Cooking class at Amici Miei Ristorante - one of our favorite things to do! We missed several classes in the fall, so we were thrilled to be able to hit both December and January classes. Chef Davide and co-owner Roberto put together a couple hits for everyone who attended.

December was a Happy holiday dinner! We were pleased that one of Ernie’s colleagues and her husband were able to join the cooking class. And they got an opportunity to cook!

Chef Davide started off by preparing the stuffing for a turkey breast. Ground pork with bread crumb, an egg, nutmeg, and carrots all mixed together into a something the consistency of a pork meatloaf. That mixture was put into a sliced turkey breast, then Chef wrapped the whole thing in bacon and added a stalk of rosemary. (And no, you just cannot live without bacon!) After tying the turkey, it was put into the oven, and we were on to the next item on the cooking agenda - lasagna cupcakes!

Working on the intricate art of tying stuffed turkey. It is definitely not easy!

Lasagna cupcakes are actually a very clever idea - make individual cupcakes that are actually little lasagnas. Chef put a piece of lasagna noodles in the bottom of a cupcake holder, then filled that by layering in bolognese sauce, béchamel sauce, and a little parmigiana cheese. He put the “cupcakes” into the oven, allowing the draped pieces of the noodles to get nice and browned.

Lining a cupcake holder with a lasagna noodle.

Filling the cup with bolognese, béchamel, and parmesan cheese.

Next up was a porcini sauce that would be the base for sea scallops saltimbocca (in other words, scallops wrapped in prosciutto). The porcini cream sauce is really easy - cook the porcinis along with shallots and some seasoning, add some cream and heat that as well. Then, blend everything in a blender to make the creamy sauce. The scallops and a sage leaf are wrapped in prosciutto and seared. Scallops go onto the porcini cream sauce, and voila - one has a great appetizer! As I said, easy!

Look at these magnificent porcini mushrooms!

Assembling the scallop saltimbocca with the porcini cream sauce.

And then, dessert - Meringue and Marron Glacee cup. Usually Chef prepares dessert first, but today was different (since the dessert didn’t need to sit in the refrigerator for hours). Chef and his helpers whipped up egg whites and sugar to create the meringue. After these are baked (at a really low temperature), Chef and his helpers crumbled up the meringue. The marrons (chestnuts, for those of you who don’t speak Italian) are cut into pieces. And then whipping cream, vanilla and sugar are beaten together to create whipped cream. And then they filled cups with the chestnuts, shipped cream and meringue. A couple layers of each, then dust with cocoa power. Pretty simple, and the cups looked great!

Layering the chestnuts, meringue, and whipped cream.

Time to eat! We started with a 2014 Angeline Reserve Chardonnay from Monterey County, California. It was not a heavy Chardonnay, but lightly oaky with great fruit flavors. With the Sea Scallop Saltimbocca and the deliciously earthy porcini cream sauce, it was a wonderful match. The chardonnay had a nice acidity that countered the creamy porcini, and yet neither the porcini or the wine overpowered the scallops. The sage added a beautiful herbal note with the salty prosciutto. Ernie and I agreed that we had to add this appetizer to our Christmas Eve Feast of Seven Fish (which we did!). Off to a good start.

Earthy, herbal Scallop Saltimbocca with a wonderful Angeline Chardonnay.

Next course was the Lasagna cupcake. For this course, Roberto chose a 2012 Grifone Sangiovese di Romagna from the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy. The wine is very nice - earthy, medium-bodied. With the meaty bolognese sauce in the lasagna and the wonderful pasta and rich béchamel, the wine was definitely a hit. Everyone loved the cupcakes - a perfect serving size and a great presentation. We definitely want to try this sometime soon.

A little lasagne just for one - a perfect size. And so wonderful with the Grifone!

And then the main course. Roberto chose a 2011 Cabernet Franc called Vigne del Malina from the Venezia Giulia region. Since the turkey was stuffed with the pork stuffing and wrapped in bacon, it had a wonderful robust flavor with the saltiness of the bacon and the herbs in the stuffing. The wine was lovely, with a great scent of wild berries and black pepper - a full-bodied wine with herbs and spices and a bit of a hint of rhubarb. This was a really nice combination - and great to try, since determining what wine to serve with turkey can be a challenge at times.

The Vigne del Malina 2011. Look at the gorgeous purple color in the glass!

Stuffed turkey breast with the Cabernet Franc.

Finally the Meringue and Marron Glacee cup. Wow, a feast in itself. The chestnuts were beautifully chewy, matching with the crunchy meringue pieces and the whipped cream. We all savored the Glacee cup, talking about the upcoming holiday season and determining who was going to try out various ones of the recipes. A great time for everyone, and a great way to start the holiday season.

And the final wonderful course - dessert. Look at the chunks of meringue with the chestnuts and whipped cream. Wow!