Cooking With Bettina Fisher

My kitchen smells amazing right now - it's filled with the aromas of foaming butter, fresh basil, and garlic. This is because I just had a visit from Bettina Fisher. And who is Bettina Fisher? A talented food stylist, caterer, and chef who just happens to teach at-home cooking classes!

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time since its inception in 2002, you probably know that I love food. However, this love does not translate into cooking expertise; I'm not the sharpest tack in the kitchen drawer. Hence my call to Bettina! She sent me a short questionnaire about my likes, dislikes and cooking goals, and then suggested some delicious dishes like halibut in fragrant lemongrass tomato broth, bacon-wrapped trout, whole striped bass with a chunky pistachio relish, and apple blackberry-cake.

But after doing some thinking, I realized that my needs were more in line with Remedial Cooking 101. I wanted to learn how to make an enviably fluffy omelette, to cut and dice vegetables evenly, and to be able to whip up a delicious tomato sauce in a few minutes.

Bettina arrived right on time, and I set about searching for that knife set I registered for 3 years ago. She gave me a brief tutorial on the knives (paring, boning, serrated, chef) and showed me how to sharpen them. She then gave me some recommendations for vegetable peelers and an over-the-sink cutting board (the kitchen is tiny!).

We started by cutting some onions and potatoes, which would later be used for a hearty potato soup with rosemary and Parmesan. Bettina showed me how to cut in halves and halves again for perfect dice. (Hard work!) Then we chiffonaded basil, cored and cut some tomatoes, and sliced and diced some garlic (so satisfying to mash it in one fell swoop with the knife).

After we indulged in large bowls of pasta, it was time to make omelettes. Bettina produced her copy of The Making of a Cook and I learned about three different techniques: beaten, shaken and scrambled. (The book is a hoot! It specified "only a couple turns of the pepper shaker, and a few grains of salt.") Bettina demonstrated, and then I made my own... dee-licious. (Don't tell Bettina, but I finished hers, as well as mine, after she left.)

I need to practice cutting, but I'm already thinking about the next lesson. Maybe we can make that apple-blackberry cake!

Bettina can be contacted through her Website. Highly recommended.