Cook it fast, easy

AARP’s series of online cooking classes, “Fast, Healthy & Ono,” continues in April, with Windward Community College chef-instructor Daniel Swift leading webinairs on French, Spanish and Italian cooking.

Also, butcher Dale Thomas will demonstrate how to cut up and cook a whole chicken to stretch food dollars.

Classes are at 5 p.m. Thursdays via Zoom.

Register for a Zoom link at 808ne.ws/aarpapril. You’ll receive an email with the recipes to be prepared so you can gather the ingredients and cook along.

For those who just wish to watch, the classes are available on Facebook Live on the AARP Hawai‘i Facebook page.

The classes:

>> Thursday: “Cooking en Papillote.” Prepare vegetables, sliced potatoes and fresh fish using the French technique of cooking in parchment to make an all-in-one meal.

>> April 8: “Taste of Tuscany.” Learn to make meatballs in an easy tomato sauce, served with bruschetta.

>> April 15: “The Whole Bird” covers saving money by breaking a whole chicken into parts, and provides tips on roasting a whole chicken, roasting the thighs for crispy skin and rendering extra fat, poaching the breasts and making stock.

>> April 22: “Classic Crab Cakes with a Healthy Twist.” Learn to make a crabcake to serve with coleslaw and an olive oil-Dijon mayonnaise.

>> April 29: “You Gotta Try This Frittata.” Make a classic Spanish skillet meal style with sausage, potatoes, vegetable and fresh herbs.

Restaurant Week dining deals

Food-A-Go-Go Restaurant Week is a way to try new places or support old favorites, whether you choose dine-in or takeout.

The week’s promotions run from Monday to April 12, with some restaurants choosing to continue for a second week, through April 19.

Participating restaurants will offer a special dish or prix-fixe menu. The deals range from very casual to informal to upscale.

For example:

>> Da Bald Guy food truck in Kahuku: $10 sampler of kalbi, garlic shrimp and pan-fried poke.

>> Cuu Long II on Hotel Street: Bone marrow-infused beef pho for $14.

>> Little Joe’s Steakhouse on Nimitz Highway: Lobster tail and filet mignon for $47.95

For a full list of restaurants and menus go to 808ne.ws/restaurantweek.

And there’s more: Restaurants are donating items to an online auction, “Bid It to Win It for Ag Education.”

Proceeds will go to the Hawai‘i Agricultural Foundation, which runs the Food-A-Go-Go restaurant-support website. The foundation provides programs for schoolchildren to encourage an interest in agriculture and careers in the field.

The auction opens Monday and closes April 30. To bid: foodagogo.org.

Finally, an Instagram sweepstakes offers a top prize of 100,000 Hawaiian Airlines miles. Through April 19, post a photo of a Restaurant Week meal, with the restaurant’s location tag.

You’ll also need to follow @FoodAGoGo_HI, and tag #FoodAGoGoWeek and #HALmastercard. For all the rules go to 808ne.ws/restaurantweeksweep.

Have a sub and share

Jersey Mike’s Subs shops are passing on all their earnings today to Never Off Duty, a local nonprofit that supports lifeguards and ocean safety programs.

That’s total sales, not just profits. “It’s our turn to give and we’re giving it all away!” the company said in a statement. The offer covers all food and drink sold in a shop or ordered online for pickup or delivery.

Today is the company’s National Day of Giving, in which the 1,800 Jersey Mike’s across the country funnel their sales to various charities. In Hawaii, all nine Jersey Mike’s will give to Never Off Duty.

The Day of Giving follows a month in which customers are asked to make donations. For all of March, the chain hopes to raise more than $8 million for local charities. The effort is in its 11th year and already has raised more than $32 million.

Visit jerseymikes.com.

Quickbites is a weekly listing of dining events. Email items to crave@staradvertiser.com.