Date Night at Well Done Cooking, 5/25/2019

Our daughter, Amanda, took us to the Date Night: International Grilling class at Well Done Cooking (a Mother’s Day Gift for me and early birthday present for John). What a fun experience!

Well Done (www.welldonecc.com) offers three types of cooking classes: Social/Date Night, Cooking Fundamentals and Techniques (a Culinary Certification program), and Private Cooking Experiences. See their website for details, schedule, cost, etc. 

The classes are usually held in the evening (except for private cooking experiences) and last 3-4 hours. Not only do you learn how to cook a variety of dishes, but you prepare them and then get to eat them! Well Done also offers a wide selection of beer and wine options, and you can BYOB (which we did) during the classes. As you can imagine, the certification courses are of a more serious nature. 

We arrived about 20 minutes early but most were not there until closer to class time (6:30 pm). Each cooking station has: cabinets (for pans/small appliances), drawers (for cooking utensils), an induction cooktop, and granite countertop. Glasses, ice, wine buckets, dishes, eating utensils, etc. are also available for use. 

Seats for four students are provided at each cooking station. We enjoyed meeting our fellow classmates!

Our instructor was Chef Jamie, and she was awesome! Recipes are provided via email prior to the class (that you can print out), but the chef will verbally provide all of the information you need to prepare the dishes during class. We started with Blackened Steak prepared in a cast iron pan on the induction stovetop. A little spicy for me, but we know how to modify the recipe to prepare the steak to our preference. 

The Asian Marinated Tuna was seared and basically raw inside (cooked on a grill). Wasabi was provided and it was perfect. Yum. 

We prepared the sauce for the Tandoori chicken (legs and thighs) using the ingredients and food processor provided. After baking in an oven, we ate some and took the rest home. Honestly, the leftovers were better than the pieces straight out of the oven! We eat so much chicken it is great to have a new recipe with different flavors (although I think I liked it more than John did). 

My personal favorite was the lamb kabobs. My mother used to prepare leg of lamb, but I have never cooked lamb. This recipe called for lamb stew meat with vegetables for kabobs. I learned that you should not place vegetables and meat too close together on your water-soaked skewer. Well Done has a Traeger Grill that was awesome for grilling all of the kabobs in the class. These were so good! We will definitely prepare them at home in the future.

The staff prepared the dessert: Grilled Fruit and Pound Cake with Honey Rum Glaze (and we have the recipe). Needless to say, it was divine and a great way to end the class. 

This is a great experience for those who enjoy cooking or want to learn more about how to prepare various dishes. We loved it!

Amanda earned the Certificate of Completion of Culinary Arts at Well Done by completing the following classes at Well Done:

• Fundamentals - Knife Skills 1
• Fundamentals - Knife Skills 2
• Cooking Techniques - Mastering Eggs Omelettes, Quiches, etc.
• Cooking Techniques - Mastering Eggs Sweet & Savory Souffles and Crepes
• Fundamentals - Cooking Techniques Basics
• Fundamentals - Sauces, Dressings, & Equipment
• Fundamentals - Stocks & Soups
• Fundamentals - Wine Tasting Intro. OR Baking 101 with approval
• Fundamentals - Farmer's Market Tour (any one season)
• Fundamentals - Sausage Making 
• Fundamentals - Bread, Pizzas, & Cinnamon Rolls
• Cooking Techniques - Fish
• Cooking Techniques - Shellfish
• Cooking Techniques - Beef
• Cooking Techniques - Lamb
• Cooking Techniques - Pork
• Cooking Techniques - Chicken & Duck
• Cooking Techniques - Veggies, Herbs, & Spices
• Cooking Techniques - Risottos, Potatoes, & Grains
• Cooking Techniques - Fresh Pasta & Gnocchi

Many seek the certification for employment opportunities as a chef. Cooking is an avocation for Amanda, as theatre will always remain her passion as a career. In addition to the Certificate, those who complete the program are presented with a chef jacket embroidered with name,  

Kudos to Well Done for providing an educational and fun experience! We thoroughly enjoyed the class. And, of course, thanks to Amanda and Kaitlyn for an evening of good company, good food, and fun.

