Cooking Classes

Spring and Summer 2011 

Classes

-Small classes, held in my home kitchen in Watertown, Massachusetts

-Emphasis is on healthy seasonal ingredients and skill building 

-Tuition is $80 per class/bring a friend and get a discount

-Contact me (sally.p.vargas@gmail.com) to register and for further information
-Custom classes/dinners for small groups: contact me and we can work it out!

Saturday April 2 11:30 -3:00 Fast and healthy for spring

Market fish roasted in a light tomato sauce/spring vegetables, Greek style shrimp with tomatoes and feta, Quinoa salad with beets and radishes, Spatchcocked Chicken with dukkah

Saturday, April 16 11:30 – 3:00 Homemade pasta

We’ll use a simple hand crank pasta maker to make fresh fettucine and ravioli

Saturday April 30   11:30 – 3:00 Bread baking basics

No-knead bread baked in a pot, basic dough for traditional loaf bread and whole grain bread, flat bread

Saturday May 7   11:30 – 3:00 Clean and healthy yogurt desserts

Frozen yogurt with orange, rosewater and honey, Honey yogurt “cheesecake” with granola crust, Chocolate "frozen" yogurt dessert, Yogurt panna cotta with berries

Saturday May 21 11:30 – 3:30 Basics of water bath canning: Jam 

Strawberry rhubarb jam, mixed berry jam, apricot and cherry jam, jam tea cake

Saturday June 18   11:30 – 3:00 Fast and Healthy for summer 

Market fish with romesco (red pepper) almond crust, summer salads with three homemade salad dressings, pasta with fresh herbs

Saturday July 9 11:30 – 3:00  Summer soups

Watercress soup, roasted tomato soup with chipotle cream, chlodnik (chilled beet soup with cucumbers), spring green pea soup

Saturday August 13 11:30 – 3:30  More water bath basics: pickles and chutneys

Pickled beets, pickled red onions, refrigerator cucumber pickles, apple and plum chutney

Saturday September 10 11:30 – 3:00   Farmers’ Market Dinner (Vegetarian)

Cavolo nero (black kale) bruschetta, fresh vegetable lasagna, classic delicate herb salad, plum and apple crisp

Introduction to Food Writing at Cambridge Center for Adult Education

4 Thursdays, 5:45-7:45 p.m. Begins Feb 24, 56 Brattle Street

Fall 2010 Cooking Classes

The Pies Have It

Saturday, November 13 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m: With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it’s time to brush up on your pie skills (or learn them from scratch.) We’ll be trying all new recipes (for those of you who took my class a few years ago.) We will make a classic American pumpkin pie with fresh pumpkin and a few tarts, such as a double chocolate tart, a vegetable and goat cheese tart for a light supper, a gorgeous fresh fruit tart you can serve for any special occasion and a classic French pear and almond tart. We’ll talk about the dreaded pie dough-rolling job (you will see, not so hard) and also we’ll be making a couple of tarts with no-roll crusts. You just may have to skip the turkey this year!

Emma: "Look ma, I made it myself!"

Little brother swoops in for the chocolate at the end of the class

A French Dinner for Friends

Saturday, December 4, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Wouldn’t you like to have a homey meal with a sophisticated French flair in your repertoire, la dee dah? When the chilly weather arrives, you want to invite friends over for a cozy night in, but you agonize about what to make. Almost everything in this menu can be made ahead so you can relax with your guests. We will make a pear and chestnut soup, a winter watercress salad with black grapes, a classic chicken in a pot to be served from the pot at the table with crusty French bread. We’ll end the meal with a seriously easy chocolate mousse, but shhhh. It’s top secret for now.

Thanks for all of you who came; I will be sending a few recipe revisions soon, but in the meantime, happy holidays. XXOO your devoted teacher.

REGISTRATION: To reserve a space, e-mail me (sally.p.vargas@gmail.com)

GROUPS AND PRIVATE CLASSES

Parent/Child classes can be arranged for your group (usually 3 to 4 parent-child pairs, where parents “assist” their children.) This works best if children are close in age. An example of the menu for this kind of class for a 12-13 year old girl and her mother would be to prepare a weeknight meal: a simple appetizer, roast chicken and vegetables and a seasonal dessert. A few other ideas: a class on homemade pasta, a homemade pizza and bread class or Thanksgiving pies. Call or e-mail me to discuss ideas. Private individual classes can also be arranged if you have a particular agenda.