Knife skills

Last night, I decided to take a Knife Skills class offered by The Cooking Studio at the Whole Foods in Belmar. A small group of 10-12 people gathered in the studio kitchen, learning better ways to prepare, chop, dice, and mince things. We prepared garlic, shallots, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms, avocados, and citrus fruit. We then took turns making French omelets with some of the ingredients we had chopped. At the end of the class, we had a meal of omelets, hash browns, and grapefruit sections drizzled with agave nectar.

Overall, it was a decent class, though more geared towards beginners in the kitchen. I did pick up a few helpful hints about chopping onions and deseeding peppers and tomatoes, and I learned how to make a better omelet.

Beat 2 eggs in a small bowl with a tablespoon of water and a pinch of salt and pepper. Heat a tablespoon of clarified butter in a small omelet pan over low to medium heat. Pour the eggs in the pan. Continue to whip air into the eggs using a fork, trying not to disturb the eggs setting at the bottom of the pan too much. Eventually the omelet will be almost cooked through and set. Tease up all the edges of the omelet using a spatula so that it is totally free from the bottom of the pan. Add fillings of your choice to the center. Fold one third of the omelet over the fillings, then turn it over onto a plate (folding the other third over on the bottom as you go). Voila! Light and fluffy omelets.