This week, Savory Secrets takes a break from picking out some of the finest eats in Madison. A few reasons for this change of plan: 1. It’s midterm season (again), 2. Sometimes, we can cook something up for less than the cost of eating out at our local restaurants and 3. Cooking is a good skill to use when looking to impress members of the opposite sex.

I can hear many people saying they already know how to cook. That’s great for those who actually do. For others: whipped-cream bikinis don’t count.

Ah yes, midterms are in season these days. The anguish of studying for endless hours is not only excruciating but can leave us all really stressed out. Cooking is really good relief for most. Martha Stewart, for example, is always in a good mood with her endless hours spent cooking. Too bad she is limited to a prison microwave for the next few weeks until her release.

Going out to eat seems inexpensive for one person. $6 to $7 for a sub sandwich and drink does not sound like much. For the same price, give or take a few dollars, cooking up a dish with more spice and pleasant flavoring seems worth it. More importantly, nobody else made it. You did and can take all the credit for it. It just sounds better to say, “I made it,” instead of, “Oh yeah, I picked up dinner to go at Whole Foods.”

The ability to cook is a skill that can prove influential in a relationship or hookup. However, this form of gratitude should not be expected. If at someone else’s house for a meal, be sure to compliment their skills or at least say thank you. Too many times people don’t show appreciation for the time and effort that others put in behind the stove.

Learning to cook can be a daunting task. The obvious choice is to consult some cookbooks, which will provide more than enough recipes to keep the kitchen alive for weeks on end.

For the kinesthetic learner, many resources are available to help those future chefs in their quests to impress. Whole Foods offers a variety of cooking courses. Some are hands-on and some are not, so it is best to check with the coordinator before registering.

Look for their class on Northern Italian cooking in early March. It will cover bruschetta al pomodoro e mozzarella, a dish made with thin pieces of Italian bread topped with a blend of chopped tomatoes and mozzarella cheese; tricolor chicken rolls, and risotto ai formaggi, a four-cheese pasta sauce.

Learning to cook in a more-intimate class setting can prove helpful for many people. Orange Tree Imports, 1721 Monroe St., is a nearby resource. “In some of the larger classes, people are afraid to ask what a rolling boil is,” says KT Hawk, an instructor at the cooking school.

The formal classes throughout the year are geared toward all skill levels.

Students at Orange Tree Cooking School are almost guaranteed to get to sample the items made in the kitchen on a particular evening. Sometimes, they might get a meal. “If we are teaching a class about bread-baking, you’ll get a lot of bread but not a meal,” Hawk said.

Classes about multiple food categories are also taught at Orange Tree. The next available class covers cooking a brunch for friends and family. However, the most popular classes teach Asian cooking. Registration fees range from $38 to $55, depending on the topic.

With so many local resources available to learn how to cook good and delicious foods from around the world, there is no reason not to learn how to cook by taking a class. Besides, a date may just throw some appreciation your way.

Tom McGrath is a fifth-year senior majoring in journalism and mass communications, among other things. He looks forward to learning how to cook so he can give up other ideas mentioned in the first paragraph of this column. Tom can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].