Cheeselover's Cooking Class... January 27 Only

Join us for an amazing evening of food, cooking, and fun and learn to make 5 delicious cheese-studded dishes on January 27 at 6 pm!

If you love cheese like we do, don't wait too long to sign up for this one time-only hands-on cooking class! You'll cook with a half-dozen fantastic Italian cheeses, and our dinner will highlight Italian cheeses in every course, from antipasto to dessert. We'll begin by making a focaccia from the northern region of Liguria, stuffed with creamy Stracchino cheese and dusted with coarse sea salt; this is a focaccia unlike any you've encountered before, and once you've learned how to make the dough for this amazing appetizer, you'll find yourself preparing it time and again. Next, we'll fill homemade crepes with a mushroom-studded sauce, fold them in quarters (prettily known as ''handkerchiefs'' in Italy), and bake this sumptuous first course under a veil of Parmigiano. Beef scaloppine are a delicious alternative to veal scaloppine; tonight we'll top beef saltimbocca with nutty Provolone to play off the fragrant sage. Speck, a smoked Prosciutto from northern Italy, is a lovely wrap for roasted asparagus, especially when smoked Mozzarella is added to the mix. Decadent, creamy Mascarpone is one of Italy's most versatile cheeses; we'll transform ours into a light, ethereal tiramisu that needs nothing more than a dusting of cocoa to shine...

Menu, January 27:

Crispy Focaccia with Stracchino & Sea Salt
Crepes with Roasted Wild Mushrooms, Fontina, & Parmigiano
Beef Saltimbocca with Provolone & Sage
Roasted Asparagus Bundles with Speck & Smoked Mozzarella
The Ultimate Tiramisu

This hands-on cooking class lasts from 6PM to 9PM. The cost is $110 per person and includes a full dinner paired with wine. Be sure to sign up here before class sells out or call 917-602-1519.

And we are also very excited about our Southern Italian Cooking Class on January 23 at 6pm... This brand new menu features five delicious southern Italian favorites. We'll begin by kneading dough for a classic focaccia, topping it only with the best quality fruity extra-virgin olive oil and coarse sea salt before baking to golden perfection (once you've mastered the dough for this basic focaccia, you'll be able to bake a variety of focaccias in the comfort of your very own kitchen, without any special ingredients or equipment). Next, we'll prepare an heirloom primo piatto: handmade pasta with broccoli raab and sausage, absolutely heavenly dusted with cheese. Our main course pays homage to the sea: baby calamari stuffed with a garlicky bread crumb and cheese mixture, slow-cooked in a subtle tomato sauce until tender. Green beans are slow-roasted to make a splendidly flavorful side dish, and a liqueur-laced Ricotta tart completes our feast in southern Italy. You can sign up here for our Southern Italian Cooking Class. Take a look at our complete online class calendar through April 2012 here.

And with Valentine's Day just around the corner, this is a good time to think about ordering gift certificates for our cooking classes for the food lover in your life! Recipients can redeem certificates for any cooking class (or wine tasting) on the calendar, so they have total freedom! You can add a copy of The Italian Grill or a handsome RUSTICO COOKING apron to make your gift even more special. We will email you a printable gift certificate within hours of your purchase, so nothing could be easier for gift giving.

For those of you looking for a great team-building activity this year, consider a private cooking party. Parties can be held in the daytime or evening and last 3 hours, and the cost is just $162 per person inclusive of gratuity. And the best part: you get to pick the menu you want, and you can add on a wine tasting if you are really into wine! We've even created a chocolate lover's dream event: a hands-on cooking class followed by dinner, a wine tasting, and a chocolate tasting... Call 917-602-1519 to inquire about availability for your private cooking event. Our corporate clients include A & E Television Network, Unilever, Google, Colgate Palmolive, Credit Suisse, Newsweek, Victoria's Secret, NBC, and many more... Click here for more on our clients and testimonials.

Here's what a client recently said about her team-building event at RUSTICO COOKING last month: "We LOVED Rustico! What a fantastic and most enjoyable (and delicious) menu/evening & event. I'm so pleased we found you. Best wishes and thanks to Elizabeth who was simply outstanding. She had a great vibe and perfect balance of chef meets educator... It was really such a joy and I look forward to bringing other groups back to Rustico in 2012! " Edie, Liveperson

We look forward to cooking with you soon!

Micol Negrin & Dino De Angelis

And why not forward this email newsletter to your food-loving friends? The more people around our kitchen table, the better!

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New Recipes

We've added 2 brand new recipes to our web site this month, including a delicious pasta and a hearty winter soup. Let us know which dishes you prepare! These are perfect recipes for entertaining, and are sure to make your dinner guests feel very special. And consult our complete recipe index here.

Here are links to this month's brand new recipes: