Last Thursday night I took a cooking class at Sur La Table in Hell's Kitchen, and the theme was Girls' Night: Spring Edition with Chef Rebecca Robin. We were greeted by the sous chefs and given a packet with recipes, as well as an apron.
This is the Sur La Table cooking space where four prep stations were set up around the large island. We separated ourselves into groups of four.
Excited to begin! I ended up using my own apron because I wanted to have my camera and phone on hand to take pictures and the provided white apron didn't have any pockets.
This was our prep station and mise-en-place for the Lemon-Lavender Mini-Bundt Cakes, our first recipe of the evening. We started this one first because it was not temperature-dependent upon serving (meaning it could be baked right away and then let sit to cool for an hour...).
This was the creaming stage with the butter and sugar:
We finished mixing the pre-measured ingredients and the sous-chefs came to collect our batter, fill mini bundt pans, and pop them in the oven.
Meanwhile, we started on the Creamy Cauliflower "Risotto," which was made by breaking down the half-head of cauliflower into tiny florets and letting it simmer with some sautéed mushrooms, onion and garlic, white bean puree, and parmesean cheese.
Meanwhile, we started on the Creamy Cauliflower "Risotto," which was made by breaking down the half-head of cauliflower into tiny florets and letting it simmer with some sautéed mushrooms, onion and garlic, white bean puree, and parmesean cheese.
This was left to simmer for about 45 minutes on low heat.
Our bundt cakes were done! They were taken out of the oven and flipped over onto a serving plate for later.
Then we cooked some salmon on pre-heated pink salt blocks (about 500 degrees each) and then finished in the oven for 20 minutes. The sous chefs then flaked the salmon for our Salt Block Salmon Niçoise salad.
We also folded together a Pea Soufflé! They puffed up very nicely in the oven but started to deflate as soon as they were removed from the heat. They were very tasty though!
This is the finished Cauliflower Risotto:
It's almost vegan-friendly (because it has parmesean cheese), so it was just classified as vegetarian!
This is the flaked Salt Block Salmon on top of the mixed Niçoise salad. Traditionally, a Niçoise is a composed salad, not mixed together. Regardless, the flavors were spot-on and it definitely tasted delicious! We had made a red wine vinaigrette dressing with capers and tarragon.
Here's my plate! I scored a few pieces of crispy salmon skin as an added bonus!
These are the finished glazed Lemon-Lavender Mini Bundt Cakes, which were just the right consistency, nuanced with lavender, and a good, light way to end the meal!
Here's me with our food!
Final thoughts on the class? It was fun to be in the kitchen with non-chefs, and it reminded me where I used to be, skills-wise. Since we worked in teams, it was a constant challenge for me not to take charge and just do what was asked just because I already knew how. There were opportunities given for people to learn, so I took a step back. The food was delicious! I wish that we had had a little more hands-on time with physically putting things in and removing them from the oven, since that's such a huge part of cooking. Our chef instructor kept things on track, providing little tidbits of cooking info, and I thought she did a wonderful job!
If you are interested in taking one of these classes, you can sign up here: http://www.surlatable.com/category/cat2211278/Find+a+Cooking+Class
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Sur La Table's Spring Pea Soufflé
Serves 4
2 TB unsalted butter + more for buttering ramekins
8 TB finely grated Gruyere or any other hard cheese
1/2 cup cooked peas
1 TB olive oil
1 TB flour
1/2 cup whole milk
1 tsp chopped mint leaves
1 tsp lemon zest
2 large egg yolks
3 egg whites
1/2 tsp seat salt
black pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Butter 4 6oz ramekins and dust with grated cheese.
Mash peas and mint together and set aside.
Heat a saucepan to medium high, add the oil and flour and mix to make a roux (creamy mixture). Then whisk in the milk. Stir for 3-5 minutes until the mixture thickens.
Remove the pan from the heat and mix the sauce, mashed peas, lemon zest, and egg yolks.
In a stand mixer, whisk the egg whites until you've achieved stiff peaks.
Gently fold the egg whites into the wet mixture until just combined.
Spoon into the prepared ramekins and bake for 18-20 minutes. They will be puffed and golden brown.
Enjoy!
