No Pressure…but do you speak Italian?

So, last Friday night was another one of my demo classes at the Rolling Pin here in Brandon. I get there early; start preparing in advance a couple of things and getting prepped. I was feeling uncharacteristically calm and “in control”, as I’m typically rushing. So, as I’m settling into this position of self confidence the guests begin to arrive and take their seats. As I’m preparing the pastella for my vegetables, I hear a soft voice asking if I spoke Italian, without looking or thinking I instinctively replied with “si”. When I turned around to see who had asked, there was sitting directly in front of where I was to be cooking, a couple who were upon seeing, obviously Italian. OH MY GOODNESS, ok, I’m always very confident in my cooking and have cooked for many an Italian IN Italy, but, it never ceases to set the notch for me a little higher when I cook for native Italians. Here I am a little southern girl, striving to convince these people that not only am I knowledgeable about Italy and its cuisine, but possess the ability to reproduce the cuisine as an Italian would.

Well, throughout the evening I discovered that my new friends were from Rome, where we have family, but had been living in the states for about 50 years. We discussed cooking methods and recipes, children, areas of Italy as well as a multitude of other subjects. By the end of the class, I had not only won the approval of native Italians and the other Italian-loving guests with my dinner, but had made wonderful friends with 21 of the greatest guests a chef could ask for.

Here is the menu from that evening:

Pastella

Pan Seared Ribs in White Wine and Sage

Polenta with Herbs

Sautéed Green Beans

Tiramisu

All of these recipes can be found to the right under either Latest Recipes or by clicking on the “Great Recipes”.

buon appetito a tutti…..

alla prossimo - Debbie