The Southeast Asian Cooking Class

A few months ago, on May 4th, 2018 some very good friends got married. Yes, it was on Star Wars Day, however, there were no Darth Vader or Wookies in attendance. It was, in contrast, a very beautiful and elegant, outdoor affair in a peaceful but grand setting. The music was amazing, complete small string quartet with a cellist and a celebrity soloist. The food stations were divine and the signature cocktails flowed freely. Needless to say, we had a wonderful time. What do you get for a couple who put so much thought into providing for their guests and who are both having their second marriages?  No gift card or fancy appliance would do, so my husband and I thought of providing an experience instead and we could not have been more right.

We had over the years enjoyed some cooking classes with this couple at a local kitchen store with one chef, in particular, her name is “Anna Tapioca Soares”.  She is not only a talented chef who has eaten her way across the globe, but she is quite the entertainer. Her out of the box style, a no-holds-bar way of communicating instantly connects her with people and endears her to their hearts. As you may have guessed, we hired Ana to hold a private cooking class at this couple’s home with a small group of close friends. Our hosts selected their menu for the evening from Ana’s extensive list. They wanted to learn Southeast Asian cooking.  

That evening was a blast!  We started with a bit of champagne and learned how to make Fresh Spring Rolls with shrimp and fresh vegetables. This is something healthy that we love to eat and we order all the time from the Asian restaurant, so learning to make this at home is a win-win. (Look for my video coming soon on how to make these).

We also made Pork Satay and a Yellow Chicken Curry– which I learned is the mildest of all the curries. I have been wanting to explore curries and was hesitant, but now I feel confident enough to experiment (look for my video soon).

No dinner would be complete without a signature cocktail and Ana did not disappoint! She found an herbal infused Thai soda and paired it with- of all things, gin, it was a perfect match.

We finished the evening by making Coconut Ice Cream and to balance the sweetness in the ice cream a tart mango sorbet.  Over dessert and while doing our best to stave off a food coma, we planned our next Ana adventure, a food shopping experience like no other. We will be visiting all of Ana’s favorite international markets where she visits regularly. We will be educated, entertained and we will be served the exotic foods that are served in their eateries, I can not wait!

Our group had so many laughs that evening and since Ana brings an assistant with her, our hosts did not even have to wash a dish. All in all, I think our gift was befitting a lovely couple who enjoy the flavors of food, fun, and friendship.

A pickle guy pointing at himself with a jar of pickles

The Pickle Contest

A pickle guy pointing at himself with a jar of pickles
Jars of pickles on a table

One day a friend of mine and I were enjoying a pint of beer at a local bottle shop.  He offered to share some pickles that his sister-in-law made for him. Of course, I was excited to try them and boy oh boy did that get me thinking I should learn to make my own pickles and share all my recipes with you. This friend of mine whose name is Pete, will forever be known to me as Pickle Pete. 

The first pickles I made were simple refrigerator pickles. I bought the pickling spice from the store and followed a recipe. Since then I have gotten quite experimental with these little lovelies.  I have been adding in Jalapenos, onions and my own spices. I even made an Asian version using star anise yum. These have been a big hit with everyone who tried them. To this day my favorite way to make pickles is the fridge version. 

The first pickles I made were simple refrigerator pickles.

 

 

Since this post was written I have learned to pickle all kinds of things.  Here is a photo of my pickled shrimp. It is one of my favorites. We even hosted a pickling party at our home. That was loads of fun. 

Read our article How to Host A Pickling Party

Shrimp and lemons in a pewter bowl

Pickle Pete enjoyed tasting our pwn recipes and I thought it would be great fun to share some of our pickles with others.

We invited some other food enthusiasts to bring their homemade pickles into the bottle shop on a Sunday afternoon.  What started out as a tasting turned in to contest.  The pickle challenge was born!

The Pickle Challenge Was Born!

