An Italian Evening
Your Italian evening lasts about 3 hours and will begin with a demonstration of fresh pasta preparation. You will be involved in all aspects of cooking. You will feel the dough become velvety as you knead and thin it before learning to fill it or cut it or layer it, depending on which entrée you've chosen. Together we will make the sauce you have chosen for your meal. Snack on fresh bruschetta while you work. I endeavor to make the evening light and fun while still being informative.
My frequent trips to Italy allow me to have classic Italian ingredients on hand. The freshest extra virgin olive oil, authentic parmigiano-reggiano from the Parma region, and herbs from Campo de Fiori in Rome are part of my cooking pantry and I share them with you. When the cooking is done, sit back with your friends and enjoy a full dinner. I will bring a light salad, and dessert to accompany your hand made pasta dish.
Each Italian evening is custom planned for your group. The cost is $45 per person and includes the cost of all ingredients and instruction. You provide only the beverages and/or wine. At my home, in my tiny kitchen - - I can host an evening with 2 to 4 people. In your home, you decide how many can comfortably work in your space. The evening in your home can be from 3-8 guests.
My frequent trips to Italy allow me to have classic Italian ingredients on hand. The freshest extra virgin olive oil, authentic parmigiano-reggiano from the Parma region, and herbs from Campo de Fiori in Rome are part of my cooking pantry and I share them with you. When the cooking is done, sit back with your friends and enjoy a full dinner. I will bring a light salad, and dessert to accompany your hand made pasta dish.
Each Italian evening is custom planned for your group. The cost is $45 per person and includes the cost of all ingredients and instruction. You provide only the beverages and/or wine. At my home, in my tiny kitchen - - I can host an evening with 2 to 4 people. In your home, you decide how many can comfortably work in your space. The evening in your home can be from 3-8 guests.
Menu Choices
Appetizer:
Bruschetta -- I will bring some nice bread that we'll slice, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with salt before toasting it. When it's golden, we'll top it with chopped tomatoes mixed with garlic and fresh basil leaves. It's good to have something flavorful to munch on while we cook.
Main Course that will be made by you. Choose one:
Ravioli -- light, tender pillows of pasta with your choice of fillings. Choose between mushroom or spinach/ricotta filling. You will also choose the sauce to make to complement your ravioli: either a light basil cream sauce or a fresh, chunky tomato sauce.
Linguini -- fresh flat noodles, linguini is a pasta that many people know about. We'll make a pink sauce with cream and fresh shrimp to serve with it. Seafood and pasta go well together.
Pappardelle -- related to the thinner fettuccini noodle, pappardelle is a thicker, wider noodle perfectly suited to stand up to the heartier sauce you'll choose to top it with. Either a wild mushroom sauce or a veal and pork tomato sauce. We'll make the pasta dough, roll it out, and hand cut the noodles. The sauce will be made while the pasta dough is resting.
Salad, and Dessert: (Varies depending on season and availability)
Your salad might be a bed of field greens topped with grilled pear and toasted almonds, or orange and cucumber salad, or a warm cauliflower salad, or something totally different. We'll choose from whatever is in season at the time.
Traditional desserts are less sweet and much lighter than we generally have here. A light custard, a ricotta cake, or fruit granita might be the perfect ending to our evening.
Bruschetta -- I will bring some nice bread that we'll slice, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with salt before toasting it. When it's golden, we'll top it with chopped tomatoes mixed with garlic and fresh basil leaves. It's good to have something flavorful to munch on while we cook.
Main Course that will be made by you. Choose one:
Ravioli -- light, tender pillows of pasta with your choice of fillings. Choose between mushroom or spinach/ricotta filling. You will also choose the sauce to make to complement your ravioli: either a light basil cream sauce or a fresh, chunky tomato sauce.
Linguini -- fresh flat noodles, linguini is a pasta that many people know about. We'll make a pink sauce with cream and fresh shrimp to serve with it. Seafood and pasta go well together.
Pappardelle -- related to the thinner fettuccini noodle, pappardelle is a thicker, wider noodle perfectly suited to stand up to the heartier sauce you'll choose to top it with. Either a wild mushroom sauce or a veal and pork tomato sauce. We'll make the pasta dough, roll it out, and hand cut the noodles. The sauce will be made while the pasta dough is resting.
Salad, and Dessert: (Varies depending on season and availability)
Your salad might be a bed of field greens topped with grilled pear and toasted almonds, or orange and cucumber salad, or a warm cauliflower salad, or something totally different. We'll choose from whatever is in season at the time.
Traditional desserts are less sweet and much lighter than we generally have here. A light custard, a ricotta cake, or fruit granita might be the perfect ending to our evening.
