In honor of our World of Taste: Germany class next week (seats still available!), we’re dishing up some trivia and knowledge about the fabulous wines of Germany.

• Handmade Wine along the Rhine:  The Rhine river is synonymous with German wine…and for good reason.  This body of water doesn’t just host some of the best grape-growing terrain in Europe, it actually encourages handcrafted and hand-tended grapes because the steep vineyards don’t lend themselves to mechanization.  Meanwhile, the river’s microclimate effect creates striking varieties along the river.
• Riesling, please: Riesling is Germany’s most popular grape.  Aromatic and acidic, this grape constitutes over 21% of Germany’s grape crop.  There are records of Riesling wine production in Germany from the 1430s on, and this popular white wine loves pairings with white meats like fish, chicken, and pork.
• Old world:  Germany has the dubious/awesome distinction of housing the oldest-ever found bottle of uncorked wine…which was found along with a Roman sarcophagus and is thought to date from 325 AD!

Learn more about German wine (and how to cook some delicious food to go along with it) at our upcoming World of Taste: Germany course offered next week.  Click here for details and registration..Tschüß!

Summer may be officially nearing its end, but that doesn’t mean we’re getting tired of grilled pizzas, one of our very favorite dishes.  Pizza isn’t just easy to make…it’s a great canvas for the explosion of summer flavor we’ve come to expect from the local producers we love.  Here are some tips for your next pizza party:

• Go simple.  A few vine-ripe tomatoes, a sprig or two of basil, some low-key mozzarella…you don’t need the fanciest ingredients to come up with the best flavors.
• Go seasonal.  Why not plunder the bounty of your nearest farmer’s market or CSA share for your next pizza?  Squash, potatoes, greens, and even peaches love pizzas (especially on the grill).
• Go sweet.  It’s easy to overlook the power of sweet pizza, but why not try some figs, berries, or even nectarines on your next pie?  Pears and brie make a great combo, too.
• Go for broke.  What’s the fun in making your own pizza if you’re hampered by fears or convention?  A blank pie means a blank canvas, ready and waiting for your creativity…and your mistakes.  If you’re not making a few gaffes over time, you’re not doing it right!
• Don’t go it alone.  Need to perfect your dough or come up with some fab flavor profiles?  We’re here to help with Pizza, Pizza, Pizza, a class that’s all about everyone’s favorite pie.  Prefer to have your pizza made for you?  You can’t go wrong with Cook Street alum David Bravdica’s amazing Brava Pizzeria, a wood-burning pizza oven on wheels that’s usually located at 16th and Arapahoe in downtown Denver.

This morning we tweeted about a new-to-us concept that sounds succulent…a late-summer zucchini party.  And it got us wondering…is it really possible to be sick of squash?  Only, we think, if you don’t know how to use it.  Here are a few quick tricks for thinking about squash that just might rekindle that late-summer love affair with this bounteous veggie.

Think…base. Mild squash makes a great base for dishes with sauces.  Think:  a savory torte (thin slices of squash layered with cheese and herbs and baked in the oven until tender), the base of a napoleon, the heft to a soup or a batch of muffins.

Think…substitute. As much as we love pasta, we’ve got to admit that julienned or thinly cut squash can make a great substitute.  Try yellow squash and zucchini slices instead of lasagna noodles, or scoop out spaghetti squash and use it in lieu of the venerable noodle.  While you’re at it, why not use squash as a substitute for bread (great base for a sandwich!) or wherever prosciutto likes to wrap itself?

Think…blank slate. Since most squash is so mild, it’s a great palate.  That means it’s time to step up your sauces, smears, dribbles, drizzles, and side ingredients.  Squash pushes you to summer’s edge, beckoning toward the strongest spices, the most succulent pairings, the simplest preparations.

So don’t just think about squash…eat some tonight!  (And remember…Cook Street specializes in creating confident home chefs!  Click here to explore our complete class calendar.)

