#96 Keri: Take a cooking class

I've never considered myself a bad cook, just never a great one. My desire to try dwindled slowly but surely since moving to Canada and even more since losing Kerry. He was a great chef. I was, even if I do say so myself, an amazing assistant. I would chop veggies, clean up around him as he was making dinner and then do the dishes. The same routine happened every time I would get together with my friends Keri and Robyn. We'd have a baking afternoon, which meant, they would bake and I would happily do the dishes. No wonder then that Keri suggested I take a cooking class. Luckily she did it with me, because seriously, as soon as the chef started explaining the first recipe (ravioli with an arugula goat cheese filling and walnut & sage butter sauce) I was terrified. I swear I even stopped breathing for a second. And then I sipped some more of my wine. I did take notes but couldn't figure them out when actually needing them so luckily Keri was right beside me. The first course was by far my favourite and I was super impressed that it actually tasted delicious, even more than delicious (totally claiming those bragging rights here). Second was okay (still tasted amazing) and third was surprisingly easy. Here are my lessons learnt:

First course: Goat Cheese & Arugula Ravioli in a Walnut Sage Sauce

• When making the pasta you kneed to release the gluten, which in turn creates the elasticity in your pasta. To know if you've done enough kneeding, you apply the pinch test: roll the dough in a ball, pinch it with your fingers, if your fingers stick, get back to kneeding. 
• When browning butter, the crackling is the sound of water escaping. Once that stops, you take it off the heat, stir it to let it continue to brown on its own. If you leave it on too long (get distracted by wine for example) you risk burnt butter and burnt butter tastes yukky. 
• When adding the ravioli to your butter sauce don't worry about draining it completely. You need some of that water for a reason I currently cannot remember. 

Second course: Grilled Lamb Sirloin with Ricotta Herb Gnocchi and Chanterelle Sauce

• Gnocchi can actually be quite yummy. Surprising. 
• Pan searing lamb is yummier than grilling it. We did it on a grill for some strange reason. Still delicious. Use a thermometer to assess cuisson (can't remember the English word now), 126 is my sweet spot for medium rear. 
• To mince garlic flatten with knife, chop finely then sprinkle with some salt and make all mushy with the blade of your knife.

Third course: Lemon Panacotta

• Don't listen to chef when he talks about the source of gelatin. 
• Don't look at list of ingredients before eating dessert. 

All in all a very successful and satisfying experience. Plus I have a really cool apron now for when I do the dishes.