I feel like Tapas tonight!

If there’s one channel that I love watching more than the Discovery channel, it’s Food TV. Iron Chef, Rachel Ray, Emeril - I’ve seen them all and always get hungry when I do. I finally got the chance to attend a high end cooking class with my friend Mimie tonight at the Calphalon Culinary Center here in Chicago. Tonight’s menu? Tapas! The line-up consisted of Spanish Tortillas, Chicken and Cheese Empanadas, Fried Green Olives, and Herbed Mushrooms - my favorite dish from the class. Best tip of the night: You put the butter in after you singe and seal the moisture into the mushrooms.

It was a great and satisfying experience at Calphalon. Did you know that Calphalon’s main business wasn’t their cookware at first? They started out just with the culinary education and then moved onto the cookware. There are only two Calphalon centers in the North Americas - Chicago and Toronto. If you’re lucky enough to be near one of them, check them out. I found their staff to be very welcoming and informed. The facilities, tools, and ingredients you work with are top notch. And the instructor moves to the speed of the capacity of the students. Definitely worth the $95. You can also BYOB to accompany the food you create. Fair warning, the classes are small and fill up real fast. You can see more pictures from the night here. The food turned out great. (I know because I sampled Mimie’s presentation after I tasted mine - both scrumptious!) I think I want to check out the sushi one next…