To Grandmother's House We Go Cooking Tours
Main ingredients: Susan Baldassano started this loosely cobbled "school" five years ago as a way to explore authentic ethnic cuisines with native cooks. Each class is held at the home of a "grandmother." (In practice, they're grandmothers the way Pino Luongo's "madri" are all mothers; in fact, one of Baldassano's grandmothers was a grandfather. No matter.) She's quick to caution that these classes are not about serious gourmet cooking in sparkling, spacious kitchens. "They are a journey," she says. "A tribute to the unsung heroines who have managed to somehow keep the art of traditional home cooking alive." The level of teaching isn't likely to be anywhere near what you'd get at the New School or Natural Gourmet (to compensate, Baldassano stands on the sidelines and often injects nonintrusive but appropriate pedagogic direction), but the dollar value is substantial, and classes are always fun. Baldassano is a former head chef at both Angelica Kitchen and the Whole Foods market and currently teaches in the Professional Chef's Program at the Natural Gourmet.

Course catalogue: So far, Baldassano has hosted grandmothers of Greek, Cuban, Jewish, Sicilian, Italian, Trinidadian, Appalachian, Syrian, Mexican, Indian, and Japanese descent.

Signature dish: In a class on Hungarian foods, we made a substantial pot of paprikas csirke with nokedli (chicken paprika with dumplings), to which we added seltzer, not water, since the instructor felt it made his dumplings lighter and fluffier. While exploring Middle Eastern traditions, we did a few valiant one-pot meals -- lamb and okra, chicken with chickpeas -- and appetizers and desserts.

Details: 471 17th Street, Apartment 1, Brooklyn (718-768-6197); call for schedule. Prices: $55 to $60 for four to five hours (including food costs).

NYU School of Education Department of Nutrition and Food Studies/Continuing Education Program
Main ingredients: A few years ago, the academic culinary programs at New York University were completely restructured; as a result, the class roster has been greatly expanded. According to the department head, Dr. Marion Nestle, the university wants to give even the Continuing Ed courses a serious academic flavor. (Thus, sober classes on sports nutrition are offered alongside Demystifying Chocolate.) The newly overhauled kitchen facility is superb, with six restaurant ranges, eight sinks, half a dozen oversize stainless-steel work tables, and a complete pastry pavilion.

Signature dish: There were only seven of us in Suvir Saran's class on Indian cooking. As a result, we all got plenty of hands-on experience and lots to munch on, including the tapioca-and-peanut croquettes with just a whisper of coriander and chili peppers; dum aloo (white potatoes in spicy yogurt); and fried cauliflower.

Course catalogue: For those who already know how to boil water, NYU's avocational classes provide greater than average depth. Fall offerings include Small Gamebird Cookery, Endangered Cheeses, and Fish: A Fresh Look.

Details: 35 West 4th Street, tenth floor (212-998-5588). Prices: $50 to $100. Limit, 15 students for participation classes, 30 for lectures.

Italian Culinary Center
Main ingredients: A relative newcomer to the cooking-school scene, the Italian Culinary Institute is the year-old arm of the venerable Italian food magazine La Cucina Italiana. It offers theme nights and hands-on classes taught by staff editor Micol Negrin (an able instructor), and Cooking with the Stars, hosted by various guest chefs and authors. Representative topics include A Taste of Abruzzo (or Lombardy or Apulia), Medieval Cooking, and Vegetarian a l'Italia. Classes are taught in the magazine's sun-drenched test kitchen. The demo class I attended, Pestos and Sauces, was dense with information and moved along at a fast clip, but the students were quite food-savvy and easily kept pace, asking well-conceived questions. As at several restaurants where classes are staged, here, too, there is a wait staff, replenishing wine and water glasses.

Signature dish: Before class even begins, each table received an abundance of antipasti and bread. By the end of the night, I left stuffed and thoroughly enlightened, eager to replicate at home the half-dozen novel pestos I'd sampled, including a Ligurian walnut sauce, escarole-and-rosemary pesto, and a Sienese tarragon sauce.

Details: 230 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1100 (212-725-8764 or 888-742-2373). Prices: $65 per class; Cooking with the Stars is $75; nonmembers must pay a $5 fee. This November, the ICC is offering a weeklong crash course on risotto, pastas, and sauces, taught by Negrin and Paulo Villoresi, the editor-in-chief himself, and Maurizio Marfoglia, the chef from Revel. (The class will be held November 6 through 10, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; $575 for members, $625 for nonmembers.)

Fairway
Main ingredients: If the store-brand olive oil (only $5.99) hasn't brought you to Fairway yet, maybe the $40 cooking classes will. Steven Jenkins, the store's resident cheese expert, instituted them last year and although classes can accommodate as many as 50 people, there's still a feeling of intimacy in the upstairs café where they convene. The setup is stadium-style, with an overhead mirror, so there's a decent sight line from every seat in the house. The roster is varied, and popular local chefs like Bill Telepan (JUdson Grill), Diane Forley (Verbena), and Henry Meer (Cub Room, City Hall) often take up the guest toque.

Signature dish: The feast began with a glorious portobello-mushroom carpaccio with bitter greens and Parmesan chips, followed by succulent Sonoma-lamb osso bucco and rosemary-and-garlic potatoes. Tart and tangy caramelized apples in a cloche puff pastry with a green-apple sauce topped it all off.

Details: 2127 Broadway, at 74th Street (212-595-1888); Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m., for about two to 2 and 1/2 hours. Price: $40 including food and wine; proceeds go to Citymeals-on-Wheels.