In the high-tech, yet homey kitchen classroom at Cups Culinary in La Jolla, some of San Diego’s most gifted gastronomes, including Spring Hill Cheese whiz Rachel Peter (left to right in photo are Suzie’s Farm intern Elle Ucker, Rachel Peter, Cups owner Michelle Ciccarelli Lerach and Cups Director Chef Jesus Gonzalez) teach everything from serving charcuterie to decorating baked goods. “Cheese is milk’s leap to immortality,” says Peter, whose whey-cool lessons in crafting artisanal cheese and crème fraîche show students how to make culture pop. “I love sharing its taste and essence because, for me, it represents tradition, health and community.”

-Amber Hiscock, Happy Customer

One of the biggest New Year’s resolutions people make every year is to eat healthier. So you buy more fruits and veggies when you go grocery shopping, but what do you do when you go out? So much of restaurant food, although scrumptious, is loaded with calories. How do you find a restaurant that cooks healthy? There is a new trend that a lot of San Diego restaurants are embracing. Chefs are purchaing locally grown produce and organically raised meat, and are creating more healthy dishes for the New Year.

If you are a vegetarian consider Fairouz Cafe. They serve meat with veg options available. Fairouz has a large buffet with vegetarian and salad items. Vegan buffet items usually include dishes like lentil soup, okra with tomatoes, garlic potatoes, eggplant with zucchini, foul mudamus, hummus, fattoush, and fresh fruit.

Located, some would say hidden, in the heart of the Horton PLaza Shopping Center, O Brothers caters to locals who like their burger to be organic. The beef is locally sourced in San Diego County, and the other ingredients are all organic, with some of them locally grown as well.

Bandar is the proud recipient of many awards from 1996-2011. Bandar’s menu is exotic, healthy and offers a wide variety of prime steaks, world famous chicken, seafood, and vegetarian selections.

For the sweets addict Cups La Jolla is an organic cupcake lounge which caters to all age groups with simple to sophisticated tastes. Owner Michelle Ciccarelli has crafted 65 flavors and rotates them in daily, 10 at a time. She also has created a roster of vegan and gluten-free cupcakes.

Lockwood Table Café places an emphasis on locally-sourced food, using organic produce from regional farms along with fresh breads from nearby bakeries. Try a fresh juice shot of pear, apple or orange for a burst of natural energy or opt for a pot of organic whole leaf teas in flavors such as apple green, tangerine and earl grey.

The Naked Café aims for all menu items to be as simple and natural as possible, focusing on environmentally conscious whole food choices.

These are just a few of the many restaurants in the San Diego area that are health conscious. You can eat out in confidence and keep your New Year’s resolution to eat healthier in 2012.

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.

Those looking for Fun San Diego things to do will really enjoy these tours which are scheduled every Saturday and Sunday starting at 1:00 p.m., Bite San Diego – La Jolla will take up to 15 guests on a 3-hour, 1.5 mile tour of six notable restaurants.

“We are so excited to add La Jolla to our ever-expanding Bite San Diego tour,” said Rebecca Bamberger, Founder of Bite San Diego. “La Jolla is quickly becoming one of California’s premiere destinations for fine dining, and we can’t wait to share these one-of-a-kind restaurants with locals and tourists alike.”

For Bite San Diego’s La Jolla tour, guests will be hosted by:

- Extreme Pizza – Extreme… not mainstream. Pizzas that push your palette and more

- Harvard Cooking School – The smartest ethnic and exotic cooking school in La Jolla

- Brick and Bell – The brickyard bakery and bistro with famous scones La Jollan’s swear by

- Bubba’s Smokehouse BBQ – The spot for serious sauce and all things BBQ, from pulled pork to corn bread

- We Olive – Devine dipping of the best olive oils and more from around the world

- Cups – The hippest cupcake lounge you’ve ever seen, complete with a DJ and a culinary school

Each restaurant will offer a generous taste of a signature dish and/or beverage, and guests will be treated to an overview of the establishment’s highlights and cuisine. Tickets are $45 per person and booked in advance and online through Bite San Diego’s website.

