Experiencing a Dante Alighieri Society Cooking Class
Nothing is better than learning to cook a real Italian meal from a real Italian chef. You can count on getting a recipe that is compiled of only the freshest ingredients and one that has been passed down through several generations within the family. Just last month DAS held a cooking class put on by Chef Tom Mirabito, at our Lady of Mount Carmel. If you have never signed up, you are missing out on a morning of fun. The church has a commercial kitchen that is perfectly suited for small groups to take cooking classes. Upon completion of the class you actually get to sit down with other DAS members and guests and enjoy the meal you prepared.
Chef Tom dazzled us by sharing stories of what it was like to go to cooking school at the same place Antony Bourdain attended, Culinary Institute of America and what it was like to own a restaurant. I asked if all the sordid stories that Bourdain shared in his book titled Kitchen Confidential was true and he smiled and said indeed it was…
I signed up for this particular cooking class for one reason and one reason only, to learn to how to make gnocchi. Prior attempts always ended in complete failure. My gnocchi either fell apart when placed in the boiling water or came out a tad too tough. I figure I needed some hands on training and experience with an expert. I came away with the following tips for making the perfect potato dumpling. The potatoes were baked at 425 degrees for about 40-60 minutes.
Tip 1: Chef Tom taught us to tell if our potato was ready by picking up a potato by inserting a knife smack dab in the middle. If the potato falls off, it is ready…if it sticks, leave it in the oven longer. Brilliant!
Tip 2: Cut the potatoes in half and scoop the filling onto a sheet pan and let completely cool. Do not mix the potato hot and do not over work it by squeezing too hard as you will release too much starch and turn your fluffy texture into a more dense glue like and dense texture.
Tip 3: Our recipe called for adding egg, salt and flour. Chef Tom suggested we add an extra egg to help ensure the dumplings hold together.
Tip 4: Roll the prepared dough into long ropes on a floured surface and then cut into bite sized pieces. We did not have a gnocchi board so we rolled each piece down the back of our fork to create little ridges to hold the sauce.
Tip 5: Each piece was placed carefully on a floured tray to rest and dry a bit before boiling.
We created the perfect gnocchi ever. The end result was absolutely amazing. Our special meal included chicken, sausage, broccolini, gnocchi, strawberries and some mighty fine wine that even boasted the family name of our President.