Culinary Crash Course

Are you a young adult just getting out on your own and need some kitchen skills?  Have you recently lost your spouse or partner and that person was the cook in the relationship?  This is the class for you!  Is your family on a budget and you need to to dine in/not out?

This class is for YOU.

Over the course of this 6 hour culinary bootcamp, participants learn a variety of foundation kitchen skills from basic to more in-depth.

Experience:

  • Sourdough bread making
  • Knife skills
  • Proper kitchen measuring technique
  • Electric pressure cooking
  • How to cook from your pantry

You will come away with a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience (as well as recipes and notes provided for you.

You will be eating your way through the day.  Imagine that, eating your homework.

$200

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Sweet Breads

In this sweet class you’ll experience a bit of history while making two different styles of sweet bread.
Boston Brown Bread

This bread will be steamed in a can as done for generations. It is a dark bread rich with molasses and raisins.

Streusel Kuchen

This Germanic bread begins with a yeasted bread dough as a base and then a streusel is baked on it.  You’ll learn the options for adjusting it to have fruit and/or custard instead of streusel.

Adults: $32

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Traditional Bread and Butter

Traditional Bread Baking/Butter Churning Combo

You don’t need a bread machine!

 

Bread baking is soul therapy. Make a beautifully soft white bread in the traditional ways. Be surprised that it is almost the same amount of on-hand time as bread machine baking, just minutes extra … and oh so much more satisfying.

While the bread is rising, CHURN BUTTER! Awesome. 

Bring home your own loaf and some fresh churned butter to serve with it. You may be mistaken for June Cleaver (who?)

The butter churning process is quite simple but does really have more steps than the unfinished butter your kids made by shaking the cartons, there actually is more to it and some great science.

Adult: $35

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Sourdough Bread Start(er) to Finish

“If you really want to make a friend, go round someone’s house with a freshly baked loaf of sourdough bread!”
― Chris Geiger

Enjoy a little biology and chemistry while learning how to start your own sourdough “mother” and then continue learning the full process of breadmaking using the starter.

This class covers both gluten free and wheat breads.  PLEASE MAKE SURE TO INDICATE YOU DESIRE GF INSTRUCTION.

Our ancestors didn’t open a little envelope of yeast to make bread.  They made it using their own cultures. 

This class focuses on making bread without commercial yeast.  You can do this easily at home also. In this session, assemble the sourdough mother. Learn how to finish it in just a few minutes a day. It takes about a week of daily attention. Enjoy nibbling on sourdough bread, making friends and good times, and great artisan learning.

Bring a mason jar and ring or other container (up to 2 quarts), to take home your newly born starter.  You’ll also bring home a loaf of bread (as well as a new skill and recipe) home to enjoy.

Adult $45

Gluten Free. $48

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Sourdough Bread – Not the Starter

Sourdough bread is another artisan skill.

So, you have a good sourdough starter, but do you know how to make bread from it with no added commercial yeast and with literally just minutes of active attention?

Chef Valerie has worked on this artisan bread technique for years and is still excited and amazed by it. 

Learn technique for making bread easily and without commercial yeast.  You can repeat this at home and be a hero to your friends and guests.  Best part?  You can keep the dough “at the ready” for baking when you want.  This is the follow-up session to Sourdough Starter.  

Adult On-Site $25

Adult Online $20

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Bread

In each box below, click on the name of the class you are interested in to see it’s description and schedule.  Remember you can request a class to be scheduled  for a date/time that suits your calendar.   When you see mention of Customer preference, it is an invitation to suggest a topic not listed that interests you.  Use the Select by Category box to jump around by various topics.

Sourdough

Sourdough Starter

Sourdough Bread

Sourdough Bread Start(er) to Finish

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Traditional Yeast Bread

Traditional Bread and Butter Churning

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Sweet Bread

Sweet Breads

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I Have a Dutch Oven…What Can I Do With it?

I Have a Dutch Oven – What do I cook with it?

Do you have a Dutch Oven?  Do you know what one is?  If you only have one pot in your kitchen, the versatile Dutch Oven is the one to have.  Participants will learn how to bake bread, braise meat, bake a skillet cookie, and fry chicken.  WHEW.  Yes.  You can do this and so much more.  Ideally your Dutch Oven will be cast iron, but less durable ones work too.

Adult $60

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