Blog

The Football season is coming to an end which means one thing: Super Bowl Sunday! Check out my segments on KTLA 5 Morning News for some delicious foodie Super Bowl recipes.

Spice-Rubbed Carne Asada Mini Tostados with Guacamole

Sour Cream, and Cilantro                                 Yield: 6 Servings

• 2 pounds skirt or flank steak
• Juice from 2-3 limes
• 2 teaspoons Sizzle Spice Blend
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 4 ounces sour cream – garnish
• 4 sprigs cilantro – garnish
• 2 tablespoons tomato, seeded and diced – garnish
• 36 mini corn tortillas, hard shell

Method:

1. Lightly pound the steak, if necessary, to an even thickness. Squeeze lime juice over the steak. Season well with the Sizzle Spice Blend, salt and pepper. Let the steak marinate for 20 minutes at room temperature or under refrigeration if marinating longer.
2. When ready to cook the meat, bring it to room temperature while heating a grill pan over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, grill the meat for 2-3 minutes per side for medium rare.
3. Slice the steak against the grain, then dice the meat. Place the diced meat into a mini tortilla cup. Top with guacamole, garnish with sour cream, tomatoes and cilantro.

Guacamole

• 2 ripe avocados, peeled and seeded
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon Sizzle Spice Blend
• 6 cilantro sprigs, chopped fine

Method:

1. While the steak is marinating, make guacamole by dicing the avocado. Place the avocado pieces in a bowl and add enough lime juice to coat. Mix the avocado with a fork allowing the avocado to remain chunky. Season the guacamole with Sizzle Spice Blend, chopped cilantro, salt, pepper and the rest of the lime juice.

Red Wine, Rosemary and Garlic Marinated Grilled Beef Steak on Skewers

Yield: 4-6 Servings

NY Steak or Tenderloin, Cubed 2 pounds
Garlic Cloves, mashed 2 cloves
Salt 3/4 teaspoon
Sweet Paprika 1/2 teaspoon
Pepper 1/4 teaspoon
Red Wine 1 cup
Bay leaf 1 leaf
Fresh Rosemary and Thyme sprig 1 each
Olive Oil 2 Tablespoons

Method:

1. Cut the beef into 1 inch cubes.  Thread onto skewers that have been soaked in water for 30 minutes.  Place the skewers onto a baking dish.

2. Rub the paprika, salt, garlic and pepper over the meat.  Add the wine, bay leaf and herbs.  Refrigerate the skewers for 2 hours.

3. Preheat an outdoor grill or grill pan over high heat.  Remove the skewers from the marinade.

4. Brush the meat with oil and grill until the surface is crispy and the inside is tender.  Serve.

As anyone who has ever taken a class with me will know, culinary adventures are my passions. As a kid, I had little interest in food – unless I was eating it – but my mom was a talented cook with notebooks full of her own recipes. When I finally caught the cooking bug, I was thankful for those hand-written instructions. I still use them today.
In culinary school, I was more interested in cooking than baking but every professional chef needs at least a basic knowledge of baking. I don’t believe you can call yourself a chef without being confident with soufflés! During my time abroad in Spain and Germany, cooking was my focus but I did get to see incredible German pastries being made daily. To go back and a spend a day in that frantic kitchen in Munich would fill me with both angst and excitement.
Learning to cook and bake are skills that literally changed my life. Despite being a little late to the table – my detour involved studying law and then music before finding my place at the Culinary Institute of America – these skills are the basis of my career today.
My culinary dream would be to travel around the countryside of Japan; not for the sushi but to really immerse myself in the Japanese culture and experience the traditional dishes that the rural areas have to offer. While I’m on that side of the Pacific, I wouldn’t mind making the twelve hour flight to New Zealand to meet Chef Neil Perry, of whom I’m a great admirer.
The career and travel opportunities that a a good understanding of the culinary arts present are plentiful, and it’s my mission to help people see their potential in the kitchen. My 18-Week Professional Master Chef Program will teach you all you know to succeed in today’s restaurant environment. This French-based system is a comprehensive cooking program designed to teach in individual modules that build from Knife Skills, to Sauces, to Vegetables, to full Meals. Recipe Development and Costing are key components of this program. For those passionate about baking, my 10 Week Master Baking Program will give you the confidence to be a competent pastry chef in a professional kitchen or start your own business.
My next Master Baking Certificate Program begins this Saturday 2/7 at 10am and my next Master Chef Certificate Program begins on Sunday 2/8 at 9:30am. Find out more HERE.

