Mixing things up at Sur La Table

A few months ago, some girls at work were chatting about learning to cook something fun for the holidays. Shortly thereafter, one of the girls surprised us with a single sheet of paper - it was a confirmation slip for an early Christmas present: a lesson at Sur la Table.

Last week, we headed to the eastside for our class, "Holiday Entertaining Cooking" taught by professional chef, Lynne Vea. She created the hearty recipes for the menu, which included a three French cheese fondue with toasted ciabatta, apples and brussels sprouts, pancetta braised greens in phyllo pastry, pork tenderloin roast, yams and pecans with maple glaze, and English toffee bread pudding with warm berries.

As we pushed open the doors, the Kirkland store was practically bursting at the seams with busy shoppers, Christmas decorations and kitchen gadgets beyond your wildest imagination; I could have spent hours in the place simply looking at their wares! Continuing around the corner, a huge kitchen suddenly unfolded before our eyes. Whether you were a serious chef with excellent "knife skills" or a novice with a faint idea on the finer points of boiling water, this was a site to behold.

After donning thick, green aprons, we began introductions around the demonstration table, which was a huge slab of marble countertop with a double stovetop and a huge mirror hanging over the workspace. Television monitors, which hung at key points in the massive, high-ceiling room, displayed views of the various workstations where we would soon create each menu item. As Lynne introduced herself, you could tell this was going to be an exciting, entertaining evening. Without mincing words, she walked us through the basics of each recipe, with a quick note about proper knife skills & sharpening techniques.

Suddenly, the room erupted in a whirlwind of chopping, basting, slicing and stirring. Amy & I started at the dessert table (of course!); I chopped the bread and she mixed the eggs, milk and cinnamon. After finishing with the bread, we moved to the yam table, where we sliced each orange root into matchstick pieces and sprinkled them with olive oil, sea salt and white pepper. We moved to the other stations, watching people grate nutmeg, brush butter on phyllo and braise greens.

At the end of the evening, we enjoyed the fruits of our labors. While the head chef prepared and arranged the various dishes, her sous chefs plated the food and we reveled in the bounty of a hearty Northwest-inspired holiday meal.