Whole Foods Cooking Class- Small Budget, Big Flavor

Whole Foods hosts a variety of cooking classes at The Bowery Culinary Center in the Lower East Side. The Bowery Culinary Center is located inside Whole Foods on the second floor behind all the beauty products. It is a private room complete with a kitchen and television screens to broadcast the cooking demonstrations.

Most of the cooking classes offered are for a fee. Once a month, they offer a free cooking course entitled Small Budget, Big Flavor. There are only 20 slots available for the course. Everyone can bring a guest. I felt like I won the lottery by getting a spot in this class, especially in New York City.

Small Budget, Big Flavor focuses on what is on sale during the week of the class. It encourages people to shop at Whole Foods and use Whole Foods products to create a tasty meal while keeping to a budget.

This particular cooking class was not hands on experience. It was more seminar like. Seating was bar style in the front. If you didn't get a seat in the front, there were individual tables set up classroom style. They have tv screens with cameras positioned so you can watch them cook. This is actually a better view since it is difficult to see what food is in the bowls, etc.

Whole Foods Cooking Instructors

Cooking Demo

We learned how to make spicy sweet potatoes, bread dressing, and Salmon Wellington. They jazzed up the meal with hot sauce, a wine sauce with butter and shallots, and chai tea with almond milk. It all turned out very good and tasty. Best of all, easy enough to make at home.

Thanksgiving Sides

I left inspired to cook and was very impressed. Over Thanksgiving, my sister and I made the Salmon Wellington. It was a success and simple enough.

Salmon Wellington Recipe

Ingredients:

2 salmon fillets
defrosted frozen puff pastry
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, squeezed dry
thyme
pepper
salt
1 shallot
1/4th lb. mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter, add the mushrooms, shallot diced finely, pinch of salt, pinch of pepper, and a sprig of thyme. Cook until mushrooms are tender. Add in the spinach and heat over the flame until the liquid of the ingredients have cooked off.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry into two rectangles (7 x 8 inches). Place the salmon fillet in the middle of the pastry, top with mushroom and spinach mixture, then fold the pasty around the salmon completely covering the it like a package and press to seal. Place on the baking sheet and chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

Top the salmon with spinach and mushrooms like so.

Fold the puff pastry over like you are wrapping a present.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush the top of the puff pastry with an egg wash. Bake for about 25 minutes until golden brown. Enjoy!   

Baked to golden brown perfection.

Salmon Wellington with Red Wine Sauce

Whole Foods Bowery Culinary Center
95 East Houston Street
New York, NY 10002