2025 is the year I officially enter my hostess era. After reading Ina Garten’s memoir, Be Ready When The Luck Happens, I fell in love with her and her joyful, laid back way of living. I’ve made it my mission to infuse my life with as many simple pleasures as I can—majorly inspired by Ina. Who doesn’t want their life to be sprinkled with dinner parties, cocktails, good food and friends?
This year, my main goal is to host gatherings with my friends once a month. The only problem is I’m a pretty novice host, and not that great in the kitchen. Ina taught me that gatherings don’t need to be fancy or complicated.
Sur La Table offers cooking classes everyday. If you’ve ever browsed the kitchen supply store, you may have noticed the large cooking area in the back. I knew I had to check one out! I signed up for the Five-Star French Meal class. On the menu? Coq au Vin Blanc, Truffle Pommes Purée and Floating Meringue with Vanilla Bean Crème Anglaise. Yum! The perfect opportunity to learn!
The team at Sur La Table Pike and Rose was incredibly helpful and kind. I received a phone call a few hours before to confirm that I would have a private class with Chef Mary. Classes typically accommodate up to 16 students working in groups of 4, sharing a station and divide tasks, but in my case, I did everything myself. We started with Coq au Vin Blanc, or chicken in white wine sauce, and Chef Mary helped me sharpen my knife skills. I learned how to cut mirepoix carrots, celery, onion and leek and also learned to gently slice without pressing too hard into thick slabs of bacon. This dish is made in one pot! The perfect excuse to purchase my first Dutch oven to make the dish at home. Sur La Table offers a 10% discount for purchases made after class, I had to take advantage!
With the Coq Au Vin Blanc in the oven, we moved on to Truffle Pommes Purée, or truffle mashed potatoes. The simplest thing to make—you really can’t go wrong with potatoes, butter and cream. I’ve never cooked with truffle oil before, and Chef Mary encouraged me to try a little before putting the regular amount in the potatoes. Truffle can be an acquired taste that I enjoy, so all the oil made it into the potatoes! Chef Mary recommended I taste the food as I cook, another very simple tip.
Finally dessert: Floating Meringue with Vanilla Bean Crème Anglaise. The ingredients for this dessert couldn’t be simpler, but the way it’s prepared is much more complex. Crème Anglaise is a custard sauce made with egg yolks, cream, sugar and vanilla. The leftover egg whites were used for the meringue, mixed with sugar. Making the meringues was as simple as adding the ingredients to a stand mixer and waiting for them to mix and thicken, while the crème anglaise required hand stirring over the stove and a lot of patience. I mentioned to Chef Mary that I get antsy in the kitchen when things take more time than I think, and she told me that patience is always the most important ingredient to any dish. Touchè, Chef.
When the meringues and crème anglaise were done, we poached the meringues in warm milk and made caramel from scratch. As I said, this dessert was incredibly involved! It felt truly special, I may whip this recipe out for an anniversary or birthday one day. It was my favorite of the three things we made.
Eating everything was, of course, a major highlight of the evening. The meal was delicious! Since my goal was to be able to prepare everything we made at home, I ended the night with a Dutch oven purchase that I know will last me for years to come. I feel way more confident in the kitchen now with this class under my belt. I never could have imagined making a French stew for friends without it being a total disaster, but thanks to Chef Mary, I’m excited to prepare this meal for loved ones soon. Bon appetit!
