A Baking Bucket List
I often hear people talking about their bucket list…where they want to travel or what exciting adventure they want to try, and it seems the older you get the more you think about those things (yes, I am learning this first hand!). I have my own ever-growing list as well, and it includes some things that give my family members blank stares when I share them. One of those things is learning to make macarons, a sweet meringue-based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder or ground almond, and food coloring. They are a delicate cookie that takes much perfecting. Probably only another Foodie would understand this quest.
Knowing this, my wonderful husband surprised me for my birthday with a reservation for a macaron baking class together at Sur La Table, about an hour from our house. For those who don’t know us, my hubs is sweet and kind and thoughtful, but unless it involves the grill or the microwave he rarely cooks and never bakes. So the thought behind this gift was not lost on me.
Unfortunately, the weekend of our class we had a family emergency out of town and had to cancel. Sur La Table was wonderful about the last minute cancellation and gave us a full credit to use on any other class when we were ready.
From Cookies to Pasta
When life fell back into place and we started looking at rescheduling our date night it struck me that choosing something we would both love and use going forward might have more long-term benefits (think cooking together). So we scoured the extensive selection of classes available (Date Night in Paris, Date Night in Tuscany, Knife Skills, etc.) and decided on Fresh Pasta Three Ways. Who doesn’t love pasta?
The Sur La Table in our area was beautiful. It has everything “kitchen” you can imagine…from gadgets you’ve never heard of to all the neat things you see on the cooking shows, and then some! And you get a discount on anything in the store if you are taking a class! Win-Win! I could have spent hours there…wait…I’m pretty sure I did!
The culinary room was at the back of the store. The classes are limited to twelve people, and you are stationed in groups of four. We shared our station with Ed and Annie, a very nice father/daughter pair (he gave her the class for Christmas), but everyone made batches of pasta and shared in the slicing and dicing. Chef Warren was very knowledgeable and shared a ton of tips, from how to properly hold your knife to why it was so important to let the dough rest.
Our Date Night Menu
Our menu consisted of Fettuccine with Crab Lemon Cream Sauce, Spaghetti with Roasted Asparagus, and Pappardelle with Peas and Mint. Making fresh pasta is really pretty simple, but it does take longer than using a box of pasta, mostly because of the time it must rest. But OMGee, was it worth it! It has a completely different feel and taste in your mouth than dried pasta and it cooked in less than a minute. And it was so much fun doing it together!
We took turns kneading the dough, then we shared the rolling/cutting duties (it’s easier to have two people working together as the dough stretches longer and longer). It sort of felt like a pasta version of that pottery wheel scene in the movie “Ghost”, except there were a dozen other people in the room and there was no music playing and we didn’t make out…ok, so it wasn’t anything like that scene, but we did laugh a lot and leave with a good dusting of flour everywhere.
Everyone took turns making the sauces and cooking the pasta. And the best part? We didn’t have to wash a single dish! Actually, eating the food was pretty amazing too…but not washing dishes was right up there.
We had an incredible Sur La Table date night. If you have not shared a cooking class with a significant other I highly recommend it! Not only will you have a new experience together, you will learn something you can take home and share over and over again. Sur La Table has stores all over the country. On their website under classes they have a list of states, with locations in the drop down.
“Food, to me, is always about cooking and eating with those you love and care for.” – David Chang
What are your favorite date nights? Have you ever shared a cooking class with a loved one? I would love to hear about in the comments below! And while you’re here, be sure to subscribe to the newsletter so you don’t miss another moment!
Until we meet again around the pasta bowl, keep it spicy!
Michele
What a fun and different idea for date night! I love this. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Jennifer! It was a great time!
I love this delicious idea. I would just need to control myself and hide my credit card in that store!
Oh I get it! đ Thanks Sheila!
What a sweet gift! And this looks like such a fun class!
It was a great time! and yes, a very sweet gift!
Besides making me hungry, what a great post! LOL. I love that it was a date night and a birthday celebration ~ tons of fun and memories made.
Thanks Tina! It was definitely great fun!
That is the coolest store on the planet. I didn’t know they had classes. Too bad we don’t have one here.
Don’t give up…there are a lot of other places that do similar classes!
My wife and I love to cook together!!
It was really a lot of fun! Definitely bonding time!
There’s a great on at the Pike Place Market. I’ve visited it for years. I love all the interesting gadgets and classes…
Aren’t they amazing? I could do lots of damage if I spent too much time there!
How fun! I didn’t realize stores would do something like this! Homemade pasta night and your kitchen is still clean at the end – sounds like a win!
Definitely a win-win!
How fun! I have been wanting to try one of their classes for a long time!
It was a great time! I highly recommend it!
What a fun date night! Your husband is so thoughtful. Iâd love to take a cooking class. And you are right, not washing up afterwards would be amazing! đ
He is a doll…no doubt about that!
This made me so happy! What a sweet gift! This looks like such a cool class. I wonder if we have something like it near us.
It was a great surprise! You should definitely go…even if Sur la Table doesn’t you can probably find a class near you!
Now that is what I call a wonderful birthday surprise, what a sweet hubby you have and Happy Birthday to You! A little late but heartfelt đ Looks like an outstanding culinary evening and yes I totally get it! Making pasta is Zen to me it’s truly a step up from the boxed versions in the grocer. To many more celebrations, thanks so much for sharing I will keep Sur La Table in mind for upcoming gifts.
Thanks Angela! I’m already planning out new pasta dishes!
What a fun date night! I’ve wanted to go to a date night cooking class there for forever!
Do it Jenna! You will have a blast!
What a fun idea! I’m a total foodie as well and this sounds like heaven. I’m going to check and see if they do this near me!
It was a lot of fun Janine! You will love it!
What a truly lovely birthday! This is a great idea, thank you for sharing this!
It was an amazing time!
What a great gift! I’d love to learn to make macarons too. Love this whole post.
I know! I think I’m going to sign up for the macarons class anyway!
This looks like an amazing time! And the FOOD!
It was a great time! And yes, there is that food! đ
Aw how awesome! This looks like so much fun, I’m going to have to try going to something like this. The food looks delish too đ
I highly recommend it! It was so much fun!
This must have been the best birthday present ever! I love experiences in birthdays more than any other gifts.
Mmm, you’ve made me hungry!! What an incredible date night. Cooking together is a great way to bond!
It was a wonderful time!
What a fun idea!! Macaroons are the BEST this is so cool đ
Thanks Liza! It was a lot of fun.