Viking Cooking School

Cooking school is lots of fun!  Nothing like regular school, no tests, no studying and best of all you get up out of your seat and move around and talk alot.  Why wasn't school that way back in elementary and high school?  Anyway, I'm reporting on our trip to the Viking Cooking school in Greenwood, Ms.  Viking has their headquarters in Greenwood, Ms., which is about a three hour drive from Jonesboro.  There are other Viking cooking schools scattered around but Greenwood is popular in our area due to the Alluvian Hotel and Spa, the shopping, restaurants and local museums that have sprung up.  It makes a nice weekend get away for couples or groups of friends.

We signed up for only one class on Friday night,  the Italian Alfresco Dinner Party.  We skipped the tamale class going on at the same time because that would have been too much work.  There were two other couples in our class and we all hit it off right away.  Soon we were chopping, mixing Bellini's, marinating and laughing.  In no time at all it seemed, we were eating a delicious dinner.  I'm going to share our favorite recipe from the class which coincidentally, is the easiest.  I want to add that we were using all of Vikings famous products and I must say their ovens and cook tops are nice.  The dessert we made was delushious as my daughter says but I'm not sharing that because it isn't heart healthy.

Asparagus With Prosciutto
20 fresh asparagus spears
2 Tbsp. olive oil
pepper to taste
10 thin prosciutto slices, torn in half lengthwise
Preheat oven to 450.  Trim the tough ends of the asparagus and arrange on a baking sheet.  Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with pepper.  Roast until just tender, about 5 minutes.  Wrap with prosciutto (do not wrap tips) and serve at room temperature.  Note:  we wrapped ours before cooking and grilled them.  I liked this version better as the prosciutto was a bit crispy.  Delish.  Serve as a side dish or an appetizer.

After class, we had an opportunity to shop in the Viking store of course.  We picked up some handy gadgets; a mop brush for barbecue, a shot glass with measurements on it, and a poach pod for poaching eggs.  I can't wait to try the pod as I love poached eggs and mess them up every time.  One of the men in the class said they are great to use.

To find a Viking Cooking School near you, simply go to vikingcookingschool.com and select a town.  The upcoming classes, prices and descriptions will be listed as well as whether the class is sold out.  I'm sure there are also local cooking classes in your town.  Check around as they are fun and educational, not to mention tasty.