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| - For our mom's birthday, my sister and I surprised her with a cooking class at Sweet Basil. Not because she needs lessons (my mom's a great cook) but because she enjoys cooking and it was something fun we could all do together.
Our class, Low Fat Faves, was $60 a person. Iced tea (really delicious tropical flavored, unsweetened tea that they sell loose at Sweet Basil) was available to quench our thirst while we listened to the instructor give an overview of each of the 7 recipes we would be preparing that evening.
With the review of each menu item, tips were given. For example, preheat the oven to 10 degrees hotter than what you need it, because the temperature drops when you open the door. Then lower it to the proper cooking temperature after you've put the food in to cook. Or, to more easily slice meat thin, put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes before slicing.
There were 15 participants in our class so we broke into teams of 2 (with one woman flying solo) and raised our hands to claim the recipe we wanted to work on during class. We donned our aprons and got to work.
Since Sweet Basil is a kitchen store, there were tons of tools to test drive! It was a lot of fun and about 30-40 minutes later, the instructor was pouring wine for us as we began our buffet dinner. There was a TON of food!
By the time we were finished, our family had to eat and run. Fortunately, because the class didn't start until 6:30, we had grabbed a "light bite" around 5:30. There was no way I could've waited until 9 p.m. to eat - and normally, I wouldn't eat that late at all. A weekend class would probably better fit with my schedule.
The recipes were OK but nothing really floored me. And, the tips were simple. Which was great for people with less time in the kitchen but I think it would also help to have offerings for more experienced cooks.
The instructor definitely was knowledgeable and I plan to keep my eyes peeled for class topics that interest me.
One last highlight: students get 10% off all gourmetware purchases the day of the class (excluding cookbooks, sale and electric items). I picked up a cool prep/cutting board!
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