I began teaching in the ’90’s, shortly after I started working in restaurants – firstly at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Food and Health and then primarily via public classes. The latter allowed me to focus on topics I was most excited by such as ethnic cuisines, food for entertaining, ingredient-based workshops and traditional food.
Professional
Along with the Natural Gourmet, I’ve also taught vocational classes at the Institute of Culinary Education, Sur la Table in Virginia, and at numerous other locations and schools around the country.
Private Cooking & Classes
Along the way, I catered parties, had interesting—as well as some wacky–culinary adventures, and grew as a person. I catered events where the attendees had different eating preferences, I once had a week-long cooking gig for a man who traced his ancestors back to Charlemagne, and I’ve taught and catered holidays in kosher homes, where dietary restrictions prohibited attendees from taking classes at non-kosher venues, just to name a few.
I’ve Seen a Lot of Kitchens…
Sometimes the teaching kitchens have been less than optimal, but I found that there was nothing like an extra tough challenge to keep the improvisational muscles flexed. It also showed me and my students that when there’s a will, there’s always a way to get a nourishing, home-cooked meal prepared.
And a Lot of Students…
My students have ranged from omnivores to vegans, folks who could eat everything to folks who were limited by allergies, sensitivities, and proclivities. While the particular foods they eat varied, all had in common that they wanted to eat well.
My teaching history is a long one…
My Teaching Journey
Almost as soon as I started working in restaurants in the 1990’s, I started teaching. My teaching adventures began with working with the students in the professional chef training program at the...
FROM THE CLASS ARCHIVES
Fresh Fish Made Fabulous
Do you need a little bit of inspiration to turn out fabulous fish dishes? Let Myra show you classic cooking techniques to get the job done! Using five different fish, she’ll demonstrate how to...
Cracking the Coconut
Get acquainted with one of the world’s most nutritious fruits and learn about its superlative health benefits. Coconut is available in many different forms and there’s no end to what you can make with it. You’ll learn how to open both mature and your coconuts and use coconut in its fresh, dried, canned, flour and sugar forms. You’ll also learn about the difference between virgin and filtered coconut oil.
Join Myra and prepare these wonderfully scrumptious dishes:
Carrot-Coconut Soup with Hot-and-Sweet Coconut Cashews;
Roasted Kale with Coconut Milk;
Coconut-Encrusted Baked Chicken;
Tom Yum Gai with Shrimp And Fish;
Cod Cakes with Coconut Curry Sauce;
Fresh Coconut-Braised Broccoli, Green Beans and Sweet Potatoes;
Coconut-Cashew Cookies;
Coconut Oil Popped Caramel Corn
Cracking the Coconut
Turkish Mezze
Long known for its venerable court cuisine, Turkey also has a fascinating culinary history associated with the Mevlevi Sufi tradition where the founder of the whirling dervishes made his home. With Myra as your tour guide, explore and savor Turkeys authentic piquant flavors using Maras and Urfa peppers, nigella, pekmez (grape syrup)—one of the original sweeteners before sugar—as well as sumac, apricot kernels, and pomegranate molasses.
Menu:
Ayran (National Yogurt Drink of Turkey);
Red Lentil Soup with Bulgur and Mint;
Braised Herbed Rice-Stuffed Grape Leaves;
Zucchini and Feta Pancakes with a trio of Caciks: Classic, Purslane and Beet;
Olive, Pepper, and Tomato Salad with Herbs and Pomegranate Molasses Dressing;
Fire-Roasted Eggplant Puree with Urfa Pepper;
Muhammara (Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut Spread;
Green Beans with Pekmez and Tahini Dressing;
Apricot Compote with Apricot Kernels
Turkish Mezze
Essentials of Chicken Bone Broth
Slow-cooked bone broths are the gold standard of stocks, both for their health benefits and intense flavor. They provide gelatin (collagen), cartilage, and marrow (for minerals): all essential for the health of the gut and the immune system, and for strong bones and nails, vibrant hair, and radiant skin.
In this all-day workshop, we will go over the ins and outs of chicken bone broth while making delectable dishes with the gorgeous bounty of the autumn harvest, dishes in which bone broth is a fundamental ingredient. These range from breakfasts, to starters, to entire meals.
Morning Session:
Basic Bone Broth and Bone Broth with an Asian Profile;
Curried Romaine Soup with Peas and Roasted Cauliflower;
Very Green Brothy Bone Broth Appetite Enhancer;
Savory Oatmeal with Bone-Broth, Miso Butter, and Lacey Fried Egg;
Wild Rice Sweet Potato Waffles with Chinese-Braises Chicken and Bok Choi
Afternoon Session:
Striped Bass in Coconut-Tomato-Bone Broth Sauce;
Chicken Posole with Tomatillos;
Maitake Bone Broth Pot with Buckwheat Noodles
Matcha-Avocado Bone Broth Purée with Sashimi-Spiced Shrimp;
Quinoa-Cauliflower Risotto with Pumpkin and Fennel;
Artichokes in Brodo
Essentials of Chicken Bone Broth