Holiday Brunch : Dec 15, 2013
(P)
Nothing is better than a well put together holiday brunch. The presents have been opened and now everyone wants to sit down for an elegant meal. In this class we will put together an unforgettable holiday brunch with all the trimmings. Ham, spinach and Swiss crepes with a creamy bechamel sauce; smoked salmon platter with local goat cheese, capers, red onions and hard boiled eggs; chicken and apple sausage patties; roasted red pepper, onion and vegetable fritatta; mustard crusted potato hash browns and fresh fruit skewers with yogurt cream cheese dip.
Instructor: Catherine St. John Time: 1:30-4:30pm Cost: 75
Cheese Making : Dec 14, 2013
Mozzarella Workshop with Abbe Turner from Lucky Penny Creamery:(P)
The lost art of cheese making is making a comeback in today’s DIY kitchen. Although a certain mystique surrounds the concept of making cheese at home, the effort is as simple as following a recipe. Are you looking for a new culinary adventure? Making cheese in your own kitchen can be a gratifying experience and a fun family adventure. In this hands-on workshop, simple, delicious mozzarella cheese will be made from common kitchen equipment and ingredients, recipes and resources will be shared. We will make pesto stuffed mozzarella and mozzarella roulde filled with prosicutto and basil. Abbe will also show you how to make a simple homemade fresh ricotta cheese.
BRING: a pair of cotton line dish gloves.
Instructor: Abbe Turner Time: 11:00am-2:00pm Cost: 75
Friday Night Date Night – Northern India : Dec 13, 2013
Looking for something new to do on a Friday night? Come join us for this popular series and share good food and learning with new friends. Everyone will get a great hands-on experience cooking with Chef Anne Haynam and then sit down to enjoy the fruits of their labor. You may even get some great ideas for your own entertaining at home. You may bring beer or wine to enjoy with your meal.
Northern India:(P)
One of the world’s great cuisines starts with the development of a masala – onion, garlic and ginger that is flavored with tomatoes and a careful order of spices. Learn the technique of a masala along with the importance of toasting and grinding spices as we cook a menu that makes for a great component plate. Vegetable pakoras; butter chicken; fish curry; spinach paneer; pulao (Indian fried rice); Chapati.
Other Friday Date Night classes:
Southern Italy:Friday, October 11
Tuscany:Friday, November 8
Friday Date Night Series
Instructor: Anne Haynam Time: 6:30-9:30pm Cost: 170
Lobster Workshop : Dec 12, 2013
You love to eat them when you go out to a nice restaurant or to the East or West Coast. Now it’s time to learn how to cook them at home. You’ll learn how to kill, clean, cook and get the most out of these tasty crustaceans. Lobster pasta with wild mushrooms in a rich lobster sauce; New England lobster rolls; butter poached lobster for a lobster risotto with peas and saffron; lobster pot pie with a quick puff pastry top. Please feel free to bring your favorite wine to pair with this great lobster feast.
Instructor: Catherine St. John Time: 6:30-9:30pm Cost: 90
Becky Holden Rink : Dec 11, 2013
Becky Holden Rink
Becky Rink, CSA, is an award winning decorator and author of The Top Shelf Baker – Sweet Treats From a Well Stocked Bar. Becky has spent the last ten years honing her craft, expanding on her skills and sharing her love of decorating through teaching. She has competed on nationally televised programs such as We TV’s Wedding Cake Wars, TLC’s Ultimate Cake Off and Halloween Wars on the Food Network, making her the only baker in Cleveland to be on all three major networks.
The Art of the Buche de Noel (D)
Learn a new way to make a bûche de noël. Becky will take you through the step by step process of making this holiday favorite. Sponge cake technique will create a wooden texture to the outside of your bûche! Chocolate sponge cake filled with Bailey’s cream and topped with meringue mushrooms.
Instructor: Becky Holden Rink Time: 6:30-9:30pm Cost: 70
Dim Sum Workshop : Dec 10, 2013
Dim sum is the art of small bites in the Chinese culture, wildly popular on weekends in many of the country’s Chinese restaurants. Learn how to make some of these wonderful delights at home and have a dim sum party of your own. You will learn to make golden shrimp balls with sweet and sour sauce; chicken flower dumplings with fire cracker sauce; traditional mini spring rolls (vegetable, chicken and pork) with a citrus dipping sauce; char shu pork and cockscomb chicken and pork dumplings.
