Do you ever feel a little stuck in a rut when it comes to the meals you cook? I sure do! You would think with all the online recipe websites and Pinterest that you would be experimenting like crazy. I don't know about you, but the problem for me is, I hate to go to a lot of work and the expense of buying the ingredients, only to find out the final result really wasn't worth the effort. Snagging recipes from friends is much more reliable, but I really like to learn how to prepare a new dish hands on...like a cooking class!

A friend of ours, Rhonda, had a birthday coming up, so our friend, Heidi, came up with the idea of booking a night of cooking dinner at the Flour Pot Kitchen. Heidi had met Kary, the owner and chef years before when they attended the same church. The Flour Pot Kitchen offers cooking classes for private parties of up to 14 and you can select the menu you would like to learn how to cook in advance from a wide variety of offerings. We chose Filet Mignon with a Cognac reduction sauce, Asparagus Gratin with Asiago, Mashed Cauliflower potatoes, Stuffed Pears with Bleu Cheese and Spring Greens, and Turtle Cake. Kary also prepared Jumbo Prawns with Baby Arugula and Cast Iron Bread for us.

We arrived on a warm Friday evening to Kary's lovely home and grounds. Right from the start, we were so impressed!

Moving inside, the ambiance continued in her large country kitchen, with a big granite island, chef size stove, baker's cart full of condiments and equipment, and so many special touches. The dining area was so charming, all light up with lights hanging from a curved grate below the ceiling.

Our birthday girl, Rhonda, had her own special place setting.

After admiring everything, we were ready to get to work...time to get our dinner cooking! Kary had black aprons ready for each of us. We split up into pairs and began to tackle the various entrees, with Kary's guidance and her recipes in front of us. She gave us so many wonderful tips about buying the best meats, produce, cheeses, and even the ingredients for the cake. Kary also taught us how to string the beef tenderloin, core and stuff the pears, steam the cauliflower and blend it, slightly peeling the ends of the asparagus to keep it tender...and so on. She also spontaneously showed us how she makes her cast iron bread...so easy and tasty! We enjoyed the jumbo prawns with baby arugula she had prepared in advance for us as we cooked.

Here are some photos of the cooking class in process.

Birthday girl, Rhonda, and our chef, Kary.

We had so much fun and before we knew it, dinner was ready!

Filet Mignon with Cognac Sauce...

Asparagus Gratin with Asiago...

Mashed Cauliflower potatoes...

Stuffed Bleu Cheese pears with greens...

Are you salivating yet? Every dish was absolutely delicious! Truly!

(Kary's photo) Gracia, Mari Lee, and Heidi

I have to show you just one more photo of the table...so simple, yet so lovely with white burlap puddled as a runner down the table, old silver candle sticks, and silver champagne buckets filled with boxwood and white lilac cuttings from her garden.

And while we were busy eating, talking, and laughing, Kary was busy in the kitchen finishing the Turtle Cake....so yummy, despite a little mistaken addition of Marscapone cheese!

(Kary's Photo) Such fun conversation, always!

We had such a fabulous time! Kary is not only a wonderful chef, but a lovely, gracious hostess too. Her attention to detail is wonderful! If you are looking for a fun way to spend an evening, love to cook good food, and have a family or group of friends who are like minded, I encourage you to book a private class with the Flour Pot Kitchen. You will be glad you did!