A couple of weeks ago I was invited to a Fitness Blogger event at Cook&Go NYC culinary studio. Taking a one-time cooking class is something I’ve always wanted to try, but never got around to doing, so I was excited to be invited. Our menu for the evening was vegetarian, with a healthy focus (since we were all health-minded bloggers!).
Cook&Go is a French company and is pretty new to NYC. It’s based in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan and actually, it’s the only US-based studio of the company, with all 14 of its other locations in France. It’s a really cool, sleek looking space.
The premise: You literally cook your meal for one and take it to go (hence the name). The classes start at $39 per person and each class is 90 minutes long. You go home with your pre-made food in takeout containers, along with printouts of the recipes and how to assemble your prepared food at home. I noticed on their website they offer picnic lunch menus in the summer, specifically to take advantage of their proximity to the High Line. Clever idea! Since ours was a special event night, we actually ate our creations there in the studio. We also had wine while we cooked – I always appreciate cooking with a glass of wine. 😉
The menu: We made Chickpea Burgers with Tahini Yogurt Sauce, Green Juice Smoothie, and Raspberry Filled Shortbread Sandwich. (The shortbread was, admittedly, not the healthiest recipe in the world, but our teacher Christina reminded us we should always indulge in moderation).
The bloggers: It was fun to meet and cook with Kimberly from Manifest Yourself, Brittany from My Own Balance, Brigitt from Cook With B, and Abby from Abby’s Road to Amazingness.
What I loved: You know how on cooking shows the recipe seems so ridiculously easy because all their food is prepped and ready to go? Well, while you do prep some of your own ingredients (like chopping and dicing the fruit & veggies for the juice, for example), everything is pre-washed and ready and the ingredients are passed around each station at the cooking table, so you’re not constantly scrambling for the next step.
Also, this was seriously step-by-step instruction. You can’t really screw it up. One of the bloggers never cooks and was super nervous about her ability, but her dishes came out perfectly!
My only complaint is they didn’t have chef’s knives, so the chopping and prepping was with very small knives, but apparently they’re ordering knives for the future.
As a special bonus for you guys (well, those of you based in New York, anyway!) Cook&Go NYC are extending my readers a special discount! Just click here to go to the Cook&Go website and enter the discount code BLOG14 at checkout for 15% off your first class!
RECIPES
Green Juice Smoothie (for one)
Ingredients:
- 1/2 Granny Smith apple
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 1 small carrot
- 1/2 oz fresh ginger
- 1/4 cup water
To prepare the smoothie, rough chop the carrot and apple, grate the ginger and set aside. Start by adding the water to your blender followed by the apple, carrot and ginger. Add the greens to your blender last. Blend on high for 30 seconds or until the smoothie is creamy. (We actually used immersion blenders in a tall container to make these. You can mess around with the amounts to taste – I added more spinach to make mine super green).
Chickpea Burgers with Yogurt Tahini Sauce (for one)
Chickpea Burger Ingredients:
- 5 oz cooked & drained chickpeas (about 1/3 of a can)
- 1/2 whisked egg
- 1 tablespoon flour
- Pinch of cumin
- Pinch of dried oregano
- 1 scallion, diced
- 1/2 tomato, sliced
- 1/4 red onion, sliced
- One pita pocket
- Salt & pepper to taste
Yogurt Tahini Sauce Ingredients:
- 1 oz natural yogurt
- 1/2 teaspoon tahini (you can add more to taste)
- 1/4 lemon, juiced
- 1 sprig parsley, chopped or torn small
- Salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
On a cutting board slice the scallions into small slices. Cut the tomatoes into thin rounds and julienne the red onion, set aside. To prepare burgers: Place chickpeas, scallions, egg, flour, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper in a food processor. Pulse, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides, until a coarse mixture forms that holds together when pressed. Form into a patty. Bake patty at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes turning once. To prepare sauce, combine yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
P.S. I’ve since made this recipe not once but twice at home! It is really easy and delicious. We used a fork to mash instead of a food processor, which is fine if you’re cooking for up to three people. The patties would be a great thing to food prep for meals/snacks for a week, too, in which case bust out that processor. Also, greek yogurt does NOT seem to work well for the tahini sauce. Get the not so thick kind!
Raspberry Filled Shortbread Sandwich (for one)
Ingredients:
- 1 oz butter
- 2 oz flour (4 tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon raspberry jam
- 1/2 oz sugar (1 tablespoon)
- Dash of vanilla
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. In the bowl mix sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Add flour and mix until dough comes together. Divide dough into two equal portions. Press one half of dough into bottom of prepared pan until even. Spread with filling of choice, leaving 1/3-inch border at edge of pan. On a lightly floured surface, roll second half of dough out into a circle. Transfer to pan and place on top of filling. Gently press down on edge of dough to seal. Bake until golden, about 15-20 minutes. Let cookie rest in pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
You know I’m not the greatest baker, so I can tell you without doubt, this recipe is SO EASY and delicious. And yes, I have made these at home as well, using foil cupcake wrappers as the ‘pan’ (Fran was a huge fan of these, too).
This is an experience I’d definitely do again – it would be a fun date, or with a few girlfriends! Thanks for inviting me, Cook&Go! 🙂
Have you ever attended a cooking class?
Wine while cooking, yes or no?
So impressed you made the chickpea burgers twice! I keep meaning to make them myself. Great recap, and great to meet you! 🙂
Brigitt recently posted…Fresh Salsa
Great to meet you, too! They’re fast becoming a go-to meal, so easy to make!
I haven’t attended a cooking class but would love to. $39 seems very reasonable!!!
And, yes, wine while cooking for sure!!!
Kim recently posted…Off my Game a Bit but Totally Nailed my Step Goal!!!
Hee hee hee – who doesn’t love wine with cooking? It’s super reasonable, especially for NYC!
Cook & Go was so fun! The food was great but the company was even better! Glad we had a chance to meet! 🙂
Britt@MyOwnBalance recently posted…Live Healthier Every Day!
Me too! It was so fun, and so funny we had an Aussie moment.
Wine with cooking? Is that even a serious question? lol Yes. Yes. Yes. So happy to have met you!!
Kimberly (Manifest Yourself) recently posted…Just a passing thought…
Ha ha ha! Just making sure everyone’s paying attention! 😉
Carly I’m so happy to hear you had so much fun! We were all thrilled to meet you and really appreciate all the kind words. It’s awesome to see you’ve started cooking the recipes at home – that’s what it’s all about!
See you soon!
Michael recently posted…Why Gaining the Trust of Influencers is the Best Marketing Strategy in 2014.
Thanks so much for having me! I’ll definitely be back, it was such a great experience!
You gals got to go to one fun event! I love that it was a vegetarian menu and I totally love the premise. Wish we had something like that here.
Carla recently posted…Fitness Interview: Marcia’s Healthy Slice
Um…didn’t you go to a secret dinner party in an abandoned jail once?? That sounded pretty cool! 😉
So great meeting you! It was so much fun.
I’ve been wanting to replicate at home and I’m glad to hear it’s still as easy!
It was great to meet you too! 🙂 I was surprised at how easy it was to do at home as well. You have to try them out again so you can get a promotion from sous chef! 😉
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