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Cooking Class, and where it led: April 2, 2019

Posted on 04/12/201904/12/2019 by margrad80

One of the high points of my visit to my friend in Houston, was going to a cooking class in the Central Market HEB. I had never been to one of the Central Markets before, and was quite impressed. To be honest I didn’t want to go to the cooking class. Her husband was supposed to go with her, but something came up. I have to admit that I really had a great time and I am very glad that I went.

The all flambe menu we were to cook.

The school was in a room, with two glass walls, up above the market. On one side the walls looked out to a balcony and the other wall looked out to a dining area, where people who had bought freshly cooked food from the market could watch as the cooking class was taking place inside.

Almost all the food prep was done for us. The ingredients were portioned out in containers, which the staff brought to us before each course. The a few ingredients were left for us to prepare. We learned to properly slice an onion and how to prepare herbs.

My friend posing with a dish she helped cook.

The first dish we prepared was Saganaki, which is just about my favorite dish in the world. Had my friend told me that the cooking class involved fried cheese, I would have been all over it. The course was served with a glass of white wine. It would have been so much better if we had, had Retsina with it, but since the wine had to go with the second course as well, I can understand why Retsina wasn’t served.

Saganaki

Before each course, the Chef gave a demonstration of what we were going to do. There were cameras over his workstation so that we could see what he was doing on large flat screen TVs over the kitchen opening. Before we got started cooking we all lined up like grammar school students to wash our hands. It was a good opportunity to chat with women from other tables.

Each table in the classroom had four students taking turns at doing the flambeing. The Chef and his staff circulated among the tables helping and instructing. The only rule was that we had to have one of the staff with us when we actually flambeed something. The chef made several informative jokes about previous mishaps. When each course was finished we sat down to eat it before going on to cooking the next course.

The Saganaki went over well.

The second course was Lobster Lisa. Of course the woman named Lisa was pushed forward as the one to flambe this one. It turned out very good. It reminded me of something I was familiar with, but it was days later before I put my finger on it: Japanese Mentaiko Spaghetti. I love Mentaiko sauce so much I have even bought the instant powder mix from the market.

Cooking the veggies and lobster.
Chef Michael shows Lisa how to do the flambe.
The still photo of the flames doesn’t show how high they were.

We learned how big a pinch of salt was using the wooden salt container next to the large bowl shown above. It is really big; you use all four fingers and the thumb to make the pinch. We were provided with a container of disposable tasting spoons. As we cooked each course we tossed the prep containers and tasting spoons into the bowl. Between each course, the staff came by and emptied the bowl.

The finished dish. I wish I had known that we could take the leftovers home. I didn’t learn that until the next course.

The next course was the steak, and it was my turn to cook. That is why there are no photos of this course being prepared. As a matter of fact, I forgot all about taking photos until my plate was nearly licked clean (below). You will have to take my word for it that it was a beautiful presentation. The staff had the potatoes cooked for us already, so all I had to do was cook the steak, and while it was resting, make the sauce.

During this course, we learned how to judge how when a steak was done. Click here for a wiki on how this is done. When the steaks began to look right we were all poking our hands and poking our steaks. I thought they came out well, as evidenced below.

With the final course, it was my friend’s turn to cook. The crepes were already prepared. We learned that the market has them frozen if anyone wanted to try the recipe at home. I think the ones we were provided in class were cooked in the classroom kitchen before we arrived. They were filled with butter and orange.

One of the students examines the provided recipe as my friend gets instructions from the staff on what she would be doing.
The pre filled crepes, an orange and butter mixture, sugar, and a mix of brandy and Grand Marnier.
The crepes cooking
My friend learning to flambe crepes, and showing that you should never waste even a drop of good ingredients.
Waiting patiently for the crepes to brown
Chef Michael Miles, our teacher for the day.

My friend had an appointment on the same side of town as the cooking class. It didn’t make sense to drive all the way back home to drop me off and then go all the way back to her appointment. Houston is a huge sprawling city with horrible traffic. Lucky for us, St. Arnold’s brewery was nearby to the Central Market and to where the appointment was at.

Next to the brewery was a display of art cars. I thought my niece, the archaeologist, would life this one.

We waited in the beer garden, with Houston in the background until our tour of the brewery started. Since you don’t have to take the tour to drink, we were the only ones on the tour. We were encouraged to carry our beers with us as we followed our guide around.

In the middle of the garden was a fountain shaped like a champagne glass. Wouldn’t a beer stein been better?
This thing isn’t named for the beer in it. All these containers are named for saints, except for a few, like this one, which is named for someone’s dog.
There are a lot of tongue in cheek murals decorating the brewing building.

All in all, it was a great visit. I would highly recommend that folks visit this brewery if they are in Houston. It has the added attraction of being dog friendly. You and your dog are welcome to visit the beer garden at any time. You don’t have to take the tour.

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My Inconvenient Live

I am a retired American Merchant Mariner.  l was living a nomadic lifestyle somewhere between being a nomad and an expat, before Covid19. I moved from country to country as my visas ran out. This blog covered my travels and the random thoughts about life, technology, travel, and the Oxford comma. Now I am stuck waiting for the pandemic to pass. During this time my posts will have very little to do with traveling, and more to do with keeping myself entertained during lockdown.

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