On July 23, for my birthday the day before, Karen bought me an evening’s cooking course at Sur La Table at Eton Center. We joined 14 other people to prepare those scampi; pan-roasted (farm-raised) catfish with caper-butter sauce & green beans almandine; breaded crabcakes with red pepper aioli & celery root slaw; and grilled salmon with baby bok choy, wasabi mashed potatoes and lime soy vinaigrette; and key lime pie (we didn’t make that, only ate it). Chef Ky-Wai Wong of Lucky’s Cafe in Tremont supervised. I hope you can tell from the pictures that the scene was jamming.

The class lasted two hours; the kitchen at the back of Sur La Table was fully used, believe me, and the degrees of experience ran the gamut. I’ve always had good taste, a healthy appetite and an open-minded attitude, but I’ve been squeamish about preparing food. I don’t like my hands greasy, I don’t like the mess, and I’m probably leery because I’m an only child whose mom cooked for both my father and I and viewed the kitchen as her domain. What I learned above all is that cooking feels good, especially when you do it with your family. Next time, Katy will be on the set (she went to the Indians game). That should make it even better.