Dana’s heart shows in his cooking. He is now taking “Cook Italian” a four-part cooking class covering the Four Seasons. Here is the menu for last night’s class:
Crema Di Escarola Con Mozzerella
Parmesan Garlic Bread Sticks
Caesar Salad
Pasta Bolognaise
Cherry Galette Torta Di Ciliegia
There are 22 people in the class so pans are large and many hands stir and whip.
One of the challenges of the night was picking chopped carrots out of the bolognaise meat sauce to put them through the blender, an oversight the first time through the recipe.
The cooks joined together to separate the meat from the carrots and finally completed the task. That brought up this Julia Child story. Julia Child maintained that you never admit making a mistake in cooking just call it something else. The class decided that this sauce would now be referred to as “Chunky Bolognaise Sauce.” What is that in Italian?
The creme of escarole soup is topped with pine nuts, golden raisins, mozzarella and excellent olive oil. Dana commented that the final touches of the garnishes turned something great into something extraordinary.
The yeasted garlic bread is shaped in long tubes then rolled in garlic infused olive oil. The dish bakes and the bread rises to result in a wonderful brown crust with a fluffy white center.
The cherries for the Galette came from Italy and arrived in a beautifully decorated 26 ounce tin. The cherries are a deep,dark maroon…almost black.
Camelizing Apples for Cherry Galette
The Bolognese sauce is served over farfelle, a type of pasta derived from the Italian word farfalla (butterfly). Here we call it, “bowtie.”
The class eats progressively. As each course is completed, everyone sits down to enjoy the flavors.
It is great fun to cook with others. This class started at 6 p.m. and ended sometime after 10. Italian food at an Italian pace. Perfect.
MedFlies 
Yumm, ditto…. Great SB activity.
Italian cooking is a great activity anywhere. We learned that in Sicily.
The garlic bread looks especially wonderful.
Did Dana get olive oil on his camera? Tough job being chef AND photographer.
We just bought some Baruni (from a little town near Yuba City which is near Sacramento which is in the Central Valley of CA) olive oil at the Farmer’s Market. Can’t wait to use it. J
Looks like fun !
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And Dana brought some home.
Yumm!
You said it…wish I had been there.