Cooking... Mediterranian style

Tonight was the first (of many to come) cooking classes/demonstrations at Cooks Corner. I love shopping here and when I heard that they were offering cooking classes I didn't hesitate to sign up!

Tonight's theme was simple cooking with a Mediterranean touch, presented by Chef Larry London from Big Tomatoes. Nicole and I were looking forward to trying some new yummy foods!

On the menu tonight....

Salad: Panzanella/ Italian Bread Salad

Appetizer: Ceviche

Main Entree: Linguine with Forest Mushrooms & Truffle Oil

Dessert: Brazo deGitano (Gypsy Arm" sponge cake)

The salad was an interesting combination. At first, I was not sure about the "soaked" bread in the salad. That just sound liked like it was going to be flavored mushy bread. Boy was I pleasantly surprised! This was really tasty! The bread was soft, but not mushy and the combination of tomato, cucumber, garlic and herbs came together perfectly! Nicole and I decided that to bring this up to the next, we would try it with some fresh mozzarella in it....

Helpful hints from the chef... used a good quality Artisan bread for this salad. It's not going to work with Wonder Bread people! Remember to add your cut and add your fresh herbs right at the end so that you don't lose any of the flavor and aroma.


Next was the appetizer. The thought of salmon that was "cooked" by soaking in lime juice was a little intimidating. The trick is that you need a good firm fleshed fish that is perfectly fresh. The fish is "cooked" by the action of the acidic lime juice. Once again, I was pleasantly surprised by this dish! Although it had a little stronger of a lime taste than I would have preferred, this can be adjusted by draining some of the lime juice from the fish before adding it to the rest of the dish.

The avocado garnish that was served with this fish was wonderful! Tomato, avocado, lemon juice olive oil and cilantro. I would eat this with so many other things also.. including as a "salsa" for tortilla chips!

Now it was time for Dinner! This was the part that we were really looking forward to! Shitaki and Oyster Mushrooms with a light cream sauce... who wouldn't enjoy this one! Just the smell while this was cooking was enough to get the taste buds going. The great thing with this dish is that you can use any combination of mushrooms that you prefer, as long as they are not canned ones!

Helpful hint: To bring out even more of the flavor in your mushrooms, roast them slightly before using. To do this, toss the mushrooms with some canola oil, salt and pepper. Put on a pan and roast in the oven at about 350 for 10 minutes. If you are working with bigger mushrooms, quarter them before roasting.

Now it was time for dessert... Granted we did not get to see the cake part of this actually being made due to limited time for the class, but we get to see everything else get put together. This flavorful simple dessert ultimately is put together jelly roll style and can be customized you a variety of tastes! A little Dark Run folded in with the whipped cream created a light fluffy filling with a lot of flavor. Personally, the Dark Rum was a bit too strong of a flavor for this light dessert. For me, when I make this at home, I will skip the Dark Run and just go with Kahlua or Bailey's for that lighter flavor.

The recipes for all of the above dishes will be posted on in my recipe box on our website. I am going to have to see what I can do with some of the dished to make them a little more Weight Watchers friendly! That will be a interesting challenge!!

Next on the agenda... Fabulous Fish on Thursday!