About Bite San Diego

If You Love Food….
If You’re In America’s Finest City….

Then you’ve come to the right place. Bite San Diego is San Diego’s premier food tasting and cultural walking tour company that offers you up-close and intimate tastes of San Diego’s finest and legendary restaurants, offering a great experience for those looking for San Diego things to do.

Bite San Diego offers big, bold, bite-filled tours, taking you inside the restaurants that have impacted and made San Diego’s culinary scene what it is and where it’s going. Experienced tour guides introduce you to the tastes making San Diego’s food scene one of the hottest in the country. Guests are lead on an exploration of the history, roots, and reasons San Diego is becoming a food fantasy mecca for locals and visitors the world over. Tours are held in Downtown San Diego, Coronado and Old Town San Diego.

Cupcake flavors include the flavors of the day, plus seasonal favorites like Pumpkin Cheesecake (GF), Eggnog, Spiced Pumpkin (GF), Great Pumpkin (V), Harvest (LGI), Pumpkin Cardamom (GF), Minty Wonderland (GF), Snowball and Gingerbread!

We will also be offering a variety of breakfast pastries including maple-oat and cranberry-orange scones, carrot cake (GF), pumpkin-walnut, banana nut, mixed berry and other muffins and fresh-baked breads including banana nut, vanilla-chocolate marble, and pumpkin (available in regular, LGI, Vegan or GF).

Open Christmas Eve; closed Christmas.

I love to cook-Italian, Chinese-of course, Thai, Mexican, Indian, you name it, but turkey never. Can you believe I’ve never made a Thanksgiving turkey on my own?

I guess I was just always nervous about tackling a big bird. Growing up we always had Chinese food or went over to my uncle’s for traditional Thanksgiving fare and ever since I got married, my husband has been in charge of the turkey. He has his family traditions for turkey and all the fixings so I just let him take chef duties on Thanksgiving every year.

That’s why I was excited to interview Chef Jeff Stanko and get 5 Tips For a Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey for Patch.com -AOL’s hyper-local news site. With these 5 simple tips I’m not so intimidated anymore.

Here’s a look at the video.

Top Turkey Tips

1. Get a good quality turkey.

2. Soak in brine for flavor and tenderness.

3. Season and use proper roasting technique.

4. Check proper internal temperature.

5. Carve Properly

Happy Cooking! On Wednesday I’ll give you a behind the scenes look at the shoot and I’ll share his proper turkey carving techniques just in time for your feast!

Do you have any tips to stay zen on Thanksgiving?

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.

Walking into the Cups Culinary kitchen, I was immediately impressed. Their facility was clean and organized with state of the art equipment. The class began with everyone joining together around at the dining table. In front of each student was a menu for our specific class and a notebook to jot down ideas. Chef Chad then walked us through the basics of grilling which provided valuable information that can be applied when cooking at home. After a quick round of Q & A, everyone eagerly dispersed and went to a station. Instead of each person cooking everything, they instructed us to master one or two menu items that would be shared among the class.

My assignment was to work on the Grilled Corn-Spinach Salad.  All ingredients were laid out in an organized fashion with measuring cups and spoons easily accessible. I started by removing corn from the husk and cutting the spring onions. Typically olive oil would suffice for a marinade. For the sake of extra flavor I was instructed to use the same marinade we used for our fish which consisted of garlic, italian leaf parsley and olive oil. It was a simple, flavorful and memorable taste that I now plan to use in my everyday cooking. With a dash of salt and pepper, I was ready to grill! When the corn was charred and the onions were slightly soft and caramelized it was time to incorporate the ingredients into the salad. To finish off the dish, I added the corn kernels and grilled onions to chopped savoyed spinach and topped it off with crumbled cotija cheese and a Sherry Vinaigrette. Yum!

