Neens gave a call to friend and owner of CUPS Organic, Michelle Lerach, and pitched the idea of hosting Hawaiian cooking classes at the CUPS Culinary facility, located in the back of her bakery. Ironically enough, Michelle, a Hawaii Lover herself, was on Kauai at the time of the call! Needless to say, he had her at “Aloha”.

Neens loves to cook, and loves to talk, but he is no chef. So to fill the void he called on his good friend and business partner, Chef Sumo Sato. Sumo, born and raised in Hawaii is an amazing cook and has recipes for days. From making shave ice for 15 years growing up, to catering and owning his own restaurants, Chef Sumo is experienced and has the beard to show it. Together Neens and Sumo will put on an educational, entertaining and onolicious Hawaiian Kine Cooking Class. Registration for January, February, March and April classes available now.

If you have interest in attending these classes, contact CUPS Culinary at 858.459.CUPS(2877), or you can find class schedule and information at cupslj.com.

Watch the video for instructions, but remember to buy a turkey that was never frozen, soak it in brine for 12 to 24 hours, properly roast, cook at 400 for one hour covered with foil before reducing oven temperature to 325 degrees, and check for the proper internal temperature.

Now that you have the turkey basics, if you want to add some flair to your entire Thanksgiving feast you may want to check out The Art of Thanksgiving: Turkey 201 class with [Authentic Flavors] Chef Jeff Stanko on Saturday at Cups Culinary in La Jolla.

“Strap on an apron and learn how to make healthy, gourmet tamales in this fun, hands-on cooking class at Cups La Jolla. Special guest Linda L. Lipincott, Chef/Owner of Arizona Tamale Factory, will guide you through several different traditional and non-traditional tamale fillings along with sauces and salsas to compliment them. Best yet, instead of lard, the tamales are made with olive and avocado oils. The class runs from 2:30 – 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 17th ($65 per person). More Details >>”

Read full article.

- TJ

Check out issue on-line.

“A Mexican Christmas isn’t complete without homemade tamales. Learn how to make your own at Cups Culinary’s Haute Tamale cooking class. $65. More Info ».”

Complete listing of events.

In this monthly series, students will not only learn the secrets to brok da mout (delicious!) Hawaiian grinds, they’ll enjoy a full Hawaiian experience, with talk story and live island tunes.

January’s class features the healthier side of Hawaiian food – consistent with our New Year, New You program (all healthy classes in January), including seared chicken breast with Hawaiian sea salt, smashed Hawaiian sweet potato, and you choy with garlic.

February’s class is for lovers, with students learning how to prepare Hawaiian boneless short ribs, spicy shrimp and more, and learn about local Kaena Wine Company - the perfect accompaniment to these onolicious grinds!

In anticipation of the upcoming April Poke Fest, March is all about poke.  Don’t now what poke is? Or how to make it right? Learn how to prepare ahi (yellow-fin tuna) poke, tako (octopus) poke, and any kine poke… maybe so ono you enter you own poke in the fest…!

And for our gluten-free followers, April is for you!  This class will include macadamia nut-crusted Mahi Mahi, tofu stir fry, shrimp & veggie spring rolls, and brown rice with edamame (soy beans) and furikake (Japanese rice seasoning).

Chef Jesus is known for his seasonal spa cuisine, featuring the freshest, local ingredients – full of flavor and texture, without all the fat and simple carbohydrates.  But given his use of alternative, healthier grains, much of his repertoire is also gluten free.  So he decided to focus this series on putting together amazing menus of his healthiest, most flavorful dishes – all gluten free.

“I cook a lot with quinoa and other grains – which are flavorful and nutritious, and wonderfully versatile” said Gonzalez.  ”Because of this, many of my meals are naturally gluten free already.”

Gonzalez’s classes are also dairy free or can be easily altered to be dairy free.

“Many of my class members have expressed an interest in dairy-free eating, so I tend to offer alternatives for them.  Most often, when I use dairy, it is goat milk, yoghurt or cheese, but even these can be eliminated from the menu without sacrificing flavor.”

