Cooking with Karina Davidson

For years I have wanted to assist Karina Davidson in the kitchen during one of her cooking classes.  Karina has cooked and baked in many capacities here in Bellingham.  You may know her delicious fare at the Firehouse Cafe in Fairhaven or her work teaching cooking classes with the Healthy Connections program held by the Community Food Co-op.  I recently assisteed her at the State Street location where she taught "September in Paris" to a sold-out class.

Karina travels to France as often as she can and confesses that her favorite city is Paris.  The menu for September in Paris featured fresh ingredients that all complimented each other to make a delicious meal using techniques that most of us can master.  

Thyme leaves that Kate, the other assistant, and I plucked

crumbled Gorgonzola

pie crust,  "piece of cake" Karina makes it look quick and easy

she manages to chat with students while she works

perfect crust is ready

cheese spread across the bottom of the pies

sliced tomatoes on top

sprinkled with the thyme leaves to make the Provencal Tomato Tart

slicing lemons for the tapenade dressing

fresh garlic that I helped to peel

olives to be chopped into a tapenade and stuffed into salmon

fresh parsley to be chopped with garlic for on top of the salmon

Cauliflower for the gratin

gruyere and parmesan cheese to cover

will be the Gratin de Choufleur (Cauliflower Gratin)

slicing a pocket into salmon sections

opening the pocket being careful to not cut all the way through

opening the pocket

stuffing the olive tapenade into the pockets

finishing with olive oil, garlic and parsley on top

and more tapenade on top of that - gorgeous

one cake is ready while Karina shows the students how to make another one

whisking the coco

finishing with Julia Child's Chocolate Mousse Cake

I was too busy cleaning up to take more photos, but let me tell you . . . the rewards of assisting Karina in the kitchen are the delicious leftovers including a delightful glass of wine.  I may have a new motto, Will Work For Food. . . think that will fit on my license plate?

Links
https://www.facebook.com/firehousecafe98225

http://www.appleseedmac.com/firehouse/page6/page6.html

http://www.communityfood.coop/learn/classes/