Stocks and Sauces Part I

Last night I attended the first part of Stocks and Sauces. The cooking classes are held in this really nice "kitchen", which is a huge space full of ovens, stoves, fridge, a bar, counters, dishes, dishwashers......it's awesome. Anyways, the Chef first goes over the different techniques and recipes we all will make. Also, he introduces us to different types of ingredients and gives us useful tips. We pair into groups of 4 and have at it. My group was a lot of fun last night. There was this one boisterous, happy man who is from New Kent County. His purpose was to learn how to cook since he is retired and his wife is still working. Now he is running the household (role reversal, I love it!). So last night we made an Asian pear and Watercress salad with a kick ass dressing. The dressing had ginger, sesame oil, hot chili pepper sauce, rice wine vinegar, etc. You blend all of the ingredients up and out comes a yummy dressing. We then made a Béchamel sauce and a hollandaise sauce. I don't think I have ever cooked with so much butter in my life. Although the food was fun to make, it kind of grossed me out because of how rich those sauces are. Anyways we ended with:

Grilled Salmon with a dill hollandaise sauce over it.
Asparagus with an orange hollandaise sauce over it.
Cauliflower with a herb Béchamel sauce and panko crumbs
Cavatappi with a pesto Béchamel sauce

My opinion of this class is that learning how to make a good sauce is essential for a chef but I don't think I'll be working with that much butter again. Tonight we are working with less butter and different types of sauces and more protein. I'm excited:-)