Stagette Party: Aphrodisiac Cooking Class at Kitchen Riddles

Dear Vancity Girlfriends,

When you think of getting married and the stagette, you may not think of cooking classes, but that is exactly what we did for my girlfriend's stagette!  It was called the Aphrodisiac Cooking Class which was a private class just for the nine of us.  

Chef Morgan and Chef Tony took care of us for the evening and we started the night tasting their fresh foccacia bread which was orgasmic.  It was freshly baked that evening and the bread melted in our mouths.  We had that with our choice of white or red wine.  

Then we gathered for our Aphrodisiac Cooking Class which is perfect for bridal showers, bridal parties, girl's night out, birthday parties, or stagettes.  There was a large table with enough space for everyone and the ingredients in the middle.  The chef who was teaching that dish was at the front and first he taught us knife techniques and how to chop the ingredients before we cooked.  It was better than watching the Food Network because it's in person.  Yay!  

We prepared and then learned how to cook each step of the three course meal.  The appetizer was crab cakes with arugula which were so delicious probably because of they were "real" crab cakes (no imitation crab meat here).  Instead there was a bowl full of cooked soft shell crab.  We learned how to plate our dishes too before we brought them to the dining area to enjoy!  Throughout the evening there were cocktails and unlimited wine for us to refill our wine glasses.  The chefs were patient and funny and let us be a little wild and crazy!  After all we were there for a stagette, not a cooking class, and it was a beautiful blend of both.  

Our main entree was Prosciutto Awakening which was a prosciutto wrapped chicken breast that is seared and served with a mixture of white and cremini mushrooms sauteed with asparagus and risotto.  An elegant plate indeed.  

For dessert we had a Chocolate Lava cake served with chantilly cream and pomegranates.  This was an amazing 3 course meal and I was so excited that I could recreate these dishes from memory.  That is the beauty of the culinary arts.  Not only was it was tipsy fun stagette, we learned a lot about cooking fundamentals....that says a lot that I can remember that after drinking at least 4 glasses of wine throughout the night.   What a memorable night!  

Kitchen Riddles in Burnaby:  https://kitchenriddles.com/cooking-classes/

2nd Cookie Swap - December 2014

Wow!  Originally when I organized my work cookie swap, I never thought much about the timing of the swap.  When the end result ended up with two cookie swaps in one week, I was happy that I only asked for 6 cookies per participant.

With the 2nd cookie swap with friends, the we decided on 12 cookies per participant.  I did cookie testing in the month of November and tried cookie recipes that took hours to make because the dough needed to be refrigerated overnight and then baked.  Those cookies were just eaten at home with friends. 

As the exchange date drew closer, I knew that I needed to make cookies that were small so I could make four dozen cookies easily.  I wanted to make a festive cookie as well so I decided on the "Chewy Peppermint Mocha Cookie."  I discovered this recipe by doing one of my multiple google searches and it has simple ingredients that I already had in my pantry or I could easily find.  It's from Eat, Live, Run website:  http://www.eatliverun.com/chewy-peppermint-mocha-cookies/

When I made the cookies, I used a cookie scoop so they were a bit rounder almost like a truffle shape.  The cookies were a success!  I managed to bake probably around 60 cookies because I dropped teaspoons of cookie dough instead of tablespoons.  

Cookies have inspired me to do more food photography because they are great still models.  Featured below are the other cookies in the cookie swap that included Chewy Peppermint Mocha Cookies, Lavender Shortbread, Christmas Sugar Cookies, and Holiday Cookie Bark.  Let's see if they can last until Christmas!