Traveler Goes to Cooking School: The Seasoned Chef Cooking School

Dog Treats in Class

Culinary question of the day:  Have you ever used a tomato shark?

In reading through the Westword two weeks ago,  I ran across an advertisement for a program called One Book, One Denver.   This year the book is The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.   I haven't read this book yet, but I know that it's written in the dog's point of view.   There are a variety of activities (movies, crafts, etc) going on through the end of October - and they are all free.   The one that caught my eye, surprise, was the cooking class offered at The Seasoned Chef Cooking School.    The class was called The Art of Salsa and Dog Bones.  

Bottom line, snacks for dogs and people.   It was more of a cooking demonstration than a hands on class, but I still learned a lot, considering that I've never made salsa from scratch.  And, as much as I love the Chey dog, she has never received a homemade dog treat from my hand.   We enjoyed  and learned how to make a delicious tomatillo salsa.   I've never seen a tomatillo au natural before.   It's kind of like a tomato, with the consistency of an apple, wrapped in a leaf.  And I may need to add a "tomato shark" to my kitchen gadget wish list, but I think a zester is still at the top.   

The dog biscuit portion of the class was also very interesting.   It's very much like cooking a biscuit or a cookie for a person, but with less sugar and more meat flavored bouillon.   And sweet potatoes.   We learned how to make a sweet potato treat so good that our class tried them (more than one actually).    There is nothing for baking dog bones that you don't already have in your kitchen for normal cooking - except maybe a bone shaped cookie cutter.  If that's your thing.    I doubt your dog cares if you use a cookie cutter or just bake misshapen balls of doggy delights.    All I know is that the Chey dog gave them two paws up.