Mediterrenean Cooking Class

I love learning and cooking! I have a not-so-secret dream of teaching people to cook. I love talking, teaching, and helping people live healthier lives. So, it makes sense.

I went to school for dietetics and nutrition. We had a few cooking classes, and I loved them! Since I didn't go to culinary school, I love continuing to learn to cook by taking cooking classes. It's one of my favorite hobbies. I've taken some sweet and savory cooking classes. I've also taken two pasta classes.

 Homemade Pasta Cooking Class

Summer Pasta Cooking Class

The most recent cooking class I took was a Mediterranean cooking class. The menu was rosemary and olive oil flatbread, Greek meatballs (keftedes) with a herbed yogurt sauce (taziki), roasted cauliflower with a tahini and lemon sauce, grilled shrimp with chermoula. There are a few great things about taking a cooking class.


1) You learn a new skills.

2) You meet new people.
3) They grocery shop and organize all the ingredients.
4) They wash the dishes!

Look at all those beautiful ingredients! All the ingredients are on half sheet pans. The ingredients are divided by recipe, so everything is ready to prep and cook.


First, we started with the flatbread. The bread was a yeast -based bread, so it needed time to proof.

Next, we made keftedes or Greek meatballs. This was the main reason I wanted to come to the Mediterranean class. I have never mastered making meatballs. In the past, they've been to dry or they fall apart. But, this protein was full of herbs and super flavorful. There was a delicious taziki sauce

Then, we made roasted cauliflower. This was the recipe I was most excited to taste. Here's the before shot. Such a simple recipe; it's just a few ingredients.
 

And, here's the after. Such deliciously seasoned roasted cauliflower. It's one of my top favorite vegetables now.

Then, we made a sauce for the shrimp. It's a chermoula sauce, which is an herby sauce with origins in North Africa. It's usually paired with seafood. If I had to compare it to another sauce, it's most similar to a chimichurri sauce - but with different herbs.

Finally, we made herbed shrimp. I'm a Louisiana girl, so I love shrimp. Does the word 'shrimp' remind anyone else of Forrest Gump (i.e. fried shrimp, boiled, shrimp, shrimp poboys). I bet that Forrest would have loved these chermoula shrimp.

  

Here are a couple great tips that you can take away from the cooking class. Here are four tips to help you stress less and enjoy cooking more!

1) Read the recipes before you start cooking.

Read the recipes through fully before you start cooking. This helps you know which recipe to start making first. It also helps you familiarize yourself with the recipe.

2) Organize your ingredients.

Organization is key to stress-free cooking. Chefs organize their ingredients by recipe. They premeasure and prepare ingredients before they start cooking. This is called mis en place - or to put in place. It's simply following the recipe. So, recipes start with ingredients. Measure them and slice, dice, or chop as instructed. Then, put them in small containers. Next, start cooking.
This may seem like more work and more dishes. But, it's actually very helpful. If you've ever watched cooking shows, you'll see this is how they follow a recipe. Prep the ingredients. Then, cook the ingredients.


3) Clean as you go.

This tip is super helpful to decrease stress. If you clean up as you cook, your kitchen work surfaces with be clear and less cluttered. I find a great sense of satisfaction when the kitchen is clean as a meal is finishing cooking.

4) Try something new!

I make new recipes at home; it's one of my New Year's resolutions. So, I like trying to make new types of foods. And, I love tasting new foods! I tend to go to cooking classes that teach me a new skills, so I have hands-on experience. I also like being able to ask questions and immediately get feedback from the chef.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Do you clean as you go?
Do you practice mis en place?
Do you read the recipe through before cooking?
What new recipes have you tried lately?

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Seafood Cooking Class

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