Back To School

This week was my own personal back to school time, but this version of school didn’t require books, buses or backpacks. The only prerequisites were a desire to learn, a healthy appetite and the willingness to get just a tad dirty (actually, in this case, floury).

My return to the classroom is in the form of a three part Italian cooking series I’m taking at Panhandler’s Kitchen, a local kitchen supply shop. First up, Spaghetti Carbonara. I know, Spaghetti Carbonara is consistently presented as a “simple” dish to make, hearty and satisfying, quick and easy. That said, I’ve wanted to make Spaghetti Carbonara for years (really, years) and I’ve been afraid of it. I just couldn’t reconcile myself to getting those eggs blended in properly; I kept envisioning scrambled eggs all beaten up into a pile of spaghetti. So, here was my chance to have a real, live instructor walk me through it. Oh, and did I mentioned we were making the pasta from scratch? Never has back to school been so very cool!

In a class of eight with an instructor who’s philosophy is one should take a recipe and make it their own, there was plenty of time for detailed instruction, insight and hands on learning. Gathered around an oversized butcher block table Chef Nancy first demonstrated, and then talked us through making our pasta dough. Working in teams of two, we eagerly created a miniature Mt. Vesuvius to emulate Chef Nancy’s larger model. The precarious flour walls cradled eggs, salt, oil and water until ooops…there’s a breach in the flour wall and we quickly coax the errant egg back into the volcano. After a bit more coaxing and some enthusiastic kneading it was time to let the dough rest and learn the finer details of various pasta makers.

Then, the coolest part of all, we each took turns at the machine, turning those lumps of dough into beautiful strands of fresh spaghetti. (For the first couple of cranks anyway, after that we were unanimously intrigued with the fettuccine option.) While the pasta was “in production” Chef Nancy continued with making the sauce (what’s not to love about eggs, bacon, salt, pepper, pecorino and heavy cream?!) We discussed traditional vs Americanized touches, as well as myriad personal adjustments we could make to suit our own tastes.

By the time Chef Nancy was gently coating the cooked pasta with the creamy sauce I had lost my fear of Spaghetti Carbonara and started considering what personal spin I might put on this classic when I make it at home.

Next week, ravioli with tomato sauce. I can’t wait to taste the results!