Faye Blackmon gets a hug from Shara (photography by Micah Nunley)

Fudgenugget. I was born in the wrong school district. If I had taken Faye Blackmon’s culinary class back when I was in high school, I bet I’d be on Top Chef right now basking in the glory of Paul’s shiny knives. But I digress. Wednesday morning, I dragged along photo intern Micah Nunley to Duncanville High School, where we watched legendary Faye Blackmon teach a batch of seniors real life skills inside the kitchen.

In May, Blackmon, 69, is retiring from Duncanville HS after teaching for 37 years.

Jump for beautiful photos of kids and food.

Main Street Cafe (above); Kids baking cookies

“I was cursed by my grandmother,” says Blackmon. “She decided there had to be a teacher in the family.”

Her grandmother probably didn’t realize that Faye would become more than a teacher. Blackmon’s curriculum has inspired countless students to pursue careers in the culinary arts. Of the eight students I had a chance to talk with, seven were already enrolled or planning to enroll in a culinary program upon graduation.

Potato swirls (left); Cookie dough (middle and right)

Valentine's Day cookie

Every other day, these high school seniors gather inside Blackmon’s enormous kitchen classroom for three hours, sometimes arriving at ungodly hours (like 6am) to run a breakfast express at The Main Street Cafe where they serve breakfast burritos, cinnamon buns, and lemonade to over 200 hungry students. Other times, they’re learning how to make Valentine’s Day cookies. A group of students were diligently adding milk and butter to chocolate chip cookie dough that would bake into beautiful heart-shaped desserts the kids would sell in order to raise money for their end-of-the-year banquet. Customers can dictate whatever not-so-subliminal messages they want written on their cookie. Like the one above.

Andy laughs about cutting the chicken

Off in the back, I found Tiffany (Blackmon’s assistant) helping Andy and Cassandra prepare for their upcoming Skills USA contest this weekend. Andy and Cassandra have to prepare an entire dinner meal tomorrow within 90 minutes, and they will be judged based on their knife skills, plating, and the dish’s taste. Even though Andy’s already been accepted into Le Cordon Bleu of Dallas, he’s still nervous about the competition. He’s been cooking the same cream of mushroom soup, glazed carrots, buttered broccoli, and sautéed chicken for the last three weeks.

Faye Blackmon works twelve-hour days helping her kids prepare for serious cooking competitions like the upcoming Skills USA. “You don’t want to see us next week. We’ll be here tearing our hair out,” she warns.

Cassandra preparing for Skills USA

When the school year’s over, Blackmon’s finally going to take it easy. She plans on visiting Budapest and running her own little business. ”It’s going to be hard to leave, but I think it’s time.”

]]> http://sidedish.dmagazine.com/2012/02/03/faye-blackmons-culinary-class/feed/ 4 http://sidedish.dmagazine.com/2011/11/08/somebody-help-this-poor-boy-bolsa-mercado/ http://sidedish.dmagazine.com/2011/11/08/somebody-help-this-poor-boy-bolsa-mercado/#comments Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:00:11 +0000 Nancy Nichols http://sidedish.dmagazine.com/?p=32565 Yesterday, I was having a nice chinwag with the bad boy of Bolsa, Chris Zielke. I asked him what he’s going to sell at his soon-to-open Bolsa Mercado. He admitted he was still looking for stuff to stock on his shelves. He’s been scouting local producers and come up with quite a bit but he needs help finding more. The focus is on organic, sustainable products but Zielke says, “I want samples of everything that is made locally.”

Do you make cookies, chocolate, jams, jellies, salsa, pickles, eggs, jerky, sauce, dressing, chips, spiced nuts (insert joke here), granola, spice mix, sorbet/ice cream/gelato, olive oil, anything that is shelf stable. (No pastry, bread, or meat.) If so, this could be the push you need to get your stuff to market. Send an email to contact@bolsadallas.com with as much info on your product as possible (photos, website, contact number, story, etc). (Chris, is the check in the mail?)

Tomato mozzarella and pesto sandwich with drip coffee.Kristy Alpert munches some grindage at this Deep Ellum coffee shop

Kristy Alpert munches some grindage at this Deep Ellum coffee shop.

