tuscan romance

Despite the title, I was going it alone. 

When I first got the gift certificates for my birthday, it never crossed my mind that I would be going to these cooking classes by myself. But as the hour approached, I couldn't shake the mental image of me sitting at a prep counter with several other couples on date nights, engaging in awkward conversation and getting the typical pity jobs in the kitchen. "Greg, while Chris and Amanda are caramelizing the top of this creme brulee, will you hand me a spoon?"

Thank God it didn't turn out that way. There were 11 of us in the class: a few middle-aged foodie couples,  two pairs of girlfriends taking the class for fun, and me to round out the group. I talked some with the couple at my table, and the conversation came surprisingly easy. We talked about the food at first, but then branched out to hobbies, family, life, dreams...

Ultimately, though, it was about the food. Each table took a course and our chef-instructor--Corie Martin, owner and chef of Pink Lady Catering--prepared the side dishes. She was wonderful, answering all of our questions, having fun, and even offering to send some of her other recipes to us. I would highly recommend her. Four stars.

The place was great, too. The Cook's Station hosted the class, and we were able to use all of their best equipment: subzero freezers, commercial gas ranges, convection ovens. It made me want to renovate a kitchen (with someone else's money, of course). This was one of my favorite pieces, though:

Breville mixer with digital timer. It's super fast, super quiet, and about the same price as a Kitchenaid. 

So here's what we actually fixed and ate, including photos of the recipes and instructions we received as part of the class (if you can read my handwriting, I also took notes):

I forgot to take pictures until after we had already had the appetizer and I had finished the entree. But here's what's left of the steak and root vegetables.

This was our table's creation: Dome cake (zuccotto) with chocolate ganache.

The outer shell is made of brownie, and the inside is two different flavored frozen whipped creams

Plated. Beautiful!

The food itself was unreal. And it seemed so easy to prepare! I walked away thinking, "I could fix this entire meal for the family and not go crazy trying to pull it off." For me, that's success. 

I think next time, though, I'll trade in my two remaining classes and get two spots in one class so Suzy can join me. That way, we can caramelize creme brulee while somebody else gets a spoon.