My Cooking Classes are Back on the Plate

Please use this link to find the latest details on all my classes.

After a two year hiatus I am starting up my cooking classes again. These are small groups of 12 or fewer. It is more demonstration than hands-on cooking classes. Although there is always a time to get your hands into the action, too.

Am I qualified to teach cooking classes, you ask? I have a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics and Bachelor of Education from the University of Saskatchewan. I have been a food and lifestyle columnist for the Western Producer for the past three years. But more importantly, I am a passionate food lover. I have researched and bought everything I can get my hands on and still on a mission to find more.

Expect to be introduced to local products, Saskatchewan products and Canadian food products. We have a bounty of amazing food in this country. Expect to be introduced to cooking methods that may include and not limited to how to use a pressure cooker, making your own spice blends, preserving foods and make-ahead dinner party ideas.

Expect to taste everything that is made. Expect to learn how to source food products whilst living in a small centre. Expect to be presented with food products that are difficult to find locally. Expect to receive all the recipes. Expect to have a lot of fun and meet new people.

Expect the best in quality. Free ranged meats from Cool Springs Ranch or similar are used.

These are tentative ideas and will depend upon availability of foods. There will also be surprises every night. If anyone would like to book the entire evening it can be presented in your home.

All classes to be booked at least 9 days in advance and paid in full. I reserve the right to cancel if enrollment does not cover the cost to present the class. Cost is $50 per person per class. Maximum 12 persons per class unless you have a home large enough to accommodate more.

Bonus - just announcing. Sign up and attend all four classes and receive a 10% discount that will be applied to your last class.

Gift certificates available.

You can make reservations now by email sgalvin@shaw.ca  or  306-773-2890. Book the classes you want and pay for the first one now. Check back often because I am always updating the menus.

Please note a couple of date changes in April due to Easter and World Women's Curling Championships. I overlooked that big weekend. So I pushed it ahead a week and subsequently pushed my April class ahead a week, also.

Disclosure: The exact menu may change due to availability of ingredients. For example, I have just learned that I can get my hands on heirloom Jacob lamb but not until after February 13. I will keep the Persian theme for February 13 but will be changing up the meat so we can enjoy this heritage lamb at a later date. I have a lovely organic free range duck and will use that instead.

Oh my, it is so difficult to finalize menus. Beautiful ingredients arriving weekly in my kitchen. Now I have wild foraged strawberrries, lingonberries and red blackberries coming. A sense of adventure is the best plan.

NEW NEW NEW   I have a pantry menu of items for purchase. Cooking class participants receive a 5 % discount.

Heirloom Jacob lamb coming in May. These are unique ingredients and I cannot just get them exactly when I want them. I am willing to wait. Hope you are. Bonus! The farmers' will join us for this evening.

 

February 13
A Night Celebrating the Flavours of Persia
Aromatics of saffron, cumin, rosewater. Dried fruits, pomegranates, pistachios and almonds.
Wine choices: pinot noir or semillon

Dolma (stuffed grape leaves), Lamb Stuffed Aubergine, Pickled Grapes

Free Range Organic Duck

Persian Jeweled Rice with Wild Picked SK Lingonberries

Oven Roasted Winter Squash with Pumpkin Seed Vinaigrette

 Chocolate Pomegranate Torte
Saffron & Honey House Churned Ice Cream with Candied Pistachios

April 2
Celebrating Italy
Wine choice: robust Italian red

Crostini Appetizers

Slow Roasted Cool Springs Pastured Porchetta with Foraged Red Blackberry Jus

Wild Morel Risotto   

SK Steamed Fiddleheads

Tiramisu

April 23
Celebrating Mediterranean Cuisine
This is a Vegetarian Menu
Wine Choice: Almost anything will work.

Crudité Appetizers

Middle Eastern Style Platter

Cauliflower Croquets

Honey & Walnut Baklava

May 21
Special Tonight - Meet the Farmers that raised our heritage Jacob lamb. They will have product available for purchase.

Celebrating the Foods of Saskatchewan
Wine choice: robust red

Ribbon Asparagus Salad with Sea Buckthorn Vinaigrette

Heirloom Jacob Leg of Lamb

  Seasonal Vegetables en Papillote

Saskatchewan Orchard Berries Desserts

Classic Chanterelle and Shallot Quiche

Chanterelles have a sweet smokiness about them. They are strongly flavoured and a few go a long way. Good thing because they are dear. The best of all chanterelles come from the boreal forests of northern Saskatchewan.

They are small and rich in flavour because of the dry season punctuated by a few rainy spells that accelerate their growth. They grow on a bed of moss that enables them to be almost clean. They are favoured by chefs for these reasons.

I had a most intriguing summer of fine foods. I prescribed to a monthly basket of foraged foods from the boreal forests of Saskatchewan. I had mushrooms galore. Fresh exotic mushrooms.

Julia Child's recipes are not to be fiddled with. This is her classic mushroom quiche.

Quiche aux Champignons   from  Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child

2 tbsp. minced shallots
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 c. sliced fresh mushrooms
1/4 c. sliced wild mushrooms
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon juice
3 eggs
 1 1/2 c. whipping cream
pinch nutmeg
1/8 tsp. pepper
An 8 inch partially cooked pastry shell
1/4 c. grated Swiss chese
1 tbsp. butter

Cook the shallots in a heavy bottomed saucepan with the butter until transparent. Stir in mushrooms, salt, lemon juice and wine. Cover pan and cook over moderately low heat for 8 minutes. Uncover. Raise heat and boil for several minutes until liquid is completely evaporated and mushrooms are beginning to brown in the butter.

Beat eggs, cream, nutmeg and pepper in a bowl to mix. Gradually stir mushrooms into this mixture. Pour into pastry shell and sprinkle with cheese. Dot with butter and bake for 25 to 30 minutes in a preheated 375 F oven.

Damn Fine Gluten-Free Crisps

I came by this recipe on David Lebovitz' blog Living the Sweet Life in Paris. David has written a few highly acclaimed sweets cookbooks, hence the title of his blog. This is a recipe he pocketed from a baker friend in San Francisco who also wrote a book entitled Josey Baker Bread. And his surname actually is Baker.

I followed the recipe to a T. It was okay straight from the oven. Then I froze it slightly to enable getting nice thin slices. Second day it was too wet. I decided to take all these too-wet thin slices of bread and slow bake them at 325 F until they began to turn brown on the edges. That took about 20 minutes or so.

The result is a crispy flavourful crisp ideal to serve with a soft unripened cheese. I love them but one has to be careful. They are packed with seeds and nuts and ... calories. Hop on over to David's blog for the recipe. I used hazelnuts rather than almonds because that is what I had on hand. Dee-lish-us!