Essence of Cooking

Week 6: MYSTERY BASKET COOKING CHALLENGE – Each team receives a covered basket containing 10 to 15 unexpected ingredients. They have 120 minutes to prep, cook, and plate. In addition to the mystery basket, participants can use a curated selection of staple items (spices, oils, eggs, flour, etc.).

From all of us at Sweet Basil Gourmet, we wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving! We are truly thankful for our wonderful customers, friends, and cooking community who make Sweet Basil such a special place. May your Thanksgiving be filled with delicious food, treasured traditions, good friends, and time spent with those you love. With gratitude, Martie & the Sweet Basil Staff

Our Sweet Basil Holiday Party is an event you don’t want to miss! Everyone is invited to join us for a festive celebration with wine & hors d’oeuvres. Enjoy a chef demonstration of the foods we’re serving! There will be special values on our fun Christmas merchandise and gifts throughout the store. Enter to win a gift from Santa’s bag of raffle items. Bring a friend, enjoy a glass of wine, make your holiday shopping list, and let us help make your season fun and stress-free. Be sure to RSVP so we will know you are coming! Call 480-596-5628 or email: [email protected]

Martie and the entire Sweet Basil staff wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas! May your holiday be filled with the warmth of family and friends, wonderful food, cherished traditions, and plenty of sweet memories. Thank you for cooking, learning, laughing, and sharing the joy of good food with us throughout the year. We are truly grateful to have you as part of our Sweet Basil family. Merry Christmas and warmest holiday wishes! — Martie & the Sweet Basil Staff

As we say goodbye to 2026 and welcome 2027, Martie and the entire Sweet Basil staff want to extend our heartfelt thanks to all our wonderful customers, friends, and cooking enthusiasts! Your continued support, friendship, and enthusiasm for great food have made 2026 a truly memorable and prosperous year. We are grateful for every class, every shared recipe, and every wonderful moment spent together in our kitchen. As we look ahead to 2027, we wish you and your families a year filled with good health, happiness, prosperity, and delicious new adventures! Here's to another wonderful year of cooking, learning, laughter, and making memories together! Happy New Year! With love and appreciation, Martie & the Sweet Basil Staff

If you’ve ever wanted to be a good home cook, this 12-week series is meant for you! You will learn A to Z about cooking as a home chef. Each week a new topic is introduced and the subject is cooked by the group. The series includes lectures, hand-outs, demonstrations, and a hands-on cooking experience each week ending with a meal of the foods prepared. Learn how much fun it is to cook! This great series will give you the knowledge, skills and pleasure of becoming a confident cook for yourself, your family and friends. Our lessons are: WEEK 1 - KNIFE SKILLS: Learning to use a chef knife & pareing knife and food safety. The class will prepare Lemony Orzo Salad with Chicken and roasted & sautéed Vegetables. WEEK 2 - SOUPS & SALADS: French Onion Soup; Chicken Tortilla Soup; Creamy Cauliflower Soup; Butternut Squash Soup with Cinnamon-Sugar Croutons; Endive, Pear, & Roquefort Salad; Roasted Beet Salad with toasted Pine Nuts & Arugula, and Winter Crunch Salad. WEEK 3 – EGGS: Mini Bacon Quiches; family-style Denver Omelet; Poached Eggs & Hollandaise Sauce; Spanish Tortilla with Garlic Mayonnaise; Deviled Eggs; Spinach Soufflé, and Crepes with Chocolate & Oranges. WEEK 4 - SAUTÉING & BRAISING: Sweet & Spicy Pork Tacos; Japanese Ginger Pork (Shogayaki); Pan-Seared Chicken Breasts with Mustard, Rosemary, and Capers; Filipino Chicken Adobo; Bistro Steak with Shallot and White Wine Butter Sauce; Pasta Bolognese, and White Chicken Chili. WEEK 5 - GRILLING & ROASTING: Pan-seared and roasted Pork Tenderloin with dried Cherry-Port Sauce; grilled Pork Kebabs with Hoisin & Five-Spice; Mexican-style grilled Steak (Carne Asada); oven-perfect Strip Steak with Chimichurri Sauce; one-pan Roasted Chicken & Potatoes; Mediterranean grilled Chicken with Tomato-Feta Salad, and grilled Chicken Salad with Sesame-Miso Dressing. WEEK 6 - FISH & SHELLFISH: grilled Tuna Steaks with Red Wine Vinegar & Mustard Vinaigrette; Salmon en Cocotte with Leeks & White Wine; Ginger-Scallion steamed Cod; seared Scallops with Spinach, Fennel, & Grapefruit Salad; New Orleans-Style BBQ Shrimp; broiled Tilapia with Thai Coconut-Curry Sauce, and Sweet & Saucy Grilled Salmon with Orange-Sesame Glaze. WEEK 7 - VEGETABLES & LEGUMES: braised Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Pecans; Carrot Soufflé; Eggplant Involtini; Roasted Poblano & Black Bean Enchiladas; Lentil & Roasted Red Pepper Salad; Spaghetti Squash Salad with Chickpeas & Feta and skillet-roasted Cauliflower with Curry, Raisins & Almonds. WEEK 8 - PASTA, POTATOES, & RICE: Fresh Pasta - Garlic Oil Pasta Sauce with Parsley & Pecorino; Curried Chicken and Rice with Cranberries; one pot Mashed Potatoes with Gravy; Pasta with Potatoes, Gorgonzola & fried Sage; Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Maple-Thyme Glaze; Japanese Potato Salad, and Risotto with Parmesan & Herbs. WEEK 9 -QUICK BREADS, FLATBREADS, & YEAST BREADS: English Muffins; Yogurt & Olive Oil Flatbreads; Cheese Bread with Bacon, Onion, & Gruyère; Pizza with Sausage, Pepperoni, and Mushrooms; Potato Biscuits with Chives; quick Yeasted Waffles, and Cream Scones. WEEK 10 - DESSERTS & PASTRIES: Lemon Olive Oil Tart; Chocolate-Orange Mousse; Lemon Posset with Berries; Berry Fool; Raspberry Souffles; Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Mascarpone Whipped Cream, and Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting. WEEK 11 - HORS D'OEUVRES: Bruschetta with Goat Cheese, Fig, & Prosciutto; Frico (Parmesan Cheese Crisps) with Garlic & Rosemary White Bean Dip; Bacon, Garlic, & Thyme Gougères; Salmon Cakes with Creamy Lemon Herb Dipping Sauce; Candied Bacon; Shrimp Toasts; Oven-Fried Chicken Wings with Sweet & Spicy Thai Sauce. WEEK 12 - Graduation Dinner: Menu selected by the students.

