Westport resident Nicole Straight, professional chef and mother of two, has developed a new concept in cooking classes geared towards busy families. Time to Eat! is a home-based cooking school that offers a selection of 90-minute cooking classes designed to bring families back to the dinner table.

Straight offers several classes weekly. Three categories of classes are offered: “15 Minute Meals”, “Easy Dinner Parties”, and “Not Your Mother's Soups and Casseroles.” Her classes address the needs of busy parents trying to feed their family healthy meals without having to spend hours in the kitchen, or order expensive take-out. All of the meals are made from scratch in 15 minutes.

Class size if limited to five, so that students feel free to ask questions, share recipes and swap kitchen stories. People can create their own cooking groups and call Straight to schedule a date and time.

Classes are held in her spacious, professionally equipped kitchen in Westport, or she'll come to your home. The classes are no only education for parents, they're fun and a great idea for small parties. In addition to being a creative “girl's night out,” classes are perfect for couples, college students and anybody who lies to eat well, but doesn't have time to cook.

During the class I attended, Straight made six meals in 90 minutes. You might expect that there would be a big mess at the end of the session, but she uses just one skillet for many of her simple and delicious entrees. During my visit, some of the meals she made included Baja Fish Tacos, Moo Shu Pork, and my personal favorite, Moron Chicken.

Moron Chicken in so simple anybody can do it, hence the name. Take boneless, skinless chicken breasts and top them with salsa, barbeque sauce, or as Straight recommends, pesto paste and sun dried tomatoes. Wrap each piece of chicken individually in aluminum foil, and bake in a 500-degree oven for 15 minutes. She offered the class a tip, “Preheat the oven as soon as you walk in the door.”

Although her recipes, which she distributes in class, list exact measurements, Straight explained that she doesn't use precise measurements when cooking. She believes in “eyeballing” the ingredients, except when it comes to baking. “Cooking is an art. Baking is a science,” she said.

When attending a class, bring your appetite, as you will be sampling all of the dishes she creates. And there will possibly be leftovers to take home. Classes are priced at $75 per person; $85 for dinner parties, because the ingredients are more expensive. Classes are held Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10-11:30 a.m. and on evenings and weekends upon request.

Straight said she created Time to Eat! because she knew parents want to provide nutritious meals for their children, but due to the time-crunch when both parents are working, the temptation to resort to fast food solutions is irresistible. “Most parents know fast food is not healthy and they are really looking for a quick, effective solution. That's what they get from Time to Eat!” Straight said.

“Today everyone thinks they have to have a kitchen filled with all of the latest gadgets just to prepare a great meal properly. That's just silly. My classes emphasize a few practical tools everybody needs and probably already has to get the job done quickly and without all the fuss,” she continued. “I intend to get rid of the frustration every parent feels when it's time to get dinner on the table.”

The classes also cover basic cooking skills, ingredients and staples to keep on hand (a shopping list is included with recommended pantry items, spices, sauces, and food you can freeze), and preparation. All three combined, according to Straight, can make cooking a pleasure.

While working as a private chef and full-time mother of two little girls, Straight made the decision to become a stay-at-home mom. Time to Eat! enabled her to combine all of her passions and talents, working with people, cooking and raising children.

Straight develops all of her own recipes and shows you how to alter the basic technique to suit that meal to your family. 'When I'm creating recipes for my classes, my first thought is always 'Will my family eat this?' My family are the taste-testers,” she said. “My goal is to prepare six different variations of every single recipe that I create for any of the classes.”

Straight describes herself as the “Un-Martha.” She insists on cutting through the intimidation of home cooking and offers a no-nonsense, “let's get it on the table now” system. The reward is extra time to spend doing everything else you want to do.

For more information and to schedule a class, call 221-8306. Following are two recipes courtesy of Time to Eat!

Baja Fish Tacos
Ingredients:
1 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. Oil
flour
Seasoning salt- such as Lawry's
Tilapia, flounder, sole, or any thin white fish 
Corn tortillas
lime
mango salsa
1 onion halved and sliced
2 tomatoes quartered

Heat oil and butter in a pan on medium high heat. While the pan is heating, cut fish into 2 inch long strips. In a shallow plate, mix flour, and seasoning salt ( 3 parts flour to 1 part salt). Dredge fish pieces in flour mixture, and put fish in pan. Heat tortillas until just soft (a toaster oven works well). Cook fish for 2 minutes on each side, remove from pan, and squeeze lime juice and a pinch of salt on fish pieces. When all fish has cooked, cook onion and tomato in pan for 1 minute, of until just barely softened. Assemble tacos by placing fish, onion, tomatoes and salsa in tortillas. Serve with a green salad.

Spinach Tortellini with Garlicky Swiss chard
Ingredients:
1 package of spinach tortellini
1 Tablespoon olive oil 
2 Tbs. garlic paste
1 bunch of Swiss chard
Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

 Boil water in a pot. Heat a pan on medium high and add olive oil and garlic paste. Stir until garlic paste is incorporated into oil. Wash and roughly cut the leaves from the Swiss chard. Once water boils, add tortellini. When the oil is hot, add the cut Swiss chard, and sauté for 3-4 minutes. When pasta floas to the surface, remove, and add to Swiss chard pan. Stir to incorporate, and add 1/4 C Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.