This weekend I attended a cooking class at Cafe' Soeurette's on Main Street in West Bend. Chef Jodi is an absolute genius, creating mouth-watering, flavorful, wholesome meals. Eight of us attended this nearly 5 hour, casual gathering in the kitchen of her restaurant. She offers her cooking class the first Saturday of every month, $40 including recipes, wine, special tips and chef's secrets. Class typically runs between 3-4 hours however this particular class, Seafood Sensation, went overtime with magical creations. I have never sampled nor enjoyed so many distinct seafood dishes and flavors in my life! As my friend Tonnie said, "Before this class, I don't think I even knew what good food tasted like." I think most of our taste-buds have been tainted by overly processed, preserved, dyed, manufactured, mass produced impostors. Chef Jodi uses clean, simple, natural techniques to create flavorful punches to basic dishes like scallops, shrimp and salmon.
As is often the case with me, I became more intrigued by the person creating the art than the art itself. Jodi is young, she started cooking in restaurants when she was 14 years old, attended the Culinary School of Minneapolis when she was 19, and now, 13 years later, she owns Cafe Soeurette as well as Soeurette Soup, a quaint lunch counter and local market which expresses a more casual ambiance. Her brother in St. Louis asked Jodi if he could name her restaurant. He came up with the name and logo, which in French, means "Little Sister." In addition her fine silver and china are an eclectic collection of wares from local residents, friends and family. She cans preserves and sauces, cooks hearty soups and homemade breads and makes it all available for dining-in or take-out at Soeurette Soup. If you want to impress your friends with a meal and you lack the time or knowledge to "whip something up" just visit Jodi's cafe'...she does the labor and you get the credit.
Jodi grew up in Kewaskum and is a strong advocate and example of supporting the local economy. You can be assured that from the farm to the table, all of Jodi's ingredients are of the highest, most natural quality. She receives fresh vegetables and herbs from a local hydroponic farm in the winter. In the summer her fresh produce is selected directly from the Farmer's Market on Main Street in West Bend. In addition she has established business partnerships and relationships with local cattle and dairy farmers. Jodi prepares all the meals herself Tuesday through Saturday evening with the help of an assistant chef on Friday and Saturday nights. Monday evenings, her self-proclaimed "everything" assistant Jamie gives Jodi one day off from the kitchen. Jamie is an experienced cook, business partner, and owns her own photography business. After assisting with our cooking class, Jamie was on her way out to photograph a wedding. A self-described "control freak," Jodi ensures that each meal meets the needs of her guests. She is sensitive to patrons' preferences and will modify recipes and ingredients to ensure guests' satisfaction and their dietary considerations.
As is often the case with me, I became more intrigued by the person creating the art than the art itself. Jodi is young, she started cooking in restaurants when she was 14 years old, attended the Culinary School of Minneapolis when she was 19, and now, 13 years later, she owns Cafe Soeurette as well as Soeurette Soup, a quaint lunch counter and local market which expresses a more casual ambiance. Her brother in St. Louis asked Jodi if he could name her restaurant. He came up with the name and logo, which in French, means "Little Sister." In addition her fine silver and china are an eclectic collection of wares from local residents, friends and family. She cans preserves and sauces, cooks hearty soups and homemade breads and makes it all available for dining-in or take-out at Soeurette Soup. If you want to impress your friends with a meal and you lack the time or knowledge to "whip something up" just visit Jodi's cafe'...she does the labor and you get the credit.
Jodi grew up in Kewaskum and is a strong advocate and example of supporting the local economy. You can be assured that from the farm to the table, all of Jodi's ingredients are of the highest, most natural quality. She receives fresh vegetables and herbs from a local hydroponic farm in the winter. In the summer her fresh produce is selected directly from the Farmer's Market on Main Street in West Bend. In addition she has established business partnerships and relationships with local cattle and dairy farmers. Jodi prepares all the meals herself Tuesday through Saturday evening with the help of an assistant chef on Friday and Saturday nights. Monday evenings, her self-proclaimed "everything" assistant Jamie gives Jodi one day off from the kitchen. Jamie is an experienced cook, business partner, and owns her own photography business. After assisting with our cooking class, Jamie was on her way out to photograph a wedding. A self-described "control freak," Jodi ensures that each meal meets the needs of her guests. She is sensitive to patrons' preferences and will modify recipes and ingredients to ensure guests' satisfaction and their dietary considerations.
Jodi is in the background washing her hands. Ironically, she has a seafood allergy so she was particularly careful of proper handling techniques to minimize risk of a reaction. Cooking seafood however, is certainly one of her specialties. My adventuresome friend Tonnie prepares a compound butter from a combination of apricot preserves, thyme and pecans. Roll the ingredients in wax paper and refrigerate or freeze for future use. A slice of this butter serves as a wonderful sauce over shrimp, salmon, scallops etc. A word about butter; Jodi believes in working with fresh natural ingredients. Margarine is one molecule away from plastic, so given the choice, use butter. Chef Jodi encourages us to experiment and have fun with flavors.