Part of the ESSENCE OF COOKING 12-week series with Lisa Brisch. Enrollment is for the complete series; this weekly lesson is not sold separately. WEEK 1 – KNIFE SKILLS: Learning to use a chef knife & pareing knife and food safety. The class will prepare Lemony Orzo Salad with Chicken and roasted & sautéed Vegetables.

Part of the ESSENCE OF COOKING 12-week series with Lisa Brisch. Enrollment is for the complete series; this weekly lesson is not sold separately. WEEK 2 – SOUPS & SALADS: French Onion Soup; Chicken Tortilla Soup; Creamy Cauliflower Soup; Butternut Squash Soup with Cinnamon-Sugar Croutons; Endive, Pear, & Roquefort Salad; Roasted Beet Salad with toasted Pine Nuts & Arugula, and Winter Crunch Salad.

Part of the ESSENCE OF COOKING 12-week series with Lisa Brisch. Enrollment is for the complete series; this weekly lesson is not sold separately. WEEK 3 – EGGS: Mini Bacon Quiches; family-style Denver Omelet; Poached Eggs & Hollandaise Sauce; Spanish Tortilla with Garlic Mayonnaise; Deviled Eggs; Spinach Soufflé, and Crepes with Chocolate & Oranges.

Part of the ESSENCE OF COOKING 12-week series with Lisa Brisch. Enrollment is for the complete series; this weekly lesson is not sold separately. WEEK 4 – SAUTÉING & BRAISING: Sweet & Spicy Pork Tacos; Japanese Ginger Pork (Shogayaki); Pan-Seared Chicken Breasts with Mustard, Rosemary, and Capers; Filipino Chicken Adobo; Bistro Steak with Shallot and White Wine Butter Sauce; Pasta Bolognese, and White Chicken Chili.

Part of the ESSENCE OF COOKING 12-week series with Lisa Brisch. Enrollment is for the complete series; this weekly lesson is not sold separately. WEEK 5 – GRILLING & ROASTING: Pan-seared and roasted Pork Tenderloin with dried Cherry-Port Sauce; grilled Pork Kebabs with Hoisin & Five-Spice; Mexican-style grilled Steak (Carne Asada); oven-perfect Strip Steak with Chimichurri Sauce; one-pan Roasted Chicken & Potatoes; Mediterranean grilled Chicken with Tomato-Feta Salad, and grilled Chicken Salad with Sesame-Miso Dressing.

Part of the ESSENCE OF COOKING 12-week series with Lisa Brisch. Enrollment is for the complete series; this weekly lesson is not sold separately. WEEK 6 – FISH & SHELLFISH: grilled Tuna Steaks with Red Wine Vinegar & Mustard Vinaigrette; Salmon en Cocotte with Leeks & White Wine; Ginger-Scallion steamed Cod; seared Scallops with Spinach, Fennel, & Grapefruit Salad; New Orleans-Style BBQ Shrimp; broiled Tilapia with Thai Coconut-Curry Sauce, and Sweet & Saucy Grilled Salmon with Orange-Sesame Glaze.