Instructor: Catherine St. John Time: 6:30-9:30pm Cost: 80
Make Ahead Holiday Desserts : Dec 9, 2013
The key to holiday baking is doing it ahead so you can spend more time with your guests and less time in the kitchen. In this class we’ll make desserts that can be made ahead of time and frozen either before or after baking, such as cappuccino mousse, almond cherry cake, apple strudel, and citrus pound cake.
Instructor: Jennifer Brush Time: 6:30-9:30pm Cost: 75
A Chic, Intimate French Christmas Dinner : Dec 8, 2013
(P/D)
If you’re looking for a new menu for your Christmas dinner, then look no further. See Chef Tom Johnson in all his glory as he helps you through this elegant French themed Christmas dinner. Lobster bisque; rack of lamb with an herb breadcrumb crust; demi-glace porto; gratin crecy (potatoes and carrots in cream); fresh asparagus spears and Alsatian pear souffle “Taillevent”.
Instructor: Tom Johnson Time: 12:30-4:30pm Cost: 85
Girls’ Night Out – Gluten Free Holiday Appetizer Party : Dec 7, 2013
Join WRSOC Owner Catherine St. John for four fun-filled Saturday nights out with the girls. We will visit different cuisines during this tour of the world. Get your girlfriends together and come have a fun night of cooking. You may bring your favorite bottle of wine to enjoy with your meal.
Gluten Free Holiday Appetizer Party: (P) Whether trying to keep a gluten free diet or not, this holiday appetizer party will be great fun and offer spectacular ideas that everyone will love. Joining Catherine will be Mary Zalewski. Mary has been to the gluten free school of hard knocks and thus become an expert in eating gluten free over the last several years due to a gluten intolerance. Wrapped asparagus with a spicy dipping sauce; oven fried coconut chicken strips with sweet chili sauce; glazed party turkey meatballs; endive boats with Maytag blue cheese, pecans and balsamic glaze; pepperoni bread and finish with a gluten free pumpkin roll.
Other Girls’ Night Out classes:
South of the Border: September 28 Girl’s Night Oktoberfest Feast: October 26 Fondue Party: November 16
Girls’ Night Out Series
Instructor: Catherine St. John Time: 6:30-9:30pm Cost: 85
Bread Baking – Beyond the Baguette : Dec 7, 2013
Join one of the countries foremost authorities on bread baking. Kathy Lehr has been teaching bread baking at WRSOC for over 25 years and now teaches all over the country. In this series you will learn the basics of classic French bread, to-die-for pizza and clazones, Ciabatta bread, and so much more. You will never want to buy store bought bread again.
Beyond the Baguette: (P) The French are defined by the baguette, yet there are many other incredible breads originating in France. In this class you will make the classic fougasse, shaped creatively by cutting and pulling; pain rustique, unique in that there is very little pre-shaping or final shaping but with a wonderful airy crumb. And lastly, a walnut and onion loaf which may be easily changed into a sweet walnut and pear loaf. Kathy will demonstrate how to make the pain rustique and the walnut and onion dough. You will be making dough for the fougasse to take home.
Bring: a plastic bench scraper, gallon sized Ziplock bags or medium bowl, apron and lunch sized brown paper bags to take home your doughs and baked breads.
Other Bread Baking classes:
French Bread Workshop: Saturday, September 14 Pizza, Calzone and Focaccia:Saturday, October 5 A Taste of Italy: Saturday, October 26
Bread Baking Series
Instructor: Kathy Lehr Time: 10:00am-1:30pm Cost: 75
Holiday Appetizer Workshop : Dec 5, 2013
In this workshop we will be making some hot and cold appetizers to jazz up your holiday fare. Most of these can be made ahead of time with final touches and baking off at the last minute. We will talk organization, shopping and prepping schedules so you can have the satisfaction of knowing you made all the food, but can still enjoy your party. The menu will include cranberry brie and pecan bites; crab and artichoke turnovers; mohogany chicken skewers; hoisin beef scallion rolls; shrimp and avocado salsa and mini chocolate raspberry tarts.
Lasagna Workshop : Dec 4, 2013
Looking for something different for a pre- or post-holiday dinner? This menu is sure to please a crowd. Learn how to make your own lasagna noodles and create a meal that will become a family favorite. A versatile broccoli salad, which can be eaten cold or as a warm vegetable, Tom’s famous festival lasagna, made with our own spinach lasagna noodles, an exotic granita of mint, fresh lemon juice, and roasted red pepper, served with our own biscotti.
