The description on the Hipcooks website for the class of “A Romantic Dinner for Two” read
“The way to the heart is through the stomach, my friends! Learn delectable, delicious, succulent foods that will knock their socks off (and more!) They knew you were sexy, but did they know you were so talented?”
- Sexy bruschettas
- Mouth-watering butternut squash, garlic, sage risotto
- Exotic wild mushroom risotto
- Peppery, palate-refreshing salad
- Ginger-raspberry & Grand Marnier crème brûlée
How could I resist? It was also being taught by Nick, who was the appetizer instructor for my previous Cocktails class at Hipcooks.
What I didn’t know is that as part of the class, we would also be getting a chance to get some knife skills including how to choose a good knife (we used Wüsthof chef knives) and care for it and practiced drawing, slicing, chopping, and chiffonade- a term I had only just learned on Top Chef Masters earlier in the week.
Rather then just making one kind of bruschetta, we learned how to make a bruschetta bar that had a variety of toppings so everyone could make their own kind of crostini with toppings that included homemade goat cheese, homemade mozzarella, olive tapanade, and roasted red peppers.
Besides learning how to infuse the arborio rice with flavors (including celery, onion, garlic, and white wine) we also practiced eyeballing the liquid ratio as we cooked it, and Nick was right on the mark for the amount of time it would take each of our three pots of risotto. Also, we got tips on how to flambe the mushrooms for the mushroom risotto- which we did twice, once with the portobello and cremini mushrooms and also with the oyster mushrooms. Fire! Here are some pictures of progress at the end when it was deemed looking and tasting al dente with the rice so time to add the freshly grated parmesan
We made the butternut squash one in two different batches- one with chicken stock and one with vegetable stock (both stocks were homemade earlier) to taste the difference but with the vegetable stock one we added lemon juice. The vegetable stock with lemon juice was my favorite. We didn’t quite cut the mushrooms small enough for my taste, though others liked that it was chunky so it had a more meaty texture. Overall the salad was a bit too salty for me, though he validated that mixing with your hands (which I also do at home) is the best way to make a salad.
And of course, using fire to caramelize that crunchy top for creme brulee. We made two kinds of creme brulee- one with vanilla and raspberry, and the other with orange ginger and Patron Citronge Orange Liqueur. It was so ridiculously easy to make- I definitely want to get those little torches at Home Depot, which was a great tip from Nick.
As all three of the classes I have taken at Hipcook (I also took a cheesemaking class), it was casual and fun like learning from a good friend with other new friends. We didn’t have to worry about measurements and we did a lot of looking to check in on various stages of making items, and tasting along with our hands on. We did things off the cuff, and we got lots of verbal tips on where to get ingredients, things you can pre-make, how longs things keep, etc. that no recipe can tell you. Thanks for teaching the class how to impress your loved one/one night love (hee). It was as it has always been, fun but educational at Hipcooks.
