A few friends had gift certificates for a hands-on class at the Chopping Block, so we set up a date to go. Limey was one of the people with a gift certificate, so it became one of his going away events, now that he’s leaving the country after his work visa expired. Jen had an extra class certificate, so she let me use it. Limey had one extra that he gave to his friend Natalie.
The class we took was La Cocina Mexicana taught by Chef Carrie Bradley. The menu was Wild Mushroom Queso Fundido; Taqueria-Style Tortas with Grilled Skirt Steak and Tomatillo Salsa; Pozole Rojo (Pork Braised with Red Chilies and Hominy); Mexican Flourless Chocolate Cake. (Recipes here.)
While Chef Carrie introduced herself and let us know how the class would go, she gave us each a little cup of fresh tomato, cucumber and herb gazpacho that she made earlier. It wasn’t on the menu, but anytime you want to give me bonus soup, I’ll take it. I have not eaten a ton of gazpacho, but I thought this was delicious. Light and fresh. I found this recipe for the soup on the Chopping Block’s website.
The first thing we started making was the pozole rojo because it was a soup that needed to cook for more than an hour. Limey volunteered to be pork hands in our group and to mix the raw pork with the seasoning.
While the soup was simmering we went ahead and worked on the rest of the meal. The Chopping block sets out pre-measured ingredients for each dish. Limes was super excited when he saw the bowl of chocolate for the flourless chocolate cake, so we let him do the chocolate melting. This was a mix of butter, bittersweet chocolate, Mexican chocolate, cinnamon, ancho chili powder and Kahlua.
Natalie learned how to crack eggs like a one-handed pro! At first she was muttering “what the %@$&” but once she got it, she got it and didn’t even break a yolk!
To make salsa verde, we roasted tomatillos, garlic, jalepenos, and onions then blended it in the food processor. Add a little salt and pepper, and that’s all there is to it. I normally make salsa fresca, but now I can’t wait to try this new recipe. This salsa was eaten with tortilla chips and also was part of the torta recipe.
Limey didn’t know this was chorizo. It looks like poo! This was for the fundido.
Natalie still working on the chocolate cake. Aside from melting the chocolate, she did everything else to make these cakes.
This is a view of our class room from the opposite end of the room. There was a couple with their parents, a couple on a date, 2 friends and us. I think it was 14 total, plus Chef Carrie and her assistant.
Kristin digging into the fundido. This was one of our favorite dishes. It was so rich and delicious. Maybe because it had both beer and tequila in it!
Jill learned how to grill the skirt steak for the tortas and fell in love with the stovetop grill!
Mexican flourless chocolate cake that Natalie made. Later on we topped each one with a dallop of Mexican crema (sour cream, basically). So fudgy and rich. The sour cream helped to cut the richness and was a good contrast to the sweet and spicy cake.
Chef Carrie showing us how to cut skirt steak across the grain.
Jill was finding it hard to cut the steak for some reason!
Here’s me putting what I learned to good use.
I don’t think this is what the torta is supposed to turn out like, but this is what mine looked like. Inside the bread I stuffed steak, avocado, onions, salsa, refried beans, Mexican crema, and queso fresco. It was kind of hard to eat, but totally incredible.
The roja & pork posole soup. Probably my least favorite dish at our table, but others loved it.
Here we are as we sat down to eat everything we made. I should point out Kristin’s finger. She got a knife injury somewhere along the way. Totally expected, I guess, since the six of us went through six bottles of wine that night. It should also be noted that Kristin did not cut her own finger, someone else did!
Limey finishing off Jill’s cake. She was too stuffed to eat it all, but Limey is never too stuffed to eat more sweets! Notice we are the last people there.
As a side note, I took a hands-on cooking class at the Chopping Block just about one year ago as part of my Bachelorette celebration weekend.
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