One of the things my husband and I like to do is go to cooking classes. We have been to several at Williams Sonoma which we really enjoyed. When I was invited by the Texas Beef Council to attend Central Market’s Restaurant Week Variations on a Theme Cooking School Class on beef, we jumped at the chance.
I have a lot to learn in the cooking department and a cooking class is a great place to spend an evening.
This series of cooking classes was taught by area chefs from Restaurant Week’s participating restaurants. Chef Aaron Staudenmaier from Kent Rathbun Concepts taught the class in Southlake that we attended.
He was funny and comfortable entertaining a room full of eager beef learners.
I liked how he made cooking sound simple and assure us that this should all be fun.
He made three beef dishes that evening. This was the Ancho Crusted Flank Steak served with Jicama Slaw dressed with a Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette.
Heavenly.
The second dish was an appetizer that we learned could be served in an un-opened set of chopsticks for fun. It was a steak Tataki with micro-greens.
Greens just always seem better when they are tiny.
And then he deep fat fried beef.
My husband was so excited. He claims that anything can be breaded and fried to elevate its edible status.
The Central Market Cooking School classroom has a large screen TV mounted above the demonstration area that can be directed at a close up of preparation. This was the frying process.
And then…magically through the power of chicken fried goodness, appeared Chicken Fried Flank Steak served with Black Pepper Cream Gravy (of course).
It turned out to be our favorite.
Not your average chicken fried steak.
We really enjoyed the class and will return for others at Central Market.
She is Dallas info: There are Central Market Cooking School locations in Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano and Southlake. Each has a changing schedule of classes ranging from basics and kids classes to hands-on and featured Chef’s classes. The class “tuition” is different from each class, but the August classes in Southlake start at $20 and go up to $55. All classes are held at Central Market locations. Most evening classes include wine tastings and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
In the class that I attended, the Texas Beef Council provided the beef for all recipes and sent me there at no charge. Thanks so much Texas Beef!
Central Market can be found on Twitter as @CentralMarket and the Texas Beef Council is @TXBeef.
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