Fall in love with freshness. Embrace what’s tender, sweet, pure and light. That’s the essence of both spring and the foods that nourish us in this uplifting new season of classes. Come see, hear, smell, taste and feel everything bursting with bloom. It’s our annual awakening and the perfect time to revitalize both your self and your cooking.
PLEASE NOTE NEW CLASS DAYS & TIMES: Wednesday morning classes are from 10 am to 1 pm and Friday evening classes are from 5 to 8 pm. Click a class link and you will jump down to the full description in the Class Descriptions section below. NOTE: Some scheduled recipes or menus may need to be altered to accommodate unexpected changes in seasonal availability or other circumstances.
- CLASS 46 • Wed, Mar 18 [10am-1pm]: WAKE UP, WAKE UP!
- CLASS 47 • Wed, Apr 1 [10am-1pm]: SPRING GARDEN SALADS
- CLASS 48 • Fri, Apr 17 [5-8pm]: SPRING LAMB & BABY VEGETABLES
- CLASS 49 • Wed, Apr 29 [10am-1pm]: CLEAR BROTH & FRESH SPRING SOUPS
- CLASS 50 • Wed, May 13 [10am-1pm]: A REAL SPRING CHICKEN
- CLASS 51 • Fri, May 29 [5-8pm]: SIMPLE SMALL PLATES
Private Party Group Classes
You initiate the gathering and we'll take care of the rest! Hassle-free and easily Dutch treat, this is a great way to enrich your life by making it simple to get together with your own group of friends, family or co-workers for a shared and joyful experience.
EITHER pick the current schedule class subject that suits you best and arrange to book it for sometime that same class week -OR- inquire about alternative available menu options. Please contact me to discuss all possible dates and times. (refer to Contact Us)
Current Class Descriptions
CLASS 46 • Wed, Mar 18 [10am-1pm]: WAKE UP, WAKE UP!
I’ve never been a big fan of breakfast, unless I get to linger over it for lunch or even dinner. So it’s taken me a long time to finally sign up for this reputedly most important meal of the day. I’m just not hungry until I’ve already had my coffee and been moving around for at least a few hours, but by then I’m typically too busy to bother or no longer at home. Even if you’re lucky enough to have your hunger wake up with the alarm clock, you may be bored with your breakfast rut and/or tired of settling for the expense and undefined nutritional value of mass-produced coffee bar pastries. What we need are simple everyday solutions that take care of business and put a smile on your face from moment one—whether you’re still at home in your jammies or already out the door with a to-go pack. We’ll cover critical toast talk, personalized cereal blends, how to make hot oatmeal that’s not gummy, fresh fruit options, farm eggs at the ready, protein possibilities, quirky things, the glorious land of milk and honey, and professional tricks for making that perfect morning cup of tea or coffee. You’ll learn what to keep on hand and how to set it all up for fixing in a matter of minutes. Now you can fall asleep with something worth looking forward to and wake up to breakfast!
CLASS 47 • Wed, Apr 1 [10am-1pm]: SPRING GARDEN SALADS
If you’re a fool for love and can’t get enough, when it comes to salads, it doesn’t get better than this. From refreshing side dishes to main course events, this class will promise you a garden on your plate. True spring mix, pea tendrils, violets and mustard flowers. Light lemon dressing. Asparagus, artichokes and green garlic mayonnaise. Artisan cheeses and prosciutto. Leafy green nests for stuffed egg chicks. Croûtons with herbs and black pepper. I’ll fill up my farmers’ market baskets with whatever looks best, we’ll review the basics together, and then let the produce inspire our compositions. Think Monet’s Giverny and April in Paris. Put on your smock and bring a sketchpad. We’re going to have lunch in the garden.
CLASS 48 • Fri, Apr 17 [5-8pm]: SPRING LAMB & BABY VEGETABLES
Navarin Printanier is a classic French stew made to celebrate the arrival of spring lamb and baby vegetables in the garden. The tender meat is gently braised while each of the different vegetables is separately cooked to perfection. Then just like the method we followed in last autumn’s Sonoma County Cassoulet class, the individual components are folded together for a harmonizing communal simmer. This time, however, please imagine sweet baby peas, carrots, turnips, spring onions, new potatoes, haricots verts and fresh thyme. It’s heaven. We’ll devote ourselves to the careful preparations, take our triumph to the table, then pair it with Pinot Noir, a little lamb’s lettuce salad and fragrant fresh bread; strawberries with rose petal crème fraîche to follow. This is a dinner class, a French Sunday supper in the country experience. An evening with friends in our own version of paradise. Come be with us.
CLASS 49 • Wed, Apr 29 [10am-1pm]: CLEAR BROTH & FRESH SPRING SOUPS
This spring soups refresher course will start off reminding us why
nothing can replace the clarifying influence and versatility of homemade chicken stock. We’ll go through the steps for satisfying success and then use that beautiful broth in two lovely soups that will also provide you with reliable guidelines for making both brothy and puréed varieties. The first example makes the most of aromatic spring vegetables
floating in broth for a sweet bowl of purity and comfort that can cure
whatever ails you; this recipe offers you the additional option of
fortifying your soup and yourself with delicately poached chicken
breast. Then a silky spring green purée of asparagus, pea pods and baby spinach shows us how to make light “creamed” soups without any cream; of course, you’re welcome to join me in gilding this lily with a dollop of the season’s best and a shower of fresh mint on top!
I mean, why not? I’m feeling better already.
CLASS 50 • Wed, May 13 [10am-1pm]: A REAL SPRING CHICKEN
She’s young, she’s tender, and oh, so juicy. You can have her for lunch, take her to dinner, or pack her up for a picnic later. We’ll butterfly this bird and dress her up in come-hither veils of Meyer lemon mustard, balsamic and herbs. Roasted to a golden crisp, this chicken is so delectable, you’ll want to go steady with her for many seasons to come. Now as long as the oven’s cranked up, let’s stick those asparagus and carrots in there too. That will leave plenty of room on the burners for a zesty rice pilaf with shallots, pine nuts and currants. And just to keep this all about the birds and the bees, I know, let’s make crêpes laced with lavender honey and snatch them still hot right out of the pan—branding our fingertips with the sweetest of memories.
CLASS 51 • Fri, May 29 [5-8pm]: SIMPLE SMALL PLATES
Call them appetizers, hors d’oeuvres, antipasti, tapas, dim sum, starters or small plates, but just call them. They are always prepared to answer with ease, their infinite variety ready to satisfy a wide range of taste buds and time slots. This class provides you with an aperitif concept that is inclined to turn into a meal. It’s assumed you get to nibble around. So come expecting to dance on the palate of sweet, sour, bitter, salty, spicy and umami. We’ll manage that with ingredients like caramelized onions, vinegars & lemon, sharp greens, cured olives & meats, chiles, and mushrooms. And, of course, we won’t forget to dip between the contrasts of creamy and crunchy with partners like egg yolks, soft cheeses, tortillas and croûtes; vegetables will willingly go either way. I’m also thinking of seafood and something else saucy. But any way you slice it, we’ll make things lively, so book the date and come learn this salsa!
