It has been too long! I have been out of touch and here is a little blog entry!
I conducted 2 back to back tours of the South of France! It was our last tours! They went out with a bang.. Here I am in the former kitchen of Julia Child. This year she would have turned 100! I have a few talks in last summer that I am doing.. One in her home town of Pasadena!
If you are on my Facebook page you will see the day to day tour in pictures!
Check them out!
George
I am so exicted to be teaching at this new venue. Here is all of the information on the classes and the links to register:
Gerasi Vineyard Cucina Cooking Classes
The Cucina at Gervasi Vineyard
1700 55th Street NE
Canton, OH 44721
Saturday April 22nd, 11am-2pm: Fast and Easy Entertaining with Sauces
Sunday: April 23rd 11am-2pm: Cruising Austraila
Both classes are hands on and lots of fun. Check the site for the full menus
While on the ms Amsterdam on the World Cruise I was in New Zealand last year.. I created a full menu using the flavors of "down under". Here is the recipe from the classes in Florida at Publix last week...
The key to perfect meats is by using an instant read thermometer. Cook meats by temperature not how many minutes per pound..
This morning I received an instant message from my good friend Mary…
“I love all of the recipes.. Do you have an eggnog recipe with the raw eggs to where it has so much brandy that the salmonella is all killed?”
OK first of all.. YES. From my old recipe collection. These recipes are in a file with the real Cesar dressing, Pasta Carbanara and Hollandaise sauce that I don’t use in recipes in class because of the raw scare. But here is a recipe as it was intended to be made.
Now if you dont want to make your own.. And you live in the greater Los Angeles area try Broguieres Dairy. You can find it at the dairy in Montebello and some selected stores. When I host my holiday food tours we always have the eggnog..
Time to make the brittle!
Here is a great recipe that I have been making for year.
Enjoy!
I always have loved this spicy cookie. Years back I decided to fill it with a nice cream vanilla bean ginger filling.. Enjoy!
A slight rum taste with the creamy eggnog will make this cookie a new holiday family favorite!
A very flavorful moist cake. Use the best chocolate available!
I will be on SD Living tomorrow (Wed) at 9am! Here is the recipe I will prepare:
Cheers or Booooooo
George
Here is another southern classic recipe.
Chicken and Andouille Sausage Etoufee.
Now if you would like to join George Geary Tours in New Orleans next spring sign up today!
A good friend of mine recently came home with 20 pounds of fresh Maine Blueberries. He thinks I need to come out with a book with 200 of the best Blueberry Recipes! Here is my favorite blueberry Pie for all of you to enjoy..
Vodka Sauce:
When I am teaching out of my book 500 Best Sauces, Salad Dressings, Marinades and More.. I always make sure that this pasta sauce is on the menu. Why? Its the most difficult recipe to make and if you can make this recipe you can make the rest of the 499!
You can get my book on my site at: www.georgegeary.com
Here is the Recipe: Vodka Sauce
Ice Cream Sauces for the morning show back in July 1997! Just a few years ago..
Recipes for Sauces: Macadamia Midnight Sauce and Almond Sauce
This past season on The Next Food Network Star the winner was 'The Sandwich Guy".. (I am sure just like you.. you give names to people). I thought what a crazy concept.. How hard is it to make a sandwich? I still think that when I see a book all devoted to the subject.. But then again I am sure there is a book on how to make your bed.
Here is a sandwich on the famous Muffiletta from Central Grocery in the French Quarter. Its a filling sandwich that would be nice with a bowl of soup.
One of the best parts of my career is the traveling to different parts of the world. I never know what I will encounter. From Labor Day until about the 15th I was in the southern states. Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and Alabama. I spent a weekend getting my 2012 Tour of New Orleans ready (Check out the tour page for the information). Then I headed out on the road trip. First stop Alabama. I had not taught in Alabama since Hurricane Georges went through and canceled my tour in 1998. I was asked to teach in Birmingham, AL. It was a cozy and warm school with a terrific clientele. While driving in Mississippi on my way to Alabama I stopped at an old general store: The Simmons/Wright Co. It had been built in the 1920s and was still in the same family. Trust me I would not have wanted to eat anything from the store.. The front part was filled with semi-antiques.. (Top and bottom shelves of displays were not for sale). I found the craziest thing on the top level. About 300 prs of shoes in original boxes from the mid-20s. Crazy I tell you! I had to purchase something so I got a box of old glass German Christmas ornaments and a bar of soap made by a local. I had intended on stopping for a soda or ice cream, but they only thing they sold close was watermelons.
some of the boxes of shoes....
