Welcome fall with two of the year's most delectable evenings of food and wine: Our Wild Mushroom Feast on September 20 and our Chianti Wine Tasting & Cooking Class on September 27!
If you've ever wanted to travel to Tuscany in the fall to celebrate the magic of the grape harvest, join us for our first ever Chianti Wine Tasting & Cooking Class on September 27 This one time-only event will bring us to the greatest wine-making region of Italy: the small yet amazingly productive zone between Pisa and Siena, where centuries-old Chianti Classico is produced from Sangiovese and other grapes. There are seven distinct Chianti classifications, all of which will be explored in this unforgettable night of Tuscan food and Tuscan wine. We'll begin with a brief hands-on cooking class during which you'll learn to prepare five fabulous dishes ideal for fall feasting. We'll roll out feathery light Ricotta gnocchi, braise beef short ribs with herbs and onions and Chianti until the meat literally falls off the bone, roast wedges of fennel under a cloak of grated Parmigiano, stir up a pot of creamy, luscious chive-kissed polenta, and bake the most sinful, crunchy sugar-coated apple and maple syrup cake. After our cooking class, you'll sit down to enjoy your dinner paired with a tasting of 8 or more Chianti wines, each of which will be presented by our charismatic Wine Director Costas Mouzouras.
On the Menu, September 27 at 6PM:
- Light-as-Air Ricotta Gnocchi with Leeks, Sweet Peas, and Tomatoes
- Braised Beef Short Ribs with Caramelized Onions and Chianti Classico
- Fennel Gratin with Parmigiano
- Old-Fashioned Polenta with Chives
- Maple Syrup-Apple Cakes with Crunchy Cinnamon Sugar & Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
This one time-only cooking class lasts from 6PM to 9PM. The cost is $150 per person and includes:
- hands-on cooking lesson
- four-course dinner
- 8 wines presented by RUSTICO's Wine Director Costas Mouzouras
- a free apron
- dinner paired with 3 wines
Space is limited, so reserve soon... this class will sell out. You can sign up here.
And if you love mushrooms, then don't miss our annual Wild Mushroom Feast. What could be better on the eve of autumn than a feast of mushrooms Italian-style? With their heady woodsy scent and their satisfyingly toothsome texture, mushrooms are one of my favorite go-to ingredients when I want to create an elegant dinner. And there are so many varieties of mushrooms to play with! Creamy oysters, intense shiitakes, pungent porcini, bold chanterelles, delicate cremini, playful morels... The list goes on and on. Join me for our second annual Mushroom Lover's Night, a true ode to funghi in all their versatile glory. We'll start our hands-on cooking class by whipping up a creamy cheese-laced risotto featuring an abundance of dried porcini and white truffle oil... Next up: thin slices of golden veal, sautéed in butter and showered with a medley of wild mushrooms splashed with dry Marsala wine. Our two mushroomy sides showcase the distinct personalities of roasted versus steamed mushrooms: a succulent combination of roasted potatoes and mushrooms, and a sophisticated wild mushroom flan (tortino in Italian) bound together with eggs and Parmigiano. For a sweet finale, we'll bake up crispy apple, walnut, and chocolate pastry triangles, a lovely ending to our mushroom extravaganza.
On the Menu, September 20 at 6PM:
- Risotto with Dried Porcini & Truffle Oil
- Veal Scaloppine with Wild Mushroom Medley & Marsala
- Roasted Fingerling Potatoes & Oyster Mushrooms with Garlic Gremolata
- Creamy Mushroom Flan
- Crispy Fruit- and Chocolate-Stuffed Phyllo Triangles with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
This one time-only cooking class lasts from 6PM to 9PM and is limited to 22 participants. The cost is $110 per person and includes dinner paired with 3 wines. You can sign up here.
Space is limited for this class too, so reserve before class sells out!
And of course, we have plenty of other mouthwatering menus lined up for you in the fall: our Italian Home Cooking Class featuring handmade ravioli and perfect filet mignon on September 17, and our Hot & Spicy Italian Class for chili lovers on September 18, to mention just two of this month's fabulous offerigs. Take a look at our complete online class calendar (available through December) here.
We look forward to cooking with you soon!
Micol Negrin & Dino De Angelis
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