ESSENCE OF COOKING
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.