Overview: Murray Street Coffee is the type of place I could live; if only owners Liz and Doug Davis would allow cots in the backroom. It’s two stories with three rooms that can take you from the serious “don’t mess with me I’m on deadline” room with plastic chairs on the first level, to the “ah I finished and now I can relax” room with overstuffed chairs on the second floor, to finally the “coffee has kicked in and I have to get this energy out” room with one common farm-style table of board games. They’re known for their coffee (Coffee Eiland roasters based in Richardson, same coffee used in the Pearl Cup’s Pearl Latte), but their light/airy/funky/clean vibe make this a great place to grab a bite between caffeine fixes.

Menu: Most everything at this coffee shop is locally-sourced (from coffee in Richardson to muffins and cookies from Central Market), and their sandwiches are no exception. Meats and olives come from Jimmy’s Food Store, mozzarella comes from The Mozzarella Company a few blocks away, and their tomatoes come from Lemley’s produce stand at the Dallas Farmers Market. Breakfast is served all day and ranges from a granola parfait ($5.50), The Blinker (a scrambled egg and prosciutto sandwich on an English muffin, $5.50), a bagel with lox ($5), to Eggo Waffle with fresh fruit, syrup and whipped crème ($4.50). Their sandwiches include The Insider vegetarian—can be made vegan—for $8 and a PB&J on Ezekiel bread with banana, honey, jam or jelly for $5.50. All sandwiches can also be prepared gluten free.

Turkey and arrugla sandwich.

View from upstairs.

What we ate: Luckily I saw someone else eating a full sandwich as I walked in, so I knew immediately a whole would be too much. With that in mind, I ordered the half tomato mozzarella sandwich with basil pesto from Central Market, ripe tomatoes (yellow and red) and fresh mozzarella on olive oil and sea salt ciabatta bread made specially by Whole Foods. The sandwich came and a peanut butter cookie came to $4.50. I added a water and a drip coffee ($2) to wash it down. My friend ordered the half turkey sandwich with smoked turkey, sharp cheddar, arugula, and homemade chipotle aioli on the same soft ciabatta bread with an oatmeal raisin cookie ($4.50). Overall, the tomato mozzarella sandwich was both of our favs. The tomatoes were vintage Texas fresh and the bread was perfectly soft with that nice ciabatta crust. Oh, and their coffee is excellent.

Extras: They also sell a hummus plate that comes with traditional and red bell pepper humus, naan, olives, roasted red pepper, feta cheese, and tomatoes for $7.50, and they carry Tamale Company tamales if you can catch them before they sell out. One of the best things about this place is, along with their amazing coffee, they also have a pretty nice selection of beers and wines to help make playing Candy Land with strangers at the common table that much more intense … and memorable!

103 Murray Street, Dallas 75226

photos borrowed from scoochmaroo at Instructables.com

Last year, we watched the seemingly unflappable Ryan transform from cherubic imp to Keith Stone over the course of one wacky Movember challenge. This year (I hope) will be no exception. But should we fall down on the job—or should you not have the genetic material necessary to grow your own—there is an alternative: DIY moustache cookie pops. A clever contributor at Instructables.com who calls herself scoochmaroo posted this handy step-by-step on their site, and I have to say, I’m sold.

I call for a challenge! Create, send us pics, and may the best ’stache with the best backstory win!

Make the perfect belly, er, stocking, stuffer.

Almond milk, chocolate macadamia cookie, and cranberry-orange cookies from Bliss Raw Cafe.

I know what you’re thinking. Really, I do. How can a cookie be both raw and delicious? For the answer, go directly to the source: Chef Kelly Dennis at Bliss Raw Cafe on Sunday, Dec 12 for a free, vegan Holiday Milk & Cookie Class from 4:30 to 6:30 pm.

Dennis will demonstrate the gluten, soy, and dairy-free basics of nut-free gingerbread cookies, chocolate macadamia cookies, and nut-free cranberry-orange cookies. Almond milk, hemp milk, and coconut milk provide vegan alternatives to cow’s milk.

Seating is limited, so call 214-368-8585 to reserve your spot. We’ll be there, curious as ever, taste buds at the ready.

In the meantime, tell us about your experiences with vegan holiday treats. We’re all ears.

Bliss Raw Cafe is located at 6005 Berkshire Ln. in Preston Center across from Gold’s Gym.

(Apologies to Kelly Dennis whose name we mistakenly printed as Denny. What were we thinking?)

In 2008 Evelyn Martinez of Mansfield used gingerbread to create this winter scene of German shops.

