A spoonful of sugar to sweeten the sauce. Recreational Cooking Classes.

Growing up my mom cooked breakfast, made lunch, and cooked dinner every day, it was a given. She rarely used measuring spoons or cups, and even less often used a recipe. Somehow all of her food tasted amazing. She just knew what she was doing. When I asked her how she knew how to do this, she said she just learned growing up watching her mother, aunts, grandmother, and sisters cook and bake. I did learn how to make a great deal of food this way, most nights I cook like this, going by smell and sight, more than a measuring cup. But for more intricate recipes or an ethnic dish that I was not raised making, I pull out my measuring cups. Before undertaking a complicated recipe or a kind of food I have no experience with, or trying a new technique, I often take a class to learn some tricks, and see what the process should go like.

Because my aim is not to become a chef, my options are fairly wide when it comes to selecting classes. Of course, enrolling in a Culinary Arts program is not something I am interested in doing, so my options especially at dedicated culinary schools is slightly limited, but I can usually find something appropriate for me.

Aside from a personal hobby, one night based cooking classes are a great date night activity, especially if they feature wine paring. In Chicago, there is a cooking school that is solely dedicated to recreational chefs. They offer classes for children, teens, and adults, with special classes for ladies night, or date nights. When I am not attending a date night class, I have met some of the most fun people and have had the pleasure of forming wonderful new friendships.

One class that I greatly enjoyed was focused on grilling. I am not a griller. In fact I had pretty much sworn off it after a particular arm hair burning experience. However, I learned some incredible techniques and managed to not burn any part of myself during my class, while creating a delicious fish dish. Additionally, I have improved my knife skills considerably after taking a class geared at knife usage.

Recreational cooking is a passion of mine. While I can throw together a roast chicken and vegetables with the best of them; learning how different flavors interact with each other has been a great asset to my cooking repertoire. Additionally I have had the chance to take a hands on sushi class to learn more about sushi making, and it turns out that sushi is actually reasonably easy to make and not nearly as intimidating as I had anticipated. Everything has been that way, I have been so pleasantly surprised and much more well fed.

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