The Chopping Block is lucky to have many talented chef instructors dedicated to helping the local community and beyond learn how to cook! Unlike other recreational cooking programs, the chefs at TCB aim to translate their industry and professional experiences to the home cook. So, you can take with you these high-end techniques to utilize in you own kitchen. In order to celebrate our chef’s unique skills and allow them room to create new dishes or try out concepts we have introduced a new experience for our guests.
“Tasting Table” is a demonstration-style event that will start as a monthly series, highlighting one of our individual chef instructors each month. Chefs will prepare a few select dishes from their own archives or new ideas they’ve been working on. Guests will enjoy the items along with a glass of wine or beverage selected by the chef. The chef will spend some time speaking to the concept behind the dishes and how they were prepared as well as answer any questions you might have. This series is perfect to have a first course before enjoying dinner elsewhere in the Lincoln Square neighborhood or for returning students to come and visit their favorite TCB chefs. This is the ideal event for new guests to see our space and gain an expectation of what they’ll be able to learn and experience in our hands-on classes.
I had a hand in the creation of this series so I will be the first featured chef for the July Tasting Table demo! After thinking about all the dishes that I wanted to make for this occasion, I decided to pull a few recipes from a little cookbook that I’ve been working on. “The Chichen” was a concept originally setup to be a quick service restaurant in Philadelphia, however the plans were put on hold due to the pandemic and the idea never came to fruition. I really loved the menu, artwork, and overall theme of this concept so I decided to move ahead in creating a hybrid cookbook and zine… a cookzine! This fun and approachable full color recipe booklet will have about a dozen recipes from The Chichen menu along with tips, tricks, and photos from my adventures through NYC & Philly.
As a sneak peek, I’ve included one of the recipes from the book that I’ll also be preparing at the first Tasting Table event. Most of the recipes utilize some Asian or specifically Japanese ingredients/flavor profiles. I do not use the term “fusion” personally as I am just cooking the things that I like, using the techniques and ingredients that I enjoy and have come to learn. My style of cooking integrates flavors and methods from many styles of cuisine if you haven’t already noticed in my previous blogs.
1. If using your grill, light it first so it’s nice and hot.
2. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil on the stove. Once boiling add the corn, cover the pot, and turn off the heat. Let the corn poach for about 8 minutes.
3. Remove the corn from the pot and once its cool enough to handle remove the husks if there are any.
4. Rub the corn cobs with coconut oil and season with salt.
5. Put the corn onto a hot grill or directly over an open flame to char some of the kernels. This should only take 5 to 10 minutes as the corn is already partially cooked. Remove and set aside.
6. Once cool enough to handle, cut the corn off the cob… or don’t.
7. Garnish with remaining toppings.
Register for Tasting Table Demo on Tuesday, July 16 at 6pm to spend the evening tasting my food.
Yield: 4
Author: Drake Mandrell
Elote On or Off the Cob
Prep time: 25 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 35 Min
Ingredients
For the corn
4-6 ears of sweet corn
1 Tablespoon coconut oil or high heat cooking oil
Salt to season
For the toppings
Sweet soy sauce, Unagi sauce, or Teriyaki
Kewpie Mayo
Sriracha
Furiyake
Bonito Flake (Katsuobushi)
Instructions
If using your grill, light it first so it’s nice and hot.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil on the stove. Once boiling add the corn, cover the pot, and turn off the heat. Let the corn poach for about 8 minutes.
Remove the corn from the pot and once its cool enough to handle remove the husks if there are any.
Rub the corn cobs with coconut oil and season with salt.
Put the corn onto a hot grill or directly over an open flame to char some of the kernels. This should only take 5 to 10 minutes as the corn is already partially cooked. Remove and set aside.
Once cool enough to handle, cut the corn off the cob… or don’t.