Fall Cooking Classes that Won’t Break the Bank: Miami Edition

So you want to add some new techniques to your cooking repertoire, but you already yielded your last paycheck to the temptations at Whole Foods. Or perhaps you’d like to learn, but you also want to have some cash left to spend on replicating the meal at home. Here is the first part in a tri-county roundup of some low cost learning that will have delicious dividends.

*Miami Dade College offers cooking classes through its community education program at the Kendall, Interamerican and Wolfson campuses. You can usually find one session classes for $39-$55. They also offer some multi-session classes like “Basic Cooking Skills,” (Wolfson) “Bread Making,” (Kendall) and “Brazilian Cooking” (Interamerican) which are pricier but still offer a good value.
The Kendall Campus’ Gourmet Academy offers a variety of cooking classes every semester. Some upcoming classes are:

· “Tarts and Quiches” on Friday October 26 from 7 pm to 10 pm for $45.

· “Mediterranean Medley” on Saturday, November 3 from 9 am to noon.

·“Magnificent Meringue Desserts” on Friday, November 16 from 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm for $55.

· “Northern Italian Cuisine” on Thursday, November 29 from 7 pm to 10 pm for $45.

*The Environmental Center at the MDC Kendall Campus is giving a class on “Organic Gardening” with local farmer Andres Mejides. Mr. Mejides is a grower and researcher for Organic Gardening magazine. He says he learned organic gardening by default when he started growing plants as a child. The class meets on Sundays from 10 am to noon, October 28 through December 9. It’s a deal at $65. You can get more information at the Environmental Center website.

*The new Whole Foods in Coral Gables has a state of the art lifestyle center where they hold monthly wine and beer tastings and cooking demonstrations. Most of them are free, although some of them require a $5 fee. Organic Steve, the head of the produce department, will be teaching “Cooking with Pumpkin” on Monday, October 29 at 7 pm. All you need to drop is $5.

*Macy’s The Cellar has regular demonstrations with local chefs and visiting celebrity chefs. They are Saturdays at 1 pm at the Dadeland and Aventura stores. This Saturday (October 27), Chef Jorge Montes, from the new catering company Gourmet Creations, will be at the Dadeland store. Ceci Seitz will prepare Halloween cookies and treats at the Aventura store.

*Eleanor Hoh will be demonstrating her “Wok Star” techniques at several Miami venues this fall. During her three hour classes, she demonstrates wok cooking basics without using recipes or measuring tools. Hoh feels that with the fundamental techniques and order of a wok stir-fry dish, students will be able to make any wok creations they can imagine. Some of the dishes Hoh demonstrates are rainbow lettuce wraps with ground turkey, hoison sauce and crunchy pumpkin seeds and weekday Asian stir-fry with vegetables. Paula of mango & lime attended an Eleanor Hoh class at La Cuisine. You can read what she thought about it here. The class costs $ 65. Drinks are provided and students can sample the dishes. For more info, visit her website.

• Wednesday October 24 at Dot 51 (7 pm to 10 pm)
• Saturday November 10 at Arclinea (12 noon to 3 pm)
• Wednesday November 17 at La Cuisine (7pm to 10 pm)

*Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden has some intriguing offerings this fall. Paneer is a soft, flavor-absorbing cheese from India. Billo Jolly will teach you how to cook sweet and savory dishes such as palak paneer (spinach with paneer) and rusgulla. “Cooking with Paneer” is on Saturday, November 3 from 9 am to 1 pm.

Bored with turkey? Chef Rudy Straker will give you some bayou-tiful new ideas for Thanksgiving in his “Cajun Deep Fried Turkey” class. The fryer gets going on Wednesday, November 7 at 6:30 pm. Both classes are $40 for members and $60 for non-members.

If you like giving home-made holiday gifts, “Great Holiday Gift Condiments” will show you how to make and package salsas, relishes and chow-chows. This one is Thursday, November 8 from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm. It’s $35 for members and $50 for non-members.

*If you want to work on the presentation of your meals, the “Creative Fruit Carving and Shaping” will show you how. For $25, you’ll learn how to carve fruit and vegetable garnishes. The class is November 10 from 10 am to 1 pm. Fruit and Spice Park sponsors a variety of cooking classes all throughout the year, including classes on traditional Indian and Chinese cooking. While you’re there, it’s worth your while to explore the park. You can see and taste fruit from all over the world.