The upcoming class menus include:

FEBRUARY

Squash apple soup with thai red curry

Roasted pear and arugula salad with pomegranate chipotle vinaigrette

Pan roasted fish with pearl onions porcini and fingerling potatoes

Root vegetables roasted with honey balsamic and spices

Chocolate cake with Fresh persimon, sweet cheese and toasted walnuts, red wine

MARCH

Tortilla soup with avocado

Beet salad with pine nuts and guava dressing

Shrimp enchiladas on mexican rice with guacamole

Chocolate chip cranberry cookies

APRIL 

Guacamole with bake tortilla chips

Spinach salad with poach eggs and cilantro dressing

Mango gazpacho with balsamic reduction

Masala crusted wild salmon with pineapple cilantro chutney

Orange-saffron-pine nut bread

Strawberry and vanilla cream parfait with almond cookies

Cups is proudly participating in Movember by donating 25% of the proceeds from all cupstached Vanilla Vixen cupcakes sold this month. For 100 %-donated $1, guests can purchase a mustache tuile to decorate the cupcake of their choice.

We’re also offering for sale staff-made crafts – 100% of the proceeds of which will benefit prostate cancer research – and classes in craft-making during our 2-year anniversary open house on Black Friday. To find out more about how to contribute to Movember log on to mosista.co/cupstaches.

Follow us on Facebook and twitter @cupsLJ for daily Cups staff stache postings or send in yours…!

Complete Open House schedule:

10am Green Tips with Cups Owner Michelle

11am Sustainable Seafood with Chad White (Sea Rocket Bistro) & Tommy Gomes (Catalina Offshore) – tips, cooking demo & tasting

12pm Holiday Crafts with Cups’ Jen & Jonna (craft table open all day!)

1pm Sweet for Kids with Cupcake Wars Star Nessa – demo, deco & organic cotton candy tasting

2pm Advanced Sweets with Nessa – sugar flow, fondant & chocolate demo & tasting

3pm Spa Cuisine with Cups Culinary’s Chef Jesus – healthy, seasonal cooking demo & tasting

4pm Leftovers 101 with Chef Jesus & Michelle – reusing the turkey dinner

5pm Herb Greenhouse-To-Go with Michelle & Jen – planting herbs at home demo

6pm Community Supported Agriculture with Bill Brammer, Owner & Farmer – Be Wise CSA

7-10pm DJ, Karaoke & Movember Raffle – DJ Murphy, Michelle, Jonna & Jen

Raffle items:

3 private yoga sessions with Integrative You’s Paul Amato, HHP, RYT * whisknladle gift certificate* dozen mini Cups * LJ Shores PT Surf Gift Basket * Girard Gourmet gift certificate * Niemann Marcus assorted gifts * $25 Adelaide’s gift certificate * Cups custom cake * Extreme Pizza gift card * Pair of Cups Culinary Farm-to-Table class passes * Free cut & color with SK Sanctuary’s Deborah Knight * 90-minute massage with Firebird Touch Therapy’s Robin Swan * Gift basket from Cups Culinary Aromatherapy class * 2-week membership to FitCore-55 with Excel Fitness’ Trevor Isaacs * One-day raw food cleanse from Beaming * Be Wise CSA box * Surf Diva gift certificate* Coffee Cup gift certificate * Love Bellemani gift certificate

We will also be featuring the following specials in the Lounge all day:

- Free small drip coffee with $1 donation to our Movember fund

- Buy 3 full size Cups – get the 4th free to fill your compostable corn to-go container

- Buy any specialty coffee and get a free mini Cup

- Purchase any Cups Culinary class in Lounge and get second class (or additional guest for same class) at half off

Watch for updated information regarding Black Friday events here, and on Facebook and twitter @cupsLJ.

“The demand for high quality gluten-free product is at an all-time high,” said Cups owner Michelle Ciccarelli Lerach, herself a recent convert to gluten-free living.

“Our gluten-free clients are very important to us and are among our most loyal, so we want to make sure they have lots to choose from when they come here – and that includes me!”

