June Cooking Classes

Just when I was starting to get the summer education blues, I noticed a new cooking school offering classes in Carmel: Cooking Greek, which specializes in (obviously) Greek cuisine. Four-hour classes are offered at 2:30 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday at Alice's Catering in Carmel, but the menu varies each weekend.

Here are a few examples:

• June 5-6 -- Greek salad, pastitsio (Greek lasagna) with green beans, and loukoumades (Green honey dough balls) ($80)
• June 12-13 -- Saganaki (flaming cheese), mousaka with horiatiki salata (country salad), and almond rolls ($90)

It sounds delicious, but it seems a bit pricey. Included are recipes, take-home containers and all the food you make, which Cooking Greek claims is enough for two to three people.

In other news, Chef JJ's is offering classes this month on vegetarian grilling, steak and East Coast seafood, all starting at 6:15 on Tuesday evenings. And Frasier's Gourmet Foods is offering "Cooking with Lavender," a unique topic from R Bistro sous chef Erin Kem (June 22).

Finally, stop by Maggiano's Little Italy at 10 a.m., June 5, for a class on Texas BBQ ($25). What this has to do with Italian food, I really couldn't say.