April 28, 2008

iron chef - st. paul

yesterday, i ventured to st. paul for a cooking class. i had an idea of how things would go, but was excited (and even a little nervous) to see how it all really unfolded. a & i met at the store and found our way upstairs to the kitchen, with our recipes in-hand. doable & delectable spanish cuisine had a smattering of unique (to me) dishes waiting to be prepared. our class of about 3- people were divided up into groups of 5, each given a recipe and instructions to follow. a & i weren't in the same group, because we registered separately, but that gave us an opportunity to check in on each other's dishes and see how things were coming. i worked dillegently cutting up vegetables, tossing them in olive oil with salt and pepper and grilling them up (over the intensely hot indoor grill...i swear, i thought my fingers were going to melt off). a had a more involved task, her group was making paella. i actually learned more from checking in and watching her group than i did in my own (mostly because i've grilled veggies a lot in my life). i learned that tomatoes are grated to make the sauce for paella, interesting, i'd never thought about that. the class was educational and fun. it also gave me a new sense of capabilities and excitement in the kitchen. i'm always happy to learn new cooking ideas, techniques, etc. the food was delicious! including a flourless orange and almond cake, which had ground up almonds in the cake batter, giving a lovely and subtle crunch to the cake. mmm! i'm hoping a and i can find some other interesting classes to take in the future. it was a very fun and delicious afternoon! i'll keep you kids posted when i manage to make some of the new recipes i acquired.
for now, happy eating, kids!

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