Toronto Teacher Mom: Master Chef

Graham Elliot's Pan-Seared Salmon With Cabbage Slaw and Whole-Grain Mustard

Cooking like a master chef is no easy feat but Graham Elliot sure makes it look easy. I discovered this last spring when I joined him at Nella Cucina Cooking School for an exclusive cooking class using Walmart's fresh food offering. Sure, he's won two Michelin stars and cooked for President Barack Obama on his 49th birthday but he's a regular person just like you and I. That, and he has some seriously killer culinary skills. And a laid back, down-to-earth personality. And a winning smile to boot. Did I mention he's a really nice guy? Throughout the evening, we were invited to attempt two recipes from his upcoming book, Cooking Like A Master Chef, on sale this October.

Cooking like a Master Chef with Graham Elliot

My favourite recipe was the Pan-Seared Salmon, which tasted heavenly. As promised, here is Chef Graham Elliot's recipe, shared with permission:

Pan-Seared Salmon With Cabbage Slaw And Whole-Grain Mustard

Recipe courtesy of Graham Elliot

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

1 medium head Napa cabbage, trimmed
1 red onion
1 Granny Smith apple, or another tart, firm apple
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
4 salmon fillets, each weighing about 6 ounces
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch chives, finely chopped, for garnish

Friday, July 24, 2015
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Cooking with Master Chef Graham Elliot #TasteFresh

Chef Graham Elliot

Last month, I had the great privilege of cooking with Master Chef Graham Elliot at the Nella Cucina Cooking School here in Toronto. This exclusive experience provided us with the chance to prepare recipes from his new cookbook Cooking Like A Master Chef using Walmart’s revamped fresh food. One of my favourites was his Pan-Seared Salmon With Cabbage Cole Slaw and Whole Grain Mustard. I hope to share the recipe with you very soon. It was SO good!

My daughter really wanted to come with because she is a huge fan of Master Chef and when I mentioned this to Chef Graham, who is incredibly nice in person, he recorded this special message for her:

Tuesday, June 23, 2015
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Master Chef Toronto

Cooking

Yesterday, my daughter spent some time at my mother-in-law's house. As always, she was delighted to hang out with her grandmother, her aunt and their dog. But this time, she was inspired by her new-found interest in cooking to put together a mini Master Chef inspired competition between her aunt and herself. And my eight-year-old took it quite seriously. After completing their dishes, I received a phone call summoning me back as a judge. My mother-in-law and a foreign student resident from Japan joined me on the judging panel.

First up was my daughter's entree: mini heart-shaped patties with mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley on a bed of lettuce. While my daughter required adult assistance when it came to using the stovetop, I was told she prepared and plated this dish all on her own. The mashed potatoes were delicious as was the beef patty and the medley was an interesting mix of carrot, cucumber, avocado and caramelized nuts.

My daughter designed her own drink which she called Woosh, a simple mix of water and juice. For dessert, she made mini crepes topped with blueberries.

My sister-in-law prepared a strawberry beet juice that was actually quite good, seeing as I don't like beets.

For her entree, she prepared a Canadian wild rice risotto with broccoli, peas and avocado topped with cubed mango.

After sampling all of the dishes, we each voted and the decision was unanimous. My daughter won and received the honourable title of Master Chef Toronto! As you can tell by the expression on her face, she was rather proud of her efforts and quite frankly, so was I. Clearly she gets her cooking talents from my husband's side of the family.