That Time I Learned how to Make Lobster

Y'all. I can make LOBSTER. It's true. And it's all thanks to the Salud! Cooking School Alpharetta. Located in the upper corner of Avalon's Whole Foods, Salud! allows you to sharpen your knife skills, all while enjoying an evening with a top area chef and the best ingredients. Last week, I joined fellow blogger and friend, Lia from The Cardigan Kitchen for a night of digging into international street food recipes and bites. 

While I always love eating international street food (obvi), I've never tried my hand at making it. We delved into everything from samosas to curry from elote to lobster rolls (more on those later), all while learning some pretty neat tricks, too. For example, did you know you can use a spoon to peel ginger? It takes off less of the root and is easier than a peeler. And, did you know that the spice in peppers comes from oil within them, so the smaller you chop them, the spicier they'll be? I'm telling you, I learned life-changing information!

The class was led by owner and chef at Candler Park's The Mercantile, Chef Stephanie Adler. Chef Stephanie guided us through the basics of street food by demonstrating recipes and encouraging us to volunteer to get our hands dirty. There were a few not-so-stubtle invitations to pick up a spoon or knife, but in the end, I was grateful for the shove forward. 

One of my favorite parts of the evening was learning how to cook lobster tails. It turns out it's super easy to cook them, but a little harder to remove the shells. Once I learned how to snip up the bellies of the tails and break off the outer red shell, I felt like I was in business. I cooked and shelled 12 lobster tails while Lia and another student busily chopped them to prepare delicious lobster rolls. I must say, they were a hit. 

The class was super fun, and of course delicious, and I could see myself taking another one. In fact, it would be such a fun thing to do (or gift) for Valentine's Day! Find all the information you need about the school here. And a special thanks to Lia and Whole Foods Avalon for having me!