Cooking awesomeness

Tonight, I began a nine-week cooking series in Seattle.

It's been a few years since I'd taken a class with Bon Vivant.  Living an hour and a half away from Seattle makes it a bit more difficult than it used to be to attend.  But right now, this is just what I need.  Motivated by a desire to find mad skills in the kitchen + the inspiration of Jamie Oliver and his accent...my hope is to be able to sharpen my knowledge around food.  To not be intimidated by any dish.  And to be able to make it healthy.

My most favorite Bon Vivant class was "Wild About Lemons", which Mom and I took for my 29th birthday.  I absolutely adored it.  It was a hands-on class where we made everything individually. 

This series (Mastering the Basics) is different from what I've taken at Bon Vivant -- it isn't as hands on by the students.  Louise is focusing on giving us a great background in techniques, tools and how foods work together -- the "mind" behind it all.  In the second half of the evening, we go through the techniques and prepare the dishes to taste at the end.  I love her style and her attitude.

I honestly learned more tonight than I had on Food Network since Thomas was born.  :)  Totally open for Q&A, and everyone felt comfortable asking questions.  Tonight, we covered equipment, knife skills, and first courses.  Made incredible gougere (will be on the blog soon after I make it at home!), stuffed tomatoes (with guac) and cucumbers (with crab), champignon flambes (pictured above, during the flambe), and the big surprise of the night...chicken liver mousse.  I absolutely loved the mousse, though I never have ordered, prepared or tried it before tonight. 

Very excited to go through my notes tomorrow, type them up, and get my Mastering the Basics binder going.  

And yes, I was the only person there with a camera.  But you know what?  I'm a visual learner, and I will remember what these looked like so I can make them again.  And I can guarantee that there will be more cameras next week.  :)

Bon appetit!