Can’t Cook? Now’s the time to learn!
Oh 2020. Feeling like you’re about to lose your mind? You’re not alone. About once a week, it hits me just how crazy this year has been. Given the current state of the pandemic and flu season quickly approaching, freely socializing isn’t recommended; we can’t dine indoors yet here in California either. Every other friend of yours is probably cooking and baking at home too, right? If you’re like me, you’re not a natural cook and don’t quite know where to begin. Enter companies like CocuSocial that have expanded their cooking class options to include ample online classes.
When CocuSocial reached out to me to take one of their Master Series cooking classes, I jumped at the opportunity, especially since the one I was looking at involved cooking seafood and was going to be taught by chef Paul Liebrandt. Chef has two Michelin stars (Corton in NYC; closed) and later opened The Elm in Brooklyn (closed). The Master Series are taught by James Beard winners/nominees, Michelin star chefs, and Top Chefs! As a foodie, I’m star-struck by talented chefs, so if there’s an opportunity to interact with them, I’ll take it, even if it is through a computer screen!
When I registered for the class, I didn’t expect the heat wave that was going to hit us, but luckily, I had a kind friend willing to open his place up to me to cook and also be my sous chef. I highly recommend doing this as a couples/friend or family activity. I was nervous going into the class, but chef went at a nice steady pace and made sure to check in to make sure students weren’t left behind. Everyone finished their dishes in the given time frame for the class.
Once you register, you receive the ingredients list via email along with the recipe, which you can save to use again. Make sure to read through the recipe so you have an idea of what to expect during class; the chef will walk you through everything step by step, but it’s nice to be prepared. For our class, we had specific instructions on what to prep before the start of class, like slicing and dicing our onions and tomatoes. We had all of our ingredients weighed out in separate bowls, ready to go. Weighing everything out by grams was probably the most challenging part as a non-professional. If you can get your hands on a digital scale, get one; otherwise, you might be able to get away with estimates (I used Google a LOT to get equivalent weights while shopping at the grocery store).
The making of Lobster Wonton Ravioli in a Summer Bouillabaisse
I think the last time I had a bouillabaisse was at Leo’s Oyster Bar in San Francisco last year, so I was really excited to learn how to make this one. It’s actually not that complex, and in my opinion, it might be worth the hassle of gathering all these ingredients. I’ve also never cooked with the seafood shells before…the secret ingredient for all the flavors I suppose!
While the bouillabaisse was cooking (we let it simmer for 45 minutes), we made the wonton ravioli. This is something I might try again at home. My kitchen is too small for elaborate feasts, but this shortcut produces delicious ravioli if you can’t make your own pasta. The filling was comprised of egg yolks, pieces of lobster tail, and spices. We brushed one side of the wonton with egg whites, put a small amount of filling in the middle, and pinched the sides (make sure they’re air tight so they don’t fall apart while cooking!). Chef used a round cutter to make the ravioli round.
After the ravioli were made and set aside, we used a sieve to filter out the parts of the stock we weren’t eating. The strained bouillabaisse went back into the pot to warm and was used to poach the lobster tails the rest of the way. We cooked the ravioli in a separate, shallow pot for a couple of minutes and placed them into the bouillabaisse to finish. Once we plated our meal, we let our cameras eat first, then our tummies ate.
Thank you CocuSocial for the fun class!
CocuSocial on Instagram: @cocusocial
Paul Liebrandt on Instagram: @paulliebrandt
Check out my “Cooking” IG Stories highlights from class: @kat.eats
