schooled

Last night I attended a "Knife Skills" class at Chop, Wok & Talk, through CCAC. I'd been pretty excited about it, because even though I genuinely like to chop/dice/mince, I thought maybe I could learn some new tricks that would help me be more efficient.

But...not really. The only new thing I learned was a good method for cutting bell peppers (cut off top and bottom, then sort of shave down the sides, leaving all the ribs and seeds in tact in one unit). The food we made was really 'eh' (guacamole, beef-vegetable soup, "mushroom" potatoes--cut to look like mushrooms, zucchini "fans", some chicken tender thing, and a red pepper medley thing). Actually, the guac and the red pepper thing were okay (but they used pre-sliced almonds! it's "knife skills", people!). Everything else was bland and uninspired. Frozen vegetables in the soup! Dessert was a half-frozen Sara Lee cheesecake! I'm disappointed; it's just really not what I had in mind at all.


But, on the upside, gal-about-town and friend-of-the-blog Jess was also in the class, and it was nice to see her, and she gave me a nice compliment about this here blog.

Does anyone know of anywhere to take good cooking classes? I emailed both culinary schools a few months ago about public classes, and never got a response from either. Hmmm.

On a completely different note, I was searching for fig recipes, and came across this site. Hi-larious!

And, on another note still, I did have some good eatin' yesterday. At the party the other day, Jr. mentioned a new ice cream shop, Oh Yeah! in Shadyside. My bus delivers me just a couple doors down from there (while I'm at my current pet-sit gig), so I checked it out after work. The concept is an upscale ice cream parlor and cafe. All their coffees are fair-trade and locally roasted (at La Prima), and their ice creams are local, too. They use local favorites Dave-n-Andy's (this blog hates ampersands!) and Woo City (from Ohio). Woo City is all natural and organic, and also features a line called "Woo Fu" that's vegan and tofu-based (hear that, Kramer? they had lots of vegan stuff). Okay, so back to Oh Yeah!. The way it works is that you select an ice cream base (or two, or more), and create your own flavor using "mixins". And, there are gajillions of options. So many, in fact, that I was a little overwhelmed. But, I went with the Extreme Vanilla (gorgeously flecked with vanilla bean seeds, which made me think of Heidi) ice cream as a base, and added in cashews and caramel. Not the most adventurous, but it sure was good. Chock full of mixins--just the way I like it. Some of the more unusual add-in, I mean mixin, flavors were figs, hot peppers, seaweed, avocados, wasabi peas, smoked salmon and hemp protein. But, they had all the standards, too. Actually, it put me in mind of DQ Blizzards, but for the upscale crowd (like me. heh.). It's pricey, but a nice indulgence, and I love that they're supporting FTO and local and organic. Good stuff. They were missing curry as an add-in, though. 'Cause I still dream about Baby Boo's coconut-curry-caramel-cashew ice cream creation. Dang. And, I know E-dawg would add salted caramels. And, I agree wholeheartedly.

Oh, and ps! They're also dog-friendly, so you can bring your favorite pooch-pal with you, and they have dog-ice cream! The K-Bear is so there. If you didn't know, the K-Bear enjoys a good dog-friendly venue, especially when they feature dog treats, and especially-especially when they feature his adorable mug on their website. Check out the gallery at the Dozen Cupcakes site to see the K-Bear gettin' down with his own bad self and a dog-cupcake! (his picture is currently on the bottom row, far left)