Recipes and Words of Wisdom from Aida Mollenkamp

Well, I just returned from a trip to San Bernardino to visit Chef Tiffany Friedman of the Sears Chef Challenge for cooking demo number two.  It was a SUPERB event and I have pictures to prove it! But first, let me post a few recipes and culinary advice from the brilliant Aida Mollenkamp. She shared them at last week’s cooking class at Fresh Starts Cooking School. Check out my last post for more “behind the scenes” class details.
Aida's Menu, created on the beautiful Standards of Excellence Demonstration Kitchen at Fresh Starts Cooking School:

Plum Blossom Cocktail
Baked Bellweather Farms Ricotta with Balsamic Reduction & Mc Evoy Olive Oil, Fresh Figs, Onion Jam & Rustic Bakery Flatbread Crackers
Arugula Salad with Nectarines & Pickled Fennel
North African Grilled Springhill Ranch Waygu Steak with Basil Chimichurri
Garlic Roasted Potatoes

Drunken Cherry Sundaes with Toasted Hazelnuts over Straus Ice Cream

Here are a few recipes that Aida shared:

North African Grilled Steak with Basil Chimichurri

Drunken Cherry Sundaes with Toasted Hazelnuts

She gave great cooking advice, most notably about skill building.

“Better knife skills mean better life skills” was one of my favorites. (She has excellent knife skills, by the way.) She explained that saying has many levels of meaning from simply being able to cook for yourself to the possibility of making a living cooking. This was a great message, not lost on our Fresh Starts Culinary Academy students, many of whom are recently coming out of homelessness and working so hard for a better life.
 “Get to know your local purveyors.” We hear this a lot, but do we do it? Do you know the butcher at your market? Who grows your favorite tomatoes? Who raises sustainable beef in your area? Once you get past the habit of not reaching out, it really becomes so much more fun to shop. Reach out and get to know your food sources.

Once again, I want to thank Aida for her generosity of time and spirit. Be sure and tune into her new show Food Crafters on the new Cooking Channel!


Here are a few pictures from this past Saturday’s Sears Chef Challenge with Chef Tiffany Friedman. The San Bernardino Sears team did a MAGNIFICENT job!