Fresh Pasta Workshop July 28 at 12PM

Perfect your fresh pasta-making skills in this interactive hands-on cooking class July 28 at 12pm!

This class sells out very quickly every time we offer it, so don't wait too long to reserve your spot! Italians are world-famous for their pasta, and with good reason: whether it's light, ethereal egg noodles from Emilia, rich, cheesy gnocchi from Tuscany, or rustic semolina creations from southern Italy, fresh pasta made the traditional Italian way rarely disappoints. And while a few recipes have won the hearts and stomachs of many, there are hundreds of other, lesser-known treasures that few gourmets have had the pleasure to taste. In this class, we'll learn to make three very different pastas from three different Italian regions, and pair each with their ideal sauce. From Emilia, the heartland of fresh egg pasta: silky tagliatelle in a rich, creamy saffron sauce studded with peas and strips of Prosciutto. From Tuscany: light Ricotta gnocchi tossed with my mother's colorful roasted pepper and olive sauce, a family favorite since I could barely talk. From Basilicata, in Italy's south: handmade cavatelli made only from semolina flour and water, sauced with a chili-laced sausage ragu and three cheeses. And to round out the meal, we'll enjoy a refreshing salad and some homemade biscotti...

Menu, July 28:

Tagliatelle with Peas, Prosciutto, Saffron, & Cream (Emilia)
Ricotta Gnocchi with Mom's Roasted Pepper-Olive Sauce (Tuscany)
Cavatelli with Spicy Sausage, Three Cheeses, & Tomatoes (Basilicata)
Mixed Greens in Balsamic Vinaigrette
Crunchy Almond Biscotti

This hands-on cooking class lasts from 12PM to 3PM. The cost is $95 per person and includes a full lunch 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 Summer in an Italian Herb Garden cooking class on August 3 at 6pm... We love fresh herbs, and our garden is planted with as many varieties as we can get our hands on. Tonight's class features fresh herbs from antipasto to dessert, and may inspire you to plant an herb garden after the cooking is done. We'll start off our herb-laced menu with a delectable pasta from Portofino: tagliatelle tossed with a heady pesto featuring basil and rosemary, quite heavenly with silky fresh pasta ribbons of our own making. Marinating pork with an abundance of fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, oregano, and more) not only flavors it, it tenderizes it; we'll serve our herb-kissed roasted pork tenderloin with a bright, fresh-tasting salsa of sweet tomatoes, peppers, and tarragon. We'll roast rosemary-scented potatoes using an ingenious trick we learned in Puglia to achieve an extra crispy crust (the secret is all in the pan!), and finish our feast with figs stuffed with young goat cheese and fresh mint, just perfect drizzled with honey. You can sign up here for our Summer in an Italian Herb Garden.

We've also posted our online class calendar through October 2012 here.

For those of you planning a team-building activity or important celebration this season, 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 company's team-building event at RUSTICO COOKING: "A huge thank you to you and your staff for making our Women's Group event so fun and special! I received nothing but fantastic feedback, and it has been such a pleasure to work with you. I hope that we will have a chance to work together again in the future." Supria K., Chadbourne & Parke

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 delicious new recipes for summer entertaining: fried zucchini blossoms and grilled pork chops topped with roasted peppers. 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 recipes: