Cooking With Jasper

I don't think I'm a very good cook.  I can follow recipes as well as the next guy, but I'm not a cook.  Matt can look in the pantry and fridge and just come up with something for dinner.  And most of the time it turns out excellent.  I can't do this.  

So keeping with one of my many resolutions for the year to learn new things (especially how to become a better cook), Melissa and I took a cooking class last week at the Kansas City Culinary Center.  We bumped into it a couple of months ago after lunch at Taste, and thought the idea sounded interesting.  So we spent a few weeks checking out their calendar and narrowing down possibilities for our first foray into learning to cook.

We settled on The Jewels of Parma with Jasper from Jasper's restaurant.  It seemed perfect.  We both love Italian, cheese and prosciutto which was pretty much what this class was based around.  The night of the class I actually found myself a little nervous.  It was a strange feeling to associate with going to a beginner's cooking class, but I just kept thinking about all of the things I could do wrong. 

I really don't like not being good at things.  I think of it as being quirky, others might call it a character flaw.  The excitement of trying something new was quickly replaced with anxiety over looking stupid if I burned something, or under-cooked something, or screwed up in some other way even I couldn't think of.  I didn't have much time to contemplate because before I knew it, we were there.

The evening started out pleasant enough.  We sat down at our assigned table and were quickly introduced to the couple sitting across from us.  It was their first time too, and Mrs. was very excited.  She even diligently took notes throughout the entire class.  Her consistent note taking made me laugh and the anxiety was gone before I even realized it.

Jasper started out by showing everyone a quick, easy pasta dish and passing it out for everyone to try.  He then showed us how to make an asparagus, prosciutto, parmesan tart.  I almost forgot we were there to cook too because I was enjoying watch him so much. 

 Then came time for us to head to the cooking stations and make our main dish, chicken with prosciutto, cheese and basil.  (There were a few more ingredients and steps, but I won't bore you with those.)  Then, I got nervous again.  We were sharing our cooking station with a few other strangers, and I really didn't want to look stupid in front of them so I made Melissa do most of the work, helping out with small things.

After we finished our chicken, we sat down to enjoy the tart that Jasper had made, our chicken, and a side salad.  It was delicious!

When we were almost done, Jasper made the dessert for the evening: white chocolate gelato with strawberries and a balsamic reduction.

 I must admit, the strawberries with the balsamic glaze frightened me.  I love balsamic vinegar immensely, but the thought of a glaze over strawberries and gelato made me scared.  Really scared.  I proceeded with caution but decided I must try it.  It was actually good.  Apparently it is very popular in his restaurant.  It was a very different taste but one that I would definitely reccomend.  I'm not sure if everyone would like it, but you only live once!

All in all an excellent experience.  We're already discussing which class we're going to take next and I think we might be recruiting more people for the next round, so let me know if anyone is interested!