Instructor: Tom Johnson Time: 6:30-9:30pm Cost: 75
Techniques & Theory III – Grilling and Frying : Dec 3, 2013
Techniques & Theory of Cooking
Catherine has long been looking for a text book for this 3-part series (12 classes) and she has found it. Cleveland based cookbook author, Michael Ruhlman, has come out with just such a book. Ruhlman’s Twenty: 20 Techniques, 100 Recipes, A Cook’s Manifesto, has it all. Everyone who loves to cook should read and learn from this book. We will break down his 20 must-know techniques into a 12 class series. Whether you are a novice cook, an experienced home cook or a professional cook, these are all techniques you should know and understand. These classes will be technique driven, not menu driven. Recipes were chosen because of the lessons they teach us about each technique. The classes will build on each other and can be taken as a whole series or you can take a class that interests you. Our hope is that you become hooked on learning more and take more than one class. While it is not required that you have Ruhlman’s Twenty as a textbook for taking the classes, it is recommended.
Techniques & Theory of Cooking Part III – (D)
Now that we have covered many of the basic ingredients in the kitchen we will delve into cooking techniques. In this series of four classes we will look into soups (yes, it is a technique), sautéing, roasting, braising, poaching, pan grilling (although outdoor grilling with be discussed) and frying. All of the techniques are used in the professional kitchen on a daily basis and can easily be translated to the home. Diploma awarded for series.
Grilling and Frying (D)
Fire is king when it comes to imparting great flavor to meats, seafood and vegetables. While this class will not be able to provide an outdoor grilling experience, we will take some of the techniques and apply them to the indoor grill and grill pan. Most people are afraid to deep fry, feeling that it makes a mess and producing greasy food. While we should not be eating fried foods on a daily basis, it is a good and valid technique to know. Pan grilled flat iron steak with grilled onions and chimmichuri sauce served in a grilled flat bread; grilled and marinated vegetables for a vegetable and goat cheese wrap; brined buttermilk fried chicken and shoestring pomme frits with slow roasted tomato aioli.
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Other Techniques & Theory III classes:
Soups:Tuesday, November 5
Sautéing and Roasting – In the Hot Seat:Tuesday, November 12
Braising and Poaching – Moist Heat/Gentle Heat:Tuesday, November 19
Techniques & Theory III Series
Instructor: Catherine St. John Time: 6:30pm-9:30pm Cost: $65
Make & Take Cookie Dough Workshop : Dec 2, 2013
Join Pastry Chef SynDee Bergen, owner of A Cookie and a Cupcake in Tremont, for this fun holiday cookie workshop. SynDee will take you through making the doughs to baking and decorating the cookies. Students will work in teams and take cookie dough to bake off at home. It’s nice to have a dough in your recipe box that can be turned into different types of cookies just by adding a few ingredients. In this class you’ll make the most versatile dough, a basic sugar cookie dough. It can be used as an all purpose dough, whether making cutouts or shortbread-style cookies. Drop cookie dough: this is the basis of all drop cookie dough and can be made into any cookie: chocolate chip, oatmeal monster, peanut butter, classic soft gingerbread, traditional PB blossom. Lunch will be served.
BRING: a box of gallon-sized Ziplock bags to take home your dough.
Instructor: SynDee Bergen Time: 11:00am-3:00pm Cost: 85
Holiday Cupcake Workshop : Dec 1, 2013
Learn the art of the cupcake from cupcake master SynDee Bergen (owner of A Cookie and a Cupcake in Tremont). You’ll learn many decorating techniques that can be applied to other themed cupcakes. Gingerbread cupcake: ginger cupcake, molasses frosting, topped with a mini gingerbread cookie, dusted with powdered sugar; snowball fight cupcakes: vanilla cupcake filled with coconut pecan reduction, topped with coconut frosting and rolled in coconut; peppermint bark cupcake: chocolate cupcake filled and topped with candy cane frosting and a garnish of peppermint bark; caramel mochaccino chocolate cupcake filled with espresso frosting, topped with vanilla star tip frosting, finished with a caramel drizzle and a stir stick. You’ll also learn how to make vanilla cupcake basic swirl and chocolate cupcake ornament. We will also cover American buttercream, Swiss buttercream, chocolate cake, vanilla cake, caramel sauce, peppermint bark and coconut pecan reduction.
BRING: two large star tips, two large round tips and a box or sheet pan to take home your cupcakes.
Instructor: SynDee Bergen Time: 1:30-4:30pm Cost: 80
