rev:text
| - I recently attended this Classic Cooking for a pizza making class. Once the meal was finished, we were all able to sit down and eat the feast. From the time we walked in, we were greeted and offered a beverage (wine, beer, soda, water, etc). Refills were complimentary! Chef Swartz handed us all aprons, explained how it was going to work, and lead us back to the kitchen. As soon as we interacted with Chef Swartz, we knew it was going to be a fun evening.
Once in the kitchen, he gave us a demo on making the dough used for pizza and calzones. He answered all questions and gave us some tips that come frmo years of experience. There were so many "ah ha" moments that you could practically see everyone's epiphany lightbulbs going off! We didn't actually make the dough, instead, there were individual servings of dough pre-made for us so that we didn't need to concern ourselves with the time it takes to let the yeast rise, etc.
We all got practice kneading the dough and they even showed us how to properly "throw" a pizza over your head. The braves souls, aka myself, decided to try and IT WAS AWESOME! I've never felt cooler in a kitchen!
When our dough reached our desired shape for the pie or calzone, we added the sauce and toppings such as fire-roasted peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, ham, pepperoni, fresh mozzarella, pesto, and more. Chef Swartz and his assistants helped us to get them into the oven and they made sure to pull them out in time. We also made the most FABULOUS Caesar dressing I've ever had.
When the salad was made and the pizzas were cut - we were back in the dining area and sat down dine by candlelight. It was a really great night and I can't wait to do it again. At the end of the event you're also fed delicious dessert and given paper copies of the recipes created during the kitchen session. I hope to bring some family to Classic Cooking as something fun to do while they're visiting Arizona. It doesn't hurt that North Scottsdale is beautiful with gorgeous sunsets!
Oh - and p.s. Chef Swartz introduced me to a wonderful Spanish wine. YUM!
|