January’s cooking class at Amici Miei - which was fortunately held BEFORE the blizzard, not during! This was a great menu, and filled with a number of delicious - and pretty easy-to-make - dishes.

Menu for January's cooking class at Amici Miei

We started off with a really clever idea - a winter salad in an edible “bowl”. Chef Davide finely ground together polenta and parmesan cheese, and then he carefully heated a layer of the cornmeal in a pan (much like one would with a crepe). When the polenta/cheese mixture turned a golden brown with a bit of bubbling at the edges, he flipped it out of the pan onto an inverted bowl. As the heated mixture cooled, it formed just a bit further around the bowl to create a bowl shape. Voilà - fill the “bowl” with lovely winter salad ingredients such as radicchio, sliced apple, crushed walnuts, and endive, drizzle a bit of balsamic, and you have a beautiful, edible dish. Really simple, but elegant!

Heating the polenta and parmesan mixture like a crepe.

The art of drizzling balsamic vinegar on a salad.

Next up - the Ragú Genovese. This sauce was actually named because a number of Genovese chefs lived in Naples, and they put their spin on the ragú sauce - ergo, “Genovese” ragú. The helpers sliced up beef short ribs, onions, carrots, and celery. Into a pot went all the ingredients, along with a bit of olive oil and white wine (not red). Basically, that would just simmer for the next several house. The onions dissolve, and the meat spreads its juices through the entire sauce. The sauce would be served over artisanal rigatoni or ziti.

So that the sauce can go simmer for a few hours.

While the sauce was cooking, Chef Davide and his helpers started on the main dish. He cut up lamb into cubes, then wrapped the cubes with finely-sliced pancetta. The meat is cooked in a baking pan in the oven along with sage, rosemary, and bay leaf for seasoning, with some white wine and beef broth added. While that was cooking, Chef chopped up parsley and bread crumb. It was quite fun - he showed us how he could use two knives simultaneously to chop the parsley - and it was so fast, I could not catch the movements on the camera! The bread crumb and parsley were mixed together along with chopped garlic. When the meat was cooked, Chef sprinkled the meat with the bread crumb mixture and then toasted both. In another pan, he heated the juices from the meat along with marsala wine and some corn starch (for thickening). To serve, he put the lamb with the toasted bread crumb on a plate, then drizzled the lamb sauce over it all.

With some broth and wine, then off to the oven.

And toss the parsley with the bread crumbs.

Ernie is enjoying watching the cooking - and anticipating when it will be time to eat! Waiter Arturo is also having a good time!

And then, dessert. Chef Davide ground up chestnuts in a food processor, then added in powdered sugar, mascarpone cheese, vanilla, and amaretto liquor. Separate, he melted semisweet chocolate chips with butter. The two mixtures were then blended together into a very creamy mixture. Chef’s helpers then piped the chocolate chestnut mixture into glasses, and then topped them with crumbled amaretto cookies. Those of us watching were starving at this point, ready to have some lunch.

Chopped chestnuts, powdered sugar, and vanilla...

And top with crushed amaretto cookies. Wow!

The first course of the winter salad was served, along with a 2014 Kaltern Pino Grigio from the Alto Adige region of Italy. The wine was beautifully crisp yet full-bodied, which went very well with the apples and walnuts in the salad and the crunchy polenta/parmesan “bowl”. The wine had hints of nuttiness and honey, so the combination was great. We all got quiet as we dove into the food - a great start!

Winter salad in the polenta-parmesan "bowls".

The Kaltern Pinot Grigio went perfectly!

Next up was the pasta. Roberto paired the Genovese Ragú with a 2013 Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. The ragú was meaty with the short rib, and many of us added parmigiano-reggiano over the top to complete the dish. And in combination with the slightly early Montepulciano - very nice! The wine tasted of dark berries (like blackberries) and a hint of leather - almost a bit of chocolate in the finish. A great combination for winter, and really simple.

A simple, yet delightful, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo.

And then the secondi - the lamb. This, Roberto paired with a 2011 Emperors Nero d’Avola from Sicily. This wine was full-bodied, with the flavors of dark berries and spices. The rich flavor of the lamb and the sauce along with the wine was delightful and a great combination. Everyone really enjoyed the main course.

Beautifully cooked lamb with parsley/breadcrumb topping. And the wine was great...

The 2011 Nero d'Avola was a great match.

Dessert - yummy! The chocolate, creamy chestnut was just gorgeous, and there were just enough granules of the chestnuts to give a wonderful texture. The amaretto cookies on top were crunchy and augmented the hint of amaretto in the dessert. I decided to pair the dessert with a glass of tawny port - and the combination was wonderful. (I love chocolate and port - it’s great!)

The gorgeous chestnut, amaretto, and mascarpone dessert - with a glass of tawny port. Heaven!

And once again, everyone had a great time, going home with recipes and a determination to make some of the dishes. And, in fact, we did! When it was clear that the blizzard would hit Baltimore, we grabbed the last short ribs from Whole Foods along with onions and the other ingredients, and we made the Genovese Ragú. It was so good - and we ate while we watched the storm howl outside, not able to see the buildings right across the street. Thank you, Chef Davide, for a great set of recipes!

Our rendition of Genovese Ragú during the blizzard. We didn't cut the carrots as small as Chef Davide, so they stayed visible.

And an alternative to the Montepulciano. Since it was cold, we went for the Villa Fulvia Amarone. That was also a wonderful combination, perfect for a blizzard!