Best of Broadway by the Fabulous Houston Symphony, 5/24/2019

Our daughter, Amanda, arranged for a night at Jones Hall for The Best of Broadway program featuring the Houston Symphony with conductor Steven Reineke, and the Houston Symphony Chorus (director, Betsy Cook Weber). We arrived when the house opened (7 pm) so we could spend time wandering around the lobby and have a quick drink (doors open at 7:30).

A local, middle school, jazz band was performing in the lobby. There were really quite talented and we enjoyed listening to them play. The Houston Symphony provides programs for individuals of all ages to participate in music at Jones Hall and at other venues in the community. 

The Houston Symphony has 88 professional musicians and hold approximately 170 concerts annually. In addition to the classical concerts, the Symphony performs Pops concerts, family specials, symphony specials, and tours.  Check out their website for details about the 2019-2010 season at www.houstonsymphony.org.

Steven Reineke is the Prinicipal Pops Conductor for the Houston Symphony and he was fantastic at this performance. His impressive credentials include: music director of the NY Pops at Carnegie Hall; principal Pops conductor for the National Symphony Orchestra at the JFK Center or the Performing Arts; and principal Pops conductor for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. 

The Summer Sounds programs are shown on this banner we saw in the lobby. Check out the large sculpture (bronze) by R. Lippold entitled Gemini II hanging from the 60’ ceiling. 

This is the view of the symphony and chorus from our box seats. The hexagonal segments in the ceiling (there are 800 of them) can be raised/lowered to alter the acoustics of the hall. 

The program featured overtures and suites from well-known Broadway shows (Gypsy, Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady, A Chorus Line, West Side Story, and more). At intermission we made our way to our reserved table where our pre-ordered cheese plate and drinks were waiting. This is such a convenience, I do not know why more theatres do not offer it! 

After the show, we all walked down to the theatre underground parking garage (also very convenient), and snapped a photo of the four of us. 

I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed this evening of music, thanks to Amanda. Just as nature feeds the soul, so does beautiful music. It was magical. If you get the opportunity, go see (and hear) the Houston Symphony at Jones Hall. It will be a memorable evening, I can assure you. 

Astros vs White Sox, 5/21/2019

Amanda purchased 4 tickets to the Houston Astros vs Chicago White Sox game for us a few weeks ago. And it was Hot Dog Night…you can’t beat a $1/dog at a ballpark!  We arrived early to spend some time exploring Minute Maid Park as it was our first visit here. Kaitlyn was unexpectedly out of town on business, so their friend, Angela, joined us. 

We checked out team stores, team exhibits, and lots of food options (although we ended up sticking with the hot dogs!).

The stadium is very impressive with a retractable roof (no rainouts), air conditioning (never been in an air-conditioned ball park before!), and a huge wall of windows. 

The Astros team mascot, Orbit, entered the stadium through the tunnel in the back of truck. And a local middle school chorus and band performed the national anthem (well done!

Below are the starting lineups for each team.

The theme of this game was the pitching excellence of Justin Verlander, (Astros).  You can see a blurry image of the ball in the first photo below.

A home run by Astros’ Gurriel in the 4^thinning enabled us to experience one of the team traditions here at Minute Maid Park. When the home team hits a home run, the Astros ornamental train (90’ above the field) travels down the track (800’) while fans cheer wildly. Conductor, Bobby “Dynamite” Vasquez, is a very popular guy with the best seat in the house! 

With bases loaded for the Astros in the 5th inning, we were hoping to see a grand slam. But a couple of wild pitchers and a couple of hits tallied up 4 more runs for the Astros. 

Verlander was throwing a no-hitter going into the 6^thinning. In the 7^th, he gave up a solo home run which ended up being the only hit for the White Sox. Following the traditional singing of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” everyone joined in to sing “Deep in the Heart of Texas.” We loved it!

They played it again at the end of the game when Orbit game out to celebrate the win. 

The stats for Verlander’s dominant performance were 12 strike-outs, 1 hit, and 1 walk. The final scoreL Astros 5, White Sox 1. It was a fun and exciting game to watch! 

We walked back to the car, passing the large model of the Astros’ World Series Ring and then Jones Hall.

Overall, a night to remember!

For additional information about Minute Maid Park or the Houston Astros schedule, go to www.mlb.com/astros/ballpark.