To that end, Cups has added a lot of new flavors to its line-up, like Pumpkin Cardamom, Hazed & Confused, Almond Dream, Zanzibar Chai, Mozart, Pumpkin Cheesecake to name a few.

The Gluten-free options available this month are:

MONDAY: Limone Ricotta (pictured), ChocoLibre, Caramel Macchiato, PB Cup, & Coconut Cream

TUESDAY: Orange Ricotta, PB Cup, Bottoms Up, Bunny Love, &Hummingbird

WEDNESDAY:  Caramel Macchiato, Limone Ricotta, Brownie Mac, PB Cup, & Old School Vanilla

THURSDAY: Bottoms Up, PB Cup, Limone Ricotta, Tres Leches, & Almond Dream

FRIDAY: Hummingbird, Coconut Cream, Limone Ricotta, PB Cup, & Bottoms Up

SATURDAY:  PB Cup, Tres Leches, Caramel Macchiato, Orange Ricotta, & Bunny Love

SUNDAY:  Almond Dream, Brownie Mac, PB Cup, Old School Vanilla, & Limone Ricotta

Log on to cupsLJ.com or get our free iPhone App. to see what else we’re serving up each day, daily specials and what Cups Culinary classes are coming up!

“The demand for high quality gluten-free product is at an all-time high,” said Cups owner Michelle Ciccarelli Lerach.

“Our gluten-free clients are very important to us and are among our most loyal, so we want to make sure they have lots to choose from when they come here.”

The Gluten-free options available this month are:

MONDAY: Peaches N’ Cream & Bottoms Up (black bottom)

TUESDAY: Bunny Love & Hummingbird

WEDNESDAY:  Choco Libre & Bottoms Up

THURSDAY: Limone Ricotta & Velours Rouge (red velvet!)

FRIDAY: Hummingbird & Bottoms Up

SATURDAY:  Bunny Love & Velours Rouge

SUNDAY:  Limone Ricotta & Choco Libre

Log on to cupsLJ.com or get our free iPhone App. to see what else we’re serving up each day, daily specials and what Cups Culinary classes are coming up!

I traveled with EcoLife Foundation, a conservation organization based here in San Diego which, among other important conservation projects, works to safeguard the Michoacan forest from destruction.  The two primary causes are illegal logging (there is a logging cartel) and use by the locals for cooking and heating.  The first issue is being addressed by the Mexican government and has improved over the last year; the second is what EcoLife focuses its energy on.  They have created a simple stove – called a Patsari - to replace the original cooking method (over open fire), which recognizes and respects the local style and method of cooking (not a one-size-fits-all solution).  Not only does the Patsari reduce the amount of wood needed for cooking by 70%, it also dramatically reduces the amount of smoke inhaled by those doing the cooking, resulting in a significant difference in the amount and extent of respiratory illnesses by those switching to the Patsari.  EcoLife’s Director Bill Toone, a conservation biologist, and  his wife Sunni led the tour.  I met Bill at TEDx San Diego in November 2010, where he spoke about his conservation efforts in Mexico and elsewhere around the globe.

Seeing something this precious, amazing, spiritual… (no words can do it justice) reminds me why I’ve chosen to run a sustainable, green, organic business.

Monarchs in Michoacan

Get in the Valentine’s Day spirit on February 10th at the Valentine’s Day Sweets cooking class where you will make a very personalized box of sweets for your special someone, with guidance from guest chef Jill O’Connor, award-winning cookbook author and former Pastry Chef of the Golden Door Spa.

Or prepare for your hot date night on February 12th during Men on Cooking: The Way to Your Valentine’s Heart – a men-teaching-men class where you’ll learn a lavish, yet easy to make four-course meal to set you apart this Valentine’s Day.

Call 858.459.2877 or visit Cups La Jolla to sign-up.

Featuring Cups Executive Pastry Chef and “Cupcake Wars” star Jeff Bonilla and Cups Culinary Chef Coordinator Chad White of EGO Culinary Trends.

