• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Great Eight Friends
  • Gr8 Food ∞
    • Appetizers
      • Dips and Spreads
    • Beverages
      • Adult Beverages
      • Non-Alcoholic Drinks
    • Bread
      • Quick Bread
      • Yeast Bread
    • Breakfast and Brunch
      • Egg Dishes
    • Desserts and Snacks
      • Cakes and Cupcakes
      • Candy and Confections
      • Cookies
      • Fruit
      • Pies and Tarts
      • Snacks
    • Instant Pot Recipes
    • 130+ Main Courses
      • Beef
      • Fish
      • Lamb
      • Meatless
      • Pork
      • Poultry
    • Salads and Dressings
    • Sauces Salsas Marinades
    • Side Dishes
      • Pasta
      • Potatoes
      • Rice and Grains
      • Vegetables
    • Soup
  • Gr8 Friends ∞
    • Gr8 Dinners
    • Gr8 Holiday Ideas
    • Other Occasion Parties
  • Gr8 Fun ∞
    • Debbie's Craft Corner
    • Gr8 Trips
      • Field Trips
      • Vacations
    • Other Gr8 Stuff
      • Our Favorite Kitchen Tools
    • Restaurant Reviews
  • Who We Are
    • GR8 Party Outlines
    • Become a Gr8 Friend!
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Become a Gr8 Friend!
  • Main Courses
  • Appetizers
  • Beverages
  • Bread
  • Breakfast and Brunch
  • Desserts and Snacks
  • Instant Pot Recipes
  • Salads and Dressings
  • Sauces Salsas Marinades
  • Side Dishes
  • Soup
  • Gr8 Friends
  • Gr8 Dinners
  • Gr8 Fun
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Have You Ever Taken a Cooking Class?

    June 23, 2015 by Kyle Leave a Comment

    Cooking classes are like New Year's Resolutions...most people think about doing them, but end up not following through. Here are a few reasons why taking a cooking class is totally worth the effort.

    MacaronsFirst, you can learn to make something a bit exotic or a dish that you would not otherwise attempt at home because it looks or seems too difficult. I decided to give the Gr8 gals the perfect gift for Christmas, a cooking class at Sur La Table in Newport Beach. Talk about gr8 fun! We signed up for the “Make Your Own Macarons!” class.

    A macaron is a colorful, French, sweet meringue-based confection made with egg white and icing. When visiting downtown Los Angeles, Anna, Jurga, Debbie, and I always stop and load up on these delights from Bottega Louie. I never thought that I would ever attempt to make these beauties myself, but under the “hands-on” direction of Chef Lauren Haynie at Sur La Table, we surprised ourselves and made lemon, coconut, and hazelnut macarons with banana buttercream, praline buttercream and white chocolate ganache fillings.  They actually looked pretty good when we were finished and tasted even better! Macarons_Class_CollageWe came home with all the recipes, specific techniques, detailed ingredient lists, and written tips for successfully making macarons. We are now well equipped to attempt this at home and treat our friends and families.

    PandP_cooking_classSecond, a unique date night would be a fun reason to take a cooking class. My daughter and her boyfriend recently decided to take a class together. They went to Eat Street one evening and learned to make Coq au Vin and crème brulee. Eat Street offers, “date night and singles classes." A few days later the two of them made the crème brulee for both our families. It was fun to watch them work together in the kitchen and they proudly presented us with yummy, individual crème brulees. The ingredient list they received was also cost-efficient!

    Finally, whether you are a seasoned cook or a novice, you’ll learn something new. You will come home with new recipes, new ideas and new tips. I love to watch cooking shows on television, but taking a class takes the experience up a notch. Although some cooking classes are not hands on, the in-person instruction is very helpful. And of course you get to taste-test interesting dishes, sometimes sip wine while tasting and not have to do the dishes!

    Taking a cooking class can give you that perfect go-to dish to wow your guests. And don’t forget that a summer cooking class for kids is a fun activity and sometimes can be a great inspiration to get them involved in the kitchen!

    « New England Clam Chowder - GF & DF!
    A Great Eight Field Trip to “Playground” »

    Reader Interactions

    Be a Gr8 Friend and tell us what you think! Cancel reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Be a Gr8 Friend!

    Talk With Us!

    • Kyle on Ina Garten's Yummy Irish Soda Bread
    • Sharon P Fernandez on Ina Garten's Yummy Irish Soda Bread
    • Kyle on Blueberry Bread Pudding with Maple Whiskey Sauce
    • Susie on Blueberry Bread Pudding with Maple Whiskey Sauce
    • Anna on Baked Italian Ricotta Cake
    my foodgawker gallery

    Need More Servings?

    Our recipes will do the calculation for you. Just hover over the number of servings then move the slider to the number desired. (Please be aware: this will not change pan or bowl sizes, so you may have to adjust for that.)

    It's Grilling Season!

    ThermoWorks Thermapen Mk4

    Popular Recipes

    • '60s Sitcoms TV Dinner Party
    • Buttery Crusted Strawberry Rhubarb Tart
    • Mixed Greens with Arugula Oil and Lemon Vinaigrette
    • Spring Pea and Arugula Soup Recipe

    Footer

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Our Party Outline

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright ©2022 Foodie Pro on the Foodie Pro Theme

    Manage Cookie Consent
    To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
    Functional Always active
    The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
    Preferences
    The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
    Statistics
    The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
    Marketing
    The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
    Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
    View preferences
    {title} {title} {title}