Chef Jodi orders the most delectable seafood from the market. These shrimp were "melt in your mouth" decadent served with a Beurre Blanc, white wine butter sauce. In addition she stuffed them with a crab stuffing of crabmeat, herbs, breadcrumbs, hot sauce, and Worcestershire. We received an excellent handout of suggestions for preparing seafood however not specific recipes. This was good, as it permitted a less rigorous approach to cooking. Freedom of expression in the kitchen is strongly encouraged! Chef Jodi did not refer to a recipe during the entire 5 hours of cooking. Next to the shrimp is a grilled salmon steak with a simple crust for the fish. Ingredients such as breadcrumbs with a combination of herbs, cheese, nuts, olives and sun dried tomatoes make for a flavorful addition to the salmon.
This tuna steak with Verge sauce was one of my favorites. Chef Jodi expertly seared the outside of the tuna while maintaining the juicy flavor of the tuna. Being that I love sushi, fish that is not thoroughly cooked is quite appealing to me. Salmon, scallops and tuna are examples of seafood that should not be cooked thoroughly. The Verge sauce of olives, lemon juice, basil, and hot sauce (among other things) adds a colorful, flavorful salsa-like topping to the entree. Essentially you need to beg Chef Jodi to offer another seafood cooking class in order to learn the process yourself. My amateur recall, pictures, and cooking inexperience do not do justice to the flavors and expert presentation of these dishes.
This is Ciopinno, a tomato based broth seafood type stew, with a little heat to it. Chef Jodi was able to use the remaining salmon, scallops, mussels, and clams to create this flavorful stew. All of Jodi's soups are home-made and are available for purchase in her Cafe.' Once you try these homemade blends you will never resort to a Campbell's can again.
Cooking scallops is both an art and a science. Scallops are supposed to be juicy rather than chewy. Overcooked scallops, the only kind I have ever known, taste like rubber tires. With a hot skillet the scallops cooked roughly 90 seconds on both sides. They melted in my mouth. I believe the word I used to describe the flavor and experience was "insane." Delicious! Chef Jodi demonstrated her method for creating a Hollandaise sauce. She then added other ingredients to this "mother sauce" to make numerous small sauces. If I recall, she seared her scallops in a Bearnaise sauce which was created from the addition of tarragon and red-wine vinegar reduced. Incidentally, because they offer such an extensive selection of wines, Jodi is currently experimenting with making her own red-wine vinegar using the small portions of wine remaining from each evening.
Please visit Cafe' Soeurette's website as well as facebook page to learn more about this expert chef in our own neighborhood. Cafe' Soeurette's was voted as one of Milwaukee's Top 30 Restaurants. Typically I love to write about personal experiences but this one made me nervous. Chef Jodi is a cooking perfectionist. She deserves accolades of the highest regard and I doubt my novice writing style conveys this sentiment. Her knowledge and ability is exemplary--you have to taste it to believe it.
As a side-note you can learn a lot from a person in how they speak of their work, their community, their friends and their family. Chef Jodi bubbles over with enthusiasm for her life and on discovering her passion at such an early age. Jodi's dad was the kitchen mastermind in her family, but relegated cooking to Sundays, his one day off from his shoe repair business. On Sundays their home would be full of the aroma of freshly baked breads. Her father later opened his own shoe store and then continued to develop his talents as an orthotics shoe-fitting specialist. This week he takes his talent to the continent of Africa to visit Ghana as a member of the World Diabetes Foundation. He will educate and teach residents of this community to make sandals using a microcellular type rubber, basically that found in inner tubes. By protecting their feet appropriately the residents of this remote, undeveloped region will reduce their risk of a foot injury which often leads to the need for amputation, particularly in diabetics.
Ingenuity, creativity, teaching, and a desire to graciously share their talents is a familial trait between father and daughter.
Thank you Chef Jodi and "Everything" Assistant Jamie!
http://cafe-soeurette.com/
http://jamiegellings.smugmug.com/Events/Cafe-Soeurette-Dinner-on-the/18553501_FMkZhx#!i=1432638613&k=q8X5w6N
Please visit Cafe' Soeurette's website as well as facebook page to learn more about this expert chef in our own neighborhood. Cafe' Soeurette's was voted as one of Milwaukee's Top 30 Restaurants. Typically I love to write about personal experiences but this one made me nervous. Chef Jodi is a cooking perfectionist. She deserves accolades of the highest regard and I doubt my novice writing style conveys this sentiment. Her knowledge and ability is exemplary--you have to taste it to believe it.
As a side-note you can learn a lot from a person in how they speak of their work, their community, their friends and their family. Chef Jodi bubbles over with enthusiasm for her life and on discovering her passion at such an early age. Jodi's dad was the kitchen mastermind in her family, but relegated cooking to Sundays, his one day off from his shoe repair business. On Sundays their home would be full of the aroma of freshly baked breads. Her father later opened his own shoe store and then continued to develop his talents as an orthotics shoe-fitting specialist. This week he takes his talent to the continent of Africa to visit Ghana as a member of the World Diabetes Foundation. He will educate and teach residents of this community to make sandals using a microcellular type rubber, basically that found in inner tubes. By protecting their feet appropriately the residents of this remote, undeveloped region will reduce their risk of a foot injury which often leads to the need for amputation, particularly in diabetics.
Ingenuity, creativity, teaching, and a desire to graciously share their talents is a familial trait between father and daughter.
Thank you Chef Jodi and "Everything" Assistant Jamie!
http://cafe-soeurette.com/
http://jamiegellings.smugmug.com/Events/Cafe-Soeurette-Dinner-on-the/18553501_FMkZhx#!i=1432638613&k=q8X5w6N
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