People brought all kinds of pickles including pickled mango! My husband who loves to smoke meat on his Kamado Joe brought a lovely brisket to share, it was unto its self simply amazing. Our pickle event was a big hit and an awesome time.  Look for more pickle recipes to be added soon.

Get More Pickling Recipes Below

Sunflower arrangement with fan and wine glass

A Dinner in The Meadow

Sunflower arrangement with fan and wine glass

 

 

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to dine on exquisite cuisine, prepared by expert chefs from your local area, in the middle of a meadow, on a farm, out in the country just as the sun sets? I used to imagine what this magical experience would be like and recently I was fortunate enough to be able to experience it for real.

My foodie friends, Allyson and Richard, invited us to attend this event with them. We had to purchase tickets in advance as this fun evening sells out quickly every year. I now understand why.

Friends gathered at a table at event

As we pulled up on the grassy field to park our car we could see the big white tents set up strung with thousands of little lights. I knew it would look even more gorgeous once the sun finally set.

I was giddy with country-girl delight when I saw that the tables were draped in checkered tablecloths. In the middle of each table sat centerpieces made from local blooming sunflowers and zinnia. These are two of my favorite flowers, followed by various daisy varieties. Laid out on the table was also a flyer with all the information about the evening, what we could expect, and the menu of the foods that we would soon be enjoying. A printed bamboo fan sat spread out on my plate to use until the hot southern, August sun would drop below the tall pine trees off in a distance.

 

Tents opt

LThe sounds of bluegrass and country music as well as a compilation of fresh foods prepared by some of the areas best local chefs were the highlights of our late summer evening. There was more, a silent auction followed by a live auction event with one of the best bid callers rattling off items and calling bids faster and with more vibrato than I have ever heard.  

My eyes widened as I saw the heaping pile of freshly-harvested steamed shrimp over ice, being fanned by the waitstaff to keep it cool and ward away any pesky insects from landing. That shrimp would be my first stop as I loaded my little appetizer plate with delights such as local goat, sheep, and cow cheeses. My favorite was a creamy textured Humboldt fog with an ash rind. Artisan pieces of bread in several forms were piled high on top of the artisanal cheese on my little plate.

After the appetizers and the small talk with our guests at the table was complete, I became impatient to know what else was going on. I made my way around through the silent auction items. I stopped to thank the staff who were dedicated to fanning the shrimp even though they themselves were hot from the steam swirling about them in the August air.  I looked over at the other end of the tent and I could see the chefs finalizing their stations.

Men at outside table pulling pork for bbq

The venue was not yet officially serving the dinner but there was no harm in walking through just to look right? As I slowly strolled past the first few tables, I quickly realized it was a rare opportunity to chat with the chefs who would soon be busy spooning and plating. The chefs were proud of their food and eager to have someone taste it so I obliged their requests. I took photos in between bites and learned about their various cooking techniques.

One of the stations had a very large leg of beef. I got the first taste of it, of course. And since it was the first cut, it had all the seared, peppery, crusty seasoning on it. Yum!  I made my way by all the stations to take in all the well-prepared cuisine, fresh from the farm in all styles French, Asian, Latin, Southern American and more.

Before and after of a cooked leg of beef

 

There were dishes made from farm-raised goat, beef, pork, lamb and served multiple ways. Large serving plates adorned freshly picked vegetables of beets, summer squashes, sweet potatoes and some of the best-roasted pumpkin I have ever had. Deserts were abundant too, from peach cobbler, chocolate chip cookies, pecan pie, and homemade ice cream.

Toward the end of the evening, I swung by the station that had the big leg of beef as I was curious to see what kind of dent we had all made into that giant carcass. I took an after photo so you can see I was not alone in thinking it was fantastic. Apparently we all gave that beef station it’s justice.

With our bellies full, the action over, the sun was setting, and the live country music was taking us all further into a food coma so we knew it was time to make our way out of the meadow and down the long windy country road back to reality. It was a fun food event and I look forward to attending again next year.