On an early October afternoon we board the commuter train heading into Chicago. Our destination is Cook au Vin where we have signed up for the 6pm Bavette menu cooking class.
We are joined by our friends David and JJ as well as four other couples who have signed up for the class. We are invited to help ourselves to freshly baked bread as Chef Mary finishes the class preparations. It is warm and addictive.
Soon Chef Mary has us all preparing the meal under her guidance. We learn about cooking skirt steak sous vide (boiled in a bag in water to a perfect temperature) accompanied by sauce béarnaise. It is a BYOB establishment and everyone uncorks their bottle of wine to sip while we prepare the puff pastry with béchamel and potatoes in duck fat. We also learn some food preparation tips, such as easily peeling garlic by vigorously shaking it in a closed container. The molten lava cake for dessert requires quite a bit of stirring(to melt the chocolate) and whisking (to blend in the remaining ingredients and aerate), and David and William strongly lend a hand.
We are joined by our friends David and JJ as well as four other couples who have signed up for the class. We are invited to help ourselves to freshly baked bread as Chef Mary finishes the class preparations. It is warm and addictive.
Soon Chef Mary has us all preparing the meal under her guidance. We learn about cooking skirt steak sous vide (boiled in a bag in water to a perfect temperature) accompanied by sauce béarnaise. It is a BYOB establishment and everyone uncorks their bottle of wine to sip while we prepare the puff pastry with béchamel and potatoes in duck fat. We also learn some food preparation tips, such as easily peeling garlic by vigorously shaking it in a closed container. The molten lava cake for dessert requires quite a bit of stirring(to melt the chocolate) and whisking (to blend in the remaining ingredients and aerate), and David and William strongly lend a hand.
About an hour and a half after we arrived the group sits down to enjoy our feast. It gives us a chance to get better acquainted. The pleasant conversation moves from food, to living in Chicago, to occupations, to travel. Soon our meal is completed and Chef Mary announces that the good news is someone else does the dishes and cleanup work. We all smile and say our goodbyes. It has been a very enjoyable evening, one that we may repeat in the future to learn a different menu.
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