This is your year — the year when you’re gonna show those know-it-all cookie moms down the block who’s the real mac daddy of gingerbread. An here’s how you’re gonna do it: you’re going to make a house — a whole house — enter it in the GermanDeli Gingerbread Haus contest, and win the damn thing. That’ll show ‘em.

This is only the 6th year that GermanDeli, that German/European wunderland of a food store in Colleyville, has run the contest, which means the field is still pretty green. You can take this!

jump for more gingerbread scheming…

Just stay up all night making the perfect — and I mean perfect — gingerbread house and get it to the store by December 4. Then wait. And wait. And wait. (They won’t announce the winner until 2 pm on the 11th, but you can handle it.)

Details, rules, (Rules? Nobody said anything about rules.), and entry forms are available at GermanDeli, which, if you don’t know yet, also carries over 5,000 goodies imported from Germany, Austria, Holland, and an assortment of other Northern, Central and Eastern European countries. This time of year it’s all lebkuchen (German gingerbread), stollen (holiday cakes).

So even if you don’t win, you’ll be able to plot your strategy for next year over a mountain of lebkuchen. Not a bad way to go down.

GermanDeli is located at 5100 Highway 121 in Colleyville.

Soon-to-open V-Spot Cafe's Toria Villreal and Shea brooks (left), Spiral Diner's baked good drew loyal foodies (right)

Saturday’s State Veggie Fair at the open-use collective The Phoenix Project on Haskell Avenue catered (in a cruelty-free way) to all that is good and right about fair foods by showcasing a fine fried selection of treats sans animal products.

jump for the details…

In addition to hosting a fried-food contest and performances by local indie bands, DallasVegan co-founders Jamey Scott and Eddie Garza welcomed similarly minded local eateries Spiral Diner, Tough Cookie Bakery, and the soon-to-open V-Spot Veggie Cafe (look for them next month in a spot near The Pearl Cup on Henderson) and organizations such as the Black Vegetarian Society of Dallas, Mercy for Animals, and the Dallas Vegetarian Meetup group.

Entries in the fried food contest included:

• Fried Bob Armstrong dip (a cheese-free queso simulator)
• Fried tempeh reuben sandwich
• Fried battered s’mores
• Fried Vegan Mozzarella Sticks
• Fried jalapeno poppers served with fried okra
• Fried cinnamon roll
• Fried Fugget Balls (Vegan Chicken Nuggets)

…with the winner for Best Taste being Jarrod Feight’s Monte Cristo-doppelganger tempeh reuben. Fried Bob Armstrong Dip was named Most Creative by a judging panel that included local foodies NBC’s Lisa Petty and Kellyn Curtis, Pegasus News’ Teresa Gubbins, Stephan Pyles‘ Executive Chef Matt McAllister, and guest judge/contest winner Eric Vaughan.

Stay current on ongoing vegetarian and vegan events by visiting DallasVegan.com.

Lisa Petty of NBC's The Feast digs in as a guest judge.

Jessica Buck of Mercy for Animals presents her Fuggets for judging (left); co-organizer Jamey Scott and sister (and contest coordinator) Brenna Hudson

"Wish Kid" Sarah

On Oct. 23, to celebrate the opening of their new Addison location, Tiff’s Treats will partner with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to raise funds for local “Wish Kid” Sarah, a 7-year-old battling leukemia. During the event, Tiff’s Treats will sell boxes of one dozen cookies for only $3. Proceeds from the sales will go to help make Sarah’s dream trip to Disney World a reality.

Come by to lend your support and check out Tiff’s Treats new location.

I hope she enjoyed her youth. Jenay’s lemon bars are now featured on Rathbun’s Blue Plate Kitchen menu. Next stop?

Update: Steven Doyle has more.

Expert panel spills the beans on chocolate

The  hot ticket ticket in town this weekend for foodies was DallasChocolate.org’s Chocolate Conference 2010. For eight hours on Saturday, the program was devoted to learning  and sampling chocolate.

The day kicked off at 10 a.m. There were about 100-150 people present. By 1pm the numbers had swelled considerably and the registration line stretched out the door. I’d say DallasChocolate.org’s organizer Sander Wolf has captured Dallas’ attention.

First event was a Round Table of local chocolate luminaries.And lume they did. Just about every local artisanal chocolatier was on the panel.  Members of the audience could fire any question they wanted. It was interesting to note that these small producers are  specialists and if they don’t carry or make the kind of chocolate you want,  they gladly recommend a fellow producer.

