So…well…umm there are no excuses.  I’ve missed this blog.  There have been times when my cursor hovered over my favorites toolbar and I came close to clicking on it but the discomfort of seeing my last post from almost five months ago was too much to bear.  So I’ve kept my distance.  No, that is not a metaphor for how I deal with issues; not always, anyway.  But like a homing pigeon, I will always have an instinct to come back home to keeping it eel.

OK.  Enough therapy.

A couple of weeks ago during Easter week-end, I epitomized the adage ‘those who can’t do, teach.’  I had this awesome idea of hosting a cooking class and making crepes, inspired by our recent cooking class at Sur La Table.

Greek pistachio cigars

The planning was fun and here are some tips to get you started:

• Plan a menu fitting for the occasion you’re hosting.  Easter brunch may call for a variety of crepes; a dinner party is more suited for 3 courses of appetizer, main with side dish and dessert.

• Assign courses and ingredients so you are not saddled with the responsibility and cost of trying to take care of everything.  For someone who has a hard time asking for help I’ve learned over the years that guests are most satisfied when they contribute something–their time, effort or a dish–to the meal.  It gives the party a sense of community that you don’t otherwise get when you do everything yourself.  No one’s trying to be Joan of Arc here and you’ll wind up looking just as haggard as her if not more.

• If you don’t have a big stove, invest in these single hot plates  so your students have ample room to maneuver on their own personal stove.

• Have snacks available for guests to nosh on.  Depending on your students’ cooking chops and how many cooking disasters you’ll have to struggle through, you may not eat for hours.  No judgments here just being realistic.

Our crepe making party was actually a success.  But–and here’s a big but–just because you know how to make something and cook it well does not mean you can teach others how to do it.  Por ejemplo, when your student asks, “How do I know when my crepe is done?”  The answer should never be “I don’t know, I usually just use the force.”  People who don’t cook need clarity, step-by-step instructions, actual answers that don’t invoke Star Wars references or tea leaves or magic.  What really helps is a printed copy of recipes that your students can follow along on their own and your role as a teacher is to guide, answer and course correct, say, when there is an unmanageable open flame that has risen to distressing heights.  Our clean up crew–actually, clean up Pru–wound up taking over and the students turned out technically perfect crepes.  Whatever.

Lastly, invite people who you actually like, people who love you and people you know won’t get mad or dissolve the relationship when they get yelled at or ridiculed, “You call that a crepe?  It’s as thick as a manhole!”  or “How much is one table spoon in your world?  In the end, when you partake of your creations together, you’ll remember why you invited these people in the first place.  And why you love cooking.

The Shalissa: Crepes with nutella, strawberries, bananas and almonds

The MissyMark: Cheese blintzes with blueberry sauce

The JayGo: Savory crepes with chicken, feta, pesto and provolone