Whether by choice or by necessity, if you or your child are living gluten free, these classes are for you – and your whole family.  This series of classes in how to prepare unbelievably tasty gluten-free meals – from a spring brunch, to casual Italian favorites, or a supper with the best of the summer’s bounty – will run from May through July.  The classes will also feature and highlight the seasonal produce available at Specialty Produce, known for providing SD chefs with the exotic fruits & vegetables featured of their menus, as well as the highest quality produce of any kind.

These classes are geared toward the family, and adults and children alike are welcome. Family-friendly pricing is as follows:  $50 for parent & child, $15 for each additional child, $30 for solo adult.  The classes are held on Thursday nights from 6-8 pm, with a minimum of 10 students, maximum of 24.  Sign up for these classes and more on-line.

May 19 – Gluten-free with Rachel Marie – Spring Break Brunch

Join Rachel for the first in a series of GF classes featuring the fresh, seasonal fare of Specialty Produce.  In this hands-on class, students will learn to prepare a variety of sweet & savory GF dishes perfect for a springtime brunch, including apricot-coconut-pecan granola, banana-bread French toast, spring vegetable quiche, berry-chocolate chip scones, bacon-wrapped dates with balsamic glaze and chicken-apple sausage patties.

June 16 – Gluten-free with Rachel Marie – Osteria Italiana

In Rachel’s second installment, she will not only teach the class how to make excellent GF Italian favorites, but also point out those stores and restaurants that provide SD’s best GF offerings.  Join Rachel in this hands-on class featuring these sweet & savory dishes inspired by the seasonal offerings of Specialty Produce: bruschetta on GF crackers, cheese-stuffed peppadews, pistachio pesto  & pesto rolls, pizza, gnocchi, and vanilla bean ice cream with strawberries & limoncello.

July 28 – Gluten-free with Rachel Marie – Summertime Supper

Come and celebrate the best summer has to offer with Rachel’s third class in GF cooking, featuring the summer’s bounty from Specialty Produce.  In this hands-on class, Join Rachel as she walks the class through these sweet & savory dishes inspired by the seasonal offerings of Specialty Produce:  sweet corn risotto, corn tortillas, summer vegetable stir-fry, BLT baskets with croutons, quinoa & potato salads, and oatmeal cookies.

ChefDance, a series of invitation-only dinners following screenings of select films, is a festival within a festival.   The dinners feature five nights of stars from the food world to delight the palates of the big names in town, and this year, for the first time since the event began in 2004, San Diego chefs are cooking three of the five nights.

Gaslamp chefs Brian Malarkey (of Searsucker and a former Top Chef competitor) and Jared Van Camp (of Quality Social) will be kicking off the event Friday and Saturday nights, January 21 & 22.    La Jolla’s Cups Executive Pastry Chef & Chocolatier Jeff Bonilla (of The Food Network’s Cupcake Wars fame) pairs up with celebrity chef Kerry Simon (of a number of LA and LV eateries – most recently Harrah’s KGB, and dubbed “The Rock and Roll Chef” by Rolling Stone Magazine) for Saturday night’s all-star line-up. All five nights have San Diego’s own Snake Oil Cocktail Company whetting the whistles of the A-listers with signature cocktail pairings.

San Diego’s best won’t only be at ChefDance. Chef Chad White, owner of EGO Culinary Trends (former chef of Roseville) will be showing off his skills at the kickoff party at the home of Kenny & Mimi Griswold, the creators of ChefDance. Look for footage of the party on an upcoming Real Housewives of Beverly Hills segment.

Cups, Snake Oil and San Diego’s Authentic Flavors Catering began this trend at Sundance 2010 as the exclusive food, drink & sweet providers in The Luxury Lounge located in the famous Harry O’s nightclub building, and venue of choice for a number of movie premiere after-parties, including Animal Kingdom and Get Low.

Finishing up the five-day food fest are chefs Michael Chow of Beverly Hill’s Mr. Chow and Jared Young of Oasis Café in Salt Lake City.

After the dinners, guests will be wowed by the musical stylings of Snoop Dog, Lauryn Hill and world-renowned DJ Kaskade at Harry O’s, which will also host The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest after-party, featuring The Roots.

- Buy 3 classes and get your 4th class (of equal or lesser value) at 50% off!

