Truffles and Trifles Cooking School

Yesterday I came home and my husband had a surprise for me. It was an envelope full of little tiny cut up words. He said, "Put it together and you will see where you get to go tomorrow night." I love riddles and he knows me so well. I don't ask for much help but after an hour I put together this:

Truffles and Trifles
Welcome to French Country Style Cooking with Julia Childs

Rules:
1. Wear comfortable clothes
2. Bring your own wine as long as you are over 21
3. Be one time

When: Wednesday 30th at 6:00
Where 211 Smith St.
Edgewater, Fl.

Okay so there was a lot more to that but I can't remember. To sum it up, he bought me a cooking class with a Julia Childs theme and our chef actually cooked with Julia on PBS and told us lots of stories. One time she was cooking with Julia C. and Julia didn't like the chicken they gave her to season so she threw it behind her head and kept right on going. It was funny to hear Marci talk about Julia. I played with my pearls I wore as she chatted on about her. I know, pearls are kitchy katchy but I could help but wear them.

So there were about 20 people, groups, couples and singles that got seperated into groups and we each had to cook two recipes. My recipes were Quiche Lorraine and Stuffed Tomatoes. My team was delightful. Three other women of all ages. We messed up on everything once but fixed it all and it came out fabulous. We had a great time and sampled every other dish as it was being made. Our teacher Marci was a trip and an half. She scolding me for stirring pieces of bacon as they fried. She also had a couple of the other girls frightened of being yelled at for not knowing how to crack an egg or something. Anyway, she made me laugh and I enjoyed her scolding. She really had a great sense of humor and answered all your questions. Some girls had never even seen a spatula before and confesed to cooking her bacon and eggs in the microwave. I thought Marci was going to pass out. She said, "The microwave is on the get-the-hell-out-of-my-kitchen list." The girl was jumpy the rest of the night. So anyways we all got to see a little of everything that was made and socialized over the smells and warmth of the spacious kitchen.

Another great part to the night was Chef Keith a jolly fellow who assisted and gave tips to us cookies. He tried to convice Marci to let us make two Quiches but she denied him and when it came time to cut our quiche, Keith said to me, "You better cut it like a gentile would." I was like "What? How do I do that?" Is this some cooking code I don't know about being a gentile? Keith said, "Like Jesus, make it so it is enough for everyone. Like with the fish and bread." I then got what he was trying to say and cracked up. I told him I would pray over the quiche and that it would be enough for everyone. He must of really thought that was funny because later when I was looking in the store part for European Cocoa Powder for a French Dessert I want to make, he snuck to the back and filled up a ziplock for me and literally stuffed it into my purse saying, "I don't see noting, hear noting or say noting." He has kinda of Jamaican Accent and a lopsided smile permentantly on his face. I giggle and open the wrapped deliciousness. The girls around me where like, "What did he put in your bag?" "When you use that you better invite us over!" "How did you get him to give you some?" I just laughed and shared my treasure with my new friend Karen. I felt as if I had drugs or something in my purse and was sneaking them out of customs in Colombia or something. It was entirely hilarious and I hope to go back and learn some more or be scolded some more.

Ah Julia, it was wonderful thinking and cooking with you tonight.

And thanks Hubby for this wonderful gift.

Le criminel Tiffany

Chocolate Art

On the last day of school I had one of my students give me chocolate...I thought this was going to be the normal stuff that I nibble on and put back. HOWEVER, I was wrong. It was this beautiful chocolate pieces with handcrafted art on the top. I just thought it was delightful. You might be thinking, "Wow, it is so pretty, I bet she didn't even eat it."

You don't know me very well.

It tasted like heaven.


Tiff

Meal # 24 Green Olive and Onion Sauced Steaks with Wild Mushroom Noodles

As I was planning this meal it did not bother me at all that I was preparing a Mediterrean dish with a Chinese side dish. It does get under my skin now talking about it. I must have broken a sacred cooking rule. Anyways neither where exceptional. The noodles with all different kinds of mushrooms where...mushroomy. I also while preparing this dish, didn't cut off the stems so they basically turned to rubber and I couldn't even CUT them off when it was chow time. I am mushroom ignorant and I guess I just learned lesson #1. The steak with green olives would have been so much better if I hadn't dumped so much hot sauce in it. I mean, you can't enjoy any food with your snot running into it. I didn't really eat mine and my poor husband's face was red for about an hour. I guess the main lesson I am learning is that sometimes, sometimes, you don't have to measure. But sometimes you do. How will I learn when I can and cannot dump things in? Rachel Ray makes it seem all to easy with her "twice around the pan" nonsense.

Nevermind Rachel... I take it back. You are awesome.

Tiff

Meal # 23 Hodgepodge Ham and Potatoes with Asparagus

I had some people over like usual, Bri and Courtney. They were excited about cooking with me and I was glad to have company. I surveyed our ingredients and was unimpressed. Ham, potatoes, herbs and Bearnaise sauce. I think we threw some thickening agent in there and also some yum onions, all topped with crushed Ritz crackers. I was kinda nervous about all of these things just being cooked and then mixed and cooked in the oven again. However, with us three brains in the kitchen we tasted and looked and smelled this dish until it became a wondrous creation. It looked disgusting and like vomit a little but let me tell you that it got 4 and 5 across the board. It was warm and homey like a cabin in the snowy woods (even though it is 100 degrees here) and it reminded me of how people must have created recipes in the old days. I sure wish I would have wrote this one down. The weird part was the asparagus on the side with hollindaise sauce. It just didn't fit our country meal it seemed classy and snobby sitting there next to our terrific mushy mess of a casserole. So it brought the whole meal to a whopping 4 with a little extra points on the side.

Thanks to those girls though it would have been a uglier mess. Thanks for cooking with me...it's an adventure!

Tiff

Meal # 22 Onion Pork Chops with Corn and Potato

I got a new cookbook the other day. Rachel Ray's 2, 4, 6, or 8 people recipes. Very cool. I chose a recipe from it today and enjoyed following her recipe directions. It's like, a little of this and a eyeball of that, mix, chop or whatever floats your boat kinda recipe. I invited Suzette over for Bible study and dinner and I think she liked the meat and corn stuff but not crazy about the onions. I however, loved the onion sauce, because I love onions. Sauteed onions with a little butter and salt are one of my favorite thing, it's not everyone's though. But this is a food challenge, people, if I am not challenging you out of your food box, who will? Speaking of food boxes, my whole life I have hated mushrooms. They always taste like dirt and rubber. I cooked them (because they are on my list 30 times! Amanda!) the other day in butter, and loved them. I was so surprised to see my taste-buds changing in this experience. So we ate and picked corn out of our teeth and enjoyed good food. What can be better than that?
Stats:

Gabriel- 4
Tiff -4
Suz - she didn't vote but I bet she would say 3 because of the onions

I can't help it! I love onions!

Tiffions