Viva la Sur La Table!

A while back I made a few resolutions for myself.

{1} I would learn more creative cooking techniques and recipes for my family.

{2} I would explore my curiosity about photography.

Well, I'm happy to report that I have been dedicated to both! Imagine that! I have been having lots of fun learning about camera functions and technical stuff (ok, minus the night I was so frustrated with this learning process that I almost threw my camera into my computer screen. I'm better now.)

And tonight I had the pleasure of continuing in my efforts to become the domestic goddess I aspire to be, by attending a cooking class at Sur La Table with my friend Heather! Being that it was our first time taking a cooking class, we pretty much realized that we have been doing everything wrong all these years. Even the way I held my knife was wrong. Poor Chef Carol kept shaking her head and smiling at us. I think we amused her. But we set our minds to the recipes we were making, and they turned out darn good if I do say so myself!

Of course Heather shows us how to look good while sauteing shrimp.

And here was her final result. It was divine. Probably one of my favorites of the night. My dish was roasted garlic chicken with tomato and pear chutney.

That's right. I made a chutney.

Hats off to Bri!! Chef's hat that is! I may have needed a little instruction from Chef Carol about the proper consistency of my chutney...but I am no longer afraid to make things that look intimidating in the recipe description.

Voila! Final presentation! We also enjoyed a delicious polenta dish, pan seared salmon with orange and fennel salad and white bean turkey chili. And as an added bonus, I got to spend the evening laughing and cooking with a good friend.

And for the record, she thought my chutney was the best. :-)

**{more pictures to come later in picasa, check back later for a link! }**