Cooking Class
Most of my friends are excellent cooks. They love to cook, talk about it and immerse themselves in all things food. Hell, one of my girlfriends is even about to crochet cupcakes! Bliss. And then we moved.
Our new friends in Portland are not the foodie kind. Foodies definitely exist in Portland, but few of our friends tend to fall into this catagory. We had a ladies dinner on Sunday where the six of us talked about cooking. 3/6 had no idea how to cook. Blasphemy. So I sent out an email today to the group asking if they'd be interested in learning. I get these replies:
Alyson: "Absolutely. Eric will worship you for this."
Marne: "Yes yes yes! I don't cook. I can't cook. If you looked in my refrigerator today: PBR, cheese, soda, condiments, milk (almost expired), tortillas. My pantry: peanut butter, bread, tomato sauce, cereal, can of beans. Yep, that is literally all the food I have. Warning: I might be a disaster."
Alyson: "That is a feast compared to what Eric and I have. No milk, no bread, no eggs. Eric, the antiprincess of rugged didn't want to go to the grocery store on his lunch because it was raining and he didn't want to get wet walking from his car in the parking lot to the store."
Emily: "The only reason Marne's fridge doesn't contain expired milk is because she finally threw out the carton that had expired in August. I would love to learn to cook. Cereal and toast is getting a little boring."
And so the start of the cooking class begins:
Fun! I am excited about this -- you all are some of the most capable ladies I know.
Since we are by no means an organized class, it's up to us to plan it. I love to cook and I love manifestos, so I think that puts us in pretty good shape. How about something like this:
1. We'll decide what we want to make. As with Slapper heliconia (and in honor of election day), democracy wins and group majority picks the dish. I would also like for this to be a recurring event, if people are into it.
2. Once we decide on the dish, I'll find the appropriate recipe and will prepare the manifesto. That way, everyone will have the printed-out details of the night's dish so you can make it again -- including what you'd need to buy at the grocery store, the tools at home you'd need ( i.e. spatula, 9x13 casserole dish, etc), and the detailed instructions on how to make it.
3. I'll pick up the groceries and host. And then we cook... We'll make a mess, learn a lot, drink some wine (or black cherry soda) and eat our dish at the end of the night.
That said, any requests for the first class? Are there any dishes you've been wanting to learn to make?
Looks like chicken cordon bleu has been requested and will be in the line-up. Probably also lasagna and enchiladas. Any other ideas from my foodie friends on what to teach cooking newbies?
posted by Lisa @ 1:39 PM
9 Comments:
Can the foodie Emily join the club?
You should do your coconut thai curry. It's different, easy, and has so many variations. I make it all the time.
Pestos are always a hit and remarkably easy.
Pho is also awesome and by subbing the "meat" you instantly know how to cook a dozen dishes.
Pad Thai is also a winner.
I have recipes for all
-chuck
i can't cook, don't like to cook. but i like to eat. i take great pleasure in being a minor foodie who doesn't cook!
but i would take your cooking 'class' if i could. it sounds like fun.
Along the lines of what Chuck suggested, I think the ideal would be some dishes where you learn some basic techniqes that can be applied to a number of other dishes. Some ideas that come to mind would include:
--anything where you make a white or brown sauce starting from a roux--looks and tastes much fancier than it actually is difficult
--anything where you make a tomato sauce from actual, you know, tomatos (pizza, pasta, etc.)
--anything in which you make a salsa or guacamole or ideally both (see a pattern here?) especially since you've worked in a real kitchen in Tucson
(If you can do all three of the above, and have a blender, you can make mole)
--a chicken or turkey dish that involves brining (can be as simple as a grilled breast)--BTW brining works great for pork, too
--roasted potatoes or winter vegs
That's just off the top of my head.
Other suggestions would include fundamental everyday kind of stuf, like how to make good scrambled eggs (hardly anyone really knows how to do this) or homemade salad dressing.
In case you can't tell, I really like it when you blog about food.
I wish I was there to join the food club. Lisa plus cooking plus wine sounds like heaven.
I would add Taryn's shrimp and grits to the menu and salsa.
Have fun!
your enchiladas....yummy
I love all the ideas. Definitely keep them coming. TJ, the coconut thai curry is a great idea since it can be modified so easily.
Chuck, I very very very much want your recipes. I have not made pad thai or pho since you and Dana came to visit because yours was that good. I haven't even gotten it at a restaurant. My hat off to you.
Brian, I agree with the roux based sauce being important. I think the lesson where I'll probably teach that for the first time is chicken pot pie. Easy dish that can be adapted based on whatever is in the fridge/freezer. Plus, it can be made for 1 or 20 with roughly the same amount of preparation. Doesn't matter as much if the roux has lumps (great for beginners) and the dough is simple to make and its ingredients are almost always on hand.
Sara, that reminds me of SfN where I ordered shrimp & grits at a restaurant. Disappointing since they seasoned it with tabasco rather than the pure heat you get with cayenne. It was so spicy I couldn't even eat it. The cheese grits were good though. They also served the shrimp gravy with mushrooms which I found odd, but Taryn (who happened to be with me at the time) said it is pretty common. Hers is, by far, still my favorite.
Chuck does make good pesto - I really liked the one with cilantro!
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