Testing tempura

When I create menus for the cooking classes I teach, tried and true typically trumps innovation. I do, however, usually throw in at least one unfamiliar dish that sounds like a challenge and that I hope my students won't mind testing. I love presenting menus that are slightly ambitious: we cook a variety of dishes in an hour or two, then sit down together to enjoy our results. A successful class is when students leave feeling like they got a bit more than they paid for.

The week I am teaching a Nordic Pub class, combining the clean and sustainable philosophies of New Nordic with the down and dirty fun of eating in a bar. We'll prepare lefse pizza and meatball sandwiches, both dishes I've made many times. To keep things challenging I've thrown myself into perfecting an aquavit tempura to use as a batter for dill cheese curds.

Today is the sixth and final tempura testing round. Fried cheese curds are proof of God's existence. Add some aquavit and dill, and it is proof She loves us.