December Cooking Classes

Soups, roasts, holiday cookies: This month's cooking classes are all about comfort foods and holiday fun. Here's a quick look at the highlights:

• Clark's Appliance is offering a Culinary Foundations class on soups and stews. In the two-hour class, you'll make a basic stock from scratch, then transition to French onion soup, New England clam chowder, and beef and Guinness stew.

• As always, Kiss Z Cook has a huge variety of classes on offer, from "Updated Traditions" to "Holiday Brunch" to "Party Planning for the New Year." For a fun family activity, try the bake-and-take cookie class Dec. 12; for a decidedly non-family activity, try the "Girls' Night Out - Holiday Style" class Dec. 9.

• Oddly, the only December class at the Chef's Academy is knife skills. Doesn't that seem kind of Grinchy? Well, maybe you'll be able to make cocktail-party canapes more quickly.

• At Chef JJ's in Broad Ripple, classes include holiday appetizers and side dishes, soups, ribs, and special holiday proteins.
  

• To The Last Drop is offering classes on soups, dips and (oddly) sushi. I have an unfortunate history with this venue, as many of you know, so enroll at your own risk.
  

Before you ask, I didn't forget Frasier's Gourmet Foods. The shop does a metric ton of holiday gift-basket business in December, so the classroom space gets co-opted. Don't worry: Good things are coming next year!