April Cooking Classes

In April, I took two cooking classes at the Merc: "Still More Mexican" with Chef Nancy and "French Tarts--Savory and Sweet" with Chef Paige.

For Nancy's class, the menu was Fresh Flour Tortillas from scratch. Queso Fundido. Tortilla Soup with Crispy Tortilla Strips. Red Chili Enchiladas with Chicken. Mexican Chocolate Flan. The main reason that I took this class was for the flour tortillas as I am not a huge fan of corn tortillas which are in the soup and enchiladas. I am also not a fan of chocolate (gasp!), even though I am a lover of flan. It wasn't my favorite class that I have taken of hers, but I was glad to learn the flour tortilla process and will be making them in the future. The soup was good, but I wasn't a fan of the crispy tortilla strips or it could have been the fact that the soup wasn't piping hot (the only way that I think hot soups should be served). Enchiladas were decent, but like I said corn tortillas aren't my favorite. As for the chocolate flan, the Mexican chocolate was an interesting touch with the cinnamon. I think that if I was to make it for a dinner party, I would make chocolate and regular flan, so that guests can try both.

If you know me at all, you know that I am obsessed with all things French. I took French as my language (I speak it poorly, but can read French decently) in both high school and college. I studied lots of French art for my art history major plus have read French history just for fun. Paris is one of my most favorite vacations spot in the world. I just love French things. So when I saw the French tarts class open up, I was thrilled when Jackie and Kelly said that they were taking it too. They included a silver removable bottom tart pan in the $25 class fee. This was an amazing deal considering the pan was made in France (not that I needed another one since I have quite a collection of tart pans that I rarely use).

Paige's class was great and informative. She is a fun chef with a great sense of humor and knowledge of why certain things work and don't work in cooking (she'll pull out info from food science books and stuff like that), but it had been awhile since I had been to one of her classes. Her French tart class was great. The menu--Mushroom & Leek Tart. Classic Savory Quiche. Amandine (a divine dried fruit and almond frangipane tart). Tarte Citron (a classic lemon tart). Fresh Raspberry & Custard Tart. My favorites were the Mushroom & Leek (I have already made this. Expect a post later) and the Raspberry & Custard. This class made me want to experiment with tarts, so look forward to some tart recipes in the near future!