Welcome back to #whatscooking! We’re excited to share our June schedule of live interactive online cooking classes, brought to you from our homes to yours!
After the huge success of our May classes, we are once again offering simple interactive live cooking classes in June, to bring Italy-lovers together in the kitchen to celebrate the arrival of summer during this time of social distancing.
Our classes are geared toward home cooks like us and are open to all.
June cooking class calendar
Roman Classics: back by popular demand, with Carolyn
June 4, 2020 at 5:00 PM EST – Duration: 90 minutes
Viva la cucina romana! Today we explore two of Rome’s favorite pasta dishes: Amatriciana & Gricia. While Amatriciana is among Rome’s most representative pasta dishes originating in the hilltop town of Amatrice in the late 18th century, Gricia is the actual foundation for many of Rome’s famous pastas. The simple combination of Pecorino Romano and guanciale – cured pork jowl – forms a delicious dish in its own right. During our 90-minute live interactive cooking workshop, we prepare both!
Price: $30 per person
Italian dolce: Tiramisu 2 ways, with Eleonora
June 5, 2020 at 3:00 PM EST – Duration: 90 minutes Literally, “pick me up” tiramisu is one of Italy’s most beloved and popular desserts. The worldwide craze for Italian tiramisu started with Rob Reiner and Tom Hanks in the terrific 1993 rom-com “Sleepless in Seattle.” During our 90-minute live interactive cooking workshop, we will layer espresso-soaked ladyfingers with a mix of mascarpone, sugar and eggs for the classic version, but we will also make a second soft, creamy, rich tiramisu variation using fresh strawberries: also perfect for kids!
Price: $30 per person
Fresh pasta: cavatelli with pesto, with Carolyn
June 11, 2020 at 5:00 PM EST – Duration: 90 minutes
Cookbooks may instruct, but the best way to learn how to make fresh pasta is being taught by a friend. Someone you can observe and question as the eggs and flour become an art form from bare hands. Observing to absorb the moves and the inherited skill to make your own rustic “pasta fatta in casa.” During our 90-minute live interactive cooking workshop, you’ll combine water and flour to make cavatelli, a delicious vehicle for a vibrant, herbaceous pesto. This dish can be served hot or cold.
Price: $30 per person
Suggested equipment (but not required): Gnocchi board, Dough scraper
Cheese & Wine Club: Summer in the Italian South
June 13, 2020 at 4:00 PM EST – Duration: 90 minutes
Our June pairing lesson takes cheese and wine lovers on a journey to the Italian south, tasting 3 summer wines (a white, a rosé and a lightly chilled red from southern Italian regions) paired with 3 cheeses made in different styles and with an assortment of milk types for a delightful sensory experience. Pairing lessons are taught in tandem by Eleonora, our resident cheese expert, and Gina, our natural wine lover, both will share some of their southern Italian wine and cheese adventures.
Price: $30 per person
Sunday comfort: Neapolitan Ragù aka Sunday gravy, with Gina
June 14, 2020 at 12:00 PM EST – Duration: 90 minutes
In Naples, Sunday mornings mean slow cooked ragù. The best ragù combines a tasty cut of beef, pork and braciole. The dense, dark cooking juices season ribbed rigatoni leaving the meat to be enjoyed as a second course. In the past, the doorman was the sugo keeper, listening to the bubbling of slow-simmering pots and watching tenants come and go. During our 90-minute interactive class, we’ll prepare the base of the legendary Neapolitan ragù which will simmer away for 5 hours.
Price: $30 per person
“There is no love sincerer than the love of food.”
― George Bernard Shaw
Fresh pasta: Lemon Ricotta Tortellini in Brown Butter Sauce, with Carolyn
June 20, 2020 at 5:00 PM EST – Duration: 90 minutes
Cookbooks may instruct, but the best way to learn how to make fresh pasta is with a friend. Someone you can observe and question as the eggs and flour become art from bare hand, absorbing the moves and the inherited skill to make your own rustic “pasta fatta in casa.” Stuffed pastas aren’t as intimidating as you may think. At the end of this class you’ll not only have a delectable dinner, but you’ll also acquire the knowledge and confidence to create a variety of stuffed pastas!
Price: $30 per person
Suggested equipment (but not required): Pasta attachment for Kitchen Aid, Pasta machine, Dough scraper, Pastry wheel, Pastry bags
Sicilian specialties: Caponata, with Gina
June 23, 2020 at 3:00 PM EST – Duration: 90 minutes
Caponata or capunata is a quintessential Sicilian salad/stew consisting of fried eggplant, celery, tomato and olives in a sweet and sour sauce. Not surprisingly, ingredients and recipes vary as we make our way around the island of Sicily for this seasonal side dish or appetizer. During this 90 minute live interactive lesson, we’ll make Gina’s favorite, densely flavored caponata and in addition, discover a number of variations. This dish can be served hot or cold and is perfect for the summer.
Price: $30 per person
Complete meal recipes: Pomodori al Riso – rice stuffed tomatoes, with Eleonora
June 26, 2020 at 3:00 PM EST – Duration: 90 minutes
Rice stuffed tomatoes are a classic Italian summer dish. Ideal for beach picnics or as a refreshing family lunch, pomodori al riso are a complete meal, or piatto unico, made with Arborio rice stuffed within the hollowed-out heirloom tomatoes, mixed with tomato pulp, herbs and other secrets and finally baked. During our 90 minute interactive cooking lesson we make this flavorful Italian vegan specialty which can be served warm or cold, ideally the day after baking, so that flavors have time to further intensify.
Price: $30 per person
Future lessons will include
- Antipasto! Appetizers and cicchetti to pair to wine and cocktails
- Basic sauces – pesto, puttanesca, bolognese and more
- Main courses – roasts and stews; chicken cacciatore; involtini & scaloppine; roasts and more
- Pizza & Focaccia – celebrate the summer with favorite toppings
- Vegetarian recipes – stewed lentils, torta rustica (savory pie), caponata and more
- Desserts – crostata, panna cotta, gelato & granita, and more
You can find details and purchase your spots in all lessons here.
Price
The price to join our June live cooking classes is $30 per screen/device with a maximum of 2 people per screen/device. For more than 2 participants per screen/device there is an additional fee of $10 per person.
We donate 10% of all sign-ups to Partners in Health Coronavirus response efforts.
