PUTTING ON MY APRON AT APRON'S: Graduation Week!

This week, we graduated from the Basics of Culinary class at Apron’s Cooking School, but for many, if not all of us, this will not be our last Apron’s class. We came to the class for different reasons: to learn to cook after years of depending on someone else to do it, to pursue a long-held interest now that retirement allots the time, to learn more about something we already love to do...and for one class member, to prevent causing another fire in the kitchen. Yet, we all left the class feeling a sense of connection. There is something about gathering in the kitchen, preparing and then savoring food together that promotes a camaraderie that we wouldn’t have gotten if we had taken another type of class. I think it’s also safe to say that we all left the class with a shared appreciation of the art of cooking and a love of producing delectable results. As one student new to cooking put it, participating in the class “sparked a hobby.” Each week she delighted in sharing her new cooking successes between classes at home.

The final meal in this course was Lobster Bisque (see the recipe of the week), Arugula Salad with Roasted Peppers, Sirloin Steak with Bordelaise Sauce and Roasted Potatoes, and Spicy Chocolate Tart. Executive Chef Jim Hendry showed us how to prepare lobster by cutting down the middle of the shell with a knife, and then pulling the meat up and spreading it over the shell to cook it. To grill, simply cut the shell in half. Although the chocolate tart Jim taught us to make wasn’t his award-winning tart, one of the students still commented that she was “amazed and impressed.” Mike McClure taught us how make the final “mother sauce” of the class—espagnole sauce. From this sauce, we then made bordelaise sauce.

More tips we learned:
• When making dough for baking, chill it first.
• If you forget to add the baking powder, it will still rise if there’s an egg in the mixture. (Since we forgot to add the baking powder to the tart, I can testify to the truth of this one).
• For even baking, cook on the center rack of the oven.
• To be sure not to overcook, set a timer for two-thirds of the cooking time to see if the time needs to be adjusted. Never trust the recipe; the creator of the recipe wasn’t using your oven.
• When a pie or tart is cooked, it should jiggle but not ripple. There should be “no waterbed action,” according to Jim. Do you get the visual?
• To cut even pie slices, cut the pie in half; then cut those halves in half and so on and so on until you have the desired size slice.
• Roasted peppers should be charred black all over.
• After roasted peppers are charred, cover them with plastic on a plate. The steam loosens the peel for easy removal.
• Save shells from lobster and shrimp to make stock.
• Seafood stocks are faster to make than chicken or beef stock, cooking in only half an hour.
• When making soup, it’s easiest to start thin. You can always thicken later, if needed, by adding roux.
• If cooking a soup with seafood in it, time it so the soup and the seafood are finished cooking simultaneously so as not to overcook the seafood.
• When searing steak, it will initially stick to the pan, but let it sit because it will release itself as it cooks.
• For medium rare steak, cook to 120 degrees. The temperature will rise 5 degrees after it’s removed from heat.

The class culminated with the receipt of our graduation certificates. We were all thrilled to hear the verdict that any of us were now adept enough in the kitchen to continue with the intermediate class. Everyone in the class seemed to have an interest in continuing their cooking education at some point in the future. We compared schedules to see who could take the upcoming intermediate course.

After class, we lingered longer than usual—like that last bite of a delicious meal, savoring the taste of a good experience we wished didn’t have to end. Yet we leave more educated, more confident, and more inspired---perhaps with a few pounds to lose, but with friends gained.

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