Virtual Cooking Club Part 2: Electric Boogaloo
Another month has come and gone, as has another virtual cooking club “test run.” Exactly one week ago, the UD team hosted it’s second virtual cooking club session, this time via Zoom. The change in platform allowed us to interact with our club members, bring folks on camera, and be more hands on with those who were cooking along with us than the livestream allowed us to be. We had an absolute blast again with our UD fam right here in CA and even in TX!
Pan seared chicken thighs in a Dijon thyme sauce
“But Steph, what was on the menu?” Glad you asked! We wanted to showcase a few different techniques, so this time we took on an entrée and two sides. We went with an often overlooked choice for meat - the chicken thigh. Nearly impossible to overcook, and full of flavor, the chicken thigh (bone-in, skin on) is sometimes outshined by the chicken breast. So we thought giving this part of the chicken it’s due. Searing stove-top then popping into the oven to finish gave our chicken a nice crispy skin, and was the base to the Dijon sauce, as voted on by our cooking club members, that topped it.
Finished meal by UD Cooking Club Member Shayla B.
For our sides, we tackled sautéed broccolini with crispy bacon and shallots, and white cheddar mashed potatoes. The broccolini were blanched to give it it’s vibrant green color, bacon was rendered to achieve ultimate crispiness, and our shallots were sautéed in a bit of the bacon fat until soft, at which point the broccolini were tossed back in with some balsamic vinegar and cooked until tender. As for the mashed potatoes, we went with gold (red would have sufficed as well), and boiled until fork tender. They were then mashed and whipped with a hand mixer with butter, heavy cream, and, just to elevated a bit, a smoked pepper white cheddar cheese.
Slightly healthier take using chicken breast and turkey bacon from cooking club member Melva T.
Needless to say, the entire meal came out FANTASTIC. The best part though was the real-time interaction we got to have with our cooking club members while they cooked. We all know that our time in the kitchen doesn’t always go as planned, so being able to give guidance when things didn’t go quite the way they’d planned to our cooking club members was a delight. We also loved seeing the variations in the recipe (remember - free yourself from it!) We had members who subbed thighs for breasts, broccolini for asparagus, and cut back on the Dijon in the sauce to take a bit of the bite out. Regardless, all of their dishes came out excellent!
We have so enjoyed these sessions, and plan to do these monthly. The first few sessions have been free as we work out the kinks, but historically, cooking club has charged a fee. It’s a cooking class after all! We’ll announce prices such as we go forward. However, for those who want to get a taste for what it’s been like, check out the recording here for this recipe, and use code F%+10CpH. If you’re interested in joining, please reach out to us! Hope to teach you soon!
