ALL MY SINGLE LADIES!

So we recently did a Couples Cooking Class but last night we went undercover for the Singles version! (Or tried to - our foodie friends Suresh, Joel and David kind of blew our "single" cover - or maybe that was Mark and I who blew it!) Here's our impressions of the Singles Cooking Class that Chef Vanessa Yeung from Aphrodite Cooks held at Nella Cucina:

THE FOOD

• Menu was similar to Couples class (and was delicious as always - last night was the first time I made couscous and I could not believe how easy it was to make!)
  
  
• The featured dessert was different - this time Preena Chauhan was there helping us make a chai pineapple bundt cake spiced with Arvinda's spices. It was moist and tasty, and was served with...
  
  
• Toronto's Frozen Vines KILLER Pina Colada Gelato! Honestly, best part of the night for me. I LOVED it. We got our hands on a list of all the booze-infused treats they make and were also told they experiment all the time and make items NOT on their usual menu - They also have some other wild flavours of gelatos and sorbettos, like Chilli Tequila Gelato, Limeoncello Sour Cream Mint Gelato, and Sangria Sorbetto - their list is really extensive and I highly recommend giving them a try.

ALL MY SINGLE LADIES!

• There were certainly more women than men - guys, this would be a good place to go to meet a lovely girl!
  
  
• If you didn't meet anyone special last night, Jean from No Loves Lost was holding a draw for her professional services.
  
  
• As with all Aphrodite Cooks classes we will be emailed all the recipes - great for singles who may want to impress future dates with their cooking skills!

Curry in your Cookies?

So I've never been involved in a cookie exchange before, but right off the top I must say registering for a baking class would be a pretty cool way to get your cookie exchange baking done should you be involved in one during the holidays.

I signed myself up for the $60 "Merry Masala Christmas" class at Nella Cucina and brought Mark along to sample some food and take photos while I participated in the baking.

I can't say I've ever thought about throwing curry powder in my cookie dough, but the result was pretty pleasant!

We were using the Arvinda's range of spice blends mostly to jazz up traditional cookie recipes - everything from gingerbread to sugar cookies. Arvinda's son and daughter actually helped run the class.

Here's what was on the menu that night for us to bake:

• Crunchy Pistachio Cranberry Chocolate Chai Biscotti
• Holiday Chai Spice Ladoos
• Garam Masala Gingerbread Squares
• Citrus Chai Spice Sugar Cookies
• Mango Curry Snow Crescents

We also had the pleasure of A) baking with Suresh and Jenny from Spotlight Toronto and B) trying a hot chocolate with garam masala in it, which was quite tasty. The spice really brought another layer of flavour over top of the traditional hot chocolate, and it wasn't at all "too spicy" or in opposition to the original flavour - it was more of a complement to it.

My favourites cookie was DEFINITELY the mango curry snow crescent, but I also really loved a glaze we made with orange juice, orange zest, icing sugar, and garam masala. It was sweet and the citrus-y taste was especially well-suited to be atop the sugar cookies.


We walked away with a few dozen cookies handily boxed up (which could be frozen if desired, you know, for that cookie exchange I was talking about if yours is still a week or two away), a recipe booklet with recipes for the items above and a tin of Arvinda’s Artisinal Spice Garam Masala. I think I'll probably use mine to make that glaze again for some sugar cookies - yum!

Many thanks to Mary Luz Mejia for giving us the heads-up on the event!

Click here for more photos: Indian spiced baking