The class was the result of a collaboration between Sur La Table and Craftsy.Craftsy is an online resource for classes from sewing, to digital photography, to quilting, to cake decorating, to gardening, to cooking, and more. Check out their website, www.craftsy.com.
The class consists of seven separate lessons on how to cook with spices. We start with the most basic of spices, salt and pepper, then move on to techniques for using whole spices. We cover how to toast and grind spices, then create our own classic spice blends. After spending an entire lesson on chili peppers, we end with wet spice pastes. We literally travel the world through the lessons, exploring flavor profiles and recipes that show of the spices and techniques.
I spent much of this spring researching spices, techniques, and recipes for this class. If you've been following my blog the last few months, you've even had a sneak peek at some of those recipes. All of the research and testing culminated in a week of filming at Craftsy's studios in Denver, Colorado.
I've done some television work in the past, mostly 3 to 5 minute segments on local news programs. This was very different--each lesson is 20 to 30 minutes long, instead of talking to a news reporter, I had to get used to talking to a camera, and I even had to use a teleprompter. It was a fascinating process both to watch and in which to participate. I took comfort in knowing that if I made a mistake, we could start over and try again. There were four different cameras shooting at any given time--one static camera behind the teleprompter, one on a boom that was generally fixed to focus on the countertop in front of me, one set over the stove to get shots into the pots and pans as I was cooking, and one that quickly gained the nickname, Bob. Bob was on a boom that could be moved during the shoot, catching different angles, bobbing (haha) and floating around me as I cooked. At first, I found it very unnerving to talk directly to the camera, I found myself talking to the cameraman instead--which was of course wrong. But once we got into the filming, I quickly got used to it. It took 3 days of filming to put together what will be about 3 to 3 ½ hours of finished product.
Once the filming was complete, a professional photographer came in and took pictures of some of the dishes. Again, it was a fascinating process in which to both participate and watch.
From the lesson on salt, Burrata with Roasted Cherry Tomato Salad and Marcona-Almond-Basil Pesto. I love how you can see the crystalline structure of the grains of finishing salt.
From the lesson on spice pastes, Harissa. And yes, that's me holding the spoon.
They even took pictures of me. I've never worn so much makeup in my life.
I'll have more in the coming weeks after the class goes live. And, don't forget to register for the chance to win the class for free!
No comments:
Post a Comment