Intro to Asian

Wednesday night was my Christmas present from Ben. To make sure it's on the record, this is probably one of his best gifts he's given me (with the exception of anything that has come in a little blue box). I've always wanted to take cooking classes, so Ben got me an Intro to Asian demonstration class. The menu included: hot & sour soup, grilled beef satay with spicy peanut sauce, stir fry mixed veggies, thai curry shrimp, and coconut bananas. I must say when I first saw the menu I was a little nervous. Everyone knows I'm a plain jane and ketchup is living on the edge for me, but I told myself I would at least try everything!

We arrived, took a seat, and were immediately handed a glass of wine to try. Wines had been chosen for each course that blend with all the flavors in the dishes. This was our "welcoming wine." Well, that's all the welcome I needed!

Our first dish was hot & sour soup. I was, again, a little worried because I usually opt for egg drop soup when eating Asian out. Chef Hellmich gave us some tips on cutting veggies, what knives to use, how to choose your wok's, etc... . After taking us through the process we finally got to eat! I want to say it was almost too flavorful for me, if that's possible. So good...but almost overwhelming. The wine chosen was perfect, it cut some of the brashness of the spices and calmed the taste buds. (I also became a food critic after the 2nd glass of wine) It was great!

Dish two & three were combined into a grilled beef satay with spicy peanut sauce served on a bed of stir fried veggies. One tip that the Chef shared was how to cut your beef tenderloin into strips. Once your meat has thawed, place in freezer for 1 - 2 hours then it's firm enough (that's what she said) to cut neatly into thin strips going against the grain. Beautiful! Why hadn't I thought of that when I was making beef tenderloins satay? The class decided they wanted the peanut sauce to be extra spicy, so I'm instantly worried. Fortunately for me they served the sauce on the side. The meat was so flavorful and easy to pull off the skewers. The peanut sauce had a definite kick but I just dipped the smallest, tiniest, slightest of a fraction, of a corner, to get some flavor. I tried it, and it was delish! The wine also continues to be good and I continue to be doing GREAT as the class went on!

Thai curry shrimp. My favorite! I honestly can't really remember how this dish was made, at this point I'm starting to get a little chatty and began to people watch and wonder about some of those in our class. Four ladies in front of us are having a great time and encouraging the chef with laughter, whoops, and questions about dishes they have made. Clearly they entertain quite often without expense. Then we have the "know it all" who I think secretly wanted to teach the class. I even saw her twitch a few times when chef was adding/pouring "the perfect amount" of ingredients into each dish. It never fails, there is always one in the class. Then there's the repeat offender, Dennis. He's a regular and the chef knows him very well. I wonder what his story is if he's here all the time? Could a person actually pick up the culinary skills by sitting in this 2 hour class once a week for years to become a renowned chef? Hmm...but back to the dish....and of course, the wine. The dish was excellent and what Ben and I agreed was the perfect temperature. It had just enough kick to make your taste buds flex but not so hot you gasp for water/wine!

In preparation for the desert dish the assistant asked who wanted coffee. Well of course I do, by this time I'm going to have a hang over on a school night! Just to put it out there - I hate coconut! And this dish had no mention of chocolate, so I'm already wondering how coconut banana's can be classified as a dessert. Well they were FRIED....and ANYTHING fried is AWESOME! It was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and the chef's signature chocolate candy on the side. So good!

Ben and I left fat and happy (me a little tipsy) with a whole packet of recipe's that I'll only be able to make on a disposable income. My recommendation at the end of the class was to schedule courses for active lifestyles or 30 minute meals. I know this doesn't sound as glamourous as Intro to French cuisine, or roll your own sushi rolls but its something I'll probably be able to reproduce more easily. However, Chef Hellmich is teaching Intro to Mexican next month and this might be a class I don't want to miss! I'm wondering if they will serve a different margarita with each course?