Jazz Apple masterclass with Fast Ed
Disclosure: I attended the class courtesy of Jazz Apples and also received apples to sample.
How do you like them apples? My general preference is for the sour Granny Smiths, but when I feel like a sweeter apple, my general red apple of choice is the pink lady. That is, until earlier this year when I first tried a Jazz apple. These apples are sweet and super crunchy – they’re really a very enjoyable apple.
The other week I attended a cooking class hosted by Fast Ed (of Better Homes and Gardens fame). We gathered together at Raw Materials in Footscray with competition winners. The day started with a cooking demonstration from Fast Ed, who showed us how to cook three dishes incorporating Jazz apples. He was very personable and interesting to watch and gave us lots of useful cooking tips. Unfortunately, because I was juggling the camera, phone and a glass of bubbles (What? It was after 11am…) I didn’t write any of them down to share. Whoops.
After the cooking demonstration, we were split into three groups: to cook lunch. My group – with Thanh, Sarah and Sandra – were fortunately allocated dessert. I say fortunately because this was the easiest course BY FAR. Dessert was a caramelised apple and citrus marscapone verrine with brown sugar crumbs, and we had to put together 16 portions.
Well, we got straight to work. Our first task was to make brown sugar crumbs, which Thanh took charge of. It was pretty simple – just a matter of rubbing butter into flour, sugar and spices, and then placing the mixture into the oven for twenty minutes.
Sarah got to work segmenting citrus for the citrus salad, one of the layers in our verrine. This was the worst job and she had to segment about 15 oranges and lemons. Which she did like a CHAMP. Go Sarah!
Meanwhile the rest of us peeled and chopped apples. So many apples. These were cooked in a wet caramel – just sugar and butter melted in a pan, to which we added the apple wedges after about ten minutes. We let them caramelise for another 10-15 minutes.
The final step was to whip the marscapone with cream, icing sugar, and citrus zest.
After some cooling time for the apples, it was time to build our dessert. It was very, very easy: just layers of brown sugar crumbs, the caramelised apple, citrus salad and mascarpone.
Our group finished early, so while the other two groups completed their cooking, we entertained ourselves by slicing up apples and using the wedges to mop up the remnants of caramel in our pan. Heh. 😀
When everyone had finished cooking, it was time to sit down to lunch.
Our first course was a slow cooked ocean trout. This was rolled in avocado oil and then cooked in the oeven at 70°C for 40 minutes. The fish was incredibly good. It was served with an apple, Vietnamese mint, coriander and shallot salad that had been dressed with fish sauce and some shao xing wine, and the whole thing was topped with a wafer of crispy fish skin. It was great – the apple gave the whole thing some sweetness and crunch. And the crispy fish skin: AWESOME.
The second course was a veal escallope topped with mushroom sauce and served with a potato and apple galette. The potato and apple galette was pretty simple – just thinly sliced potato layered with apple and cheese. Then it was popped into a frying pan until cooked through.
And finally, the best dish (cos we made it): dessert. This was a great dessert – not too sweet and with layers of different textures. I would make it again, though I probably wouldn’t use oranges (just because I’m not that into them).
Lunch eaten, there was a quick photo opp with Fast Ed and we all headed home loaded down with apples. It was a fun day – thanks again to Jazz apples for making it possible.
Sarah
June 1, 2012 @ 11:32 am
Yeah! I’m a CHAMP! Hehehe. Great round up!
It was a fun afternoon! 🙂
xox
Agnes
June 10, 2012 @ 11:11 pm
You’re a total champ. But we all knew that already. 🙂
leaf (the indolent cook)
June 1, 2012 @ 11:55 am
The food looks good! Nice work with the dessert. 😀
Agnes
June 10, 2012 @ 11:12 pm
Yeah we did good. 😉
Iron Chef Shellie
June 1, 2012 @ 12:46 pm
mmmm Jazz apples, nice snap of the Tazman 😛
Agnes
June 10, 2012 @ 11:12 pm
Haha that’s his “I’m a serious cook” pose.
Thanh
June 23, 2012 @ 11:28 am
Huh hmm I was working and not posing or taking photos. 🙂
Hannah
June 1, 2012 @ 3:46 pm
I’m a granny smith or fuji/pink lady girl myself, though nothing will ever compare to the unknown-heritage-cross-bred-on-their-own-intensely-crisp-sweet-tangy fresh apples that my family friend David woudl bring me from his orchard when I was at Virginia.
But I digress. I want your dessert, because of course it was best.
Agnes
June 10, 2012 @ 11:14 pm
Hmmm I must buy some fujis and try them again. For some reason, I don’t think of them as a good eating apple but I must be mistaken.
Libby
June 1, 2012 @ 7:08 pm
Jazz apples are the best! Dessert also looks fantastic too (and of course, looks the best out of all the dishes!)
Agnes
June 10, 2012 @ 11:16 pm
Haha thanks – dessert was sooo good. 😉
Tv Food and Drink
June 3, 2012 @ 5:55 am
I think the dessert is my favorite as well. And hey who is this cute “Fast Ed”? Would you be willing to pass along my phone number? 🙂
Agnes
June 11, 2012 @ 8:37 pm
Hahaha. He’s on TV here in Australia – on a show called Better Homes & Gardens. (He is cute.) If I knew him personally, I would pass on your number. 😉
Fiona
June 6, 2012 @ 2:25 pm
Ohhhh dessert looks awesome.
Agnes
June 15, 2012 @ 10:53 pm
It was spectacular. 😉
msihua
June 10, 2012 @ 1:52 pm
Arrrgghhh sounds like so much fun!!
Agnes
June 15, 2012 @ 10:53 pm
It *was* fun. You missed you. :p
Thanh
June 23, 2012 @ 11:26 am
Our dish was definitely the best by far. Nice of you to not say how I stuffed up haha.
Sandra’s idea to mop up the caramel with apples was genius.