Last night I took a cooking class form Chef Dodd Orton at Mama N'ems Bistro. He is a retired executive chef with the Hilton Hotel chain that has returned to rural Southwest Alabama to live. He is the chef now at the Rural Heritage Center in Thomaston. The restaurant is called Mama N’ems Bistro because a favorite saying in the area is Mama and ‘em always did it this way.
There is a series of 6 classes being offered in August and September on Thursday nights.
They each have a different topic. Last night was soups and sauces. They cost $20 each. You can take one or all. The topics still to come are: Breads on Aug 21, Desserts on Aug 28, Entrees on Sept 6, and Basic Food Service (how to put together an entrée) on Sept 11.
I signed up for two reasons – Chef Dodd is a wonderful cook and they start off the lessons with wine and cheese, so I knew it would be a fun party. You know, I’ve told you before we people in the Black Belt think nothing of driving 60 miles anytime for a good party. Actually, my friends and I drove only 30 miles to go. Everybody there had driven from somewhere. In rural areas we have to think regionally.
We watched demonstrations, asked the Chef questions, and then got to eat what was prepared as our lesson. Last night it was Vermont Cheddar Soup, German Potato Salad Soup, and Hollandaise Sauce. The hollandaise that he made was a no fail version. He started with a white sauce made with real cream, then added two egg yolks. When they were combined, he added lemon juice. It didn’t curdle as mixing dairy products and lemon juice sometimes will. He said that in a restaurant setting, if you served a traditional hollandaise made by slowly combining eggs, butter and lemon juice, it is too labor intensive. This surprisingly tastes very similar and is a lot less temperamental. Of course, purists will not be pleased, but my motto in the kitchen and in life is “If it’s hard, there must be a better way”.
You can see from the pictures of the class that there were men there. They are serious about cooking which did my heart good. Mostly in rural Southwest Alabama, men just barbeque or fry with no in between.
I will include Chef Dodd’s recipes for the two soups in the next blog. The proportions are for a crowd. For home use, you could divide the recipe by 4 and still have enough. However, I am just the messenger, not your mathematician. . Both recipes are delicious. I had ample servings of both. I do not like beer. I agree with Mae West – they can put it back in the horse. In the Vermont Cheddar Soup I have finally found a way that I like it. It gives the soup a tang that really compliments the cheese. I might use ½ a can instead of ¼ in the recipe.
I plan to go to most of the classes unless I have a conflict. I think when word get around, that there will be more lessons. It is a good learning experience as well as a social occasion. Good party, good food, and the chance to learn something besides. Not a bad way to spend and evening in the Black Belt.
There is a series of 6 classes being offered in August and September on Thursday nights.
They each have a different topic. Last night was soups and sauces. They cost $20 each. You can take one or all. The topics still to come are: Breads on Aug 21, Desserts on Aug 28, Entrees on Sept 6, and Basic Food Service (how to put together an entrée) on Sept 11.
I signed up for two reasons – Chef Dodd is a wonderful cook and they start off the lessons with wine and cheese, so I knew it would be a fun party. You know, I’ve told you before we people in the Black Belt think nothing of driving 60 miles anytime for a good party. Actually, my friends and I drove only 30 miles to go. Everybody there had driven from somewhere. In rural areas we have to think regionally.
We watched demonstrations, asked the Chef questions, and then got to eat what was prepared as our lesson. Last night it was Vermont Cheddar Soup, German Potato Salad Soup, and Hollandaise Sauce. The hollandaise that he made was a no fail version. He started with a white sauce made with real cream, then added two egg yolks. When they were combined, he added lemon juice. It didn’t curdle as mixing dairy products and lemon juice sometimes will. He said that in a restaurant setting, if you served a traditional hollandaise made by slowly combining eggs, butter and lemon juice, it is too labor intensive. This surprisingly tastes very similar and is a lot less temperamental. Of course, purists will not be pleased, but my motto in the kitchen and in life is “If it’s hard, there must be a better way”.
You can see from the pictures of the class that there were men there. They are serious about cooking which did my heart good. Mostly in rural Southwest Alabama, men just barbeque or fry with no in between.
I will include Chef Dodd’s recipes for the two soups in the next blog. The proportions are for a crowd. For home use, you could divide the recipe by 4 and still have enough. However, I am just the messenger, not your mathematician. . Both recipes are delicious. I had ample servings of both. I do not like beer. I agree with Mae West – they can put it back in the horse. In the Vermont Cheddar Soup I have finally found a way that I like it. It gives the soup a tang that really compliments the cheese. I might use ½ a can instead of ¼ in the recipe.
I plan to go to most of the classes unless I have a conflict. I think when word get around, that there will be more lessons. It is a good learning experience as well as a social occasion. Good party, good food, and the chance to learn something besides. Not a bad way to spend and evening in the Black Belt.
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