On January 22, 2011, the first official event of the recently formed “San Antonio Ladies’ Group” of the San Antonio Chaine was held at the Culinary institute of America (CIA) in San Antonio. The inaugural event was crafted to bring together the women of our Bailliage to have a learning event as well as to have fun.   

April Goess, Professional Chaine member, Chef Rotisseur, and CIA Associate Director, designed a risotto cooking class for our group. April’s inspiration was to use fresh ingredients available at the Pearl Brewery Farmer’s Market, which is located adjacent to the CIA, and design recipes for different risottos that our members would make, then shared at lunch to show off the results.

The class began with Chef Goess discussing the principles of risotto making and then demonstrating the basic steps in the process. There were lots of great questions from the group and the Chef took time to answer each and every question. She also talked about alternative ways to cook the risotto and tips on short cuts. Each lady then donned her chef hat and apron and broke up into groups of three at five different cooking stations to prepare the different risottos. Recipes included. . .

• Artichoke and spinach risotto,
• Risotto with pancetta and winter squash,
• Saffron risotto, escarole

• Provolone risotto and
• Saffron risotto with peas.

The prep work had been done earlier by students at the CIA who also assisted with the class, so the main challenge for the class was to get the risotto to the right texture and doneness. Many visits were made between the different stations and “chefs” to check out the different recipes and to chat. There was a near disaster when one risotto failed to reach the desired texture, but with Chef Goess’ coaching, all was made right and the risottos came together beautifully. When all was cooked, we sat down to share the different risotto recipes, along with a green salad and some wine. The food turned out to be fabulous and for most of us, a new skill was added to our memory bank. During lunch, and since this was our first ladies' get-together, each member had the chance to introduce and talk about herself. Overall, the congeniality was inspiring.

While the women’s group is new, the plan is to have quarterly luncheon meetings with different themes and venues. There is terrific talent within our Bailliage, and we hope to tap into the expertise of the members to share with the others. Ideas for future meetings include

• wine tasting classes by a sommelier,
• life coaching,
• travel planning and even
• cosmetic procedure discussions.

Our goal is to expand the possibilities of the Chaine and to further involve the women members in the organization, making membership in the Chaine even more desirable. However, we will never forget our primary focus . . . and that is to learn something new, to laugh, and to have a great time together. We are all looking forward to our next adventure together.

Questions, comments, or suggestions concerning the San Antonio "Dames in the Chaine" should be addressed to Catherine Milbourn  ctmilbourn@earthlink.net  --  alternative email is vivray@satx.rr.com

Thanks CM