Gettin’ Saucy Cookin’ Class. How could I pass up this class? If there is one thing you will want in your cooking repertoire it might be sauces. Sauces can be used from appetizers through dessert and give new life to old recipes. Once you get the basics down experiment with your favorite flavors.
If you have not taken a class with Chef Megan mark your calendar and tell your friends about it.
Before we get to the menu, let me share what I most enjoy and respect about this gal … Chef Meghan. She knows everything. This is probably true. When taking a class I want to hear not just recipes and technique but why she feels it’s important to include or omit certain ingredients on her menu.
I love to be romanced by the stories behind the food and the history in the recipes. If you can’t adore that she calls Mole de Xico “grandmother’s sauce” (because each recipe is as unique to a region as it is by family, it’s a tradition passed from grandmothers to the youth, and it’s as lovingly prepared as any Italian grandmother’s sauce recipe) then you might need to grab a margarita at the bar before you join me for the next class because it melted my heart. She’s connected to food but in a way that’s bigger than just chopping and mixing.
Chef Meghan is also a supporter of local food products and gave tips on where to source ingredients locally.
Here are the details as I understand them for these classes.
Menu
You will receive recipes to take home. Here are the recipes we left with from the Gettin’ Saucy Cookin’ Class
- Chocolate-Habanero-Orange Martini
- Character’s Pub Margarita
- Guacamole with Fruit (you’ll never want it any other way…yes, she spoiled you for lazy guacamole recipes)
- Habanero Salsa Verde Cruda
- Spicy Seafood Cocktail
- Mole de Xico (aka Grandma’s Sauce)
- Honey-Lime Sweet Potato Puree & Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Marshmallows
- Churros
- Chili Infused Chocolate Fondue
The meal served, following the class, included all demonstrated foods.
Time, Price & Reservations
- Time may vary per class.
- Cost was only $50 (gratuity not included) which I thought was generous based on what she shared and the full meal that followed. The meal alone was worth that.
- Follow the events tab in their facebook page or get on their email list. You’d be a dumb dumb not to sign up for the emails and take a class that grabs your attention. Yes, I said dumb dumb and I kinda mean it.
- To make reservations at 717.824.3135 or info@characterspub.com.
We started the class with 2 cocktails. Chef shared great tips on how to select a good, “not-montezuma cheap tequila” (“won’t make you mantezuma sick”). We learned about the Weber agave plant and how Tequila Blanco, Tequila Reposado, and Tequila Añejo are processed. Did you know tequila is aged in American white oak barrels that were previously used for aging bourbon?
Do you see the molcajete bowl used prepared the guacamole? I must get my hands on one! Chef shared a few tricks to easily pit and flesh the meat out of the avocado. Guess you should have been there.
We moved in to a simple Habanero Salsa Verde Cruda. This is a sauce that can be served fresh with tortillas, baked enchiladas or used as a dipping sauce for a batter dipped and fried sandwich. You can roast the tomatillos to give the sauce a different flavor. Either way it makes a big batch and you can freeze the extra.
The show stopper was the Mole de Xico. Varied by region and family tradition this is love in a bowl. The trick is in the thoughtful selection and preparation of the ingredients. Charred tomatoes & bread, sweating the vegetables, good Mexican Chocolate, and cinnamon are all key to a tasty mole. Probably patience counts too.
Then there was dessert. Chili Infused Chocolate Fondue was a crème anglaise style sauce. You should have been there and then the recipe and preparation tips for the fondue, churros and marshmallows would be yours. So….
Character’s Margarita, serves 1
Courtesy Chef Meghan Young
• 2 ounces Blanco Tequila
• 1 ounce Agave Simple Syrup (1/2 ounce agave & 1/2 ounce water)
• 1 ounce Triple Sec
• 1/2 ounce Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
Shake vigorously with ice, for about 12 hard shakes. Serve in a rocks glass with ice; salted rim optional. Or strain and serve “up” in a martini glass.
[…] tamed curls. (I’m of the opinion chicks with curls have a touch more moxie than most.) During the Gettin’ Saucy Cookin’ Class she shared her margarita and martini recipe. The trick wasn’t how to shake it, but the injustice […]