Terrain — pleasure in simple things

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discovering brooklyn cuisine at terrain

December

Today’s Friday field trip is a visit to one of my favorite places, Terrain, to attend a cooking class. This class is different than others I have attended, because it focuses on recipes from a specific area of the U.S. rather than those made with a specific ingredient. The area is Brooklyn, NY. The inspiration for the class is a book titled The New Brooklyn Cookbook.

If you are like me, the last thing you want to focus on after all the holiday eating is to eat! So, just sit back and enjoy looking at the photos!

The first thing we created together during class was some pizza…you really can’t think of any New York food without thinking of pizza! Even though I have made pizza many times before, I enjoyed the discussion as our instructor, Jen, led the class. How can you not have a fun time when you are kneading pizza dough!

A photo of our Terrain cooking class instructor. The Westport store offers a fun variety of cooking and craft classes. Here the instructor is creating Brooklyn style pizza.

Of course, an added bonus while taking any class at Terrain is to check out all the beautiful products they have in the store…

Here is a perfect example… I fell in love with this beautiful measuring vessel that our ice water was served in!

Another product at the store that we used during the class was the white truffle salt…a great addition to one of our pizzas!

The freshest ingredients are always on hand for the classes at Terrain…

And, in this particular case, since we were checking out all things Brooklyn…

The pizza was a really fun thing to create, and even more fun to eat!

We had alot of fun with it. But, as I mentioned, I have made pizza before…The real “lightbulb” moment recipe for me was the next one we tried out from the book…

I was pretty much a ‘beet virgin’ …beets were always a staple at my grandmother’s table when I was growing up, but they have never been a part of my kitchen. The roasted beet salad recipe that we tried out from the Brooklyn cookbook totally opened up my mind to beets!

The salad we created was incredible…

The cooking class was a really fun time. I’ve had a couple Brooklyn eateries on my list of places to visit for quite some time…this class may have just given me a little more motivation to follow through on my Brooklyn visit. I was told the cookbook that provided the

recipes we used during the class is no longer available in print. I looked on Amazon and found that they have a digital copy, if you are interested in obtaining The New Brooklyn Cookbook. It is a great collection of recipes from some wonderful restaurants in Brooklyn.

If, like me, you are interested in exploring more recipes using beets, I am currently trying some interesting ones…For those of us new to beets, Angela, on the blog Oh She Glows has really great, clear instructions on how to create a Citrus Beet Salad with Creamy Avacado Lime Dressing. Chef Martin Kouprie from Toronto creates a beet salad using chocolate! I love to see inventive uses for chocolate…his recipe is like a kitchen stadium creation!

Do you have a favorite beet salad recipe? I would love to hear about it!

I hope you enjoyed this peek into a Terrain cooking class…maybe it will spark a trip to Brooklyn…or, trying a new beet recipe! If you live anywhere near one of the two Terrain locations, I would recommend trying one of the classes.

Have a wonderful weekend as 2012 comes to its close.

Thanks so much for visiting, Jackie

1 comment » | food & festivities

making pesto

June

friday field trip

This week, Friday field trip is to a cooking class at Terrain. And, I have included one of the recipes in this post!

You know how much I love (the newly opened in CT) Terrain…well, I recently noticed a pesto class on their calendar… I was determined to attend! With a little creative scheduling, I was able to make it happen.

Kelly, one of the Terrain chefs, led the class. She is a Culinary Institute of America (CIA) graduate and just a lot of fun to be around. I guess I didn’t really capture any great photos of her… it didn’t help that her Sicilian heritage was kicking in…plenty of hand motions and enthusiasm didn’t bode well for a clear photo! Believe me, she was adorable…a huge smile and dressed in her ‘farmer chic’ (Terrain’s dress code) attire.

The ‘students’ soon discovered that pesto is not just about basil, oil, garlic, and pine nuts. Kelly really opened our eyes to experimenting with different greens and nuts. It was a lightbulb moment for me to consider using new and different combinations of greens and nuts in pesto rather than relying on the traditional basil and pine nuts. We were able to taste test all the creations Kelly demonstrated. I eagerly tried the arugula and sunflower seeds, and LOVED the basil and kale and almonds.

The taste tests were accomplished by spreading the pestos on warm bread…yum! This is something I never do with pesto. I use it on pasta, but haven’t ever used it as an appetizer ingredient or as a condiment…where have I been?!

Terrain only uses the freshest of ingredients in their cafe, restaurant, and cooking classes.

A photo of pesto made in a Terrain cooking class.

Kale Toasted Walnut Pesto (makes about 1 cup)

You can make this pesto with plain (raw) walnuts, but toasting them gives them a little extra flavor that can hang with the slightly more intense (and bitter) taste of kale.

Ingredients

½ cup plain/raw walnuts, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, smashed
About 3 cups chopped kale
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ – 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add walnuts and stir constantly (or gently shake pan) until toasted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let the walnuts cool.

Pulse garlic clove in food processor until it is chopped finely, about 30 seconds. Add kale, toasted walnuts and Parmesan cheese and pulse until chopped. You may have to stop the food processor, open the top, and push the kale down toward the blades.

With the food processor running on low, add olive oil in a steady stream until you get the consistency you want, I went with almost ¾ cup of olive oil.

Season to taste with salt and pepper (we used about 1 ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper).

Kelly also suggested trying the combination of pistachios with spinach. I can’t wait to try this combo! Other ingredients suggested included cilantro, mixed herbs, watercress, parsley, hazelnuts, and pecans.

I left there with a jar of freshly made pesto and feeling much more adventurous about trying new ingredients to add variety to the pesto I make at home. If you want to attend a class or other event, check out the Terrain website for the event schedule: www.shopterrain.com

By the way, I stopped and bought a loaf of good bread on the way home ;)

6 comments » | food & festivities

oozing with inspiration

May

terrain’s opening

Since I have been anticipating the opening of Terrain in Connecticut for quite some time, I was thrilled to find out the official opening was scheduled for Mother’s Day weekend. I decided that would be a perfect treat on Mother’s Day morning – to visit the new store. Owned by Urban Outfitters, Terrain is a home and garden store, that up until this weekend, only existed in Glen Mills, PA. The store has that same hip vibe as Anthropologie (also owned by Urban Outfitters), but with a gardening aesthetic. An old car dealership in Westport, CT was transformed into a 16,000 square foot retail space, a restaurant with an outdoor patio, a coffee bar, and an outdoor nursery…Terrain.

Relief prints by Connecticut artist Bryan Nash Gill

It was hard to resist not calling in sick to work on Friday to attend the opening day of the store. I had been driving by occasionally during the construction process and was very excited to finally see the store completed. I could not wait to look around inside. Finally, I was able to check it out and I soon found out that I would not be disappointed.

Free sessions in container planting – this one was with herbs.

The store is oozing with inspiration. I especially love the beautiful hand blown glass terrariums by Vermont artisan Simon Pearce. They can be planted by one of the Terrain staff, tailor-made to the purchasers tastes… when I was there on Sunday, many were being created to bring home to a mom on her special day. I vowed to put a Terrain terrarium on my birthday wish list so I could someday put one on my desk at work. There would be no reason not to smile every morning with a work of art like that in your workspace.

The frame of a 1920’s green house is used in the decor.

The knowledge of the barista at the coffee bar was extremely impressive and I am sure the 7:30 am opening time will make it a popular spot for locals to make a quick stop before heading off to work. I didn’t take the time to sample the menu, but the café boasts a Food & Wine “Best New Chef” of 2011 on staff and provided both a visually interesting indoor seating area as well as seating on an outdoor patio.