Buon Appetito #1

On Wednesday we had our first cooking class. Not going to lie, I was a bit terrified! Having experienced a bit of Italian personalities so far, I expected a highly intense, dramatic, impatient chef shouting orders in Italian that I was probably going to slaughter. Fortunately I was met with just the opposite! Our chef is the most relaxed patient man in the kitchen I have ever met. This cooking class is going to be so enjoyable! 

Each week we prepare a four course meal and then sit down together to eat it. Here was this week’s menu:

Appetizer: Focaccia bread with 3 cheeses

First Course: Ricotta and Spinach stuffed Ravioli with Butter and Sage sauce

Main Course: Veal with Proscuitto Pomodoro sauce and Peas prepared in the “Tuscan Way”

Dessert: Pannacotta with Wild berry sauce

For the next two hours we sliced, baked, stirred, kneaded, rolled out, cut, stuffed, pinched, and sautéed away! I was amazed at how simple the recipes were and at what a difference fresh, high quality ingredients make! Check out the finished product:

Here are the secrets to Italian cooking that I have learned so far:

1.       Recipes call for few and simple but high quality ingredients

2.       Olive Oil is to be used in everything

3.       Always had the pasta to the sauce, never the other way around!

Buon appetito!