The three Managing Partners at Burton Energy Group – Brent Burton, Mark Breuker and George Plattenburg – and their bosses (wives), recently participated in a cooking class at Sur La Table. Entitled Date Night: A Taste of Spain, our “el groupo de seis” arrived ready to learn about cooking fundamentals from Chef Kyle Shankman. Adorned in white aprons and taking up residence at our respective cooking stations, we were first taught the basic knife skills, which reinforced that the author would never have completed the first day of culinary school.
With the obligatory basics in place, we set out to prepare our appetizer, dessert and entrée, in that order. The first item was Catalan Seared Shrimp in Saffron-Tomato Sauce, which included the slicing and dicing of onions. I am happy to report that my eight fingers and two thumbs remained intact throughout this exercise, and no tears were shed. No one was more shocked than I that this dish turned out to be a really tasty appetizer.
Next up was the dessert, in the form of Almond Tartlets. El groupo mixed, stirred and blended the ingredients, and then placed the pan in a refrigerator to cool while we embarked on our piece de resistance – Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Romesco Sauce, accompanied with Chorizo and Sherry Braised Chickpeas. With the help of Chef Kyle and two of his assistants (plus an oven thermometer that read 140 degrees as ideal for medium pork loin), the chefs-in-training prepared an entrée that was quick, fresh and packed with flavor. We then removed the Almond Tartlets from the refrigerator and enjoyed a scrumptious dessert that was a fitting culmination to our cooking class.
We thanked Chef Kyle and his team for the fun and unique experience, took some photos to capture the spirit of the event, and retired to a favorite tavern to toast the evening that was.
El fin!
