Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Pasta Making Class with the Hubby!

Can you believe it's February already?!

You may remember that Chris and I took a pasta making class in Florence on our Honeymoon. It was a very personalized and private class, and it was a great experience. For some reason - I really couldn't remember how we made the pastas and when I tried to do it at home, and failed miserably. I have the pasta maker attachments for my kitchenaid stand mixer, and it was all very different from how we did it in Italy.

So, I signed us up for another pasta class at Sur La Table in Manhasset, NY, but this class also included 3 different sauces and 3 different types of pasta. We attended the class on Saturday and this place was so adorable! I had a very fun afternoon with the Hubs! When we arrived, we were each given an apron, a towel, and a clipboard with an information packet and our recipes for the day.
Individual work stations for each person were set up on two islands in the center of the room
Thanks Instagram!
All we did was create a well and add two eggs to this flour and salt mixture - super easy!
After we made our pasta dough balls, the dough needed to rest for awhile so we got to work on our sauces for the day! First, we made a Tuscan Sausage and Caramelized Onion Ragu (which ended up being my personal favorite). This sauce was so thick and flavorful!
While the Ragu cooked, we also made a Sun-Dried Tomato, Rosemary and Pancetta Cream Sauce. This was much easier and quicker to make, perfect for a quick weeknight meal!
We also made Walnut-Sage Pesto Sauce - but it didn't even compare to both our mom's Basil pesto recipes. I feel that pesto is best made with Basil, not parsley and sage, so this was just ok.
As these sauces cooked a little more, we got to work on actually creating the pasta. We were able to use the Kitchenaid pasta maker attachments or a hand crank that was on the tables. I used a hand crank maker when we were in Italy and since I have the KitchenAid attachments, I really wanted to get practice on using that, so I'd know what to do at home.
Chris rolling out our pasta dough
It takes two:
Using the cutter attachment:
Putting the pasta onto the sheets before boiling it:
Once everything was done, we all quickly dove in to eat our meals and I obviously was way too enthralled with my plate to take pictures of the finished products. Just know that everything came out really delicious! I liked the Ragu, then the Cream Sauce, and then the Pesto and I can't wait to try all of these things at home on my own!

I also LOVED this place - though the classes are a little pricey, I think they are totally worth it for a once in a while treat to do with anyone: moms, friends, sisters, husbands, etc. Sur La Table has locations across the country, so they might be near you, too! I can say, that I will definitely be coming back here for more classes - but it's now time for me to venture out of the "pastas" and try some new things! Spanish tapas anyone?!
Did you ever take a cooking class with your boyfriend/fiancé/hubby, or just in general?

6 comments:

Rorie said...

Looks so fun and delicious!!

HiLLjO said...

molto bello! I want to do that with Shawn! And LuckkkkyyyY! Pasta attachment? YA! I wish I had that one. I love the meat grinder though, too!

Heather said...

YUM! This sounds like such an awesome class and super tasty recipes. We have a sushi class coming up next month, and I can't wait!

Mom said...

This looks really awesome. I can't wait till I'm able to take a few classes with you. I want to taste some of that ragu! MMMMM!

Christi said...

Oooo that looks SO fun! I want to do a pasta making class now!

eliz said...

Whoohooo this is such a great idea and such a great idea to spend with the husby! You guys are so cute! <3....and such good cooks!!