Newport and Johnson & Wales cooking class

Monday, July 27, we traveled to Newport, RI and spent a relaxing time at the Fair St. Guest Houses. We ate lots of good food and watched the sun set along the shore. Tuesday we walked the Cliff Walk after having a wonderful breakfast at the B&B. The weather was forecast to be rainy and hot and humid. I guess we were in the right place because the sea breezes were cool and refreshing and no rain came during our stay.

After lunch we made our way to the Johnson & Wales Inn, which is actually in MA, just across the state line. We settled in, had an early dinner, which was excellent, and headed to our cooking class. The class of about 16 people, was all about soups and sauces and I must say, we learned a lot! After a lecture by an amazingly gifted chef/instructor, everyone was assigned a soup or sauce to make. George & I were assigned an espagnole sauce, a brown gravy-like sauce with a hint of tomato. It turned out wonderful. We also got to taste a variety of soups, such as Crab & Greens, Pasta e Fagioli, Hot & Sour, Soupe A L'Oignon Gratinee, and Bouillon Milanaise. The other sauces included Bechamel, Tomato, Hollandaise, Sauce Veloute and Demi-galce. We had a great time and would love to take another class some day. Now our home cooking will definitely have to improve.

Best hints... whatever you are making, it will always taste better if you start from scratch and cook long and slow when doing a reduction (cooking down to thicken)...it's always going to taste better if you cook with BUTTER and BACON!...Asian stores have the best prices but you need to know what you are looking for....cook your tomato sauce a loooong time to reduce the acid of the tomatoes, use that Hollandaise sauce quickly! We also learned a quick way to clarify butter...boil the butter in a pot a while until all the solids sink to the bottom. Pour off the top, clarified liquid. It will keep it in the fridge for months and you can use it when you want to saute veggies or add to sauces. It won't burn like whole butter will. Of course you will get more calories but your recipe will taste great.

If you are interested in one of these classes, contact the Inn (see link on right). The package was called "Now We're Cookin". You'll find the info under "Plan a Getaway" on their website. Make sure you get the details of class time and location before you go!