Chop Chop

It's been a while since I last took a cooking class and I've been hearing some good stuff about the ones at Cavallo Point, a luxury hotel in Sausalito, California. The School is located on the second floor of Cavallo Point's flagship restaurant, Murray Circle.  Seems they have a variety of classes through the months of March - May and it might be worth a visit if you're tired of other classes in the city.

If you're a wine lover, this might be a great pairing for you:

SPRING CHEESES & RELISH

Thursday, March 22 6–8 pm
Join Sheana Davis of The Epicurean Connection to taste Spring cheeses made in California, prepare a selection of Spring relishes and enjoy a glass of Spring Wine. A trio of fresh Sheep and Spring Cow Milk Cheeses will be featured, including fresh made cow milk Ricotta, Sheep Milk Fraiche, North Bay Curds and Whey Luicca, a blend of cow & sheep milk.

• Award winning Delice de la Vallee with Raspberry Rose Petal Jam, served with Brut Rose
• Creme de Fromage with Lemon Zest, served with Sauvignon Blanc
• Spring Apricot & Meyer Lemon Compote, served with Muscat
• Cherry & Violet Relish, served with Champagne and Cherries

$65 / person + tax

Or go globe trotting if you're up for some Peruvian fare:

PERU

Friday, April 12 6–9 pm
Hands-on Class with Bites
A new monthly series featuring the cuisine and conversation from a particular country, ethnic region or city in the world. Imagine an ethnic-themed cocktail party, where each person is responsible for contributing a dish, story, music, photos, etc. of the featured region. Casey and I both recently wandered through Peru, so we'll use Peru to kick off this exciting new series.

• Causa
• Peruvian Ceviche
• Chicharrones (deep fried hunks of pork... YUM) served with a salad of lime, mint and red onion
• Smoked Trout and Potato Salad
• Skewered Beef Heart with Aji Amarillo

$85 / person + tax

The Ultimate Cooking Class!

New York is the focal point of all things "foodie"; at least that's how I feel after enjoying over 3 years of lavish wining and dining in the Big Apple when I lived there. And oooo, how I miss those days where the moment I found a hot new restaurant, I'd be dialing on my phone a month ahead to try to get dinner reservations at these highly coveted locales. How many times was I disappointed to hear the busy tone forever and ever? From Bouley to Per Se, to WD-50, persistence paid off and I was eventually able to get a table, although it was sometimes just at the bar or for lunch. And I've gotta say, every meal was worth the effort!

So what's a foodie's passion these days? I do own a load of cookbooks from various chef's that I've followed but it's sometimes hard to translate the recipes in print and you wish the chef could show you a demo. Well I just came across a fantastic event in October that will allow you to have a hands-on cooking experience with the "Who's Who" of the NY restaurant scene. No kidding, the chef's list has names like Jean-George, Bouley, Morimoto, Portale, etc. It's called the New York Culinary Experience and surely an experience indeed! A 2 day course will get you in the kitchen with fellow amateur chefs and you get to cook with the chef of your choice (total of 4 chefs as classes run in AM and PM with a panel session for lunch.) It does come with a hefty ticket price of $1395 plus tax, but that's probably a total of what I would pay for 4-5 pricey dinners at the restaurants these chefs operate so maybe it's worth it if you get to mingle and have direct access to their techniques. If I can think of a good occasion to "gift" myself, I think this is one item I'd like to sign up for. Check our their website for the 2009 details and to reserve a spot for 2010 if you're the "affluent" kind :-) http://nymag.com/nyce/about.html