My friends had a wonderful idea the other day.
“Let’s go to a cooking class!”
“Great! What’s on the menu?”
“Oh, some Italian dishes, but a bit spicier than usual. And you get to eat what you cook.”
“Say no more! I love spice. I love cooking. I love eating. Let’s do it.”
We made our booking at Chez Vous in Black Creek (Vancouver Island), and last Saturday night, we three girls went out to join the fun in the kitchen.
Chef Alain Chabot and his wife Chantal were our hosts.
The ten guests who signed up for this class were divided into small groups to make various dishes:
Fresh pasta – tagliatelle and a sauce to make Spaghetti Putanesca
An eggplant and peppers appetizer – Melanzane
Lamb and Potatoes – Herb Roasted Rack of Lamb and Lemon Roasted Potatoes
Dessert – Tira misu
All photos in this post were taken by Deidre Macdonald, the pretty smiling lady in the photo below. She kindly sent them to me for this blog post. You see how happy she is. That’s how ecstatic we all felt by the time we left for home, after a fantastic evening of fun and cooking and learning.
Here, Chef Alain is checking the pasta he has just shown us how to make. We used attachments on his very old but still functional Kitchen Aid mixer to press the pasta dough and to slice it into long spaghetti strips. It was easy and fun.
Another group prepared the lamb, cutting the membrane on the inside of the ribs so the meat would not curl up in the pan, and then putting salt, pepper, and thyme on it. The chef called the group together for a lesson on the cooking of the meat. A combination of oil and butter sizzled in the pan over medium hot gas flames as he placed two racks in each of two pans.
As the butter started to look like it might burn he tipped the pan so the juices of the lamb combined with the butter and oil. This added enough liquid to prevent burning as the pan roasting continued.
Do you see how the rib bones are intertwined now that the racks have been turned over in the pan? This will help to cook the thickest part of the rack.
After a few more minutes of pan roasting, the lamb racks are sprinkled with chopped parsley and, in the same pan, are put into a 400 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
Here is the happy result. Tender and tasty!
Dinner was served in four courses with wine pairings for those who elected to have this added pleasure.
The lemon herbed roasted potatoes and some of the other dishes we made are an art all to themselves. Perhaps another blog post needs to be dedicated to them.
If you are on the island and would like to see what’s happening at the chef’s business, check out his webpage here: chezvousfoods.com
Yum! I love spice too, Anneli. What a fun thing to do with friends. Thanks for sharing the class with us.
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It was spicy and hot but not burning hot – just hot inside to make our insides very warm and keep us smiling.
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YUM!
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Wow! That looks like it was a really fun day! Great food and great friends. It doesn’t get better.
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It was fantastic!
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What a wonderful experience! I am so envious. And hungry. 🙂
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You would have loved it, Pat!
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This looks sooooo delicious!
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It was delicious too! All served in small courses so there was time to savour each dish.
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That was a delicious opportunity!
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It sure was. We were so happy and buzzing all evening.
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Great post 🙂 Thank you !
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Oh, Hans, it was so much fun. You would have loved something like this.
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It looks and sounds wonderful. A nice way to spend an evening.
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It really was!
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What a cool — and tasty — thing to do.
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Really fun!!!
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Looks like a wonderful evening! I would definitely have opted for the wine pairing as well. 🙂 The food looks delicious!
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The girls enjoyed the wine pairing but I volunteered to be the DD because it was a bit of a drive home.
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OMG, I’m sooo hungry now. I would LOVE to do something like this with my girlfriends. I’ll have to see if we have something like that here. We’d rather not have to go into the city, at least not in the winter (with all this snow). You made the Putanesca sauce, which I’ve made and love. My grandma used to put in some kind of fish, usually tuna. Did you know that Putanesca means “whore’s sauce?” Did you also make a dessert?
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Yes, they talked about what it means (haha) – and they used anchovies in it. Dessert was Tira misu topped with homemade raspberry sherbet. So good!
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Yum! Cooking with friends while learning something new- what fun!
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Looks delicious.It’s always fun to try out new delicacies.
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It sure is!
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What fun! I’m thinking you may be back for more cooking lessons. And delicious food! I’m hungry now – and it’s not 8 in the morning yet!! 🙂
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Yes, we plan to go back for more cooking lessons. It was so much fun!
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I can’t wait to see the results! 🙂
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This would be so much fun to do with my wife. Thanks for the idea!
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We just had a blast. I was like a hyper kid afterwards, telling my husband all about it.
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Nothing like homemade spaghetti!
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I loved the homemade pasta. So much nicer than the dried store bought stuff.
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Wow! This was a really unique post and it is funny to see a true Chef’s kitchen.
The menu and dishes look delicious and superb, Anneli. I have to say, you could teach classes, since you are a well versed Chef Anneli. 💗
My son has been a sous chef but I wasn’t allowed to step into the kitchen! You all weren’t ask to wear those red aprons either! I have a red apron from one of the country restaurants Jamie worked at. . . His daughters like to try it on, along with my collection of about six styles of aprons. . .
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It was really fun. I hope to do it again sometime.
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Love your site
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Thank you. Nice to see you here.
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