While I was in the grocery store recently, I happened to notice cans of cooking spray labeled as fat free. I wondered if it was made out of olestra, or some other magical new substance. As it turns out, non-fat cooking spray is…plain old canola oil! It’s only “fat free” if you spray for one second (or less). You can’t spray a sauté pan for ten seconds and then get away with zero calories.
Just more proof of TANSTAAFL. (There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.)
Chef Mike Denny was our guest chef for a class this past Friday. Mike is a graduate of Johnson and Wales, and has many years of experience in the foodservice industry, including opening one of Wolfgang Puck’s Spagos. Class participants learned how to prepare a cured salmon appetizer, smoked salmon chowder and chocolate truffles with toasted pine nuts.
The Christmas Cookies class was one week ago, and many tasty treats were made by all! Here at Chez Alaska, the number one priority is to have a good time, and to learn valuable new techniques that can be employed in the kitchen, and to discover the secrets to cooking success. Okay that’s three priorities. And also to eat the delicious fruits of your labor, which in this case was sweet, sweet cookies. And who among us doesn’t appreciate a good cookie or seven?
