Cooking Class

This is the first time i attended a cooking class. Well it was a baking class actually. I was on my way home after a appt in TTDI and then decided to call Adeline to find out what she was doing. She told me she was going to attend a cooking class, and i asked whether i cld join. I wanted to kill time plus the fact that it was raining so hard, was starting to gloom and depress me. Seriously, this is a real first for me. Dont count those painful classes we had to attend in school as part of Home Sciences. I still remember the cooking class teacher was skinny, was not friendly at all and if we were slow, we wld be scolded. Obviously as in any class, there is always the favorite student/s and i was certainly not one of them. I think i was told i had no talent at all for cooking. Well, i suppose they forget when you have to cook as part of survival skills, you start learning. Cooking is really an art. Its either you like it or hate it. No in between. There are those that do it as a chore, but for me, now, i try to enjoy it other than the fact that sometimes i dont know what else to eat or ta pau, so i might as well try to cook and be healthy at the same time. The other portion of the Home Science class was sewing, which was absolutely a torture for me. Till this day, i can't sew a button on properly, very crude workmanship. And the sewing teacher, she was plump. Exact opposite to the cooking class teacher. She wore those type of glasses that Lat sketches about. And she does not tolerate slowness or people who dont have skills after she has taught us how. So i have been scolded, pinched and insulted in her class. I think thats what made me hate sewing so much. Teachers shld remember that their lessons bore life time memories for their students. Well enough of school classes. To the real baking class. First we sat at the back, which meant we had to rely on the reflective mirror to see what the teacher was doing. She had actually prepared all the necessary materials up to the extent of pre baking the pastry shells for the fruit tart. Here's the receipes we were taught that day:- 1. cream puff 2. fruit tart 3. portugese egg tart The reason Adeline attended class was for portugese egg tart. The best part of the cooking class, you get to sample the items when it is ready PLUS ta pau!! Yum. Well i must say the portugese egg tart tasted better than the ones you buy. But the challenge is to press the pastry down well into the moulds to ensure a even base. I also learnt quite a few things in class - you do not overbeat eggs like you do when you fry them becos then when the egg tarts are baked and start to set, it becomes hard, not soft and creamy. Also you need to sieve through the eggs mixture before adding in the other ingredients to mix before pouring into the pastry moulds. We were trying to figure out whether we were going to see the caramelizing of the top like they do when they prepare creme brulee to get the burnt effect of the portugese egg tart which you see. Well, no such luck. It was actually the cheese that did it. Not to mention when you review all the ingredients for this pastry item, it sure adds up to a lot of calories.. cream, eggs, sugar, cheese. The most annoying thing that happened throughout the class was this attendee who kept getting up, going close to the counter top, having absolutely no manners or consideration for the rest of us. Not to mention the stupid questions she was asking ..like do you preheat the oven? Even though i don't bake, i also know you have to. Its like do i warm up the wok before i start frying? Where has she been? And she likes to repeat questions like can i use margarine instead of butter/ You are baking for yourself and your family/friends to eat. Surely they deserve the best you can afford and offer. I like the instructor answer....this is western dim sum, if you use that kind of substitutes, you will not get the same result. And worse of all, when the apricot gelatin was cooking, she stuck her finger in it to taste. Yikes!! Stupid woman. Do you know you shld make the fruit tarts pastry shell as dainty as possible? This will make it easier to eat/one bite and its all in your mouth. If you use bigger pastry shell, then it will crumble or break up. Also, you can pre bake the pastry shells one week in advance if you need to for any private party, but if you are only making it for the family to eat, keep it for 3 days max and then prepare the custard and the filling. The butter flavor used for the pastry shell will diminish. And the most interesting complex item was the cream puff. She taught us how to make a small chocolate "hat" as a decorative item, plus using the icing bag to make other shapes like the swan in the picture. Nope, i cannot lay claim to making that. One very important point i must mention before i forget. The instructor left hand is handicapped, meaning her fingers are deformed and turned in yet she have learnt to make good use of her hand. She cld open the packets of milk, cheese, etc. Everything plus more than a person with normal hands. Way to go lady! I did enjoy myself and i hope i can get to attend the next class soon.