Last week my dear, sweet friend Jamie treated me to a cooking class just when I needed a break the most (day 6 of Andrew being out of town and a very busy circus week). It was so refreshing to do something with her where we could talk, laugh, and discuss motherhood candidly. I enjoyed it so much, we vowed to do it again and maybe make it a tradition in our friendship.
This cooking class was focused on Indian food, a cuisine we both love, but needed a few tips to take it to the next level. The chef had so many tricks up his sleeve, including a tip on how to peel ginger root with a spoon (genius!) and the difference between tempering and toasting spices, and the strangely difficult task of leaving the onions the hell alone when caramelizing them. Also, I was reminded of the importance of sharp knives… they provided us with Wüsthof knives and they made all the difference in prep work.
We rolled out our own naan and made cashew cookies and a lamb dish that was amazing. The rest of the class worked on other dishes and at the end we all shared. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and felt so refreshed after spending time with my friend.
Thank you, Jamie, for this special night! I am so lucky to have a friend like you, dear!
Such a sweet post! I had such a great time with you and can’t wait to do it again dear friend!
Is this Kitchen Conservatory? They host THE BEST cooking classes! I love Indian but have gotten into a bit of a Tikka Masala rut. Our Indian friends who we met in SF but now live back in London have cooked us some truly amazing meals. While watching them cook naan over an open cooktop flame I thought “there’s no way I could ever…” Please, share tips and recipes!!
We should have brought you on our camping trip!
Yes to good knives – I highly recommend looking up the Cooks Illustrated recommendations on knives – they road tested a zillion knives, and have a recommendation for each type of knife. (Their findings were – skip the one brand knife block and knife set – they had favorites from all different brands.) We distributed the list to our families after they asked for gift ideas years ago, and together they filled our knife drawer over a few holidays and birthdays. My go-to knife is my big-daddy Wusthof, and I sharpen it religiously. Now I’m a knife snob when we travel or try to use our parents’ knives when we cook at their houses. (I pack my own knives!)
This is making me hungry, and it’s not even 10am.