A couple of weeks ago, my mom and I went to Central Market for a gluten free cooking class. We had no idea what to expect or even how it would work, but we both left very pleased with the whole experience.
When we went it, it was just like a real cooking show kitchen, complete with a mirror above the main prep area and two big screens up on each side that showed what the chefs were doing. There were GF snacks to eat and GF beer to sample!!
Basically, during the course of the night, the chef prepared a salad, a main course, and a dessert. After she showed us how to make them, then they served the class what she had made. So, after she made a Wilted Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing, then we ate it. I had the great idea to take pictures of everything AFTER I had eaten most of my salad. But, I discreetly managed to take a picture of the lady sitting next to me's salad, though at this point, it really just looks like Spinach Salad.
Then, on to the main course, which was Chicken Stuffed with Gluten-Free Stuffing. She showed us how to make the stuffing from cornbread that had some orange zest in it that gave it an unusual flavor. She showed us how to rub down the bird with lots of spices and butter and how to stuff him. I'll just say that's not gonna be happening at my house anytime soon!! It was really good, but a lot of work!! Here's the chicken with Hot Cross Buns.
The Hot Cross Buns were typical GF fare . . . hard and dense. Even the chef said she wasn't pleased with them. But, the chicken and stuffing were both very good.
Finally came the dessert section of the class. Gluten-Free Pie Crust with Lemon Meringue Filling was on the menu and she did a great job of showing us how to make a good pie crust. Then she proceeded to make the lemon filling with the juice from no less than 10 really big lemons!! This was a great little tart, but tart doesn't even begin to describe the sour level!! I love sour things so it was great to me, but it definitely wasn't for the faint of heart!! My mom and I shared one so we could bring the other one home to Luke and as he was eating it the next day, he ate off all the meringue and started in on the lemon part. After a bite or two, he said, "Mom, can you get all this yellow stuff off so I can just eat the cookie??!!" Totally cracked me up! So, being the great mom I am, I took a spoon and cleaned off his "cookie!" And, maybe I ate it!!
The Lemon tart is in the upper left corner and the rest are cookies that you can either buy or make, most of which Luke has already tried and eats regularly. The cup in the upper right corner is Pirate's Booty, a popcorn snack they had on the tables when we arrived. Good stuff! The last picture is a very blurry image of the kitchen from our vantage point. I think I was trying to be sneaky because I really wasn't sure if they were ok with people taking pictures. So, it's a bad picture, but you can kind of get the idea.
Overall, it was a great time and we really learned a lot. We heard about new products from other GF people and got lots of great tips about things unique to Central Market and just cooking, in general. I would definitely do it again!!
2 comments:
What in the world are hot cross buns?? I thought that was just a song!
That's what you thought!!
They're a really hard bread with X's of icing across the top. Well, at least that was this lady's interpretation!!
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