Oh you guys. YOU GUYS! I am dying of sheer deliciousness right this very second. I am sitting here, in the dark, in my living room, in my pajamas, and I am as happy as a clam, with a totally full tummy. Simon and I just got back from our anniversary treat, a cooking class over at Jamie’s in Casady Square. Now, I know that the majority of you will probably never grace our fair city of Oklahoma City, but for the few of you who are here, you must go.

Jamie’s has been over in Casady Square for seven years and sells some of the most gorgeous tableware items you will see anywhere. In fact, in the picture below, notice the blue coral under the glass bell jar on the right? Those are actually napkin rings from Jamie’s. Amy gave them to me for Christmas, and I just love the look of them, all clustered together. I eyed some of the other coral colors there tonight. There were these seahorse napkin rings that were amazing and would look so nice on my table…Anyway. Moving on – Amy had mentioned to me once that Jamie’s offers cooking classes, so when I was looking into what to do for our anni, I thought, hmm, perfect. After all, Simon is a total foodie and a missed-his-true-calling-Chef, so what else would be more fun? They offer two different kinds of classes – a demonstration type with a major chef from the area (Kurt Fleischfresser from The Coach House, for those in the know) and then the regular classes taught by transplanted San Franciscan Jill Nevard that are totally hands-on. I knew that would be a better fit for us.

We showed up at 6pm and there was a gorgeous table set. I apologize for having no photos; I was ill prepared. Your imagination will have to suffice.  It’s complete eye candy to walk in the store. Jamie has all the really gorgeous tableware lines like Juliska, Wedgwood, that sort of thing. She also has a varied display of food products, as well as freshly prepared casseroles, takeaway items, cupcakes, specialty cheese, etc. I wish I had thought to write down the names of the cheeses we sampled tonight; they were delish.

The class was pretty small; only about 10 of us, I think? Jamie was there, and she is the nicest lady ever. Both she and Jill (a culinary school grad) are knowledgable and completely approachable. It was just a fun feeling of hanging out and trying new things. No stupid questions, you know? We divvied up into teams and began preparing a variety of dishes -

• Mini beef empanadas (A-MAZING. Cherries!)
• Baked rigatoni with peperonata, fennel, and sausage (colorful and yum)
• Bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin (Simon’s job – he did great! Very moist, juicy)
• Basil chicken curry (my new fave – I’m going to try this one!)
• Cheddar cheese quick bread (I made this – super easy)
• Roasted kale (a first – never tried this before but crispy and delicious)
• Homemade vanilla ice cream w/ caramel sauce (fun to make the caramel)
• Lemon buttermilk pudding cakes with chantilly and berries  (my other responsibility – involved, but worth it!)

Overall, such a success. If you’re looking for something fun to do in town, this was it. It was $50/person and lasted just over 3 hours. We got to eat eat eat, and still we were able to bring home the leftovers. But more than anything, we were trying things that were a little unusual, but still totally doable and approachable. It was entertaining, educational, and delicious. A good mix of technique and savvy little tips. I know I am totally gushing, but I so want to do this again! There’s a holiday entertaining party on October 13th — I may have to sign up for that one.

Ok. So there’s my rave. I’ve got to go digest now – I am seriously stuffed to the gills! Thanks to the girls at Jamie’s for a fantastic night!

9313 North Pennsylvania
Oklahoma City, OK – 73120
Casady Square at Britton Road and Penn