Encore!

Shrimp and Gruyere Cheesecake. Okay, I was a little skeptical too, but it's fabulous!

I went to Encore yesterday for a cooking class. Encore is an upscale restaurant located in downtown Memphis. There's access from the street, near 2nd & Peabody, and there's access from inside of The Peabody Place.

The Peabody Place is like a downtown mall---shops, restaurants, a movie theatre, and even a putt-putt course.

Reading the Memphis Flyer when I first arrived, I was looking for fun things to do. (The Flyer is a weekly free newspaper with all the "happenings" listed as well as some very interestig editorials. Currently, the big news is who's running for mayor of Memphis.) And from the Flyer, I learned that Encore is hosting summer cooking classes. This week, the topic was brunch.

Granted, I was a bit disappointed because it was not hands-on. Instead, we watched Chef Jose prepare the dishes, but even better, we got to sample all of those dishes. (Naturally, each serving was smaller than a full serving---we tried so much!) We started with a fresh baked croissant and bloody mary. The bloody mary was perfectly spiced. I really should remember to get some horseradish for the house!

As we enjoyed the croissants, we watched Chef Jose make the above-mentioned shrimp and Gruyere cheesecake. It was fantastic! No, no---it wasn't sweet like a traditional cheesecake; no sugar at all went in the recipe. It was more like a quiche, but with more cheese and less egg. He served that with a tomato fondue and spring salad. Ahh---and a great bloody mary. And even better about the cheesecake is that you make it ahead of time, meaning lots less work the morning you're preparing brunch for guests or many family members. (He served the cheesecake with a mimosa. And yes, it was the best mimosa I'd ever had. They used fresh squeezed orange juice with a touch of pulp---from blood red oranges!)

Next, Chef Jose prepared french toast with, get this, green tomato marmalade. Indeed, Chef Jose is from France, and his cuisine style is said to blend French and Southern cooking. And again, it was great! This was served with small Bellini made with white peach puree.

Finally, Chef Jose made a fresh fruit salad. He plated a thin slice of seedless watermelon topped with fresh appricot, strawberries, blueberries, all lightly tossed with a little honey and grand marnier. He topped all of that with a light dollop of fresh whipped cream. Wonderful!



Even though it wasn't hands on, was it worth it? Will I go back? Well, I wouldn't go each week, but I hope to go back at the end of August for the Appetizer class. I learned a lot of little tricks to cooking, I learned some fabulous new recipes (and got to taste them), and in all, it was a fun experience. Still, I will keep my eye out for something more "hands on."