If you're planning a get together with your friends and family, a cooking experience like this is a great idea. Even people who shy away from the kitchen will still find enjoyment in it, and they'll learn a thing or two along the way. People who love to cook (like me!) will have fun, too, even though the recipes are easy. At the end of the day, they'll get to add more dishes to their repertoire - and what chef doesn't love that?
Last night, we made a four-course meal including an appetizer, salad, entree and dessert. The recipes were delicious, but so easy and simple that anyone could easily replicate them in their own home. Not too many ingredients, not too many steps, just the right mixture of flavors!
Our appetizer was a bruschetta, made with pesto, sun-dried tomato, roasted red pepper and feta cheese (or any combination of those ingredients). I happen to love any kind of bruschetta (and there are soooo many options!), so I was excited about the first course right away! I decided to make two different types, a pesto, sun-dried tomato and feta cheese and another of pesto, roasted red pepper and feta. Once I assembled my bruschetta, they were hit with a blow torch to finish them off. YUM.
Next, we made our salads. Ingredient options included mixed greens, croutons, cayenne-spiced pecans (SO good), tomatoes, shredded cheddar cheese, crumbled feta cheese, and sliced strawberries with a sugar coating, with a choice of either ranch or balsamic viniagrette for dressings. I chose to do mixed greens, croutons, pecans, tomatoes and ranch...no sweets for me, of course.
.JPG)
I think that I enjoyed the entree portion the most (even though the blow torch was pretty exciting!), partly because I was learning to make a new recipe and partly because I just love to cook. We made Baked Chicken Parmesan, paired with pasta and vegetables for sides (we were only responsible for cooking the chicken). Before leaving, we were all given a copy of the recipe, which I've already added to my recipe box (and can't wait to try again in my own home!). I'm sorry to say, I didn't get a picture of this one...I was too excited to eat, I guess.
I skipped out on dessert because I'm not a sweets person (I know, I know - I'm weird), but the final course was a choose-your-own mixture of bite-size cubes of pound cake with all the sweet toppings you could ever ask for, including a homemade cream with Kahlua. These were served in parfait glasses and looked really pretty - and judging by the speed at which my fellow party-goers devoured them, they obviously tasted quite good as well.
In another life, I imagine that the experience we had last night is very much what I would like to do; I can see it now, a "Cocktail Cutie" boutique that teaches even the most novice of cooks how to make a great dinner for themselves, spouses, family members and friends. I'd love to do wine and cheese parties, wine and chocolate parties, cocktail mixers and hors d'ouevres hour for everyone! For now, though, I'll just stick to hosting parties like these for my closest family and friends (and teaching you how to host them yourselves). This is the kind of stuff that I love!
I'd like to give these guys my recommendation, because they were entertaining, funny and helpful, and the food was great! Check them out here: The Grand Gourmet.
I'm also going to dedicate this blog to Kellie Coffey (soon-to-be Bates) who is the reason I had this experience...and who is getting married one week from today. Congratulations, Kellie!!
Until next time...
Cheers!
No comments :
Post a Comment