Cooking Together At Boston Public Market

There is nothing that brings people of different backgrounds and opinions together more than cooking.  These days we are always looking for more ways to downplay our differences and emphasize our similarities.  So, when we spotted this cooking class hosted by Just Add Cooking and Taza Chocolate at Boston Public Market recently we just had to go.  We'd written about this cooking service and the chocolates of Taza before (loved them both) and the market is conveniently located literally right on top of the Haymarket Orange Line stop just steps from both North Station and Faneuil Hall. Furthermore, the class was free and open to the public with advanced signup.  What did we have to lose?

Although we didn't have time to stay for the whole class we truly enjoyed what we saw, had a great time socializing (there WAS wine) and welcomed the respite from politics.  All of the ingredients were provided.  The group learned some cooking techniques and how easy it really is to pull together a weeknight meal when all of the super fresh ingredients are delivered right to your door.  

The menu was Irish Smoked Haddock Chowder, a great choice for a New England winter night.  And it was easy to make.  In fact, we found all of the recipes from Just Add Cooking both easy to make and delicious.

We highly encourage everyone to check out the events calendar at Boston Public Market, which features a slew of terrific locally sourced foods, then get out there and meet some new people while enjoying the one thing we can ALL agree on:  good food is good living.  And to sweeten the pie even more Just Add Cooking has generously offered all TBF readers $30.00 off their first order.  Simply use the promo code "BLOG30" when checking out.

Check out more info and pictures on these social media channels on Twitter and Instagram:

@TheBostonFoodie
@BosPublicMarket
@AddCooking
@TazaChocolate

All We Did Was Add The Cooking

Apparently, the people over at Just Add Cooking know exactly how busy we are during this holiday season.  So, they asked us to sample their meal preparation service and we have to report that the results could not have been more pleasurable.

What they do is deliver all of the top quality, fresh ingredients one needs to prepare a great dinner. All you do is, well, add the cooking.  My package arrived Sunday afternoon at precisely the time when I am usually home and ready to whip up a weekend meal.  Honestly, I don't know how they do it but there was a text on my phone saying my cooking kit had arrived.  I went downstairs and there was the box.

It was filled with all of the ingredients I needed including an excellent selection of produce and quality meats and seafood.  The scallops were so fresh that I decided to make that meal first.  Now, I am pretty picky about fresh fruits and vegetables, meats and cheeses.  Everything that I received was of the quality, or better than, I would have found myself.  This amazed me more than anything and saved me hours of carefully scouring the grocery stores (usually more than one) for the best of the best.

Every meal comes with a full recipe sheet listing all the ingredients, measurements, prep and cooking times - virtually everything you need to know to put together a gourmet meal as easily as possible.

Everything is sent according to the recipe with just the right amount measured for proportions.  You don't have to bother at all spooning, measuring or eyeballing - none of that.

And in case you don't have a huge spice pantry they also include all of the spices you will need for each dish.  SO easy!

Throw the ingredients together, mix up according to directions, set the oven and/or skillet temperatures and you're done.  A child could do it.  In fact this would be a great intro for any teen seriously interesting in cooking.

They even sent us the butter needed for one recipe and it was superb quality Vermont Creamery butter, the best there is (in fact, it's so good that Thomas Keller uses it).

We melted the butter and dropped the scallops in with the bay leaf provided in the container.

In thirty minutes we had this delicious, beautiful dinner of Scallops In Peppery Butter.  Served with the rice and squash basil vinaigrette this was a restaurant-worthy meal made in our own kitchen.  We have two more meals to make but from the results here we are sure they will be equally as fabulous in both flavor and presentation.

The meals are ordered online from Just Add Cooking.  The cost is $79.00 for three full dinners that will serve two people, a great value for us considering the top quality sourcing, time saved and easy preparation.  Why didn't WE think of this?  Congratulations on a great idea!