Friday, August 14, 2009

SUE AND JOYCE'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE.....cooking at the Viking School

What happens when you take two crazy bloggers......two Nikon camera's....and no shame.....
You have me and Joyce from "Flour Power" taking a cooking class at the Viking Cooking School in downtown Atlanta and trying our best not to be thrown out for causing a disturbance....
When you get two Italians from N.Y/N.J. who love to cook you can expect things not to be reserved and lady like.....
At the drop of a hat one of the two us had camera in hand while the other one posed like we were on one of those reality model shows..........I'm sure driving the other participants and the chef crazy.....
At one point Joyce got something greasy on the lens of her husbands new camera and I did see some panic..... it came right off...........luckily I was able to get off the bit of flour from the camera strap of the Boss' fancy schmancy D-200The theme of the class was
"From Farm to Table''
Using fresh seasonal fruits and veggies....
For all you Georgia bloggers that were invited to this event and couldn't attend you missed out on a fun filled day........
The Viking store on Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta is a gorgeous cooking retail store and cooking school with a fabulous kitchen.....

Come on......can we be any cuter in our matching Provence aprons.....

We started out "blind baking" puff pastry.....
No...No...they didn't blind fold us and point us towards a hot stove but I'm sure after ten minutes of our hijinks the Chef considered it....
Blind baking for all you non cooks is baking your pie crust without any filling......We brushed the pastry with an egg wash...baked it at 400 degrees for a short while then placed a layer of parchment paper on top of the pastry......added some pie weights so it didn't puff up too much and continued baking until nice and brown......Then we made a wonderful Heirloom tomato tart.

We fought over who had the nicer looking free form pastry....

Here is neighbor Necie peeling potatoes for the Potato and Leek soup......

Hands at work creating a masterpiece using goat cheese....

This Mom of a 3 and 5 year old just seemed thrilled to be out of the house for the day......
She had attended a different class everyday this week......Now that's fun!!

Here is Evan from Chattanooga ........his Mom and sister were in town for an event and dropped him off to take the class......At 16 years old I was very impressed how much he knew about food and he was just a sweet kid.....I hope he enjoyed himself....

Here's Joyce again putting the finishing touches on some healthy grain crackers....Notice she's wearing "non-regulation open toed shoes"......As I suffered for three hours with my feet stuck inside hot sneakers.....The only time in my life that I actually read the instructions that were mailed to us....

The crackers made with a bit of wheat flour and all sorts of grains and seeds were actually very tasty although a bit on the hard side.....I enjoyed their nutty taste and would certainly make them at home....

Always have to have dessert.......multi fruit cobblers with an oatmeal crumble on top....

made in little ramekins they were the perfect size......But what? No ice cream?

The ladies hard at work.....that is Donna the Chef in ofcourse the Chef's jacket.....
She was a terrific instructor and we all wished her luck when we found out that she'll be trying out for the "Next Food Network Star" next week here in Atlanta.....
She did a great job and kept things moving right along...
Donna believes in cooking with good healthy ingredients without going overboard...
She also had great basic tips ....She would be terrific on the Food Network...
Watch out Bobby Flay!!
visit Joyce at her blog......she's hysterical.....
and she posts some terrific recipes....
Along with wacky stories.....
http://www.flourpowerjoyce.blogspot.com/
Preparing Heirloom tomatoes for our tarts.....The purple-ish ones were delicious...
Ofcourse they don't rival "Jersey Tomatoes"....
You know they are the best in the World!!
Says who?.......everybody and anybody that lives in Jersey.
We had a great salad.....

Followed by a potato-leek soup.....Donna lightly roasted some fresh corn and placed it in the soup bowls first....then added the soup and drizzled it with Pesto and some truffle oil....

Here is the tart we made......
Again...for all you Non-Cooks....that is NOT a huge bangle bracelet on her arm....
It's the side of a tart pan with removable bottom.....Just incase you were wondering.....
And just a note......when the Chef says...."Go ahead taste that flower thingie that's attached to the Basil leaves...it's good".......
Don't believe them!!
A fun time was had by all.....sorry you guys out there missed it....Thank you Donna for a fun day and Joyce....Let's do it again real soon....
and if you haven't already guessed the two of us LOVE to have our picture taken....
it must be a pushy N.Y./N.J thing.....

28 comments:

{Bellamere Cottage} said...

Oh it looks like you gals had such a good time! I'm such a lousy cook, they probably wouldn't even have let me join the class. :-)

Hmmmm.......cooking classes......who would have thought?

Hugs!
Spencer

Susan (Between Naps On The Porch.net) said...

Sue...this looked like soooo much fun! I'm so glad you and Joyce did this and shared the great pics! :-) Did you get to eat everything when it was done?
Susan

Manuela@A Cultivated Nest said...

