While our youngest was at camp for a week we got to do a cooking class at Sur La Table at Easton. We did Tuscan Date Night because it was on a night that worked and looked like a menu that both of us would enjoy. My hubby has come a really long way in eating a variety of foods since we’ve been together, but there are still certain things he just doesn’t like. Which is easy for me at our house, but a little more difficult when we go out to a class and have to share our dishes with another couple we don’t know.

Anyway, this cooking class was great! The first thing we all did together was mise en place, a french way of saying getting everything in its place and prepared for cooking. There were just a few things to chop and mix together for the different dishes. Most things were already measured out for us, so it was definitely “cooking for dummies” type of set up. That made it pretty laid back and relaxing, so no complaints here! After everything was chopped and cleaned up, we added sugar to the strawberries to macerate them – basically to bring out some of their natural juices. We also put together the salad and dressing and drained the chicken breasts that had been marinating.

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Up next was starting the risotto. We had to stir and stir and slowly add the chicken broth to get the right consistency. We cooked it to just about done and then started on the chicken. It was placed in a cast iron pan and another cast iron pan wrapped in foil was placed on top to flatten and evenly heat the chicken. It was amazing when it was done! After we took the chicken out to rest, the risotto was given a quick finish and we were ready to eat. It was so good!

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We built our plates with the chicken, risotto, and salad. The chicken was my favorite – it was perfectly seasoned and really tender. I can definitely see making it again at home. The macerated strawberries were served on a light and frothy custard that the instructor made for us – I forgot to get a photo, but it was phenomenal!

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We definitely enjoyed this create date and would recommend it to others. We would like to go back to the sushi class sometime. What kind of cooking class would you like to take? Let us know in the comments!