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Showing posts from March, 2023

New Recipe: Salade Lyonnaise

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We'll be serving this classic wilted salad on two upcoming occasions: the upcoming French pop-up dinner experience on April 16 and the first French cooking class on May 30 at the Common Ground Food Co-op.  This simple "brunch salad" was invented in the city Lyon (a.k.a. "the gastronomic capital of the world") and our version is based on Paul Bocuse's recipe, but updated and streamlined with a "secret" method for poaching egg found on Youtube.  Here's the recipe . The April 16 pop-up dinner event is called "Dinner + A Movie: France" and will feature a four-course classic French dinner with Boeuf Bourguignon as the main course, followed by Salade Lyonnaise as the salad course (yes, the French like to eat their salads after the main course), and Crêpes Suzette for dessert. The dinner experience will also include champagne toast, wine pairings, aperitifs, and digestifs. Only eight people will be invited to join us. Details are here:  c

New Recipe: Boeuf Bourguignon

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Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Burgundy) will be the main course on two upcoming occasions: the upcoming French pop-up dinner experience on April 16 and the first French cooking class on May 30 at the Common Ground Food Co-op. This infamous classic French stew is based on Julia Child's recipe, but has been updated and streamlined to reflect today's home kitchen. But the ingredients remain the same -- tender beef is soaked in a rich red sauce and finished with a touch of cognac. Here's the recipe . The April 16 pop-up dinner event is called "Dinner + A Movie: France" and will feature a four-course classic French dinner with champagne toast, wine pairings, aperitifs, digestifs, and of course -- Boeuf Bourguignon and Crêpes Suzette. Only eight people will be invited to join us. Details are here:  cooking-with-paul.com/popups-france.html . The May 30 cooking class is the first of a series of three classes that is part of my "deep dive" series at the Common Groun

New Recipe: Crêpes Suzette Flambé

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Crêpes Suzette will be the dessert course on two upcoming occasions: the upcoming French pop-up dinner experience on April 16 and the first French cooking class on May 30 at the Common Ground Food Co-op. This infamous French dessert is flambéed (flamed) at the end with Cointreau, an orange-fused French liqueur which magically transforms all the flavors in an alchemical reaction. Here's the recipe . The April 16 pop-up dinner event is called "Dinner + A Movie: France" and will feature a four-course classic French dinner with champagne toast, wine pairings, aperitifs, digestifs, and of course -- Crêpes Suzette. We're using this pop-up dinner experience as an excuse to practice cooking up some new dishes and eight people are invited to join us. Details about this very limited seating event is available here:  cooking-with-paul.com/popups-france.html . The May 30 cooking class is the first of a series of three classes that is part of my "deep dive" series at

New: Registration for summer French cooking classes now open (exclusive pre-sale for subscribers only)

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Here's an exclusive presale offer for subscribers of my monthly email newsletters: Starting today, you can be the first to register for my new summer French cooking class series. This secret registration link will be made public on Monday, March 27, 2023, so act fast. These classes sell out fast, so if you have any interest in French cooking, don't delay (psst: you have my permission to share this link with your friends). For those who have attended my cooking classes before, you already know that all my classes are "dinner party" style events. For new students, please come hungry and thirsty because you will be served a two-course dinner complete with wine pairings. Because we are doing French this summer, you can also expect tastings of imported French wines and a dessert course at the end of each class.   Arguably, French gastronomy is the most influential of European culinary traditions. The French invented haute cuisine , then turned everything upside-down

New: French Dinner Pop-up Experience

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After two highly popular Ukrainian pop-up dinner experiences, my friend Marina and I have decided that we're going to France next. Our third event has been scheduled for Sunday, April 16, 2023 from 6 to 8pm and the theme is “Dinner + A Movie: France.” This two-hour private dinner experience starts at 6pm and will include a four-course classic French dinner complete with wine pairings featuring imported French wines. This event will be hosted by Marina K and Paul Young and will take place at Marina’s home in Champaign. The cost for joining this event is $75 per person. With these dinner party experiences, our goal is to bring you culinary experiences not typically available in Champaign-Urbana. As with our previous pop-up dinners, we're proud to partner with  Eatwith.com  as their first event hosts in Illinois outside of the Chicago area. With hundreds of food experiences in every major international destination, Eatwith has become the Airbnb for unique culinary adventures. We

Reminder: Registration for Urbana Park District's Summer classes opens on April 5, 2023

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My summer edition of "Flavor Principles of Ethnic Cooking" series starts on June 8, 2023. But we all know how fast these classes sell out, so please mark your calendar for April 5, 2023 because that is the first day of registration for all of Urbana Park District's summer classes. This summer, we're going to be traveling to Morocco, Hawaii, and Vietnam for some tasty meals. We'll deconstructs the recipes of each ethnic cuisine and break down the flavor principles of each culinary tradition. We'll learn how to make almost anything taste Moroccan, Hawaiian, or Vietnamese by following a few master recipes and utilizing simple flavor profiles. By the end of this series you will be able to customize and adjust your favorite recipes to make tasty ethnic dishes for dinner every night. This Urbana Park District cooking class series will meet at Phillips Recreation Center on Thursdays from 6–8pm. The tuition is $40–$75 per person and includes a full two-cours