That's so funny - I make those fruit cobblers all time! I keep the topping in the freezer and when I want a dessert with my coffee I just pour some frozen mixed berries in one of those little ramekins and sprinkle with the frozen topping - 20 min in the oven and I have "healthy" dessert!

Looks like you two had a fun time!

Manuela

Cindy (Applestone Cottage) said...

Oh, how fun Sue! I would love to try that and how wonderful all the food looks~ Great Aprons too~ Cindy

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

That looks like the most wonderful time! I have never attended a cooking class, where they actually let you cook! The ones around here, you just watch and take notes..

Yours looks like much more fun!

a quiet life said...

what an absolutely adorable post! sooooo cute seeing your smiling face and having a blast! hope you are having a great summer, know you have been traveling and dieting, looks like your life is good!

Ellen said...

Looks like so much fun. I wish I had someone to go to a class like that - except that they all work.

Stephanie said...

This looks like a really good time!

Cathy said...

Oh, I'm so envious. Looks like you had a great day cooking and making new friends.

I would love to take a cooking class like this.

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

You all had a good time, I can see that. The food looks delicious. Now I'm going over to visit Joyce's blog.

Foodiewife said...

I am definitely having wanna be chef envy at your wonderful day. What fun! Next month, I get to rub elbows with Tyler Florence at a Harvest to Table where I live, in Carmel, California! You can bet my camera will have lots of extra batteries!

Linda O'Neill said...

Looks like you all had a great time. Now I'm really hungry!

Salmagundi said...

Looks like you had a great time. Glad you didn't get thrown out for your hijinks, so you could share it all with us. The tomato tart does look good. Our tomatoes are just now coming on in our garden - can hardly wait as it makes salad easy! Just slice, salt and pepper and eat - my kind of cooking. Have a great week. Sally

KBeau said...

You two definitely stand out in a crowd in your darling Provence aprons. Looks like you had a great time.

Joyce said...

Your post is way to funny:) I think I am in desperate need of the Joan Rivers face life for sure. I hope to get my post up for Foodie Friday and I will cross reference your blog. Thanks again for the fun day and all the goodies. I will call the cooking/lunch school this week and see when the next lunch is scheduled so we can go. Let's throw our diets to the wind on that day too!
Joyce

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

It looks like you and Joyce had a fantastic time! I love your matching aprons and pretty smiles.

Did you take home what you cooked or did you have to eat it all afterwards?

The tomato tart and potato leek soup reminds me of Julia Child recipes! They look fantastic!

To answer your question -- the cuttlefish is similar in taste to calamari, but because it is so big it cooks slower so it is more suitable for a bubbly rice dish. It has a pinkish purple skin like calamari that has to be peeled off, and it has a large bone inside which people put in their bird cages for their birds to sharpen their beaks on.

I like d the recipe but I think I'd use shrimp next tiem and just add them at the end to cook when the rice is almost finished.

alice said...

Look how cute you guys are! I'm so glad you got to do that, I am so jealous!

Mimi Sue said...

Ahhh, looks like such fun. I think I need the cracker recipe. Was just thinking today I need to make the rye bread again. Mimi

Deb said...

The two of you look adorable! I would have loved to sample your concoctions. I can almost taste it now.
Looks like loads of fun. I would have been there had I not been in NJ!

supplies overflowing! said...

This must have been so much fun! I remember taking a class with my mother as a 20 year old. How I would love to do that today with a girlfriend or two. I am sure we would have a lot of laughs, though I don't know if the instructor would be too happy with us! Anyone knows my cooking could use some help!
Thanks for your comments on my blog.
I've sent you an email-
Have a great day!

Daryl said...

Fun stuff

Linda Lou said...

Looks like you and Joyce had a blast....was the class reasonable...i have a Sur La Table down the road from my house and have thought about taking one of their classes...but they are on the expensive side...

Laura @ the shorehouse. said...

That IS a fabulous kitchen! I'm a little jealous.

AND...I bought leeks at the farmers' market today because they were 50 cents each (bargain!)...is that soup recipe available? If so, I'll trade you for something. :-)

Fifi Flowers said...

Ooooh that looks like such FUN!!!

Peg said...

Just found your blog through Joyce's and I laughed at your antics during cooking school. The food looks delicious and I can tell you both had lots of fun!

Kathleen said...

That looks like fun!
It was nice to meet Joyce too, we visit each others blogs..
She once lived in NY I think she told me..is that close enough NJ goil?? :)

~CC Catherine said...

Sue, this looks like you had a totally fun day! Hopefully I'll be able to make the next one! :) The pics and your narration were PERFECT in helping us to see all the fun you had. THE FOOD? Looks TOTALLY Fabulous and delicious! Did you get to eat it I'm guessing? Hopefully so! :) ~CC Catherine

santamaker said...

Sue, this looked like it was a blast! So sorry I missed it. Your food looks so good. Okay, I'm ready to go to Paris now and take a class!