Other dishes included Grilled Grass Fed Beef Sliders with whole grain mustard aioli and oven roasted tomatoes. The kicker for this dish was without a doubt the Bacon Jam! We also prepared a Grass Fed Beef Tri-Tip with a side of ranchero style beans, a Grilled Panzanella Salad and a Grilled Whole Local Fish with orange and nepitilla gremolata.

After a good 2 hours of preparation it was finally time for us to dig in! Everything we made was fresh and flavorful. My favorite dish was the Grilled Panzanella Salad. I couldn’t get enough of the garlic and basil flavor that soaked into the chunks of crispy ciabatta.

Ready to start cooking? Cups Culinary offers a diverse range of hands-on cooking classes to be enjoyed in their state-of-the-art teaching kitchen. They have seasonal classes such as Market-to-Table where Chef Jesus Gonzalez (former creative chef of Rancho La Puerta Spa) will help you pick out fresh local ingredients from the farmers market and decide what to make on the spot! They also offer specialized courses such as Sustainable Seafood with PassionFish.org founder Chef Andrew Spurgin and Charcuterie with Quality Social’s Chefs Jared Van Camp & Sam Burman.

After this experience I am more than convinced that Cups Culinary is the perfect place for a memorable date night.

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

Cupcake flavors include the flavors of the day, plus seasonal favorites like Spiced Pumpkin (GF), Pumpkin Pie, Great Pumpkin (V), Harvest (LGI), Pumpkin Cardamom (GF), Minty Wonderland (GF) and Gingerbread!

We will also be offering a variety of breakfast pastries including maple-oat and cranberry-orange scones, carrot cake (GF), pumpkin-walnut, banana nut, mixed berry and other muffins and fresh-baked breads including banana nut, vanilla-chocolate marble, and pumpkin (available in regular, LGI, Vegan or GF).

Open until noon on Thanksgiving day for pick-up.

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.

Imagine floating away on a river of milky, strawberry sweetness. Sound like something only Willy Wonka can orchestrate? Well, maybe the river, but we think the famous strawberry milk on tap at Cups La Jolla Organic Cupcakery is right out of our childhood dreams of faraway, candied lands.

Cups’ depth not only comes from their whimsical flavors, but from the organic, local and sustainable products they use to make their tempting treats. That’s only the beginning of the great lengths Founder Michelle Lerach goes to make sure Cups maintains their 3-Star Green Restaurant Certification® – the first awarded in San Diego. Even the sodas they serve are made in-house, using naturally filtered and carbonated water and fruit-juice blends.

Eating a Cups’ cake not only gives us a nice sugar buzz, it also supports the local economy.

Our Favorites:

Brûlée-J – Vanilla cup filled with sweet custard and topped with caramelized sugar.

Limone Ricotta – Lemon ricotta torte cup made with ground almonds topped with lemon cream cheese frosting

Bottoms Up – Rich chocolate cup filled with chocolate chunks and mascarpone cheese topped with cream cheese frosting

To taste Cups’ gluten free, vegan, dairy free, and low glycemic index delights, Head to La Jolla or visit their site http://cupslj.com.

“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: Hummingbird (spice cake/cream cheese frosting), Pumpkin Cardamom (pumpkin/spiced chocolate) & Chocolibre (chocolate/vanilla)

TUESDAY: Limone Ricotta (pictured), Hazed & Confused (chocolate/hazelnut), & Almond Dream

WEDNESDAY:  Zanzibar Chai (vanilla/chai), Hummingbird, Pumpkin Cardamom

THURSDAY: Mozart (almond/chocolate chip), Chocotorte (chocolate/chocolate), Bunny Love (carrot/cream cheese)

FRIDAY: Chocotorte (chocolate/chocolate), Almond Dream, Spiced Pumpkin (pumpkin/cream cheese)

SATURDAY:   Zanzibar Chai, Limone Ricotta & Hazed & Confused.

SUNDAY:  Pumpkin Cheesecake (pumpkin/cream cheese), Chocotorte & Bunny Love

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!