Thai Cooking Class

Earlier this fall I signed up for a Thai Cooking class through a community association (the same one where I signed up for belly dancing). It was last night at Sous Chef and was quite enjoyable. I was looking forward to learning some new recipes and possibly diversifying our sometimes limited menu. I was super excited when we got there and I found out that we would be making Thai salad rolls (my favorite...and I thought they were Vietnemese), pad thai and basil beef. There were eight of us in the class (I was surprised to see four men and four women in our class). We all took turns with some of the prep work, but mostly observed while our teachers did most of the cooking. Then we got to eat, and let me be the first to say YUM! I would not feel as overwhelmed trying to make the salad rolls at home (though they are quite labor intensive). The teacher of the class said that his secret ingredients for those salad rolls is fresh mint leaves. I felt a little skeptical at first. I thought it would be too strong, but let me tell you, I don't know if I could ever enjoy them quite as much without the mint leaves. A few months back, after I had pad thai at Earl's, I tried making us a pad thai inspired stir fry. I loved it, Jay didn't. I enjoyed the pad thai we made last night, but again I am not sure if Jay would like it. It was quite sour tasting with the tamarind and lime juice in it, but I liked it. I wouldn't mind trying to duplicate what we learned. The basil beef was really good too. It had coconut milk, garlic and a variety of fresh veggies with the beef. Then at the end they stirred in some fresh basil. After having those fresh herbs last night I have to say we are SO trying to grow fresh herbs next summer. SO good!

I had never been in Sous Chef before and I am thinking I will likely go back there. Probably on a Saturday when we don't know what to cook for supper and pick up something unique to try. They also offer these cooking classes to private groups. You have to have a minimum of six and a maximum of eight people to go in and you learn two appetizers and two main dishes then get to eat them. You get to pick what type of food you would like to learn how to make. They said they have even had people come in who aren't at all interested in learning how to cook and they just sit at the table while the two teachers are in the back cooking them food. They said either way they don't mind. I think it would be fun, but it is $60/person which might be a little steep for some people.