In Birmingham I taught a Breakfast Brunch Class where we had a terrific cake. The recipe is here: Cinnamon Pecan Coffeecake.
Then off to Atlanta to Cooks Warehouse.. They are currently opening their 4th location in the greater area. I taught 3 hands-on classes. All were very special classes for me. It was historical George Geary I should have called it. One of the classes was based on my first pastry job in LA. We did an array of cakes. I am doing that class again in West Lafayette, IN. After that class I will post all of the recipes for it. Another class was called the Best of the Best. One great recipe from each of my books.
As many of you know my hobby and a passion is saving American architecture. With Frank Lloyd Wright and Los Angeles Conserving being the forefront. I was please to take a tour of one of the Ustonion FLW homes in Alabama, then I went off to Jackson, MS where I had a private tour of the Medgar Evers Home (see the movie Help) arranged by her daughter who is a close friend. It was moving and very touching to see the home.
On my way to the airport I had a few hours so I stopped into Willie Maes Scotch House in the 9th ward of New Orleans for some of the best Fried Chicken around!
Here is another recipe: Banana’s Foster from Brenanas.. Yes. I am on a Southern Food Streak! All week I will be posting more of the great
Check back next week for a whole lot of recipes!
George
New Orleans 2012:
Last weekend was a little wet from Tropical Storm Lee, in New Orleans.. But it did not stop me from eating and touring the “Big Easy” I finished putting together the 20th anniversary of the New Orleans Tour. Check out all of the excitement we have planned. We have two tours scheduled a two and a three night tour for those that want to stay longer or have time restrictions. Dinners, tours,, hotels, cooking classes and more are all included in the tour price.
Here is the information:
2012 New Orleans : Full Itinerary
2012 New Orleans: Signup Forms
New Orleans area is packed with regional foods One is sugar and pecans. Here is a recipe of Pralines that you can make at home.
Recipe for :
If you have any questions about the tour please fell free in emailing us at ggeary@aol.com.
Next week I will be starting on my BIG Southern Tour.
Atlanta, GA (3 locations) , Birmingham, AL and Hattiesburg, MS.I love the south.. The foods are rich with history and flavor. I have a couple of classes that I am going back to my “roots” recipes I had developed at my first culinary job in Hollywood. And also a class on the World Famous Brown Derby. I purchased a cookbook that was printed in the 1930’s so the recipes are full of flavor and cream! Check my first page on this website for information on all 5 classes.
Tomorrow I am headed down to San Diego to teach a sold outclass. When I put together classes I start with the subject of the class and then go from there. I thought.. Shall I dare? Do a class on the most over rated, over cookbook-produced subject of the past 3 years? Well lets do it.. Lets see if I can get a few people.. No not a few.. SOLD OUT with 60! Cupcakes. Yep.. I caved.. Cupcakes. I will have over 300 cupcakes all lined up. This weekend I made chocolate clay carrots and white rose buds. I will put some pictures up later this week. Wish me luck!
Wednesday I am headed into Santa Monica (where I was born) to a cheese shop to learn to make Mozzarella. I have made soft cheeses before but would like to see the masters do it. When I took an Italian Food Tour of New Jersey last year I was surprised at all of the different flavors of the mozz. Each very unique!
Be looking for pictures this week via #chefgeary (twitter) and Facebook!
Cupcakes, Cheese and New Orleans at the end of the week.. Oh Boy!
New Orleans was the first long weekend tour destination for the George Geary Tour Company back in the late 80s. I have returned many times since. New Orleans is a very special city and area of our country filled with culinary history like no other. We will be touring the city in the spring of 2012 dates will be announced next week! To "wet your whistle" here is a recipe from the Cajun Cooking School.. One of the places we go to.
