Save the Third for Chef Irv
Cooking Demonstrations and Wine Pairings at Jackson’s Steakhouse
Join Chef Irv Miller of Jackson’s Steakhouse as he leads a second series of cooking classes on the third Wednesday of each month. Classes cover everything from shopping to preparation to presentation. Two classes are scheduled for each month. The first class begin promptly at 5:00 p.m. and ends at 6:30 p.m. The second class begins at 7:30 p.m. and concludes at 9:00 p.m. Each class costs $45 per person, which covers the cooking demonstration, tastings of the recipes, wine pairings, and a take-home recipe booklet so you can try your hand at Miller’s recipes in the comfort of your own home. Advanced reservations are required, so be sure to make yours by calling Maria Goldberg, Director of Marketing, Public Relations and Special Events at 850-217-2347 or emailing maria@jacksonsrestaurant.com.
Worlds of Barbecue Flavors: Wednesday, July 17
Chef Irv will be featuring barbecue flavors from around the globe and will create and introduce varieties of spice-rub combinations and marinades. Many of the ingredients used will reflect their origin from different geographical areas around the world – based on their particular regional cultures and climates. Inspired by the flavors of Memphis, Tennessee, the Florida Panhandle, North Africa, and Asia, Chef will prepare pork, chicken and brisket along with a few of his favorite sides. He will demonstrate brines used for additional flavoring of meat before barbecuing or smoking. In addition, chef will demonstrate how to use a stovetop smoker, which makes for easy indoor barbecue-smoking methods using flavored wood chips.
Taste of the Middle East: Wednesday, August 21
Typically, most regions in the Middle East use spices in soups and stews. Many will include a small amount of cinnamon, cloves, cumin, coriander and garlic. Black pepper is common, and chili peppers are used occasionally, especially as a separate sauce or as a pickle. Parsley and mint are commonly used in cooking and in salads. Sumac is also sprinkled over grilled meat. Widely used vegetables and meats include tomato and lamb. Lamb is a favorite in preparations with grilled meats or kebabs. Eggplant is often fried in slices and dressed in yogurt and garlic, or roasted over an open fire, then pulped and dressed with tahini (sesame paste), lemon juice, garlic, and cumin, a dish known as baba ghanoush. Chef will select many of his favorite dishes and prepare a Middle East tasting.
Culture by Course: Wednesday, September 18
In “Life in the USA,” 2010 writer Elliot Essman claims “Northern Florida fits in squarely with mainstream Southern cuisine.” Today, cross-cultural recipes are scattered throughout our area. Northwest Florida cuisine is as critical to Florida cuisine as Florida is to Southern cuisine. You don’t have to be from Virginia, South Carolina, or Georgia Low Country to be a Southerner. Maybe you’re from Texas, Tennessee or Kentucky. Today’s South, including our neck of the woods in particular, comprises cultures of African, Indian, Native American, Cracker, German, Irish, Italian, French, Vietnamese, Korean and Middle Eastern descendants, and many more that make up our regional Florida cuisine. Chef will select four recipes deep in cultural richness to celebrate their contributions to our Southern cooking
Old Florida Cooking: Wednesday, October 16
Centuries before the locavore movement, there was “cracker” cooking. Georgia cracker and Florida cracker foods have shaped some of Florida’s most memorable Old Florida recipes and dishes. The concept of growing your own food just outside your back door and raising animals for food is simple – both pure and practical. Frontiersmen of the South were independent, self-reliant folks who prospered and journeyed throughout Florida with tenacity in a time before air conditioning and other simple comforts of life existed. Their strong sense of individualism came from living on the isolated frontier. While the name given to this group – crackers – has come to be used pejoratively, many people living this life carry the name – and celebrate their heritage – with pride. Chef will select several recipes of the Old Florida cooking style and add his personal touch to update these native dishes.
Panhandle Soul Food: Wednesday, November 20
Many folks just think soul food is simply a reference term to describe Southern food. The distinctions between soul and Southern are hard to make; soul food is basic, down-home cooking with its roots in the rural South. The term “soul food” didn’t become common until the 1960s. The principal staples of soul food cooking are beans, greens, cornmeal (used in cornbread, hush puppies, hoecakes, and as a coating for fried fish), and pork. Since pork is a prominent ingredient in both Southern and soul food, the foods have comparative characteristics in both soul and country cooking. Chef will compose ethnic-influenced dishes from smoked pork jowls and boiled greens to cornmeal dumplings along with other classic soul food dishes. He will select a variety of soul food dishes that stem from our geographic location, culture, and the different foods available based on the climate as it changes over the seasons.