Artisan Cooking School: Tuesday, April 17, Asian Cuisine

Here's just a couple photos from my last cooking lesson at Artisan Cooking School in Grand Haven. It is always such fun there! It is a very cozy and quaint place and I feel like I'm at my Mamaw's house!This is an old Victorian style house that has been redone to accommodate the school and catering business. Howard and his staff and chefs are conversational, charming and witty! I learn a lot and have a great time doing it-but the best part, of course, is eating the finished product! YUM! I always say that the most passionate people on the planet are those who have a passion for food and cooking! This particular class was on Asian Cooking and I learned a lot about the ingredients that you can only get in an Asian market. Chef Howard Norris was telling us about the market on Douglas Street in Holland. Apparently, most of the products are not labeled in English so he had to take in his recipes and explain what he was trying to do and make and the lady there would help him find what was needed. Howard said that she was delighted to take the time to explain things about the ingredients and it was a very enjoyable and educational couple hours he spent there. When Howard talks about food and ingredients and preparation and serving tips, etc. you can certainly tell this is his niche in life. Getting just the right ingredients makes such a difference in how the dishes taste. The freshness of each dish was noticeable.
Chef Doug McConnell was actually the one doing the demonstration on this night. This is the first time I have met him but he has been actively involved in some of the more prestigious restaurants in our area in the past and is now in charge of the dining facility at the Maranatha Conference Grounds in Norton Shores. Doug is a very experienced and knowledgeable chef who also likes to add little flairs and tell you about variations that you can do with recipes. He was using two cookbooks as his references this evening: Terrific Pacific and Essentials of Asian Cuisine. On the menu for this class was: Ayam Goreng World's Best Fried Chicken (and it was!), Goi Cuon Summer Rolls with a Nuoc Cham(spicy sweet and sour fish sauce dip), LemonGrass Shrimp, several types of Asian rice, and a spicy pork with Shitake mushroom stir-fry. We ended with a raspberry sorbet drizzled with an aged balsamic vinegar. Everything was exquisite! The fees there are very reasonable. The typical class is only $50 for several hours of instruction and the privilege of eating whatever was prepared. This is my favorite new hobby!
In an earlier post I shared with you the classes I'm signed up for but I am going to reiterate them again and invite you to experience this for yourself. You can get to Artisan Cooking School's website by clicking on my blog links. The classes I am signed up for are May 1, May 8, and May 15th. Remember, on May 8th my sister Marcee will be here visiting from Oregon so if you sign up for that one, expect a lively night!
See you in the kitchen,
Lana