FREE COOKING CLASS BY AWARD WINNING CHEF, ZOV KARAMARDIAN

Today, I went to another fantastic class at Rogers Gardens.

This time it was a cooking class. Zov Karamardian showed us some wonderful recipes from her newest cookbook called Simply Zov.

This cookbook has some super recipes. Zov explained to us that while some of the recipes seem to have a long list of ingredients we should not let that put us off. If you look through the list of items needed, several are items you have in your kitchen already and several items are just items like salt and pepper.

One of the best things about this class was, not only did we get to meet Zov and have her show us how to cook some yummy dishes, but, we also got to sample each dish she prepared.

I can personally tell you that each and everyone of these recipes are wonderful! So full of flavor and all appeared to be pretty easy to make too.

Zov is a great chef. She proved to us that you don't need all the fancy equipment to cook her recipes either.

In fact, she cooked everything she made today on this little portable, butane burner.

She explained that all the chopping for her dishes can be done ahead of time and how using only the best fresh ingredients will ensure you the best tasting meals.

The first item she cooked for us was Zucchini Fritters.

If you would like the recipe for this or any of the other dishes she cooked for us, please let me know and I will email them to you. Or you could always purchase the cookbook.

After grating the zucchini it is very important to squeeze all the extra liquid out of them. Otherwise, they will not brown in the hot oil. The liquid will mix with the oil and just make a foam. The zucchini will soak up a lot of the oil and they will not taste good.

You just add eggs, parsley, green onions, mint, chives, dill and garlic to the bowl and mix well.

To that, add the lemon zest. One of Zov's favorite kitchen items is her zester. She is showing the one she uses all the time in this photo.

Add some salt and pepper and stir until all the ingredients are combined.

Add one cup of panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and mix well. Let stand for one minute and if the mixture is too wet, add more panko, 1 Tablespoon at a time.

Add about 1/4 cup of mixture for each pattie to the hot oil. Make sure you leave space between the fritters so they cook right. Cook until golden brown but be careful you don't burn them.

To serve them, place them on a plate and top with some salmon.

Then place a dollop of yogurt or sour cream and sprinkle with dill sprigs.

Serve warm. Enjoy!

Our next dish was soooo good! It was Barley Salad with Summer Vegetables and Fete Cheese.

This makes a great side dish when served with grilled chicken or steak or you can can serve this as a vegetarian main course.

Basically you just toss all the ingredients into a dish. Make sure you cut up all the items about the same size. You don't want one or two items to over power the other items.

After you mix all the items together you top it with the dressing. Zov doesn't even mix up the dressing in a different bowl. She just adds the ingredients all to the salad and mixes at once.

How easy is that? Plus, it's less dishes to wash up.

Top with cheese and walnuts and you get this great salad. I will for sure be making this dish several times this summer. I loved it.

Our last dish she cooked us was my favorite. It was Tortilla Soup.

Her hint here was to puree the onions with the tomatoes so it is nice and blended together. You don't want big bites of tomato in your soup.

Again, this is an easy recipe. You just cut up all the items ahead of time, then add them to either chicken broth or vegetable broth and simmer.

Stir and let the items cook well, until the tomatoes are tender.

I never knew that tortilla soup had actual tortillas in it. I thought it was just soup with crunchy tortillas garnishing the soup when it's served.

That is not true. This soup has actual corn tortillas broken up and put in the soup as it simmers. They break down and thicken up the soup.

You can add chicken to this soup about 10 mins before it is ready to serve. However, I like it how she serves it, no chicken in it.

She just garnished it with some diced avocados, cilantro, sour cream and fried tortilla strips.

This is such a great tasting soup and very healthy for you too.

I am so happy I decided to get up early this morning and go to this class. I learned some great new dishes and had a lot of fun.

If you ever get a chance to go to one of Zov's restaurants, I would highly recommend you go. If you are not close to one, then by all means, get her cook book. You will be happy you did!

By the way, Zov has her own blog that you must check out. You can find it by clicking here.

FREE COOKING CLASSES AT WILLIAM SONOMA

I love William Sonoma. It's a great store for every cook. It doesn't matter if you are a professional chef or a first time baker. They have just the right items you will need.

They have pots and pans. Every kitchen gadget you can think of. Spices and mixes galore. Beautiful dishes, lines, napkin rings, glasses and flatware to make any tablescape look like a magazine photo.

However, they also have classes. Great cooking classes that provide you with all the info you will need to make a dinner from start to finish. Plus, you get eat the meal, yum!



They also have free technique classes . Each week is a new topic and while you don't get to eat a full meal you do get to sample what is made for you.

It's like watching a live show from the Food Network. Only you don't have to be quiet. You can ask questions at any point.

Tonight I went with my sister, Maureen and our friend, Renee. Our chef was Joffrey Lopez. He was great! Not only a great cook, but also very funny and entertaining.



Our group wasn't that big so we all got to stand around the kitchen area and watch closely as he cooked up his magic.

On the days when it is crowded you can always watch from the mirror above. There really isn't a bad seat in the house.

Joffrey cooked up a wonderful Mushroom Risotto and a fantastic dessert Risotto. Yes, you read that right. It was a sweet Risotto with fruit and nuts in it. Who knew Risotto could be used for a dessert? Not me. But, boy was it ever good!

So was the Mushroom Risotto. I'm not a big fan of mushrooms so I was a little worried I wouldn't like it. I was wrong. I loved it!

We were shown step by step directions on how to make the Risotto.

I've always heard Risotto was so hard to make and not everyone could make it properly.

However, because of Joffrey, I think I will give it a try now. It didn't seem like it was that hard. It just takes time.

That being said, I know how some great cooks can make it look super easy. Until you try to make it yourself.

I'm not sure if there were magic tricks or slide of the hands going on, but I do know that Joffrey made it seem like even someone like me can make it. So, I'm going to give it a try.

Joffrey explained that even though he made a Mushroom Risotto, one could switch up the ingredients and make what ever kind of Risotto you wanted.

I think I'm going to try an Asparagus and Parmesan cheese one. The cheese is added at the end and it makes nice and creamy and adds so much flavor.

We all loved this class. So much so, we signed up for all of them for the rest of the year.

I only have one complaint though. The samples we got were way to small. Everyone wanted a full dish because they were so good.

We did get the recipes though. So, we will just have to all make our own and eat as much as we want then.

I highly recommend, if you have a Williams Sonoma near you, then check into what classes they offer. I'm sure they would be great too.

I can't wait until next weeks lesson.