Food briefs

Culinary boot camp

Hone your cooking skills at a series of classes by the chefs who create the delicious feasts for Picnic Basket Catering.

Each class will run 6 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays and again 1:30 to 4 p.m. Saturdays at the Picnic Basket, 1701 A S. Eighth St.

Classes cost $99 each, which includes all equipment and ingredients, handouts and a light meal with wine. A package of any four classes is $356.40 and includes the food, wine and a Picnic Basket apron. A package of all 10 classes is $891 and also gets you a notebook with a glossary of terms and equipment. Call 635-0200 for reservations.

Here's a partial list:

• Jan. 1 or 4: Knife Skills

• Jan. 28 or 31: Grande manger & The Art of Sushi Making

• Feb. 4 or 7: The Global Market, covering vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices from around the world

• Feb. 11 or 14: Butchery, covering meat identification and grading, meat cutting and storage; plus poultry and seafood - cutting, boning, peeling, deveining and shucking techniques

• Feb. 18 or 21: Party Planning 101

Recipe, please

A caller was looking for a cranberry sauce recipe that had dried cherries as an ingredient.

We didn't find it, but our archive search did find this recipe that uses canned dark sweet cherries. It's credited to a November 1989 issue of Bon Appetit.

Cranberry-Cherry Relish
Yield: about 4 cups

2 cups dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups raisins
1 each unpeeled orange and lemon, rinsed, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 cup canned, pitted, dark sweet cherries, drained
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon each ground cinnamon and cloves
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over

Procedure:

In large, heavy nonreactive pot, combine all ingredients except cranberries. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

Add cranberries and simmer until they pop, about 5 minutes. Cool and discard cinnamon stick. Transfer relish to sterilized jars; cover, and refrigerate.