So I did the cooking class a short while ago, at A Different Drummer in Northampton. It used to be the kitchen store for Lamson-Goodnow. They sold it, and A Different Drummer relocated their store from downtown Northampton (aka NoHo to the tragically hip).

So how did the class go? Very well. Even with my forgetting the chocolate for the pots de crème. Before you rush to wonder how THE main ingredient can be forgotten and still end up as pots de crème, take a deep breath. Of course, without chocolate, you’d end up with VERY rich scrambled eggs. I’d forgotten to bring the chocolate chips that I was going to melt with the cream (yes, the recipe follows). And in case you might have forgotten what pots de crème is, it’s like a chocolate mousse, only it’s baked in individual custard cups, in a water bath. And it’s much better than chocolate mousse…

So what’d I do? Well, option #1 was to send Karen out for a quick bag of Nestlé’s chocolate chips. But that seemed very unMacGyver-like. I did bring a small block of Ghirardelli chocolate (the real San Francisco treat!) that I was going to use for shaving on top of the whipped cream, which I was going to put on top of the pots de crème. It makes a great presentation, by the way. And don’t even think about Cool Whip. So, I made noises like I actually planned to do this, and showed everyone how easy it is to shave chocolate. And how hard it is to try and chop through a block of it.

And the rest of the lesson? Well, it was less dramatic, but we did fun things with scallops with orange and grapefruit, and Maryland crab soup, from a recipe that I interpreted from Mo’s Seafood Restaurant, in Baltimore. But if you want to knock someone’s socks off, make the pots de crème. It looks like a lot of work, but you’ll find that it’s not that hard to do.

The recipe:

Pots du Crème

2 cups light cream
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate (2/3 cup)
6 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 custard cups
1 9x13 baking pan
1 sheet pan or foil

Place rack at center of oven and preheat to 325°. Place 1 1/2 cups of cream in a small, heavy saucepan over a low heat. Place remaining 1/2 cup cream and chocolate in the top of a double boiler (see note below), over a medium heat. In a mixing bowl, stir the yolks lightly just to mix. Don’t make them foamy.

When the cream is scalded, stir in the sugar and salt, and remove from heat.

Whisk the chocolate mixture until it’s perfectly smooth. Remove from heat. Then GRADUALLY add the cream to the chocolate mixture, stirring constantly. GRADUALLY stir the chocolate mixture into the yolks, and stir in the vanilla.

Return the mixture to the double boiler, over a low heat, and stir constantly, with a rubber spatula, for 3 minutes. Pour the mixture through a sieve, into a pitcher

Pour into individual cups, and place into the baking pan. Pour hot water into pan, to about halfway up the depth of the cups. Place a cookie sheet or foil over the cups, or use individual lids.

Bake for 22 minutes. The knife will not come out clean when it’s done. If the knife does come out clean, then it’s over-done.

Cool at room temperature, then chill for a few hours.

NOTE: if you don’t have a double boiler, use a stainless bow over a pot of boiling water.