[pics incl] Jeff and I had a belated Valentine’s Day gift of a cooking school couples night. Yes, that’d be him paying someone to let me cook 😉
Right at the beginning, we had to sign a release, you know : knives, fire… “I’m not signing for her” and “I’m not allowed to hold knives…” preceded the, “Ah, thank you for declaring yourself upfront for us!” HA! I hadn’t even made it in the door yet!
We made sure to take pictures BEFOREHAND… just in case
I didn’t have any of the shrimp (shellfish allergy) so Jeff had four instead of two. Neither of us were sure about the fennel, but I have to say, once the sauces were added, this “salad” was delicious.
The veal and risotto was a two-parter so Jeff worked on the veal & sauces and I stirred the risotto. At one point the guy next to me leaned over “I’ve been demoted to stirring.” “Not me, this a promotion, I wasn’t kidding earlier when I said they don’t let me in the kitchen!” [Note: there are 8 couples total and everyone, except one… the woman to his other side, had heard us kid around earlier about “our kitchen was on fire once, NO, I didn’t do it but they did ask if I was cooking“] The woman to his other side had to be quickly brought up to speed on WHY everyone found “my promotion to stirring” extremely amusing ;-P
We actually made the dessert first, so that it would have time to chill while we cooked/ate the remainder of our meal.
We started w/ champagne and each of the dishes was paired w/ a wine they recommended.
Others that attended tonight, have been to “other” cooking class/dinners at other locations. Based on THEIR opinions, “Kitchen Table” in GV is unanimously, worth the drive & the money. While it was a bit pricey, it really wasn’t, considering, the high end food & wine, the time spent, we LOVE the head chef/instructor, and that I have ZERO complaints & highly recommend.
The best thing I learned is that I will no longer be “burning” anything. It might be “over carmalized” or “intentionally rustic.” HA!
To be honest, I think this would be a blast if we had the entire group… say… our neighborhood, go together. Can you imagine?! Regardless, it was fun but I do think it would’ve been a bit “more fun” if we’d known at least one other couple.