Animal Gets Cookin'

Animal Gets Cookin’

When I heard that my favorite L.A. chefs (Animal Restaurant’s Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook) were offering a cooking class, I immediately signed up and invited two friends, Jade and Afaf. I love the chefs new cookbook “Two Dudes, One Pan” which recently was voted one of the “Top 10 Cookbooks of 2008” by National Public Radio. The chapters in the book are divided up by pans: “The Big Bowl” (for salads & dressings), “Nonstick Skillet”, “Frying Pan”, “Dutch Oven”, “Roasting Pan” and “Baking Dish”. I’ve already tried some of the delicious recipes and am continuing to post them here.

The cooking class was held at “Let’s Get Cookin’” in Westlake Village. It was my first visit to this little gem and I loved the small culinary store up front. The shop is stocked with gourmet ingredients, artisanal pastas, cookware and tons of groovy gadgets!

The classroom area was located in the back of the space. It consisted of a long counter which worked as the “stage” area for guest chefs. We students were seated in chairs with tables that face the cooking stage. To the left of the students, there were in-house chefs assisting Vinny & Jon throughout their presentation.

It was all very organized and the evening flew by quickly. We watched as the chefs prepared five recipes from their book, and yes indeed…. we got to eat everything! Delicious and good fun!

On the menu: