For our anniversary, I gave Mike a gift certificate to The Institute of Culinary Education (AKA ICE) since we have been enjoying cooking together so much. He was nice enough to take me with him to learn how to make “Great New York Restaurants’ Signature Dishes.”
From ICE’s website: “Thanks to Chef-Instructor Loren Banco, enjoying your favorite dishes from some of New York’s best restaurants is only a class away. You will learn the following signature dishes and desserts: from Balthazar, Salad Balthazar; from Babbo, Mint Love Letters; from Craft, Hanger Steak with Bordelaise Sauce; from Le Bernardin, Roast Monkfish on Savoy Cabbage and Bacon-Butter Sauce; and from Gotham Bar and Grill, Warm Chocolate Cake.”
Mike and I had a great time making the recipes, and we specifically focused on making the filling for the raviolis (“Mint Love Letters”) and the fish. Everything was delicious and I learned quite a bit.
The teacher was a bit… militant, however. He stressed everyone out by yelling at them for odd things (like keeping a single piece of fish in a pan for the moment in between transferring in a new one). I wanted him to teach us more about techniques that I can use every day and less about “well this ingredient is impossible to find for regular people so you can try to substitute xyz but it won’t be the same.”
We also met some fun people there and overall it was really fun.
Unfortunately my camera battery was dying (and I seem to have misplaced the charger, which is the reason I haven’t been posting as I have no pictures), however, I managed to get a shot of the steak (the sauce was incredible) and the fish (bar blanc sauce is amazing) right before the camera fully died.
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