The versatility of a cucumber cup [Hipcooks cooking class and recipe]

Greetings all!

I recently went to a cooking class with Hipcooks and what a fun experience it was! Hipcooks has several locations and provides hands-on cooking classes, all of which end with a dinner party! The classes have creative names and great menus. You can sign up for such fun classes as Pho Sure! (Vietnamese), Dim Sum and then Some (Chinese), Veni, Vidi, Vici! (Italian), J'aime, Paris! (French), and many more! Depending on the class, you might also learn some knife skills (click on the title below the image to watch the video):

Knife Skills with Hipcooks: The Draw

You can sign up for Hipcooks classes and check out their blog here: 

http://wh.hipcooks.com/class/description/

http://blog.hipcooks.com/chill-out-hipcooks-gazpacho-on-a-summer-day/

My culinary adventure was in Cocktails 3: Summer Infusions. We had a small group of less than 15 people and 2 amazing and enthusiastic instructors! We diced and sipped and cut and blended - and the food was incredible! We learned quite a lot of interesting recipes but the one that I particularly liked was Gazpacho in cucumber cups – here it is:

(Image courtesy of Kyrsten at Woodland Hills Hipcooks)

"Cucumber cups make a cute shot glass, and a lovely vehicle for appetizers. An English cucumber will yield 8 – 10 “shot glasses” – just hollow out with a melon-scooper, leaving enough on the bottom to support the filling.

1 large or 2 small super luscious vine-ripe tomatoes
½ cucumber (only peel if the skin is inedible)

¼ red onion
1 red pepper
1 small clove garlic
olive oil
balsamic or red wine vinegar
splash of Tabasco
Sea salt

Roughly chop and then blend all the ingredients with a little bit of ice-cold water to get the process going. Can be made in advance and chilled! Option: serve with toasted bread rubbed with a garlic clove and drizzled with olive oil."

What I really liked about cucumber cups was their versatility: you can fill them with gazpacho, crab or shrimp salad, a spicy salsa, etc. And the (chilled) cucumber cups are also perfect to serve tequila or gin! Summer party, anyone?

What will you serve in a cucumber cup? Drop me a line!