2012 Holiday Gift Guide: Celebrate By Booking a Cooking Class in DFW

Every year on SideDish, we like to devote our energy to supporting small local food businesses here in DFW. For the twelve days, we’ll be highlighting jams, jellies, pies, classes, wines, coffees, teas, and basically any food product made locally on Dallas (or close to it) soil. Today is Cooking Class Day. If you’ve got a product that you want included, send me an email with your information and a picture. This list will often be updated, so don’t fret about deadlines. We’re here to serve you guys.

Central Market Cooking Classes

The cooking classes at Central Market never fail to impress. Book a cooking class for your special someone, then reap all the benefits when that person learns a thing or two in the kitchen and brings those skills back home.

New Years Dinner for Two (Lovers Lane location)
Monday, December 31, 12 p.m.

If staying at home by the fire and enjoying a meal you’ve made is your idea of a perfect way to greet the new year, join us in this morning’s class. We’ll offer directions and you’ll make a dinner for two to take with you to enjoy this evening. A list of suggested wines will be included in the class packet. Menu includes:
Individual Shrimp Cocktail, Two Ways;
Pan Seared Beef Filets with Port Cherry Reduction;
Roasted Winter Vegetables;
Potato Gratin with Blue Cheese; and
Individual Crème Brûlée with a Raspberry Coulis.
$120 (One person cooks and you take-home dinner for two)

Japanese Cooking, Simplified with Hiroko Shimbo (Lovers Lane Location)
Thu, Jan. 24, 2013 6:30 PM – 9 PM

Hiriko Shimbo, Chef/Consultant for Restaurants; Trained Sushi Chef; Cookbook Author; Culinary Instructor
(For Ages 18 & Up)
FEATURED CHEF. DEMONSTRATION. Discover an easy way to create authentic Japanese flavors in your own kitchen. This authority on Japanese cuisine will introduce you to six sauces that can be made and then kept on hand so that prep work becomes a breeze and to traditional Japanese cooking techniques that can be applied to American produce, cuts of meat and fish. With a minimum of time and fuss, you can enjoy a wide variety of healthful Japanese dishes more often. Menu includes:
Kelp Stock;
Spiced Kabocha Squash Soup;
Braised Short Ribs in Kelp Stock & Sake;
White Sumiso Sauce;
Mushrooms & Poached Egg with White Sumiso Sauce;and
Sumiso Sauce Marinated Grilled Chicken.

$70, includes one copy of Hiroko’s American Kitchen: Cooking with Japanese Flavors. No discounts or coupons can be applied to this class.

Gluten free, sugar free baking with Peter Reinhart (Lovers Lane location)
Sun, Jan. 27, 2013 4:00 PM

Peter Reinhart, Baking Instructor, Johnson & Wales; Best Selling Cookbook Author; Culinary Instructor
(For Ages 13 & Up)
FEATURED CHEF. DEMONSTRATION. Johnson & Wales baking instructor and best selling author Peter Reinhart will offer an entirely new take on gluten free baking: these recipes are not only gluten-free but also completely sugar-free, low carb, and diabetic friendly. Seed and nut flours that are easy to buy or make at home replace the starches in this break-through method. Peter will show you how easy it is to make, as he says, “Baked goods so delicious that you don’t even have to be gluten-free to enjoy them.” The menu:
Double Cheese Focaccia;
Toasting Bread;
No-Cornmeal Hushpuppies;
Sweet Pecan Almond Bread;
Almond Coconut Biscotti; and
Pecan Sandies.
$75, includes one copy of Gluten Freee, Sugar Free Baking. No coupons or discounts can be applied to this class.

Whole Foods Cooking Classes

Over in Whole Foods land, Lauren Sommer, the Healthy Eating Specialist, has exciting Dinner Club classes that are very, very affordable. Like, can’t-believe-your-eyes affordable. To reserve your spot at any of her classes, call 214-361-8887 or email [email protected]. (Update: Lauren says these are not hands-on classes, they’re more like watching a cooking show and then getting to eat the finished product.)

Dinner Club: Rediscovering Comfort Foods
Wednesday, January 16, 6:15 – 7:30 p.m.

For $12, learn how to make your own almond milk, country style mac ‘n’ cheese with roasted cauliflower (vegan, gluten-free), and delicious chocolate mousse.

Dinner Club: Mexican Buffet
Tuesday, January 22, 6:15 – 7:30 p.m.

For $10, learn how to make quinoa with artichokes and onions, fajita mushrooms, spicy guac, rice tortillas, and baked corn tortillas.

Dinner Club: Italian/Mediterranean Food
Wednesday, January 30, 6:15-7:30 p.m.

For $10, make chickpea salad, olive tapenade, quinoa spaghetti, puttanesca sauce, avocado pesto and zucchini noodles, and then enjoy your meal with a side of mushrooms. It’ll be the best ten dollars you’ll ever spend.