Last week I took my first recreational class at Cook Street: Knife Skills. My wife is an amazing chef and she has so much fun cooking, I figured it was time to get serious and learn how to create meals both of us could make together.

I was a little nervous, as my cooking skills have not progressed much from my bachelor days. But the nerves subsided quickly as I settled in and started talking to the other students. Moms and daughters, work friends and a Dad who’d been given the class as a Father’s Day present…all of us were there to learn something new and have a little fun.

After quick overview, Chef John welcomed us all to the huge island where we’d get most of our instruction and work under his and Chef Erin’s watchful eyes. It was clear this was, in fact, a classroom, not just a place where we’d fiddle around for a couple of hours and have some wine. With a quick wit and dry sense of humor, Chef John had us immediately engaged.

After our debriefing, it was time to start practicing and preparing our meal for the evening — a lovely minestrone, followed by Chicken Madeira. At each step, Chef Erin would demonstrate the proper technique for cutting, slicing and chopping each vegetable. Then we’d each grab our allotment of veggies and return to our stations to try it ourselves. Chef Erin moved about the class, offering tips to each student as we progressed. The same routine followed for partitioning a whole chicken, which I’d never done before.

Among the best skills I picked up that night was how to make a nice garlic paste with nothing more than uncooked garlic, a little salt and a chef’s knife. Chef Erin explained what a versatile ingredient garlic is to work with and that no serious chef would be caught dead with a garlic press. As an owner of said device, my eyes rose to look around the group. I could see I wasn’t the only person who had one. “So…” I asked “what is a garlic press good for?” Chef Erin’s response: “It makes a good ice pick.”

Jeff Cornelius – Denver

Ready to take your first recreational class? There’s no time like the present! We have classes for every skill level and interest…click here to view a complete calendar.

Summer at Cook Street means many things.

Grilling classes with plenty of patio-pounder wine selections and local microbrews…

The hustle and bustle of Rockies games and throngs of people getting to know our LoDo digs by sight and eventually by smell…

Fresh vegetable drop-offs from the Grant Farms CSA that has designated Cook Street as a drop-off location this year…

And tender cooking demonstrations, like this one on pork tenderloin thanks to Executive Chef Instructor Chef Peter Ryan…

At Cook Street, we’re all about wine as the perfect complement to deliciously prepared food.  And in honor of the season (and our upcoming wine classes like Wine 101 and our Wine and Food Pairing Seminar), we’d like to suggest a few delicious summer wines perfect for lazy afternoons and warm temperatures.

2009 Bieler Pere et Fils Rosé is Cook Street’s “house Rosé” …and for good reason!  Hailing from the Coteaux D’Aix-en-Provence, it’s a blend of 50% Syrah, 30% Grenache, and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon.  We like to call it a “porch pounder,” i.e. a wine that is best enjoyed in quantity on a porch with friends.  Expect a dry flavor profile that combines the best things about red wine with the refreshing quality of a white…and blackberry, strawberry, and citrus notes that make it a great pair for grilled chicken, light salads, and anything mild and summery.  Priced at about $11 a bottle, you can afford to enjoy it all summer long!

Our second pick, Cave de Bonnieux Luberon Blanc “Les Safres”, is another blend (60 % Grenache, 40 % Clairette), and is sourced from ancient vineyards.  This wine is so fragrant you almost don’t need to drink it…but you’ll want to!  Think medium body, brilliant texture and mouthfeel, and gobs of minerals, white flowers, tropical fruits, melons, apricots, citrus.  Yes, this is another one of the “patio pounder” family of summer wines, and it’s so easy to drink that non-white-wine drinkers will surprise themselves by coming back for more.  Since this wine sees no oak, it’s a pure expression of fruit and mineral and truly embodies its birthplace near picturesque Provence, France.  It’s delicious on its own, but loves to play with light meats, grilled summer veggies, pasta salad, and much more.

Thanks to Cook Street Recreation/Events Coordinator Kathryn Brinkmann and Wine Educator Debbie Gray for these lip-smacking summer recommendations!

