Fat carries Flavor, Pinot Noir goes beautifully with Salmon, Brachetto d’Aqui is a wonderful light sparkling RED dessert wine that goes well with dark chocolate, Salmon gets its characteristic pink color from eating shrimp (and most farm raised salmon gets it from food coloring). These are just few of the things we learned at an evening class at Central Market’s Cooking School given by Chef Paul Schunder and Wine Director Seth Pollard.
The cooking classes are given upstairs at the Lamar Central Market in a Studio style. There is a large mirror above the cooking area so you can how the chef is cooking a particular meal. For me, it’s always impressive to see a good chef prep the ingredients–I have abysmal knife skills. A fine dice can take me and hour…hmmm…maybe the Knife Skills class should be next (that one is hands one). After the chef prepares each course, it is served to you to eat (yum!).
Chef Schunder did a great job highlighting how he chose the ingredients; emphasized when it was worth paying for an expensive ingredient (the Jumbo Lump Crab was a garnish and visible so it was worth it, paying for Beluga Caviar is insane). He also highlighted particular techniques–how to get that fine dice, how to get the skin of a salmon. Wine Director Pollard did an equally fine job explaining the wine choices–why a crisp sparkling wine goes well with Rich Oysters, for example.
Central Market Cooking School Information
Yellow and Green Tomato Salsa
1 lbs green tomatoes, chopped
1 lbs yellow tomatoes, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 red onion chopped
1/2 cup cilantro chopped
1/2 cub basil, chopped
salt, pepper, and lime juice to taste
Mix all salsa ingredients together and taste. This salsa tastes wonderful with grilled fish.