Laguna Culinary Arts Cooking Class

Over the past 3 Saturdays, my step-dad and I attended The Gourmet Series: Basic Cooking Skills class offered at Laguna Culinary Arts. It was so much fun and I really learned so much! Before the class,  I was a bit intimidated to get into the kitchen and start really cooking some amazing foods. I would try smaller, easier recipes but they were nothing fancy by any means. After finishing the series, I felt so much more confidant and comfortable in the kitchen and was ready to start exploring some more complex recipes. I'm still learning, but I now have the basic skills, such as how to hold a knife properly, that will help me tremendously in my future of cooking.
Here is a brief description of the series:

Class 1 – Introduction to the Kitchen
Basic knife skills, kitchen safety, culinary terms, identification of produce, and an introduction to kitchen tools and cookware. Students will learn cooking skills related to preparation of vegetables: blanching, steaming, sautéing and grilling.

Class 2 – Mastering the Stovetop
Identification, selection, trimming, and portioning of meat, fish and poultry, and the creation of quick and easy sauces. Students will learn cooking skills related to the basics of pan-sautéing each item, including the creation of a quick complementary sauce to accompany each item.

Class 3 – Into the Oven
Basic techniques of roasting – focusing on meat, fish and poultry again, but this time using the whole cut. Students will learn the “dry heat” method of cooking, and will work with different temperatures and times to achieve different results.

The instructors were amazing and so helpful, answering any questions you might have. Each class ran about 3 hours long and ended with sitting down to eat the delicious food we made.
I would highly suggest this series to anyone who wants to get that extra confidence in the kitchen. It really will change the way you and your family eats.

From top: Pork Rib Roast with Pear-Thyme Sauce, Grapefruit Fennel and Avocado Salad, Smoked Salmon Filet, Pork Roast, and Roasted Chicken, Me with my finished Grapefruit salad, Chicken with Lemon-Caper Sauce, French Vinaigrette salad, Beef Filets with Red Wine Pepper Sauce, and Grilled Halibut on top of a fresh Tomato-Herb Salsa

Hope this inspires you to try something new!

XO,

K