I think I mentioned earlier that I had taken a sushi class with James last week. I followed that one up by a class on Riesling. Then on Friday and Saturday, I took a class called “Barbeque Blitz.”

All of them have been utterly inspiring, completely fun.

Since work has ratcheted up its intensity, I’m looking forward to tiny rewards like BlogHer, tomorrow’s Pinot Grigio class and a wine technology symposium in mid-July.

It’s hectic, it’s nervewracking and it’s life.

Now I am bored with my petty irritations!
Let’s move onto what I learned in my foray into community college non-credit classes!

Class Sushi:

Our sushi class was a little unnerving. Within the first five minutes, our instructor had a hard time creating the first roll and had a mini breakdown.

Fortunately, he broke out the Sapporo and sake soon thereafter, allowing us to overlook the early weirdness.

James is a perfect sushi master, what with his perfect slicing, his thoughtful and measured rolling. I am not so good. I make big messes, all my veggies and fish are different sizes and I overstuff my rolls. Eh, I think I can practice. I think we’ll figure it out.

James and I were successful at some rolls, not so successful at others. As neither one of us plan to become sushi masters, it was good and fun for everyone. We’ve since bought some bamboo sushi rolling mats and Nori and can’t wait to have you over to play.

Class Riesling:

I took this class at the St. Suprey winery. Taught by Ronn Wiegand, the renowned editor of the Restaurant Wine Newsletter and the first person to pass both the Master Sommilier and Master of Wine tests all at the same time, it was a pretty intense experience.

All in all we tasted 15 wines, from dry to off dry to sweet to sticky.

We tasted Alsatian wines (the next Cheesewhizzes is wines from Alsace!), Rieslings from Germany, Washtington state and tastings from the Sonoma coast.

As 15 wines will put anyone under the table, we utilized our spit cups regularly and made it home safely.

It’s also good to know that Rieslings are lower in alcohol than most other wines. They can also be sweeter, which makes them a great gift for boozy aunts back in the midwest.

My favorite was the Chateau St. Michelle, 2004 Late Harvest White Riesling, Reserve (7.5% alcohol, $30)

Class Barbeque Blitz:

The barbeque blitz class was a two day class, the first night was dry rubs and marinade preparation. The second night was fire preparation and meat grilling.

It was fun to be in a cooking class that was 75% men. They had more of the beginner’s fun about them, ready to to make friends, learn more and drink Coronas. The recipes we prepared included (but are not limited to):

-BBQ Chicken Pizzas with Grilled Red Onions, Mozzarella and Cilantro
-Tri Tip with Blue Cheese and Lemon
-Maple-Soy Glazed Salmon on Corn Husk Hammocks
-Applewood Grilled Rib Eyes with Bacon Molasses Butter
-Prawns wrapped in Basil and Proscuitto
-Baby Back Ribs with Slaw and Spicy Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

All recipes are copyrighted by Kristi Garcia, our noble instructor, who took on these students with a brave and enthusiastic happiness.

I am completely amazed at the way she was able to wrangle a group of amateur grillers and turn us into a well-oiled, food-producing machine.

(I can’t wait to share some of the recipes with you guys, I just need to clear it with Kristi first.)

Instead, I’m going to share with you a picture of a cheeseburger we grilled at home with all thanks to Kristi.

I miss you guys, let’s get together soon.