Cooking class at The Pantry at Delancey

For my birthday this year my sister gave me a cooking class at The Pantry at Delancey - we went last week and had so much fun.

The class was Belgian Bistro and the chef, Olaiya Land, prepared an amazing feast (with our help, of course) of Steak Tartare, French Fries with Homemade Mayonnaise, Braised Rabbit, and true Belgian Waffles made in an authentic waffle maker from Belgium (it was even hand carried over by a friend).

With each course we sampled beers - many sourced from obscure beer shops - authentic to Belgium and - quite frankly - too 'authentic' for my taste.  But it was really interesting to try the beers and see how the flavor changed when paired with food.  I think it's fascinating to see how different cultures and communities enjoy different beers.  These were definitely not Budweisers.

Continue reading after the jump for loads more pictures

We began with a traditional Belgian treat of goat cheese spread on a piece of hearty bread and topped with Sirop de Liege.  Sirop de Liege is a sweet, sticky spread that tastes of dates - it's evidently unavailable in the US but my sister found it online here.  Olaiya had her friend (the same waffle maker friend) bring her back a tub.  With goat cheese it's a lovely appetizer - but I can also imagine it on toast in the morning or over homemade vanilla ice cream.

From there we hand chopped steak, capers, shallots, and parsley for our steak tartare.  Paired with another unusual Belgian beer.  The tartare was amazing.  I love tartare however, so I don't know how someone who doesn't enjoy raw meat would feel about it.  

Then the rabbit!  Rabbit is a dark meat that benefits dramatically from a marinade and a slow cook.  Olaiya had marinated the meat overnight and had even cooked a batch an hour an a half longer than the recipe called for because her rabbits were larger than the recipe called for - thus tougher.  

 

It was divine.  A little flour dredge on the rabbit as it came out of the marinade, into a hot pan to brown, and then reunited with the marinade to boil and bubble for the remainder of the class.  Olaiya served it over egg noodles but you could choose rice or regular old pasta noodles.  

If you have never had a Belgian Waffle, like in Belgium, then you have never had a really good waffle.   These are a yeasted waffle that rises twice - one of those being overnight.  These are not Tuesday morning waffles (unless you are a super planner).  But there's another reason you probably won't be whipping these up tomorrow and it's called Pearl Sugar.

Not Pearl Sugar you get from Ikea that's in tiny little balls that are really good on top of Gingersnap Cookies.  This sugar is large crystals of sugar that melt in your mouth.  I am the owner of just such sugar because it's available for sale at The Pantry.  Get your buns down there for a class and you can get some too.

Large balls of dough with the consistency of cookie dough went into this giant, archaic seeming waffle iron.  A true authentic Belgian waffle maker made of cast iron and hand carried to the States.  

And when they came out, they were golden brown with large chunks of sugar remaining on the inside. The sugar from the outside crystalized and coated the exterior of the waffle making a sweet, crunchy bite.  I could be addicted to these waffles.

I came home and looked for another class I could take.  Mr. Hedin would dig a few of the classes too.  Sadly, they were full up.  At least date night classes were full.  But maybe another one with my sister?