- Refer 3 people to a single Cups Culinary class and come for 50% off; or alternatively, buy three get one half-off on a single Cups Culinary class

- 15% off any Cups merchandise purchased on the day of your Cups Culinary class!

- 10% Student & Military discount (with I.D.) on any Cups Culinary classes.

Available on in-store purchases only.  See full class schedule.

Guilt-Free Desserts, Thursday night, 6-9pm.

Want to feed your sweet tooth and still stick to your diet?  Then join Cups Culinary Director Jesus Gonzalez, former Creative Chef for Rancho La Puerta and Golden Door Spas, as he shares some of the secrets of his famous spa desserts. Just in time for your New Year’s resolutions – healthy eating without having to give up all the good stuff! Ease yourself out of the onslaught of holiday treats  you’ve sampled without having to go cold turkey. In this hands-on class, you’ll make a variety of sweets from the cookbook featuring his treats Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta, which will be available for purchase and signature at the class.

Pasta Rustica Toscana, Saturday 2:30-5:30pm.

Learn how to make fresh, authentic Tuscan-style pasta. In this hands-on class, Chef Ryan Johnston, Executive Chef of La Jolla’s Whisk n Ladle, will explain the techniques and show you how to knead, cut, roll, and sometimes fill to make a variety of dishes, including butternut squash ravioli with a brown butter & sage sauce, traditional carbonara sauce and a pear, ricotta and guanciale carbonara over hand-made pasta, Pici cacio e pepe – a traditional Tuscan pasta dish featuring pecorino cheese and black pepper, and potato gnocchi with Bolognese sauce, after which you will sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor family style.

excerpt re Michelle below – see full article on-line.

Michelle Lerach

michelle ciccarelli lerach’s photo in san diego magazine

Lerach is mostly known as the owner of Cups, an organic cupcakery and teaching kitchen in La Jolla. Besides serving organic homemade strawberry milk “on tap” and baking cupcakes such as Death by Chocolate, the former labor law attorney is on a mission to change the landscape for sustainable farming. Cups runs classes in which local farmers and chefs teach how to cook delicious meals using whatever’s in season. Lerach also volunteers at area elementary schools to teach kids about healthy cooking. Recently, she took a two-month sabbatical to work on an organic goat farm. In 2011, we’ll watch as Lerach creates a collaborative with Slow Food USA & World Wide Opportunities in Organic Farming to educate and certify the next generation of sustainable and organic farmers.

Last week we featured Chefs Bernard Guillas & Ron Oliver of the Marine Room, LJ Beach & Tennis Club, and authors of “Flying Pans:  Two Chefs, One World.”

Their “Home for the Holidays” class featured an amazing array of appetizers, from ahi tuna lollipops with cilantro dipping sauce to marinated chicken skewers and portobello mushroom bisque (topped with lemon-mascarpone quenelles and truffle oil), as well as interesting mocktails – which could easily be turned into cocktails!  All of these recipes found in their delightful cookbook featuring foods from around the world and in your own neighborhood.  Don’t fret if you missed this class, as Bernard & Ron said they’d like to teach one at our place at least once a quarter including upcoming classes Bastille Day Feast and Oktoberfest… changing up the menu based upon the season, and what produce is available. 

Last night Cups Executive Pastry Chef/Chocolatier Jeff Bonilla led “Festive Sweets & Treats,” complete with gingerbread houses, fudge, sugar cookies and, of course, cupcakes! This “Cupcake Wars” star teaches a class about once a month, so be sure to check him out in the new year – especially his chocolate classes, which always sell out!

And tomorrow, another great class – albeit with a different spin.  This time, local gluten-free blogger and author Karen Fine teams up with Cups’ own Chef Jesus Gonzalez (of Rancho La Puerta & Golden Door fame) for a class in “Gluten-Free Holiday Fare,” featuring both sweets and savories.

And Sunday, Jesus teaches his ever popular “Farm-to-Table” and “Kids Chef School” classes – featuring fresh, seasonal, healthy fare, and this week the produce of Seabreeze Organic Farm.

Yes, the holidays are looking pretty good about now.