As we look forward to next week’s Vegetarian Feast course (panzanella!  portabello burgers!  slots still available!), our thoughts are turning to some of our favorite resources for vegetarian recipes and cooking techniques online.  Whether you’re a committed veghead or you’re trying to incorporate more seasonal fruits and veggies into your life, dig into these blogs and websites:

• Smitten Kitchen:  Entirely vegetarian?  No, but Deb’s fearless style and mouthwatering food photography is worth checking out anyway, especially her recipe sections that feature seasonal dishes and salads/veggie sides that are the stuff of fantasy.
• Vegan YumYum:  Vegan.  Yum, yum!  This blog is all about healthy food that still tastes delectable.
• The Post-Punk Kitchen: Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Terry Romero, and the entire veggie/vegan crew behind Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World and The Veganomicon aren’t messing around…and their approach to everything from comfort foods to simple sides rates a second, third, and fourth glance.
• Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen: Who knew that healthy could taste (and look) so good?
• Karate Kitchen: These Portland, Oregon vegetarians are all about farm-to-table and crazy deliciousness.

What about you?  What are your favorite vegetarian websites and blogs?

This hot weather means one thing…BBQ!!!  And Cook Street is hastening to serve up a handful of hot grilling classes perfect for summery days.  As we prep for our upcoming BBQ Classics class, we’re thinking of why grilling is the way to go…so let’s count to seven:

• It’s basic.  BBQed meats are a great basic staple…and is there anything simpler than meat plus fire?  That’s not to say BBQ can’t be gourmet.
• It’s dangerous.  Yeah, we admit it…we love the fear factor that accompanies flames.
• It’s not just for men.  We love it when women defy stereotype and rock the grill!
• It’s nutritious.  Did you know you can grill things like lettuce leaves and even peaches?
• It’s all about the great outdoors.  ‘Nuff said.
• It goes great with beer.  We recommend something by our neighbor, Great Divide Brewery!
• It’s delicious.  Chipotle glazed chicken…pulled pork sandwiches…grilled corn on the cob…what’s not to love?  Click here to view our BBQ Classics class or to your left for a full class calendar!

In our many travels around the Web, we came across this great, albeit a bit older, EcoSalon article on reasons and ways to avoid eating at the Golden Arches.  It reminded us of why we’re so excited about French Cuisine over the “French fries” of [insert fast food joint here]…because French cuisine combines technique, diversity, fresh ingredients, and a love of food in a way that no fast-food “experience” ever could.  Case in point:  our French Classics class, which debuts June 23, where you can learn to make real frites and mussels, squash blossoms with chevre, steak au poivre vert, and chocolate souffle with fruit coulis.

Why go for fake food when you can make your own delicious food in the grand tradition of generations of French chefs?  It’s easier than you think…and each class at Cook Street comes with deliciously paired wines and plenty of warm ambience.  So get in the kitchen this summer!  Join us for French Classics June 23, or click here for a complete class calendar.

We’re prepping for culinary date night class on June 9 and thinking of all the reasons why food and romance go together like…like spring rolls and shrimp kebabs!

• Cooking is the perfect metaphor for a relationship:  Technique, teamwork, lots of mistakes and tons of piquant spice?  Sounds like a match made in heaven!  Cooking together allows couples to let down their inhibitions and work toward a common (delicious) cause.
• Cooking is about intimacy.  People of all cultures, backgrounds, and opinions can find a lot to share over a steaming bowl of delicious food…and those shared experiences build intimacy over time.
• Cooking is sexy.  And not just because it involves lots of tasting and smelling!  A person who can cook (or wants to learn how) is curious, inquisitive, adventurous, and self-sufficient…and that’s a recipe for some serious sex appeal.

Looking for something to do with your date?  Join Cook Street for Culinary Date Night June 6. You’ll cook up Chicken Gyoza, Shrimp Spring Rolls, Steak Kabobs, Tulip Cookies, and Mango Sorbet with your sweetie…all paired with delicious wines and a whole lot of fun.  Click here to register!