Virtual Cooking Class

A few weeks ago I got an email asking if I could conduct a virtual cooking class? It came from Patty Rose, the daughter of our friends Peggy and Phil Rose who live in Nashville. Patty lives in Chicago and her 3 siblings live around the country. Patty was trying to find a way to celebrate Phil’s 39th (?) birthday. Peggy and Phil are original members of the infamous “Impromptu Friday Night” crew so the prospect was a promise a good time from the get-go.

The first question was when? Patty responded that it will need to be soon given that both she and her sister Allison were expecting in 4 weeks. That made setting a nearby date a priority.

The Menu

The next question was about the menu?

The goal is to have a meal that is:

  • Fun
  • Easy to prepare
  • Gets multiple participants involved.

The key is to build the menu around:

  • Proteins that can be cooked quickly
  • Side dishes that can be prepped and forgotten
  • Combinations that taste great and can be replicated
  • Learning opportunities

To expedite the process I provided a few options:

PAN SEARED BEEF MEDALIONS

– Pan seared and oven roasted beef medallions
– Pan Sauce
– Mashed Potatoes
– Roasted Vegetable Medley
– Dessert

CHICKEN PICATTA

– Pan seared and oven roasted chicken breast
– Piccata sauce with artichoke and bacon
– Pasta
– Steamed asparagus
– Dessert

HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN THIGHS

– Pan seared and oven roasted chicken thighs
– Honey, garlic soy sauce
– Mashed Potatoes
– Steamed Broccoli
– Dessert

SHRIMP SCAMPI

– Pan seared shrimp
– Scampi sauce (with lots of garlic)
– Pasta
– Steamed asparagus
– Dessert

PORK MEDALLIONS SALTIMBOCCA

– Pan seared pork medallions
– Pan sauce
– Pasta
– Roasted Carrots
– Dessert

After conferring with her siblings, Patty  let us know that the consensus was the beef medallions. This was a really good choice because it hits all the criteria and I knew that the sauce is surprisingly easy to make and simply tastes great. Besides that, based on past experience with Phil, it was a sure thing that the birthday boy would like it.

The Participants clockwise: Paul, Susan, Patty, Jon Paul, Phil, Peggy, Allison (Kevin was putting Henry to bed) Claire, Erin, Paul, Kelly, Olivia, Mark, Ellie and Emma

In preparation for the class, I put together a document with the:

  • Menu
  • Recipes
  • Shopping list
  • Mise en Place
  • Equipment
  • Game Plan

 

Pan Seared Beef Medallions

Mise En Place

Mise en place is  key for a virtual session. The goal is to make the actually cooking as easy as possible. The more you do prep work and precooking, the less chance you have for mistakes. The one downside is with multiple parties involved, you are never really sure how each party will interpret the instructions. Its amazing how different the interpretations can be. To this end, I provided descriptions and pictures. Additionally, I saved the prep of the beef to be done together via zoom because having the beef thickness right, is critical to getting the right doneness.

The Class

The night of the class was a lot of fun. It was great to catch up with all of the Rose family. While Zoom is great, there are always a few technical challenges. The pace of a presentation is always a struggle  for me. I am from New York and have a tendency to go too quickly. Remembering that what is simple and familiar for some, is not the same for others is also important. Catching up and checking in with each of the participants was hard. I was working with an iPhone on a phone holder device which was great, but actually seeing the details of the others cooking on a small screen was a challenge for a man “of a certain age”.

Participants: Jon Paul, Patty, Kevin, Allison, Olivia, Mark, Ellie, Claire and Paul

Game Plan

The evening started with a review of a game plan. This gave everyone a could picture of what was to come and provided me with a syllabus  for the class.

  • Hors d’oeuvre
  • Situation
    • Menu
    • Mise en place
  • Roasted Vegetables
  • Mashed Potatoes
  • Prep beef
  • Sauté beef
  • Pan sauce
  • Mash Potatoes
  • Heat beef
  • Plate
  • Dinner
  • Dessert

The Toast

A highlight of the evening was toasting Phil’s birthday

Clockwise:  Allison, Phil, Peggy, Claire, Paul, Patty and Jon Paul

The Final Products

Dessert

In putting together the menu, we discussed the options for dessert. Given that the birthday boy loves his dessert including one was a given. We put together this quick Peach Melba that was a winner.

In Closing

By the end of the evening I think everyone had a good time. Two things were certain, no one was hungry and everyone had heard a bunch of my stories. While I had been thinking that a virtual class was a “pandemic option”, the consensus of the Rose siblings was that pandemic or not, a virtual class would be a great way to connect with friends around the world. So who knows what’s next?

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