La Cucina Italiana

Sauces by "Nonna"

Learn to prepare pasta with sauces that recreate the especially memorable experiences from your favorite Italian trattoria.  We combine authentic Italian cooking techniques and regional ingredients to make a traditional ragu sauce from Bologna, a light olive-oil based asparagus and pancetta sauce from Toscana, an anchovy and caper sauce from Southern Italy.  Or we create a new favorite using whatever is in season and looks beautiful.

Risotto, rice or pasta?

Nothing is simpler than Italian risotto.  By the way, it's rice.  Prepared correctly it should always be a creamy, delicate, flavorful creation.  Learn techniques that stimulate your creativity to dress up rice with fresh vegetables found in the local farmers' market.  Delicious examples include fresh squash blossoms with saffron risotto in the summer, and pear with gorgonzola risotto in the fall.

 Gnocchi, made feather light and tender!

Gnocchi, light?  Impossible!  Yes, gnocchi must be light;  and no it isn't impossible!  Discover the art of making gnocchi from potatoes, butternut squash, or ricotta cheese and spinach.  Then toss these little dumplings in a brown butter sage sauce or a red wine sauce with radicchio.

 

 

Fresh Pasta

Think of a cooking or travel program where they demonstrated the "well method" for making fresh pasta.  That was the show where they started with a mountain of flour with a crater in the top (the "well"), into which they added the eggs and blended it all together by hand.  That's exactly how it's done in Italy, and that's what you'll learn.  You'll create tagliatelle with olive oil, shrimp and chili peppers, and a stuffed pasta cooked in broth for the traditional Christmas dinner.

Lasagna - The Real Thing

We'll begin with one of the mainstays in La Cucina Italiana, "Pasta al forno" or "Lasagne Bolognese" filled with a hearty meat sauce.  It has a more intense flavor and lighter texture than many American lasagnas which often overemphasize cheeses and tomato sauce.  In addition we'll sample from the seemingly endless stream of lasagna creations. For example, a delicate sweet basil artichoke lasagna or a zucchini blossom special will awe your family and friends.  We might even try a little fusion of cuisines and incorporate some "subtle" curry in our lasagna.  Think you're ready for that?

  

Italian Dessert Specialties

Italian desserts can be as regional as its pasta, from Napoli's Pastiera to the Cannoli of Sicily.  But no matter where you go in Italy you can always find the rustic home made Crostata di Marmellata, a jam tart, or a beautiful fresh fruit tart.  You'll learn the basic Italian tart dough (pasta frolla), and you'll learn how to dress it up with chocolate hazelnut cream or seasonal fruit.

Explore Pressure Cooking

Modern pressure cookers have advanced by leaps and bounds when compared with the whistle blowing time bombs your grandmother might have used for canning.  Nowadays most of them are safe, secure, time savers that have the added advantage of retaining the vitamins and nutrients in the food.  In addition, pressure cooking can be as versatile as conventional cooking, and not limited to bean soup or meat stock.  Join us in an exploration of pressure cooking and we'll prepare an entire meal using pressure cookers.  Did I mention the meal will consist of Tamarind glazed baby back ribs served with chewy, fluffy brown rice, and followed by a silky delicious dessert, Panna Cotta with fresh berries?  Yes, all prepared in pressure cookers.

Note:

Not all classes are available at all times.  Refer to the Class Schedule page for current schedule information and enrollment instructions.