Chickadvisors MasterCheeseClass - I Heart Cheese

So I know cheese isn't very good for my daily fat content.  I try not to splurge often.

I, however, was one of the 100 or so lucky ladies to be chosen to be part of Chickadvisor's Master Cheese Class held today in Toronto - I didn't even have to leave my living room/kitchen in Ottawa for it, thanks to the power of You Tube.

I received a snazzy apron, ingredient list, and recipe cards earlier last week, so I could keep organized and clean throughout the afternoon

My goods!

Sporting my newest apron (last one I got 20 years ago from Dairy Queen as Cake Decorator)

In a whirlwind afternoon, I am in a cheese coma!

Some of us were fortunate enough to spend the afternoon (either in class, or like me, via You Tube) with Christine Cushing, chef & cookbook author.

Frankly. I love cheese.  I've cut it out of most of my diet, but decided to give ChickAdvisor's awesome opportunity a go!

I cooked from home in a whirlwind, and whipped up 3 totally new recipes to add to my culinary skills - Fondant, Souffle, and Gnudi.

First time whipping eggs.  That sounds bad.

Soufflé ready for the oven!

Soufflé before it fell (which Christine says is normal - even hers fell afterwards)

The Souffle was created with mainly Canadian Aged Cheddar - I purchased St. Albert, as it was the best price, and locally sourced.  Eggs, flour, fresh herbs, and a few other ingredients one should already have in their house, and voila.

This was the first time I'd ever whipped egg whites, so I wasn't really sure what to expect...until it happened, and the egg while started to resemble whipped cream.  I poured it into the cheese mixture, and baked it for about 25 minutes.  I think it could of stayed in another few minutes, but it still tasted delightful.

I cooked along with Christine as best as I could (I didn't have my ingredients pre-prepared).  Successfully, as everything tasted fabulous!

I did half size recipes, as there are only two of us in the house - I was able to freeze most of the Gnudi for a later date - I inhaled four of them, as Husband fell asleep during this part of the class.

Mixing up the Gnudi

Still don't know what Gnudi is other than Good!

The Ricotta Gnudi is a type of dumpling - and with the fresh herbs, tasted fabulous and was SOOOOO filling. I'd make these again - and will, considering I put 8 of the freshly rolled Gnudi into the freezer already.  The parsley sauce took about 5 minutes to make - and again so simple to create.

Even Merlin, our African Grey, joined in the fun!

Merlin can cook too!

I'd love a different kind of cooking class via ChickAdvisor - I learnt a lot of new cooking skills, and Christine had a lot of useful tips.

The Fondant was the simplest, and I could literally make this in less than 10 minutes if I wanted to, and serve with fresh veggies and breads - I used a melba-type toast bread that we already had, and it was a hit.  Husband and I finished it in less than 5 minutes.  Gideon, the dog, took his broccoli piece, licked off the cheese and left the broccoli - what a goof!

You can follow Christine on Twitter & Instagram @ccfearless 

For now, I'm going to roll away and finish that glass of wine I poured...because wine was necessary in the Fondant recipe ;) That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it!

I think I did this right...

Fondant - SO simple and scrumptious!