One positive outcome of our COVID precautions is that throughout 2022, we’ve been participating in online cooking classes. Not only do we get to learn some chef tricks and tips, we finish off with a delicious meal.

Mainly we’ve cooked from Sur La Table’s virtual offerings (link here). Resident Chef Vanessa Craycraft makes things fun not only for experienced home cooks, but novices as well. And she’s pretty darn amazing at pivoting for folks who can’t locate a particular ingredient or have dietary issues requiring recipe modifications.

I’ve always wondered about, but never actually attempted making my own crackers, but after this cooking class, I’ve put this recipe on repeat. There are endless possibilities – swapping herbs, adding seeds, adding some cayenne for a little heat.

I’ve taken to double baking the crackers to get the crispness I like. It is a challenge to get that dough to be no more than 1/8 inch thick using rolling pins, so while I am currently adapting the baking times, I think the suggestion of a pasta roller will make a huge difference.

If reading this in real time, the class – Autumn Entertaining – repeats on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022 at 7 pm EST ($29/device). Recipes for Spiced Mixed Nuts, a Mulled Mule Mocktail, and a sangria-like Scarlet Sipper are also part of the class.