Their products are almost invariably 60%+ cocoa by weight, compared with 15% in Hershey’s Dark Chocolate. They usually use no artificial preservatives and produce small batches or to order. They mainly sell from their storefront, so to speak. Jump for  links to the best chocolate makers and a recap of the delightful day of indulgence.

UPDATE: PegNews has some great photos.

The session, “How To Taste Fine Chocolate”, was led by the mysterious Madame Cocoa, a gal from Austin who goes by Adrienne Newman is some parts of her life. She eats chocolate the moment she wakes up at 5:30am but has no pimples. She explained lots of things I didn’t know. Like, chocolate goes back deep into Mayan culture (Early Pre-Tupperware era, 1000BC) when it was fermented into an alcoholic beverage. The guy seated next to me thought that was quite a feat, as chocolate contains virtually no sugar. Something else (corn?) must have been involved in order for fermentation to occur. I just wondered how, in the era of microbreweries, such an excellent sounding beverage can have disappeared.

Madame Cocoa introduced Art Pollard, founder and owner of Amano Chocolate, who was even more mysterious. This guy had given up his career as a computer programmer and killer of software bugs to make chocolate and meet real bugs. He is not a chocolatier (i.e. someone who turns a bar of chocolate into an edible creation, that might be same shape as the family dog, with all the weave of the fur faithfully reproduced and a cherry for the nose). Art turns cocoa beans into chocolate bars and  sells to chocolatiers. He traipses through tropical rain forests in order to meet with growers. He was very excited because, in his business, it’s all about the beans, which differ enormously depending on where they are grown (very similar to wine nerds). He told us that a competitor  just lost an exclusive on Chuao (Venezuela) beans and he’d snapped it up. These sell for $5.70LB at the farm vs. $1.90LB for more prosaic beans. No wonder the vehicle of choice for the farmers is the Aston-Martin Vantage (the version with the flappy-paddle gearbox). He gave us chocolate samples wherein the taste was astringent and dense and with a long finish.

Later, full-time chocolate eater Clay Gordon fielded questions in “Everything You Wanted to Know About Chocolate”.

As well as seven hours of seminars, including baking and decorating classes, the conference also featured a chocolate sampling hall where each of the vendors above offered free samples and sold product throughout the day. Each attendee got twelve tickets, exchangeable for twelve items, and a box to take them home in.

Here are links to the finest chocolate folks in the area:

J Dorian

Coco Andre

Wiseman House Chocolate

Collin College

Le Cordon Bleu

Nib Chocolates

Sublime Chocolate

Paciugo

Toffee Treats

Dude, Sweet Chocolate

David Collier

Urbano Café

Mockingbird Station Market. This evening’s market from 4 to 7:00 PM will feature Grapevine Grains’ granola, cookies, breads, pastured meats, eggs, and cheese. Also, pastured beef and pork from Truth Hill Farms, cheeses from Full Quiver Farms, Stephanie’s Premium Bakery (cookies), Wackym’s Kitchen (cookies), WeMe Breads (crusty breads, ranch dressing “to die for”), and honey from the Texas Honeybee Guild. Click  for more information on the vendors.

Dealey Plaza Museum Store + Café. There is a ribbon cutting ceremony today to celebrate the opening of  the ne 6^th Floor Museum Store + Café, located in the historic 501 Elm building across the street from the museum. They will carry a select array of gourmet products including Austin-based Casa Brasil coffee. Store + Café hours are Monday–Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday–Sunday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit here.

Whole Foods Market. From Garden to Grill: Whole Foods Market Collaborates with Online Community food52 for Weekly Recipe Contest Highlighting Flavors of Summer. Home cooks are invited to share and judge recipes in search of summer’s best recipes; chances to win $100 gift cards, $1000 grand prize. Details below. Go.

Milestone Culinary Arts Center and The Viking Cooking School. Around the World In 5 Days cooking classes for kids (10-16). July 12-16  from 9:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. $299. What they will learn below.

Milestone Culinary Arts Center and The Viking Cooking School

Does your child love to cook – or want to learn how?

We’ve got a week-long series just for them!

They’ll be hands-on in our kitchen, having a great time making an array of delicious dishes and learning skills that will be with them for a lifetime.

Around the World in 5 Days

In these creative, exciting classes, students learn cooking basics, kitchen safety, nutrition and making healthy choices.

