I had an amazing opportunity to attend a cooking class offered through Aprons Cooking School at Publix Grocery Store. I was given the class as a gift so all I really knew about the event was that the theme ingredient was strawberries.
I was surprise as I entered the grocery store, after being greeted by one of the employees, I was led down a very plain narrow hallway. Exiting the hallway, I entered a beautiful demonstration kitchen with good lighting and 3 big screen monitors that showed overhead shots of the cooktop and counter prep space.
I took my seat and next thing I knew one of the facilitators was pouring me a glass of La Luca – Sparkling Rose, which had a nice acidity with a strawberry essence. There were handouts with the recipes for course and a listing of the paired wines. Off to a good start!
There were four chefs who each handled a course. The first course was a green salad with roasted strawberry vinaigrette, goat cheese and spiced walnuts. I think the most important thing I learned was to be vigilant when roasting nuts, because you can go from not yet to burnt very quickly.
And secondly, don’t be afraid of curry which was in the spiced nuts. The vinaigrette used a prosecco vinegar, which I had never heard of. I asked about vinegar substitutions and the chef said to go with something that is a neutral flavor, so white vinegar would be okay but a balsamic would be too much. After the chef was finished, salads were passed out to all attendees. It was yummy. The wine pairing was Lamarca-Prosecco, slightly sweet, light color very gentile flavor that did not overpower the tartness of the salad.
The second course was a flatbread with pickled strawberries, crispy prosciutto, parmesan and arugula. The chef used masa to make the flatbread, it looked very dense as she rolled the dough out and fried it in a pan. It was great to see the chef make the pickling liquid for the strawberries, she used both balsamic and prosecco vinegars. Pickling can be easy and tastes so good.
I was interested in seeing how this course was going to taste. I have to say the flatbread was not good. It was heavy to the point of tough. The arugula salad was on top of the flatbread was tart and very satisfying. The wine pairing was La Crema – Monterey Pinor Noir. I have had this brand before and it was not one of my favorites. It has a minimal nose, hint of strawberry/blue fruit and is slightly bitter on the lips for aftertaste. It was okay paired with food.
I found out that one of the chefs was in his third year of sommelier training. So, I took advantage and asked him wine questions when he was available so I could better understand what I was tasting. He was very helpful and really enthusiastic about the training he was completing.
The third course was Vietnamese braised pork shoulder with strawberry BBQ sauce and sautéed greens. I like braising. The chef used an extensive list of spices which for me was overwhelming and not cost effective but for someone with a good spice selection it was doable. I was really interested in his use of bone marrow and how it added to the flavor profile. The barbecue sauce was a variation on the usual sugar/vinegar sauce. I couldn’t wait to taste the final product. The pork was flavorful and so tender. The barbecue sauce was a little heavy, a little too sweet for me. The greens were great. What was surprising was the pairing – Marques De Caceres – Rioja. This wine is all up front taste with no lingering aftertaste and no nose. It was dry on the tongue with not a lot of fruit maybe dark cherry, some minerality. It was really good paired with the pork. The wine cut through the fattiness and enhanced the flavor and was not diminished by the barbecue sauce.
The last course was strawberry consommé, vanilla bean panna cotta and candied mint. The chef made making a panna cotta look so easy. I couldn’t wait to try this one. It was so good. Creamy, cool, nice vanilla flavor. It was so good, it didn’t need the consommé, which was fine, just not needed. The wine pairing was Veuve Cliequot – Brut. I was familiar with this orange labelled champagne. I really liked the soft flavor of this champagne, little tiny bubbles that tickled the sides of my tongue. Paired with the panna cotta, the partnership was a lovely flavor experience.
Overall, this experience was terrific. All the chefs were professional, experienced and friendly. The location was perfect, the monitors really helped viewing techniques, the room was quiet and it was easy to hear the chefs whether they were mic’d or not. I really learned some interesting stuff and had fun.
Have you ever taken a cooking class? How did it go?
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