International Cuisine ~ Italia

I love this class. This week we travelled to Italy. Unfortunately, we were only able to skin the surface of Italian Cuisine, which has much more regionalism than, say, French Cuisine. Group of four today ~ me, you-know-who from last week, Little Dan and Michael (worked with him in NARC week one). We made a fair ( I think) division of labour and got right down to work. i enjoy working with Dan and Michael and we laughed a lot and did stupid things but generally managed to keep it together. You-know-who stayed true to character, drifting off to parts unknown on a regular basis, skipping important steps, etc. We did our best though.
First Course: Calabrian Tomato and Bread Soup

This is an amazing warming and hearty soup with very few ingredients. Finished with olive oil and Parmesan Cheese, I think it qualifies as comfort food. Little Dan made it, and did a wonderful job, really gorgeous colour, etc.
The next course: Chicken Involtini with Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi and Zucchini Sicilian Style


I'll start with the Zucchini. You-know-who was supposed to be doing this one, but he forgot to soak his raisins, so it turned out a little chewy in the end. Basically, it is seared zucchini topped with a saute of raisins and pinenuts with olive oil and lemon. Tasted very good, despite my reservations.
The gnocchi (hiding under the chicken) I made. It was a challenge to shape as this gnocchi is flour and ricotta based with little chunks of pancetta and onion in it. It was delicious and well worth the effort. The chicken itself, we all had a hand in. Dummy made the tomato sauce, successfully! Michael jointed the chicken and prepared the stuffing. I pounded the breast medallions down and Dan seasoned and floured them before Michael stuffed and rolled. Another winner. In fact we had a great day and Soren said we all did very well today.
Tonight, I am playing with tea, lamb and my farmer's market haul.