Cooking classes coming in March

Home chefs have some great opportunities ahead in March. Cooking classes aimed at broadening their culinary range are being offered up at two sites.

The Grape Tap restaurant in Wasilla will be featuring three menu favorites in its how-to-cook class, and the Greater Houston Community Center is hosting a Learn to Cook Potato Soup workshop.

Fresh off its sold-out special dinner pop-up event on Valentine’s Day, The Grape Tap is considering regularly monthly pop-ups going forward. The March cooking classes are part of that effort.

If the early response is any indication, there is solid demand for more from the popular restaurant, which closed its doors in late December after more than 16 years of serving up some of the best food in the Valley. Kristin Cook, Grape Tap owner and trained chef, will be teaching the classes, the first of which are March 2 and 3, from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Originally advertised as a single night, and because class size is limited to 10 people, the great interest forced three additional classes to be added. March 9 and 24 are the newest additions, since the first two filled up so quickly.

“The response has been crazy,” Cook said. “I sold out two classes before I even checked voice mails.”

She said she was inspired to offer the cooking classes after so many inquires from customers about recipes during the restaurant’s final weeks of service. Plans are also in the works for April sessions that will feature different menu items.

“I’m excited for this,” Cook said. “I enjoy sharing my culinary knowledge and experience.”

For the March classes, participants will prepare the restaurant’s popular Moroccan Scallops appetizer, Grape Tap Greens salad, and Pork Schnitzel entrée. Once the food is prepped and cooked, participants will sit and enjoy dinner together, along with wine specially paired with the menu. The cost of the class is $100. Interested people can call 907-376-8466 to reserve a spot in one of the classes.

A longtime staple of The Grape Tap menu, the scallops are rubbed with a blend of Moroccan spices, then seared and served over a luscious cambozola cream sauce with a drizzle of balsamic glaze. Often marketed as blue brie, cambozola is a soft, mild and creamy German cheese with a subdued hint of blue.

The salad is a mix of fresh greens tossed with broccoli, cauliflower, blueberries, avocado, and house-made granola, all tossed with a house-made creamy pepper dressing. The schnitzel starts with tenderized and breaded pork loin. It is topped with a lemon beurre blanc sauce and served with mashed potatoes and sweet and sour cabbage.

Cook said she hopes participants will gain an understanding of the complexity of the menu and how much work is involved in turning out a delicious finished product.

“It’ll be a lot of information because each dish has so many steps to it,” she said. “But it’ll be laid back and fun.”

On a less gourmet, but equally delicious note, the potato soup workshop will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Homesteaders Community Center in Houston, just off the Parks Highway at 11760 W. Hawk Lane. Funded by a grant from the Mat-Su Health Foundation, the workshop will be led by Keely Livingston, a nutritionist who works as an intern at the Health Foundation.

Livingston will be assisted by Alex Wilson, agriculatural education coordinator at Alaska Pacific University’s Kellogg Campus near Palmer. Wilson said the event will begin with a discussion about food security in Alaska and the Mat-Su Borough, including how to best use storage crops like potatoes and other root vegetables. The hands-on portion of the workshop will follow.

“Coming together over food is huge,” Wilson said. “It’s a wonderful display of community members supporting each other and a great way to network.”

Participants will prepare and eat soup. Everyone will leave with containers of take-home soup, too.

The class is free and all materials and ingredients will be provided. Space is limited to 20 participants. Interested people can register online at www.eventbrite.com/e/learn-to-cook-potato-soup-tickets-1982604241657?aff=ebdssbdestsearch