Cooking Demo by Chef James Antolin

There was another cooking demo today at the Bel-Air covered court and the guest was Chef James Antolin.  He showed us how to make Prawns Thermidor on a Tart Shell, Beef Bourguignon and Taboule of Fresh Fruits.

The Prawns Thermidor was easy to make.  I though he was going to teach us how to put it back on the shell of the prawns but he used a tart shell instead.  He served it with Salad greens drizzled with Mango Vinaigrette.



Prawns Thermidor

1 Kg. Black Tiger prawns, peeled, deveined and chopped into small pieces
30 g. Fresh parsley, chopped
90 g Fresh or canned button mushrooms, minced
40 g. celery, small dice
90 g. bell pepper, small dice
120 g. Parmesan cheese, grated
120 g. Quez-O, grated
30 g. bread crumbs
80 g. white onions, minced
30 g. garlic, minced
225 g. butter

White Sauce:

480 ml. All purpose cream
20 g. minced white onions
2 t. roux
salt and pepper

In a saucepan, melt butter, add onions, garlic, mushrooms, bell pepper and prawns.  Saute until prawns turn pink.  In another saucepan, mix roux (equal parts flour and butter) with all purpose cream and 2/3 of the cheeses. Mix over heat until thick.  Add prawn mixture, saute until well incorporated.  Season with salt and pepper.  Fill tart shell with prawn mixture and top with remaining cheese and bread crumbs. Torch or broil in the oven.

Tart Shell or Pate Brisee

3 C. All purpose flour
3/4 C. unsalted butter
2 pcs. egg yolk
1 t. iodized salt
8-10 T. cold water

Sift the flour, make a well in the center and add the yolk, butter, salt and 4 T. water. Work the dough with your hands.  Add the rest of the  water a tablespoon at a time and knead until dough is pliable.  Wrap and chill dough for at least 15 minutes or up to 3 days.

On a floured surface, roll the dough until it is 1/4 inch thick.  Lay the flattened dough into desired molds and chill the prepared tart shell for 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 320 F.  Place a piece of parchment paper into the tart shell and fill it with dried beans.  Bake until golden brown.

Chef said, Prawns Thermidor is best served with Salad greens, orange segments, thin tomato slices and Mango Vinaigrette.

Mango Vinaigrette

Mango Puree
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste.

Add olive oil to pureed mango and emulsify.  Season with salt and pepper.

Chef James also showed us how to cook Beef Bourguignon.



  The recipe is very, very long and seems complicated but the Chef said it is actually not.  You can prepare the dish ahead of time and will taste better the next day.  I do prefer the recipe of Julia Childs which Marianne and I experimented on a few months back.  I told her our experiment tasted better in my opinion because we cheated and used Knorr beef cube!  The version of Chef James has more red wine though.

Chef James prepared a different kind of dessert which he prepared in one of the Emmy Awards after parties in L.A.  It was Taboule of Fresh Fruits.



It is made of couscous soaked in citrus juices and mint topped with fresh diced fruits and drizzled with passion fruit and orange syrup.

It was an educational afternoon.  The nice thing about attending cooking demonstrations is that the Chef will teach or share with you tips you do not normally find in cook books.   There is another one scheduled on October 27 and I am looking forward to it.