Ladies that
Cook… by Ms. Brett Conner
A family
elder of mine always said, “If you can make gravy you can get any man you
want.” So What better way to spend
some time with your Bridesmaids, the women that are always there for you, than a little wine, some great food, and
tip or two on preparing the perfect meal.
Three of my best friends
and myself picked up a couple of bottles of wine from
Vino Per Tutti, and took our girl's night to the one and only Olivelle for a cooking
class! We were greeted by their
helpful staff before being escorted to the private kitchen, a large island with 12 seats around the stovetop, in the back. Our chef for the evening was the lovely Ms. Mary May. Mary received her education from
Institute of Culinary Education in New York and has since traveled and been
employed in Australia, the Dominican Republic and Mexico before settling in our
favorite, and as everyone knows the very best place, Montana.
Mary started
with our appetizer, Crispy Bagguette with Crème Fraiche Artichoke Spread, discussing knife skills, types of knives,
and how to use them. When one of my girls announced, “oh I cut the tip of my thumb
off cutting green onions”, what did Mary make her do? Yep.. come to the front and cut green onions! Even with the
terror of almost losing a phalange, folks she did survive and so did the
audience! And the onions….perfect!
Moving from
our delicious appetizer, Mary pulled a rack of Lamb out and started to prepare
the side, Baby Potato Medley withpeas and asparagus. As the potatoes were coming to a boil, she added the bottom half of the
asparagus stalks and little water to the food processor and pureed away, whipping up the base for the potato, pea and asparagus medley.
After
trimming the lamb and dressing with a little mint and salt, Mary returned the
lamb under the broiler for a bit.
The finishing touch, she topped them with a fantastic goat cheese and
let that melt in the oven for just a couple of minutes. Once everything was
prepared, Mary finished the plates
with a perfect presentation. I was
mesmerized… as nice to look at as it was to eat!
While we
were devouring our lamb, Mary prepared our dessert, Lavender Crème with Berries. She pre-made the whipped crème, but explained the procedure (which
to be honest, I am definitely better off NOT knowing how to make something so
luscious!). She started the berry concoction in a saucepan… berries, simple
syrup and water. After cooking that down and mashing it up, she folded in the
whip crème . Voila… the perfect
end to a delicious meal… a real palette cleanser!
But it did
not stop there. Following the
class and the meal and the wine, we were
treated to ten percent off everything in the store, so needless to say we ladies
had to indulge in a little post meal shopping extravaganza (is there any better post meal activity)! We all bought completely different items
so we could continue our cooking tradition at home. It was a perfect night for me and my girls... we enjoyed the company of
good friends, shared a lot of laughs, had a great meal, and even learned a thing or two. It may have been the best girls night ever….well at
least till we get together next time to cook this meal ourselves!
I know you
are drooling, if not you should be! Don’t worry I have the recipe below: If you
are looking for a fun evening with friends, grab a few bottles of vino and hit
a cooking class….way more fun than just going out to dinner. Or just cook up your own meal, and
enjoy with your dearest.
CRISPY BAUGETTE WITH CRÈME FRAICHE ARTICHOKE SPREAD(Serves 6-8) 1 Baguette. 1 Can Artichoke quarters, well drained. ½ cup Artichoke Parmesan Tapenade*½ cup of crème fraiche. ¼ cup finely sliced green onions, green part only. 1 T Caramelized Garlic EVOO*Sel Gris*Pepper
1. Slice baguette on the diagonal. Place on sheet pan and toast for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set
aside.
BABY POTATO MEDLEY WITH PEAS AND APARAGUS(serves 6-8) 10-12 baby red or white potatoes. 1 cup frozen green peas. 1 bunch asparagus, 1” trimmed from bottom and stalks cut in half. Pasta Rocks* (Salt rocks). Sicilian Lemon EVOO* Citrus Dill Sea Salt* Pepper
1. In a medium/large saucepan bring water to a boil. Add pasta rocks from 2-3 minutes and remove. Add
potatoes and cook until tender, approx. 5 minutes. Scoop potatoes from the water and set aside.
minute, remove and set aside.
1. Trim lamb racks of excess fat, slice into cutlets. Combine olive oils, rub into lamb and place cutlets on a
sheet pan.
with pepper.
golden. Approx 3 minutes.
1. In a large bowl, whip cream until stiff peak stage. Set aside.
berries begin to burst. With potato masher, crush berries lightly. Place berry mixture in a bowl to cool.
For Information on cooking classes… Olivelle
2855 N 19th Ave Ste K, Bozeman, Mt 59718
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