BY JENNIFER & JOHN BURKHART
November has us thinking all about food! Besides Thanksgiving coming soon, these cooler temperatures make us feel like getting cozy and getting in the kitchen. Time
to bake and try new recipes. Need some inspiration? How about attending a local cooking class? We used Class Pop, an online platform to find cooking classes nearby. From sourdough to sushi, there’s something for everyone through local in-person or Zoom classes.
She Said: There were many classes to choose from, but we went with a food we like and haven’t made before — sushi! I never thought we’d be making sushi in a bar, but there we were. I would have preferred a kitchen, but hey, at least I got to roll sushi and have a Moscow Mule while doing it. Our sushi chef, Sarah, was very welcoming, down to earth, and knowledgeable. She had everything set up and ready to go on the tables for our small class of nine. The atmosphere was super casual, and everyone was there to have fun and learn something new. We got right to work prepping veggies and in no time, we were rollin’ with our homies. Sure, there’s a little finesse to it, but it was pretty easy to make our first cucumber roll. We sliced it up and proudly ate our creation. Feeling confident, we moved on to a California roll. This was definitely tricky because the rice is on the outside and incredibly sticky. Sarah taught us to keep dipping our fingertips in water to minimize the stick. These weren’t as pretty when we finished, but I ate them before anyone noticed. The last one was a hand roll with raw tuna. Again, a kitchen would have been nice here, but thankfully, the fish was kept nice and cold until we stuffed it into our rolls….and then our mouths. Wow, so yum! The class was short, but a great intro to making sushi that we can recreate at home.
I’m so glad we opted for in-person versus Zoom. Sometimes I get too cozy in my home and forget how good it feels to get out and try something new with people I’ve never met. There were lots of jokes, smiles, and laughs. That sense of community with friendly folks was such a good feeling!
He Said: When we signed up for a sushi-making class, I pictured He myself mastering graceful knife work and creating sleek rolls worthy of a Japanese restaurant. Instead, I discovered that sushi-making is much more challenging than it looks, and I have a new appreciation for a beautiful roll of seaweed, rice, and fish. We started by unwrapping our bamboo rolling mat… wait, strike that. This class was held at a brewery, so we started by getting a beer, then we unwrapped our bamboo rolling mats. Sarah, our instructor, was knowledgeable and friendly, and she navigated my sarcastic comments and stupid questions well. She even knew my favorite sushi related factoid: Most of the time when we get wasabi in the U.S., we are not eating real wasabi — just green-tinted horseradish. Our first task was a simple veggie roll. Apply rice to nori paper, add thinly sliced veggies, and roll. Easy, right? Well, not for me. Halfway through I looked like the class paste-eater. My work area was a disaster, I had rice stuck to every surface of my hands, and a lopsided sushi roll that looks like what a real chef would feed to his dog. Roll two was supposed to be an inside-out California roll with the rice on the outside, crab and veggies on the inside, but at this point the self- doubt started creeping in. Surprisingly, I managed to knock out a beautiful sushi roll and totally redeem myself. Lastly, we learned how to make a quick and easy spicy tuna hand roll that was absolutely delicious. I enjoyed learning a new skill, but the best part was eating the evidence of my poor sushi-making ability. We had a fun time, some laughs, and strengthened our skills enough to attempt having a sushi night at the house… maybe.
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