lines up to make sundaes

Looking for the recipes? Here you go:

Aranciata Cocktail

Risotto Cakes

Homemade Gnocchi

Escarole Salad with Parmesan Dresing

Shrimp Scampi

Individual Dark Chocolate Pudding Cakes

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Posted by on May 29, 2011 in Recipes

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