To celebrate my 12th year in business,  I want to help someone realize their culinary dream by offering a partial scholarship for my Master Baking Program starting Saturday 2/7/15 – 4/11/15 from 10am to 1:30pm. The winner of this scholarship will receive 50% off the total cost of the Master Baking Program. This includes:

• 10 Week Program encompassing French baking techniques and restaurant-style plated desserts
• Culinary Institute of America’s Baking/Pastry Textbook
• Culinary Classroom embroidered Chef Jacket and Apron
• $700 off registration fee of $1400

Previous graduates of this program have had great success starting their own catering and home baking businesses, as well as baking in restaurants, hotels, cafes and bakeries. Check out their success stories here!
To enter the competition you must do the following:

• Subscribe to the Culinary Classroom Newsletter
• LIKE our Facebook Page
• Submit a picture of something you baked and are proud of
• Submit a paragraph on why YOU should be chosen for the 2015 Baking Scholarship

Submit your picture and paragraph to cheferic@culinaryclassroom.com with “2015 Baking Scholarship” in the subject line. Once we receive your entry, it will be posted on the Chef Eric’s Culinary Classroom Facebook page. You can then encourage your friends and family to like and share it. The post with the most likes and shares will be the winner of the scholarship. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, 1/27/15.
You must LIKE and SHARE the ORIGINAL Facebook post created by Chef Eric’s Culinary Classroom. If you create your own Facebook post of your submission, any likes and shares it receives will not be counted.
Good luck! I look forward to teaching you in my Master Baking Program.
Chef Eric Crowley
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. Submissions must be in by 12pm on Sunday, 1/25/15.
2.Entrants must be at least 18 years old.
3. The scholarship is only valid for the Master Baking Program starting 2/7/15 – 4/11/15 from 10am to 1:30pm.
4. The scholarship prize is not redeemable for cash or credit with Chef Eric’s Culinary Classroom.
5. The scholarship is non-transferrable.
6. Balance of tuition must be paid in full by the first day of class.

On June 1st of last year, I had the honor of  judging the Finals for the C-CAP Los Angeles Scholarship Cooking Competition. C-CAP stands for Careers through Culinary Arts Program and strives to provide career options for underprivileged youth who have an interest in the culinary industry. C-CAP has helped many budding chefs through high schools nationwide. This month, C-CAP graduate Kelvin Fernandez was featured in Forbes 2015 30 Under 30.
Not only was I on the 2014 C-CAP  judging panel, I also presented a scholarship for my Master Chef Program to a very promising young chef, Jin Ho Jung. Through C-CAP, I have been providing scholarships and mentorship for deserving kids in my Master Baking and Master Chef Programs since 2005. Former graduates of my Programs have gone on to own successful businesses and work in popular restaurants – check out some success stories of my graduates here!
Since it began in 1990, C-CAP has awarded more than $43 million worth of scholarships. Being part of this organization and getting to see so many young chefs pursue their goals fills me with pride!
I also want to help you pursue your goals and make your culinary dreams a reality. My next Master Chef Program starts Tuesday 1/13 at 6:30pm or Sunday 2/8 at 9:30am and the Master Baking Program starts Sunday 1/11 at 2:30pm or Saturdays 2/7 at 10am. I have payment plans to make them affordable and they are part-time to fit your busy schedule. Read more about the programs HERE.

