Pastry Chef Brooks Headley recipes New York Culinary Experience, The International Culinary Center

Pastry Chef Brooks Headley of Del Posto shares recipes for an Italian savory and sweet dessert and lemon granita as part of the New York Culinary Experience hosted by New York magazine and The International Culinary Center.

With an interest in desserts and especially Italian desserts, I was especially intrigued to attend Pastry Chef Brooks Headley’s Classic Italian Desserts Refined class at the New York Culinary Experience at The International Culinary Center. I heard about the creative desserts being served at Del Posto, so the opportunity to participate in a 2+-hour class to work hands-on with Chef Headley was high on my list.

On April 29, 2012, I attended the "Classic Italian Sweets Refined Class" with Pastry Chef Brooks Headley and Pastry Sous Chef Roger Rodriguez who opened up their cookbook and shared some ‘refined’ recipes. A true hands-on class, we sliced, cracked eggs, mixed, cooked, baked, and tasted for more than 2-hours; what a delightful time it was, and what great desserts we made. 

Edward Nesta and Pastry Chef Brooks Headley

Chef Headley moved his creative energy from music [drummer in a punk rock band] to cooking at the age of 27. With a unique understanding and appreciation for working with pastries, he traveled across the United States gaining experience while peaking his interest along the way. From Washington, DC through Los Angeles, back to DC, and on to New York, he has worked with some of the top pastry chefs in the country.

When he heard about the opportunity at Del Posto and the chance to work with Executive Chef Mark Ladner within the Batali-Bastianich family, he leapt at the chance. During his travels, he became known for creative renditions of classic desserts, as well as he was a finalist in the Pastry Scoop Golden Scoop Awards in the national category of "Best Dessert Menu."

His off-the-cuff style is complemented by his creative renditions of desserts and his methods used within his recipes. Whenever I thought the next step would be done in a traditional method, like forming cookies on a cookie sheet, he put a twist in the process that yielded a refreshing result both visually and on the palate.

Chef Brooks Headley of Del Posto Recipes

Grilled Eggplant with Chocolate Chip Ricotta, Fregolata & Chocolate
Lemon Granita

Grilled Eggplant with Chocolate Chip Ricotta, Fregolata & Chocolate
Serves 4

Ingredients for the Eggplant:

Method: Peel eggplant and slice thinly. Coat both sides in olive oil and season with salt. Grill on both sides, just to soften.

Ingredients for the Fregolata:

Method: Preheat the oven to 325° F (163° C).

Chef Brooks Headley making the Cookies

Place the flour and sugar in a mixing bowl and add the wet ingredients (eggs, cream, zest). Mix together by hand until you have a crumbly-textured dough. Portion the dough using 5.5. inch ring molds, top with the toasted almond halves. Bake for 12 minutes.

Ingredients for the Honey-Vinaigrette Glaze:

Method: Combine equal portions of honey and white wine vinegar, season to taste.

Ingredients for the Chocolate-Olive Oil Sauce:

Method: Melt chocolate over a double boiler. When chocolate has cooled but is still melted, whisk in olive oil and season with salt to taste.

Ingredients for the Chocolate Chip Ricotta:

Method: Stir all ingredients together; taste and adjust seasoning.

Chef Brooks Headley Plating the Dessert

To Assemble: Brush the grilled eggplant with honey-vinegar glaze. Add a dollop of chocolate-chip ricotta on top. Crumble the fregolata over the eggplant, and drizzle with chocolate olive oil sauce.

Lemon Granita
Serves 4

Ingredients:

Method: Add sugar and water to a saucepot and make a simple syrup by simmering over medium heat until all the sugar has dissolved. Cool.

Combine the lemon juice, water, and vodka with the cooled simple syrup. Pour mixture into a rectangular pan and place in the freezer. Stir ever few hours until it is slushy and breaking into irregular shards.

Read about Chef Brooks Headley’s class in the Gastronomy section.

Read about the New York Culinary Experience and the classes we attended in the Gastronomy section, and interviews and recipes from the classes in the Chefs’ Recipes section.

Visit Luxury Experience’s Facebook page to listen to interviews with the chefs and see more photos from the event. www.Facebook.com/LuxuryExperience

To attend the New York Culinary Experience 2013, please visit the New York magazine website: www.NYmag.com/nyce. 

Regarding taking classes throughout the year with the excellent chef instructors at The International Culinary Center at their New York, California, or Italian Campuses, please visit the website: www.InternationalCulinaryCenter.com.

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© May 2012. Luxury Experience. www.LuxuryExperience.com. All rights reserved.