Betty and Martha back at it

When I was in college, my friend Allison would come visit me every MLK Jr., Weekend. She'd come visit me in the summertime, too. Since we met during high school and bonded over fights with our moms and our love of Starbucks, we felt oh so grown up and independent being on our own in COLLEGE.

We would always plan our cooking adventures, too, trying our hand at cooking, although neither of us really knew what we were doing. We called ourselves Betty and Martha in the kitchen. 

Now, we're really all grown up, ten years removed from high school, and still planning meals together. Though we don't get to cook in the same kitchen all that often, we love discussing meal plans and sharing tips and tricks. 

What a long introduction to the story I'm really trying to tell...

Allison knows how much I love to cook. Allison knows how much I love surprises. During a time when I should be cooking and surprising Allison (she is pregnant--due with my friend niece in June!), she planned a birthday cooking surprise for me! 

We took a "Cozy Weekend Brunch" themed class the day before my birthday a couple weeks ago, and can I just tell you, it almost made me cry. What an absolutely perfect plan. She encompassed all the things I love: spending time with her, cooking, BRUNCH, and hanging out in the Pearl downtown (of course we had to have some therapy time over lattes before our course).

Thank you, Allison. You're such a gem. You've been the best friend to me for thirteen years now. You know me very well, and your thoughtfulness is a such a blessing.

Our teacher--she was just great! I learned a lot of tips and tricks.

Focused determination on the mixing.

Here I stand...preparing to just a MEAT GRINDER for the first time.

Ah...so this is how you make pork sausage. Good workout, ladies.

More focus. Get it, Al! Show that crepe who's boss.

Our first nibble...a cheesy scone.

How cute is she? So cute. Such a good mommy-to-be.

Do you want to know what we're talking about? I'm telling her how her knife skills demonstration and also the "adding alcohol to a hot pan" portion of the class really applied to me. I don't need to remind y'all about the infamous trip to ER or the flaming Thanksgiving whiskey carrots, do I?

Inspecting the greatness.

I found out the chef is a bride-to-be, too. I asked her opinion on some cook- and bake-ware. We bonded. Can you tell?

My mouth is watering all over again. This is a brioche French toast. Very low-cal. Um. Right. 

And then we ate! The complete menu included these apple-stuffed crepes, a sweet potato hash, the pork sausage, and the French toast. The pear mimosa was a nice treat. Sorry yours had to be non-alcoholic, Al. ;)