Last night my friend Donna and I headed up to the Sobey’s on Ira Needles to participate in a cooking class/demonstration. It wasn’t hands on we all sat at tables while the chef walked us through 4 recipes: Waterloo Dark & Smoked Cheddar Dip, Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers, Meatball Sliders, and Chocolate PB & J Bars. Please let me know if you want me to post the recipes and I will edit this post to add them. Included but not shown was Soft Pretzel Twists.

The chef for the evening was Patrick Mathieu (Twitter: @StationHouseCCo) I didn’t get the chance to sit down and chat with him maybe the next time I will do a Q&A with him but according his bio listed on Twitter (and verified by Donna) he is a firefighter with a catering business on the side, he does the Sobey’s cooking classes at least 2-3 times a month. On February 14th, 2015 he will be on an episode of one of my favourite shows Chopped Canada! Will be rooting all the way for him.

Chef Patrick & I

This was my first time doing anything like that, Donna and her mom are frequent visitors and really enjoy the various classes, which was what got me excited to attend one. The theme of the evening was tail-gating food and this was in preparation for the upcoming Superbowl festivities. Who are you rooting for? I’m totally not a fan of American Football but I have to confess I’m a huge fan of the food.

First up was the beer dip, I was surprised to see how quickly it came together and how versatile it was. If you thin out the recipe you can make in to a cheese & beer soup or use it as a base for mac & cheese. I did enjoy it but I’m not sure I liked the undertone flavour of the beer, either I would try to put less beer in and substitute for some broth or I would keep trying different dark beers to see if I found one that changed the flavour more to my liking.

Progress shots of the cheese dip in progress, sorry no smell-o-pics!

Finished product! Was good!

The Buffalo Jalapeno poppers were up next, he had already had the peppers cut length wise and all cleaned out of the seeds and the pith, ready and waiting for the scrumptious filling. I never realized buffalo sauce was so easy, I’m not usually one to go for that type of cause but I can imagine using it for a whole host of other dishes, great dipping sauce for a sandwich, a coating for boneless chicken bites….oh so good. Again this recipe was super quick, Chef Patrick said that all of these are great to make ahead of time, the sauce will stay in the fridge for weeks! This was the first time that I’ve ever had blue cheese, I’m still not brave enough to try it on its own but have to say if it is cooked in something like these poppers, I wouldn’t shy away from it, but would only stick with the brand he used so that I’m comfortable with the flavour.

Progress shot, really good!

Finished product, Donna’s and mine side-by-side before the were gone….

Chef Patrick took time while the poppers were in the oven to start the dessert but I’m going to talk about the sliders. Wow I think I would say my favourite dish of the night and surprisingly so easy and pretty quick. I learned how to make a home made kick ass marinara sauce which I can’t wait to try to make on my own, the sliders themselves were juicy and just the right size. The next time you make meatballs or burgers try using panko instead of traditional breadcrumbs and also add sausage to the ground beef to give the meat more flavour also the extra fat that it needs to keep your balls or patties moist.

Patties looking awesome!

Not a lot of pictures for this one as it was mostly done up at the cook top you see in the background. Also in the background is the very awesome Emily!

Finished product, didn’t last long!

I couldn’t eat it like a normal burger due to issue with my jaw because of the recent tooth extraction but I took to it with a fork and knife and devoured it!

And last but not least the dessert! Chef Patrick, used a cherry jam I think I would go with a raspberry jam but can’t argue with the way it turned out so good. I love that the base of this bar is a peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie dough that would make amazing cookies or go good paired with ice cream…yum…

Progress shots, so good!

The finished product.

If you live in the area I highly recommend looking up the February classes (I’m going to one on the 16th) and signing up for one. So great, they also do a lot of kids classes which I think is awesome. For those reading all around the world try and find something like this in your area, great way to meet new people, have great food, and have a really great night.