WS cooking class

A fantastic friend and writer is sharing her experience with a recent cooking class. Thank you Antonetta! Here is what she has to say about it...

Last Sunday, my sister and I went to Williams-Sonoma for their cooking technique’s class. Not only was this a cooking class at one of my favorite stores, it was also a class on pies and tarts, one of my favorite things to bake. I’ve definitely made my fair share of pies before, but they’ve usually been the standard “pie-in-a-box” kind. That was, until several months ago when I made my first real pie from scratch. So I was really happy when I found out that everything they were baking in this class was going to be made the same way.
During the class they made a chocolate pudding pie with a cookie crumb crust, topped off with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. As far as I know, this was the first time I’d ever had chocolate pudding that didn’t come from a small little JELL-O box. It was so creamy and rich! The cookie crumb pie crust was just as yummy, and it was so easy to make. You only need three ingredients and it bakes in 7-10 minutes. The second dish was a lemon curd tart with whipped cream on top. They made this with the traditional pie dough and it turned out beautifully. It was very sweet and light tasting. Between this tart and the chocolate pie, I believe I had satisfied about a week’s worth of sugar cravings in under 30 minutes.

The last dish was Quiche Lorraine. This was a bunch of my favorite breakfast foods all baked in a deep and buttery pie crust. However, the highlight of this dish wasn’t the savory quiche itself, but the pie dish it was baked in. I think I needed a few seconds to recover after I first saw it. It’s part of Emile Henry’s Artisan Collection and as far as pie dishes go, this one is beautiful (especially the Pometerra one)! Aside from its pretty looks, it also cooks pies and quiches to perfection. The entire dish is made of clay, so it’s quite heavy and will last you forever. Seeing as how I think it is the perfect pie dish, I’ve decided that I am going to have to buy it in a few weeks, as a birthday present for myself! Now I’m just patiently waiting for the next class to come along…topic- Healthy Cooking with Seafood (another fav).
If you’re interested, almost all of the Williams-Sonoma locations host these classes. The classes are free and usually held on Sundays at 12noon. Just call your store as far in advance as possible so you can reserve yourself a spot. They fill up fast! In my area, I prefer the Hilltop location in Virginia Beach instead of the one at MacArthur Center. It’s a more intimate setting, the class sizes are small and the ladies there are very friendly and helpful. They are usually willing to sign you up for a class even if it’s full!
Check out these links for more info!
Williams-Sonoma Site
Chocolate Pie Recipe
Lemon Curd Tart
Quiche Lorraine
Emile Henry Artisan Ruffled Pie Dish
Another great find was the Pancake Pen from the previous week’s class on Cakes and Cupcakes. It’s a great tool to use when filling cupcake trays. It’s also great for making pancakes for kids because you can draw out little designs and shapes right in the pan…and it’s only $9.95.