Cooking Classes at Sur La Table

My long time ride or die girls and I had a private cooking class at Sur La Table! Okay, quick confession: by private class I mean an open pizza-making class, and we were the only people registered for that class. So, we lucked out and had the whole kitchen and instructor to ourselves.

Unfortunately, Arielle was sick that morning and was missing in action. :(

Appetizers

Our class was first thing on a Sunday morning, and the shopping center in Walnut Creek was barely opening their doors. When we walked into the kitchen, they offered us (much needed) coffee, and even prepared snacks for us to eat before we got started!

...so no, we did not make the appetizers. We just ate them. :)

blackberries and grapes

proscuitto wrapped peaches with balsamic vinegar

The Kitchen

Making Pizza Dough

We started off by making our pizza dough from scratch: mixing all our ingredients together, kneading the dough and then allowing time for it to rise.

Activating the yeast with a little sugar, and stirring until it becames frothy like the top of a beer

Using the kitchenaid to make our pizza dough, pouring the dry ingredients first.

Joanna tossing pizza dough like a pro.

Kneading the pizza dough, and then we let it sit to rise.

Homemade Marinara Sauce

While our pizza dough was rising, we learned to make our own marinara sauce from scratch as well. We added crushed garlic, added a hint of red wine, seasoned it with thyme, basil and mixed those ingredients with our tomato sauce and creating the perfect saucy base for our pizza!

Getting garlic ready for our marinara sauce from scratch

Topping it off

There was one step that we didn't get many pictures off. Once our dough was bouncy and had finally risen, we used a rolling pin to flatten what became our pizza crust and set it over the stovetop for a few minutes.

Next, the easiest and most fun part of the entire pizza making process... adding the toppings! We were given two options and could mix and match as we pleased. One option was heirloom tomatoes, proscuitto and garlic. Our second option was fennel, sausage and kalamata olives. 

The trays of topping ingredients were labeled and laid out so nicely for us in small glass bowls.

The End Result

We placed them in the oven when they finally came out, we were ready to eat! Each of our pizzas came out delicious, and we even got to use our extra ingredients for a second round.

Overall, we loved the Sur la table experience! It was so different from other things we usually do with one another. Such a fun bonding activity and we plan to take another class together in the future! 

Weekend Picnics at Dolores Park

Mission Accomplished.

As everything Anjuli does, she gives 110% heart, and this Saturday at Dolores Park was no different. She secretly coordinated a picnic to welcome her boyfriend, Adrian, to the quarter century club.

I got there about an hour and a half before the reveal to help, and both her and Mary were already well on there way having things set up. She really thought through the the smallest details, and it all came together nicely. From the wind tent, to the endless food...from the plaid blankets and picnic trays, all the way down to the fluffy throw pillows.

When he finally got there, we popped up with a big "SURPRISE!" Adrian's reaction was priceless; definitely caught off guard.

For a 'Fog'ust day, it was all sunny skies. We enjoyed the warm day playing music, making drinks, laying in inflatable couches, and eating food until we couldn't anymore.

Congratulations to the Michael Phelps of girlfriends, Anjuli, for planning such a fun day at Dolores Park for Adrian, and everyone else in attendance!

A Behind the Scenes Tour on Alcatraz Island

Tigran and I ran across the street with few minutes to spare. After playing frogger across the Embarcadero to Pier 33, we luckily made it on time to board and we didn't miss our boat.

Thanks to my work, I had the opportunity to bring a guest to Alcatraz Island for a behind the scenes evening tour.

We hopped on the boat with a few other employees and their guests. Normally, the ferry holds hundreds of people at a time. With all the extra room, we got the best views on board and had quite a comfortable ride.

Just a few days away from what San Francisco residents call "Fog-ust", we were lucky enough to catch blue skies! Like always, it was short lived... and the sky eventually faded into a grey hue.

Behind The Scenes Tour

I've been to Alcatraz several times before, but this tour took us into areas most other tours don't feature. Many of the these fenced off areas we went through probably wouldn't accommodate the masses.

See, Alcatraz Island is one of the most visited National Parks there are, and this summer, the tickets are selling out further in advance. This tour we went on is considered a VIP tour and visitors can now buy tickets for the same experience.

From prison escape stories, to the history of Alcatraz, Tigran was interested and asking questions all through the tour. I was pretty happy to see him genuinely engaged.

Locked up in D block. This was Robert "Birdman" Stroud's cell.

THe Audio TOur

After the guided tour, the general public started to trickle onto the island. We joined the hundreds of people for the audio tour. For an audio tour, it's pretty dynamic, and the narration is far from monotone. 

As the evening carried on, the wind really started to pick up. Thankfully, that evening, we spent more time from inside the prison walls. That didn't prevent my hair from getting in my face for the one picture we took outside.

After about 4 hours on our feet, we walked down to the dock, and caught the ferry back home. 

The ride back was a lot more cozy in comparison to our ride there, but at that point our feet were just happy we could sit down and make our way across the bay. 

All in all, I'm thankful that working with National Parks has given me special opportunities to explore places like Alcatraz Island, especially when I can share those experiences with others.