Kiss My Apron: Elegant Eating: Cooking Class Review

Good morning all! This week is moving faster than my brain is!

This past weekend was such a wonderful experience for me. I took my first cooking class at a catering company called Elegant Eating in Smithtown, NY. I was very nervous but thankfully my boyfriend joined so that I wouldn't have to go by myself - and it was a good thing he did because the class was mostly couples! I would've felt a little uncomfortable.. but soon found out that everyone there was extremely kind and friendly.

The class was filled with about 20-24 people. It was the last class of this year since Elegant Eating is busy catering in the months of November and December. We chose the Steak class because it grabbed Kevin's attention quickly. I wanted him to enjoy the class as much as I knew I would.

Myra and Neil, the owners of this wonderful company, were such great people. You can really feel the love they put into the night for every single person there. The classes are 75$ per person (sometimes more or less) and they provide an apron with your name tag. Nope, the apron is not for take home! The class is full of instruction, hands on help, and a 5 course meal afterwards. When you first arrive to the class, they offer au d'oeuvres and water/coffee. You will watch Myra and their chef, Pete, do quick demonstrations for the first 30-45 minutes. All of the stations after that will be set up for you and you will be assigned certain tasks in creating this delicious meal for everyone. The pressure is on after that!

Kevin and I got assigned the Portobello mushroom fries. I think out of everything, these were the most time consuming. We had to scrap the gills out of the mushrooms, slice them carefully as they are very delicate and break easily, dip in flour, then an egg wash, then a mix of bread crumbs, cheese and fresh parsley. Afterwards, we got to deep fry the mushroom fries which really excited Kevin! He loves to deep fry.
Once everyone finished up (about 1 hour), we all sat down at a huge dining room table. The staff at Elegant eating serves you the dishes and cleans up after you're done - which is why it is nice to leave them a tip.

First, we had a beautiful salad of romaine lettuce with homemade blue cheese dressing, candied bacon and fresh cherry tomatoes. Next was the shrimp scampi - yum! The cream of spinach that followed was served in a ramekin with bread crumbs baked on top. Once the main dish came out, we were starting to feel full! You have to pace yourself for sure. A gorgeous plate of sliced strip steak, homemade onion rings, the portobello mushroom fries, served over buttered mashed potatoes sat in front of us. A brownish, pink sauce covered the plate and it had the most delicious flavor. Later to find out the sauce was a mix of port wine, shallots, beef broth and cream. Although it was hard to finish the main course, we all knew what was next. Homemade from scratch... molten lava cakes with homemade whipped cream! These cakes, also served in ramekins, were the perfect size and perfect treat to end with.
Before leaving the class, some prizes are given out. You also are given a copy of all the recipes that you ate that night. Kevin and I both cannot wait to take another class once they start back up in January. We hope to get some friends to join next time because it would definitely be a fun thing to do with a group of people. Private parties are available which is a good thing to keep in mind!

Salad topped with candied bacon bits and homemade blue cheese dressing