One of our favourite Christmas presents was a series of cooking/martini making classes offered by the LCBO. Tonight Paul and I had a two hour demonstration cooking class - A Taste of Italy. You may recall previous posts about classes we have taken which were offered by the LCBO.
For those of you who aren't from Ontario, this is our government run liquor monopoly. It is the largest purchaser of wine and spirits in the world and at the same time it pumps billions of dollars into the government coffers and provides Ontarians with an excellent supply of wine and liquor (to say nothing of funding health care and education). Over the past few years they have really focused on the education side of wine and liquor . . . cooking and the appropriate wine pairings is a natural extension.
The LCBO store near our house is equipped with a large room where they hold tastings and cooking demonstrations three or four times a week. Previously we have taken a cooking class, a summer blender drink class, A Mid-summer Feast From Niagara, a martini class , a wine tasting class of Beringer Wines, and a Fall Flavours Class. Our next class is a beef lover's class followed by a tropical themed martini class in March.
Tonight's class was entitled a Taste of Italy and it was given to us by my sister Rose (who becomes a senior citizen tomorrow . . . isn't 46 senior citizen age in some cultures?) This is how the class was described:
Chef and cookbook author, Emily Richards, takes you on an extraordinary and delicious culinary tour throughout parts of Italy as she shares her very favourite recipes. Taste authentic, flavourful, simple and elegant dishes, some of Emily’s classics, soon to become your favourites. Sample Vecchiarelle, Calabrese honey fritters, Vegetale al Formaggio, Lombardy cheese dip, Gnocchi di Patate, classic Piedmont dumplings, and Pizza Pugliese, a mouth-watering appetizer from Apulia. The adventure awaits you.
I was a little apprehensive about the class. Certainly Emily has well known credentials to Canadian food lovers but Richards didn't sound a whole lot like an Italian name. I wondered if we would be enjoying 'north american' italian food rather than the real stuff. Emily quickly put my fears to rest when she told of her background (while she was born in Sault Ste. Marie, her entire family came from Calabria).
Now Emily had a treat for us. She had some preserved eggplant that her grandmother had made in August. The eggplant was thinly sliced, cured, and packed in olive oil. She also had brought along some of the olives her family had cured which paired nicely with the eggplant. If that wasn't enough to convince me of her Italian credentials she also brought some pork sausages that her father had made and cured. WOW I knew then that this would be a fun night.
She started off with two appetizers. The first was a dip made of marscapone cheese, gorgonzola cheese, and whipping cream. Oh oh - there goes the diet. She served this dip with blanched green beans, celery, and fennel. Something about this dish made me think of my friend Palma! It was thick and lightly flavoured - a great accompaniment to the vegetables. This dish is a traditional treat of Lombardy.
The classes at the LCBO always involve pairing wines with the foods shown/tasted. With this dish we were given a nice prosecco (which Paul and I recognized because we had quaffed a bottle of it on New Year's Eve). It paired extremely well with the cheese and rich dip.
Next up was a pizza bianco with onions, oregano, chili peppers, and pecorino: Pizza Pugliese. This is a traditional pizza from Apulia. It cooks in a very hot oven so that the onions get slightly caramelized. This was made with Emily's own oregano and chili peppers which she had dried and crushed in the fall (to think I had doubted her 'Italian' credentials). She showed us how to make the dough and explained a number of short cuts which would certainly make the job easier at home. This dish was paired with another white wine - a San Vincenzo from the Veneto.
The main course was a Gnocchi di Patate from the Piedmont area. We've made gnocchi before but I picked up some great tips from her. She show us how to roll it properly and how to shape it. She even had a special tool and a basket that she had brought from a trip to visit family to help make these light dumplings more easily. After she cooked them she tossed them in browned butter and sage, plated them and added a small amount of simple tomato sauce; a flurry of cheese went on and we were ready to tuck in.
This was paired with a nice Barbera d'Alba.
For dessert she made Vecchiarelle which are fritters drizzled with honey. Vecchiarelle are a traditional sweet from Calabria. They made a tasty finish to the class. With this the LCBO staff served us a martini glass containing a scoop of vanilla ice cream. They then drizzled a Talea (an Amaretto cream liqueur) over the ice cream.
WOW
Afterward I had a nice chat with Emily. I purchased her cookbook Italian Express which she signed for me (with a nice comment :-)
It was a wonderful evening. Thanks for the great gift Rose - you old thing! LOL
Wow Jerry I want Rose to be MY sister! What a thoughtful, great gift. I didn't know how to PM you but I wanted to tell you I just registered for Savannah. I'm soooo-oo happy to be joining in on the fun! See you and Paul in April!
Posted by: barb cabot | January 10, 2008 at 11:03 PM
Wow, that all looked yummy. I think we have an opening one night in Montisi for a guest chef.....:)
Posted by: gail hecko | January 10, 2008 at 11:13 PM
Barb - that is excellent news about Savannah. I look forward to seeing you again.
Gail - perhaps you can talk Paul into it! LOL
Posted by: Jerry | January 11, 2008 at 08:31 AM
WOW, looks good and I'm sooo glad that you enjoyed the night! I want the cookbook though....what's with all of the age comments....geez....25 is a great age!
Posted by: Rose | January 11, 2008 at 02:27 PM
I'd be happy to share the Montisi kitchen with Paul! I'll make the dip, but we'll need to pack Hawaiian chips! lol
Posted by: Palma | January 12, 2008 at 02:38 AM
Rose - it has been so long since you've seen 25 that you can't even remember it! LOL
Palma - that would be a sight. We've onbly got to the point after 10 years where we can share a kitchen without histerics. I'm not sure about 'strangers'. What the heck are Hawaiian chips?
Posted by: Jerry | January 12, 2008 at 06:56 AM
hi there any one no how how i can preserve baby eggplants in a great flavour?
Posted by: sally | February 18, 2008 at 08:46 PM
Sally - I don't have a recipe for preserved eggplants. If you google Emily Richards she has a web site with contact information. I bet that she would share this information with you!
Posted by: Jerry | February 20, 2008 at 08:11 AM