Cooking Class with the Roomie

I briefly mentioned on my birthday over a month ago that Lauren had purchased a cooking class for us for my birthday. Well that class was a few weeks ago and I still haven't blogged about it!

This week has been such a whirlwind at work and honestly I've been lacking for some new material to write about, so now is the perfect time to share my pictures from the class!

I guess "cooking class" probably isn't the proper term; it was more of a cooking demonstration. We got to sit, watch, drink wine, and then eat everything the chef made. The chef is in charge of pastries at Soby's, one of the more popular and well-known restaurants in downtown Greenville. (Interesting fact: Not that I support him as a political candidate, but Mitt Romney just hosted a fundraiser there).

The theme was "Girls' Night Out" so the chef aimed to cook more tapas style dishes that you could serve to a group of your girlfriends. It was a four course meal, but they were all pretty small portions so you didn't feel overly full afterwards. We got to keep all the recipes so we can recreate them! I'm willing to try them all at some point, but maybe not all in the same night! I'll post the full recipe if I ever cook them myself (it's just too much to type them all here)!

I didn't get a picture of the first dish, but it was a Charred Eggplant on Country Bread with Goat Cheese and Romesco sauce. She just sautéed the vegetables, put a thick piece of cheese on the toasted bread, and piled the vegetables on top after stirring them with the sauce. The romesco sauce was homemade, but reminded me of vodka sauce you can buy at the store!

The second dish was our favorite. It was similar to ceviche, but had crab in it. It was a Crab and Avocado Salad Tostada. The flavors were light and fresh, perfect for summer. This would be the dish I'm most likely to make again and often!

The main course of Polenta Cakes with Grilled Beef was also delicious. It looked daunting on paper, but the chef made it look so easy! I'm sure I'd have to practice this one to get it just right, but it might just be worth the effort. 

And because we had to finish off the meal with something sweet, she made a fruit trifle, with layers of cubed angel food cake, summer berries, and fresh whipped cream. Yum!

I highly recommend trying out a cooking demonstration and/or class! You learn so much! It's like watching a show on the Food Network live!