Fried Catfish in Cuenca?...Yes Sir

Dear Family and Friends,

Chuck signed us up for a cooking class with Leslie Breen.  Leslie has lived here in Cuenca for about 13 years.  Since being in Cuenca I know of at least two very successful restaurants she has managed.  Before moving here she was a caterer in the United States.  This lady loves to cook and it shows.

Chuck signed us up for the "Southern Cuisine" class.  Since I was born and raised in Georgia, I already cook southern food.  However, since she was cooking fried catfish I had to see how she did it and find out where she got it. Catfish is my favorite fish and I have never made it here in Cuenca.

Leslie is very relaxed, friendly, and her classes include a lot of good food preperation tips that even seasoned cooks come away with new tricks.  Not only that, she has printed recipes for every dish she prepares.  We came home with a handful of recipes that I am anxious to try.

The cooking classes are in Leslie's beautiful home.  It is spacious and a perfect place to have these classes.  She limits the number of participants so that everyone can see the action and can sit around and enjoy the food with comfort.

Here are a couple of pictures of Leslie preparing the meal.

She has a nice counter where we relaxed, chatted and learned how to prepare each dish.  You will notice the table is set for tasting later.

Attentive students....

Here is the meal all ready to sample.

Green Bean and Benne Salad (A South Carolina Low Country dish)

Fried Catfish

Macaroni and Cheese...REAL Macaroni and Cheese...Delicious!!

Hush Puppies

Greens in Pork Stock   Turnip Greens and Chard.

I cook turnip greens here a lot but have never combined them with chard.  I always cook them for hours, like my mama always did.  These were cooked for 30 minutes or less.  They were delicious and tender.  I am going to add chard to my greens in the furture.

We had a great time, the food was delicious and the whole class and sampling was in a very friendly relaxed atmosphere.  The cooking class and eating the delicious food, which included wine was only $20 per person.

Since she limits the number of participants per class reservations are required. She posts upcoming classes to the online gringo networks.  Each cooking class features a different country of the world. I highly encourage you to take advantage of one of her classes.

Tonight, in between writing this post, I am packing my suitcase.  Tomorrow, I am going to go to California so our 11 yr. old grandson, Bryce, can babysit me while his mama goes on a six week business trip.  Bryce called me tonight to put in a last minute order...Kinder Eggs. Kinder Eggs are chocolate eggs with a toy inside. It seems they are not sold in the U.S.

Chuck will be flying to California next week.  Six weeks is too long for us to be apart.

Love,
Nancy