This adventure dates a few weeks back. But nevertheless I think it's worth sharing, so sorry for the delay which was mainly caused by some headache...
What do you expect when you hear "cooking class"? I expect hands-on cooking under the guidance of a professional cook so that I'll be able to cook it later by myself. OK, I should have been warned as we live in the Caribbean for quite some time now...
Esther & Omega's weekly "cooking class" at the True Blue Hotel is more of a "cooking show". Or what would you call forty plus people sitting comfortably, sipping on a reasonable prized Rum Punch while watching two ladies stirring in some pots in front of you? The price of 10.- EC (3.68 USD) includes the handout of the recipes and a small plate of samples of their cooking. Really, I will never understand why my dear hubby makes such a big deal about cooking - it looks fairly easy...
So what was on the menu when I went?
Callaloo Chicken with Nutmeg Sauce and Ripe Plantain Salad.
Callaloo is very popular in the Caribbean cuisine and comparable to spinach, so when cooked it shrinkes significantly in volume. Even though Esther repeatedly pointed out how tired she was (nobody asked the audience how tired we were, I mean it's 40 degrees Celsius and some of us had a couple of Rum Punches already), she explained to us that the cooking time can differ depending on how tough the Callaloo leaves are...or maybe it's more related to the feeling how fast time passes by...
For cutting the chicken breasts she needed some volunteers. Gosh, you're handing a very sharp knife to a volunteer which just had a few Rum Punches and then you ask for some patience to cut the breasts so they can be stuffed with the Callaloo?? Since we survived we could witness how the chicken breasts were taken away to the kitchen to be grilled....not much of a learning experience but at least there was not sooo much blood on the floor. I really start to like the way they cook here...
By the way: The Callaloo was sauted with onions, garlic and thyme and seasoned with salt and pepper - ready to get stuffed into the chicken breasts. Good job, Esther!
Their Nutmeg Sauce recipe obviously is "award-winning" so I think we should be honored that they named the ingredients: Coconut Milk, Cooking Cream, Nutmeg and Coconut Cream. Doesn't sound too complicated- but it's still divine! Was it the Rum Punch's fault again or why did they need to thicken the sauce with some starch? Never mind, Omega helped Esther to bring the sauce to perfection.
The "Ripe Plantain Salad" was placed on the table without additional explanations. So the only thing I can share - it's called "Ripe Plantain Salad" and it tastes delicious as well. I'm pretty sure it contains plaintain. Since I had to order another Rum Punch and watch at the same time how they cut the Callaloo Chicken (which came back grilled to perfection) I may have missed some important information. Sorry at this point.
Finally, they assembled a small plate for everyone to get a taste of all the dishes. Honestly, it was delightful! And I learned a lot! Mostly that my husband is exaggerating about cooking. It looks fairly simple and with the help of some Rum Punches I will for sure be able to copy that whole meal with a breeze...
With love from paradise
Rahel
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