Cooking Classes at Briar Patch

Fall/winter marks the start of our cooking class weekends, which we generally hold one weekend per month in our "low" season of November through March. Our first one of the season was held a couple of weekends ago, when Chef Nancy Robinson of Mrs. Robinson Cooks showed us how to prepare the following menu:

Briar Patch B&B Cooking Weekend
Menu for November 19-21, 2010 Weekend

Friday evening hors d'oeuvres

• Tuna mousse on toasted baguette
• Crudité with Asian-style aioli dip
• Chicken morsels with remoulade sauce

Saturday evening dinner

• Appetizer: Salmon with lemon-pecan sauce on crackers
• Salad: Warm wilted spinach salad with pine nuts
• Main Course: Braised Chicken with fresh tomatoes and olives; served with cauliflower purée
• Dessert: Creamy apple cider reduction sauce over fresh apple cake

The tuna mousse appetizer and the cauliflower puree were my (Ellen) favorites. We also enjoyed having a wine tasting with Lori Corcoran of Corcoran Vineyards. Since Lori was out of her white wines, I introduced our guests to the white wines of Israel.

Our next cooking class weekend at Briar Patch will be January 21-23, 2011. These weekends consist of hors d'oeuvres and wine tasting on Friday night, a two-night stay in one of our rooms at Briar Patch including breakfast, an optional wineries tour on Saturday afternoon, and a four course cooking class meal with wine on Saturday night. Our other cooking class weekends are February 18-20, 2011 and March 4-6, 2011. We still have a few spaces left for the classes so please contact us for reservations by going to our website or call us at 703-327-5911.

As you can see in the photos below, Chef Nancy did a great job in teaching us how to make some good healthy food.