I appreciate no BS in the kitchen. Just tell me what to do and how to do it. Enter: Mary Risley from San Francisco’s Tante Marie’s Cooking School. Watch this “Just put the f*cking turkey in the oven” video to get a little glimpse of Mary’s teaching style:

This woman terrifies me cracks me up. My friend signed up for an evening series of cooking classes at this school in North Beach and wasn’t able to attend last night. I went in her place (thanks, JenJen). I was the very first student to arrive (nerves) and was excited when I saw the menu:

Menu: “Greens and Grains”

Couscous with 7 Vegetables 
Vegetable Pies
Vegetable Saute 
Warm Quinoa Salad 
Warm Farro with Mushrooms 
Vegetable Lasagna 
Winter Squash and Polenta Casserole 
Barley Pilaf 
Apple Cranberry Crisp 

We broke up into teams of two (I didn’t have a partner*) and was tasked with the Winter Squash and Polenta Casserole. My mind immediately went dark. Parsnip? Rutabaga? Turnip? WHERE’S MY UBER?

You got this, Court

* After the cooking assistant saw my knife cutting skills, I was no longer partnerless. Thank Gawd.

It turned out alright thanks Gary to the butter and copious amounts of cheese. I had an absolute blast in the kitchen and meeting the group which ranged from post- college kids to retirees. I definitely plan on signing up for a series of classes in the near future. They gave us print outs of the recipes above and I plan on sharing some of the recipes soon.