Hawaiian Cooking Class

Monday night G, my mom, aunt and I attended a Hawaiian cooking class. Flashback to last month when my mom and I went to see Beauty and the Beast. We stopped at the cutest restaurant on the way to the show and had the best mac and cheese. 

We saw an advertisement about the monthly cooking classes they host and were intrigued. I have never done one before and I know G had mentioned wanting to do one before so my mom registered all of us for the class...

You guys, it was the MOST fun. We sat the counter drinking wine and listening to Chef Ryan show us how to cook and teach us tricks and tips. I joked it was like being at home - watching Garth cook while having a glass of wine. That is my life, ha! He showed us simple things we can do to improve presentation and impress our friends. He cracked two eggs at one time. Color me impressed!

It was a blast. It was relaxing, informative, and fun. I need to try new things more often! We snacked on Chef Ryan's eggplant salsa and red pepper hummus with cucumbers and crackers. SO. GOOD. While we snacked he taught us how to make Tuna Poke. I never knew how beautiful tuna is! It is this gorgeous red. I also want to buy Fruikake seasoning to eat with rice, per Chef's recommendation. This was my first raw fish experience plain (i.e. not in sushi) and it was delightful. I enjoyed it more than I ever thought I would. So flavorful and fresh. I thought the texture would bother me, but it didn't.

The next course was Lomi Salmon which is basically cured Salmon mixed with tomatoes and onions served in a glass dish on ice in typical Hawaiian fashion. Another raw fish dish that I tried. Look at me being all adventurous. It was okay, definitely not my favorite. It was a little too salty and a little too much raw fish for my taste. I let G finish this up and saved my appetite.

Next we had Shoyu Chicken which is chicken thighs with ginger, pepper, apple cider vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and Worchester sauce. I'm not the biggest fan of eating meat off a bone (I know, I'm picky and I should be a vegetarian!) but the flavor was good. 

The last course was my favorite. We had Macadamia Crusted Mahi Mahi with Sweet Potato Casserole. I don't even like sweet potatoes, but this casserole was to die. It had a souffle texture with the most delicate sweetness and creaminess. It just tasted like heaven. The mahi mahi was amazing. So flaky and delicious and the macadamia gave the perfect sweetness to compliment the sweet potato casserole. 

Would I do it again? Heck yes! We had so much fun. The four ladies doing the class with us were so much fun. We hit it off swimmingly and enjoyed chatting. It was nice hanging out with my mom and aunt too. Good people. Even Garth, who didn't even want to go, had the best time. He loved it and can't wait to do another class this summer. It was fun to learn cooking techniques and try new foods I would have never tried before. I think the next time we go I'll pick a class with foods I love and would make at home just to really amp up the experience. 

Have you done a cooking class? If so, how was your experience?