They’ll also learn to make pasta and tortillas, prepare various sauces, salads, meats, fruits, casseroles, desserts, and more, and to identify and use fresh herbs, chilies and seasonal ingredients.

MENU:

Day 1 – France: Chicken, Mushroom and Spinach Crepes with Herbed Cream Sauce; Mixed Baby Greens with Garlic and Herb Croutons, Pecans and Homemade Raspberry Vinaigrette; Dark Chocolate Crepes with White Chocolate Mousse garnished with Fresh Summer Fruit.

Day 2 – Italy: Fresh Linguini and Meatballs with 2 Sauces – Tomato and Summer Herbed Pesto; Fennel Salad with Goat Cheese and Dried Cranberries in Lemon Olive Oil Dressing; Chocolate Dipped Cannoli with Orange Ricotta Filling.

Day 3- Mexico: Spicy Chicken Enchiladas in Ancho Red Chili Sauce and a blend of Mexican Cheese; Not-So-Fried Beans and Mexican Style Rice; Dessert Nachos with Mango Yogurt and Fresh Fruit Topped with Chocolate.

Day 4 – Asia: Chicken Satay Wraps with Peanut Sauce; Mixed Vegetable Stir Fry with Lemongrass Scented Coconut Rice; Sweet Shortcake Cookies; Fresh Fruit Puree Dipping Sauces.

Day 5 – Mediterranean: Lamb Pastitsio Casserole with Flatbreads; Hummus and Tzatziki Sauce; Yogurt and Fresh Fruit Parfaits.

Milestone Culinary Arts Center and

The Viking Cooking School

4531 McKinney Ave.

Dallas, TX 75205

214-217-2818

Whole Foods

AUSTIN, Texas (June 7, 2010) — Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFMI), the leading natural and organic foods supermarket, today announced it is collaborating with food52, an online community for home cooks, to hold weekly recipe contests during June and July.

Founded by Amanda Hesser, author and former New York Times food editor and editor of T Living, and Merrill Stubbs, freelance food writer and editor, food52 holds weekly recipe contests and uses crowd-sourcing and curation to bring its members recipes, shopping tips, blogs and conversation.

“At Whole Foods Market, we want our shoppers to discover the joy of eating and living well,” said Nona Evans, global marketing coordinator for Whole Foods Market. “Our partnership with food52 spotlights summer’s flavorful ingredients such as basil and heirloom tomatoes while giving home cooks a strong voice in creating, sharing and celebrating the season’s best recipes.”

From today to July 26, a different seasonal ingredient will be announced each week on food52.com, and home cooks will have one week to submit an original recipe based on the featured ingredient. The following week, food52 will announce two finalists, and the online community will be able to vote on a winner from the two. Each weekly winner will receive a $100 gift card from Whole Foods Market. The eight winners from each week will be entered into a grand-prize contest for a $1,000 Whole Foods Market gift card. The featured seasonal ingredients are:

June 28                   Summer squash
July 5                      Basil
July 12                    Swordfish
July 19                    Ground beef burgers
July 26                    Heirloom tomatoes

“We’re thrilled about this partnership, especially because we know that food52 and Whole Foods Market share similar values,” said Stubbs. “We both promote the use of fresh, local ingredients and believe that Americans and their families can improve their health and happiness by getting back into the kitchen.”

All recipe submissions must meet Whole Foods Market’s quality standards, which means that they must be free of hydrogenated fats, artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or sweeteners.

Contest details can be found at: http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/2010/06/8-week-single-ingredient-recipe-contest/.  Weekly winners and the grand-prize recipe will be featured at: blog.wholefoodsmarket.com.

Granola, fresh blueberries, pastured meats, eggs and cheese. Try Grapevine Grains’ signature granolas on your ice cream — refreshingly natural on these 100-degree days.  Or top of your ice cream with Berry Best Farm’s certified organic blueberries. And when you come by check out the pastured beef and pork from Truth Hill Farms, cheeses from Full Quiver Farms and some fresh Gulf seafood from the Texas coast courtesy of the Shrimp Stop (untainted by the oil spill), Stephanie’s Premium Bakery (cookies), Wackym’s Kitchen (cookies), WeMe Breads (crusty breads, ranch dressing “to die for”), Texas Honeybee Guild (guess!) and Luscombe Farms (jalapeno jelly). For more information on the vendors.