Take a beginner's cooking class.

I think I am past the newbie stage of cooking, and now am in the newbie-what-do-I-do-now. What that means is, I realize I still can’t make a stable of dishes, and will still be looking for tips, classes, etc.

On the other hand, I can make, from scratch:
Roast chicken
A variety of soups and stews
pumpkin pie
Pasta with garlic and tomatoes
A very good steak

Yep! A friend and I signed up for three more cooking classes with a local who shows you how to do it in your home. The only bad thing is, it’s not hands-on.

Classes are: Braising. Soups & stews. Moroccan.

A friend of mine and I are talking about taking some classes together. I think she’ll go to the braising class and the soups one if I attend the Moroccan one. “Think brown,” she said. Ick.

It was a lesson for four of us in a private house by a woman who does catering in Berkeley. She was also once a sous chef.

I didn’t get a lot out of this class, though. It was all watching. I enjoyed the eating afterwards. And the other three people didn’t sound like beginners. (I may not have either, as I could already do the roasted chicken she did.) However, I did pick up several pointers, which is nice.

So….this goal is still on the horizon!

I actually found one in San Francisco. It has ongoing classes at a private cooking school, both demonstrations you can watch or participate in, at reasonable prices, and mostly during the day. What’s NOT reasonable is that it is very far away from public transit. I’ll have to think about this.

There are some other classes around, too, given by Sur La Table, the store, and they look great, starting with basic things, one-themed events, etc., but they all go from 6 pm to 10 pm. I don’t want to do this at night when I’m tired.