I know some of you have always had the thought in the back of your mind to strike out on your own and do something creative. Maybe you want to change your career or start a side business. The Internet is teeming with articles and tips about how to turn your culinary passion into a business, but reading about the experience of others can only take you so far. As a career-changer myself, I know what you need to create your business. Understanding expenses, how to budget, as well as learning recipes, techniques and invaluable hands-on experience are all part of the instruction I provide in my Master Chef and Master Baking Programs. The popularity of small companies specializing in personalized cupcakes, gourmet desserts, catering dinner parties and personal chef work has soared in recent years. Many of my former students have gone on to own successful businesses or work in popular restaurants – check out some success stories here!
These programs are part-time so you don’t need to wait until graduation to try out your business model. You can start cooking or baking for your family and friends right away, offering your services for local events such as church benefits, school bake sales, charity events etc. You can also start establishing a social media presence. With payment plans for every budget, these programs are both economical and an investment in your future. I have two new Master Chef Programs starting Tuesday 1/13 at 6:30pm or Sunday 2/8 at 9:30am and two new Master Baking Programs starting Sunday 1/11 at 2:30pm or Saturday 2/7 at 10am.  Learn more here.
January is the month of making changes – changes to your career and also changes to your lifestyle. If your New Year’s resolutions involve transitioning to a healthier lifestyle or learning to cook, why not try my 4-Week Healthy Cooking Series starting Saturday 1/10 at 10am or Saturday 4/18 at 3pm, or my 4-Week Culinary Basics Series starting Monday 1/15 at 7pm, or Monday 2/2 at 7pm.  You can also make 2015 a year of experimenting by checking out some of my specialty, baking and international cuisine classes to push you out of your culinary comfort zone! To help you with that, I’m offering a chance win a FREE four week cooking series, see below for more info.
Couples Romantic #2 – Friday 1/9/15            7pm – 9:30pm
Master Baking Program – Sun 1/11 – 3/15/15    2:30pm – 6pm
Master Chef Program – Tues 1/13 – 5/12/15       6:30pm – 10pm
Healthy Basics Series – Sat 1/10 – 1/31/15    10am – 12:30pm
Bread Baking – Saturday 1/10/15                    2pm – 5pm
Sushi Making – Friday 1/16/15                          7pm – 9:30pm
Cake Decorating – Saturday 1/24/15              2pm – 5pm
Couples Date Night #1 – Friday 1/30/15         7pm – 9:30pm
Vegetarian Cuisine – Saturday 1/31/15           2pm – 4:30pm 
Culinary Basics Series – Mon 2/2 – 2/23/15    7pm – 9:30pm
Master Baking Program – Sat 2/7 – 4/11/15    10am – 1:30pm
Master Chef Program – Sun 2/8 – 6/21/15       9:30am – 1pm

This is your last chance to win a free Healthy Cooking Series

For the past fifteen years Mastro’s Steakhouses have been a favorite of diners and critics, so recently, my wife and dad joined me in Mastro’s Malibu Ocean Club for a special birthday treat. When we first walked into the restaurant, there was a clubby Happy Hour vibe but after 6pm, the atmosphere relaxed and the soft jazz really complimented the breath taking view of the ocean at dusk.
The view wasn’t the only thing that took my breath away! The 18-ounce bone-in rib eye steak was an inch and a half thick, cooked to perfection, and definitely only an indulgence for special occasions. Accompanied by grilled asparagus, sautéed mushrooms, newly in-season roasted Brussels sprouts and the twice-baked potato with cream, bacon and cheese, this was the ultimate comfort food. I didn’t think I’d have room for dessert but we couldn’t leave without trying the signature warm butter cake with crème brûlée style sugar torching on top.
 

For wine, I chose a 2004 Tempranillo from Rioja, Spain. Having spent almost a year training and working in Barcelona’s longest-running 5-star restaurant, I’m always confident in my choice of Spanish wines. How my birthday celebrations have changed since those years of training in Europe. I never got to enjoy any birthday celebrations in Spain but during my training in Munich, my birthday fell right in the middle of Oktoberfest. Instead of pulling on lederhosen and filling a souvenir mug with some of the best beer in the world, I actually spent that birthday working hard in the kitchen of the Hotel Kempinski, just happy to be surviving.
Having been so influenced by my mother’s cooking, some of my fondest birthday memories involve her homemade chocolate sheet cake with plain chocolate icing and walnuts. By age 13, I only wanted to spend my birthdays in Kelbo’s Hawaiian restaurant, but what I wouldn’t give for another slice of that chocolate cake now. Mastro’s warm butter cake is a pretty tasty substitute though!

The dessert looked (and tasted) so good that we were halfway through it before I remembered to take a picture. You can see the chocolatey message “Happy Birthday Eric”. Delicious!
For more information on Mastro’s Ocean Club in Malibu, visit: http://www.mastrosrestaurants.com