Cheese Lover's Cooking Class in NYC!

If you love cheese, don't miss this one time-only hands-on class on October 28 at 6 pm!

In this fun hands-on 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 (known as "handkerchiefs" in Italy), and bake them under a veil of Parmigiano; we first sampled this sumptuous dish in Milan. Beef scaloppine are a delicious alternative to veal scaloppine; 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 Ricotta is one of Italy's most versatile cheeses; we'll transform ours into a light, ethereal cheesecake in a buttery almond crust that needs nothing more than a spoonful of warm blueberry sauce to shine...

Menu, October 28:

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
Miniature Cheesecakes in Brown Sugar-Almond Crust with Warm Blueberry Sauce

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 Autumn in Milan Cooking Class on October 14 at 6pm... We'll begin by making pasta the old-fashioned way, with eggs and flour, roll it out, stuff it with a beguiling medley of roasted butternut squash and Parmigiano, and shape it into luxuriant ravioli. We'll slow-cook chicken with a hint of tomatoes and a splash of grappa until it becomes meltingly tender and juicy, and serve it with succulent, slow-roasted cauliflower and a rich, cheese-laced polenta. Dessert draws on the old Italian saying, Al contadino non far sapere quant'e' buono il cacio con le pere ("Don't tell the farmer how good cheese is with pears"): we'll serve wine-poached, juicy pears with ripe, pungent Gorgonzola... we'll poach the pears in a red wine syrup, and whip our Gorgonzola into a luscious mousse with a touch of honey. You can sign up here for our Autumn in Milan Cooking Class.

We've also posted our online class calendar through December 2013 here.

Private Cooking Parties & Team-Building Events NYC

For those of you looking for a memorable team-building event, bachelorette party, or birthday celebration, 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, HBO, Unilever, Google, Colgate Palmolive, Credit Suisse, David Yurman, 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: "I wanted to let you know what a wonderful job chef Gerry did with the group! We had a very enjoyable event, and the whole team loved the experience. The Rustico environment is very well designed and implemented - I will be sure to give high praise to you when telling colleagues!" Barbara C., Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

We look forward to cooking with you soon!

Micol Negrin & Dino De Angelis

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New Recipes

We've added 2 delicious new dessert recipes to our site; let us know which you prepare! These are perfect recipes for everyday eating or entertaining. And consult our complete recipe index here.

Here are links to this month's recipes: