(About a four-minute read)
My husband and I share a passion for cooking, especially exploring ethnic cuisines. Thanks to friendships with some Afghan families, we’ve tackled dishes like chicken biryani and borani banjan. So, when the opportunity arose to take a Mediterranean cooking class for a date night, we signed up. No messy kitchen to clean, just fun recipes to tackle!
The culinary school is at a tech college about twenty minutes away. I’ve enjoyed sushi classes before (although not at this school), but I wasn’t sure what to expect from this class. First, we began in a classroom where we signed a waiver. (They must’ve had someone like me in mind, although I didn’t sustain a knife injury that night. But I did slice my finger on a serrated bread knife a few weeks later. I should’ve taken a knife safety course, right?)
Then we headed into a commercial kitchen. With six workstations, multiple handwashing sinks, a massive pantry, and a washer and dryer. We chose our workstation, each equipped with a commercial range—the Clydesdales of stoves.
Our instructor, a pastry chef, measured out all our ingredients, removing the guesswork and potential for mistakes, particularly with baking. It reminded me of my childhood, when I’d help my mom in the kitchen.
We kicked off with dessert, making an Orange Olive Oil Cake. (Using olive oil instead of butter, makes for a moist and crumbly cake.) Robert normally loathes baking, but having pre-measured ingredients was a game changer. He was enjoying mixing, zesting, and pouring the batter into two mini loaf pans—easy peasy. And boy, did he preen when he saw his fluffy cakes fresh out of the oven. And they tasted delicious as well. Way to go, Babe!
Instructor Tip: When zesting fruit, only grate the sweet, aromatic outer peel. Avoid the bitter pith. This explains why I previously couldn’t taste the sweetness in my zest.
While our cakes were baking in the commercial ovens, we turned our attention to chicken shawarma. The instructor already prepped our seasoning mix, so our task was to cut the chicken into thin strips then marinate them with the shawarma seasoning, lemon juice, and olive oil. We added red onions to the pan and cooked up this Mediterranean delight.
Of course, we needed to add more layers of flavor with a homemade tahini dressing. Viola! Once our chicken was 165 degrees Fahrenheit, we compiled the goodness into a pita (I charred mine on the burner) and drizzled the top with the dressing. Yummy!
Instructor Tip: Best method to check the accuracy of a meat thermometer:
- Fill a glass with ice.
- Pour cold water on top of the ice and stir well.
- Dip thermometer stem two inches into the glass of ice water (w/o touching bottom or sides of the glass).
- Wait thirty seconds for the thermometer to adjust.
- It should read 32 degrees F.
- If inaccurate, calibrate by following the thermometer’s instructions.
To identify our dishes, we wrote our names on duct tape and stick it on the edge of our pan.
Finally, we made a panzanella salad—a refreshing Italian summer dish. The main task was preparing and cooking the croutons from a baguette. We made the dressing, cut tomatoes and green onions, and added toppings like mozzarella cheese, kalamata olives, and basil leaves.
Once everything was ready, we packed our three-course meal into to-go trays and headed home to enjoy our creations.
What I enjoyed the most was cooking alongside Robert, meeting fellow “chefs,” and soaking up tips and tricks from our enthusiastic instructor. She was passionate about cooking and teaching, so I couldn’t resist asking her a few questions:
- What’s your favorite restaurant in Tulsa? (She mentioned a few, including Smoke—one I haven’t tried yet.)
- Ever met a celebrity chef? (Yes, José Andrés.)
By the way, the recipe handout included several cookbook recommendations:
- Ottolenghi Simple: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi, published by Ten Speed Press.
- Mediterranean Every Day by Sheela Prakash, published by Harvard Common Press.
- The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, published by Little Brown. (I just ordered this one and can’t wait to dive in!)
Here’s to many more culinary adventures!