Valentine’s Eve Cooking Class

This, my friends, is why I love the DINK Foodie lifestyle. I was lucky enough to get in on this class after  some people cancelled last-minute. At $89 a person, it wasn’t cheap, but it was definitely worthwhile. DH and I had a wonderful time.

The evening started with cheese, crackers, and an awesome pomegranate martini (3 C pomegranate juice, 2 C vodka, 1 C triple sec) which I unfortunately didn’t get a picture of, but it tasted great. Then, Chef Amy and Irene got to work cooking and teaching.

The theme of the evening was Mediterranean Antioxidant Cooking. Irene is a registered dietitian, so she helped explain why each of the ingredients is good for us.

Our appetizer was baked figs with prosciutto and goat cheese. I had taken a class with Chef Amy at my CSA last summer, and I can’t believe I forgot about how awesome prosciutto is. It’s like bacony goodness without the extra fat.

The Asian Pear Salad was next, and although Asian Pears aren’t local, they sure are delicious! I also loved that this recipe uses radicchio, which I never quite used to its potential when I got it in my CSA last year. Chef Amy stressed the importance of balancing a dish – salty/bitter/sweet. All the flavors played against each other to harmonize very well. We also learned a quick technique for caramelizing nuts. I will definitely be making those!

Then it was time for the main event. The parchment paper they used to make the salmon packets was cut into a heart, not just because of Valentine’s Day, we learned, but because that allows you to make a little tail after the packet is wrapped and that keeps everything nicely together.

One of the things I love most about Chef Amy’s cooking classes is that she is always throwing out other ideas. So even though she made a specific salmon dish, she gave suggestions for other meat/vegetable combinations that would work equally well. She also explained how to make this ahead for a party. When she made the pilaf, she explained how you can pre-cook ancient grains and freeze them for later use; same with the “cheater souffle.”

At this point in the evening I was feeling rather full. And a wee bit tipsy – did I mention that they provided more wines and martinis as we went along? We were also getting to know our other classmates really well as the wine flowed and the night went on. DH dazzled them all with his brewing knowledge. We talked about Slow Food USA, how Chef Amy and her husband started West Michigan Co-op, and didn’t give the guy who works for an industrial food company too much hassle. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing some of these folks at an upcoming brew day.

At this point in the evening Chef Amy made panicotta. The secret to perfect custards and dishes of this sort, says the pastry chef, is a strainer. Brilliant. And oh, so good.

The Panicotta was simply heavenly. And then . . . she pulls out some grasshopper squares. Because, after all, what’s Valentine’s Day without chocolate? Oh. my. word.

Overall, I rate this evening an A+. We met some great people, had some great food, and learned a lot. I look forward to seeing Chef Amy and Irene at future Slow Food Book Club meetings, and some of the others perhaps at upcoming brew days.

At the end of the evening, people started to ask about this blog, and what my future plans are. What are my dreams? Funny, this keeps coming up in different contexts over the past year! I’m not sure what the future holds. DH and I would love to open a brewpub, to do our passions full time, but Chef Amy brought up a good point. At this time in our lives, food and drink are a passion, something fun. We don’t want it to turn into drudgery, which can happen when it becomes your livelihood.

In the meantime, we are loving life, and this slow food journey.

This post linked to Works for Me Wednesday and Things I Love Thursday