Restaurant Review

Appetite for instruction

By Susan N. Denaro, Esquire

Chef Roberto provides hands-on instruction while preparing stuffed zucchini.

My son, Joe Cullen, earns Chef Roberto’s approval for making a tasty tomato sauce, which topped our ravioli. My husband, John Cullen, also received kudos for his garlic peeling skills. On a bright June morning during a family trip, I enjoyed striking an item off my bucket list: making pasta in Italy under the tutelage of a descendant of a Roman God. We arrived mid-morning at the In Tavola Cooking Academy in Florence located at Via dei Velluti, 20/r – 50125 for what by serendipity turned out to be a hands-on private cooking class rather than a large group lesson. We had taken a pizza and gelato class in Rome a couple of days earlier which only featured those two items so we assumed this class would only include pasta instruction. To our delight, it included a full four-course meal, consisting of a vegetable course, a pasta course, an entrée, and a dessert.

In a well-appointed professional kitchen, Roberto, who was all I hoped for and more in an instructor, took advantage of having only three of us in his kitchen by giving us several tests to determine our skill level, which in turn let him adjust his level of instruction. Mine was to guess what dessert we would be making based upon a reveal of a mis en place he had hidden under a dish towel. It was easy to call out ‘tiramisu’ the second I spied the ingredients because it was a favorite of my mother’s and I often made it with her. My husband’s test was to peel a garlic clove, and he swiftly did so in a manner that drew kudos from Roberto. Our son was given and passed several general knowledge questions. The look of relief on Roberto’s face was hard to miss, and as our lesson progressed, he admitted the worst part of his job was teaching kitchen basics to vacationers who only truly knew how to make reservations.

When I say that the lesson was ‘hands-on’, I am referring to the fact that there was no mixer or other modern appliance placed on the workspace to help with any of our tasks. Despite having to whisk the wet ingredients for the dessert by hand, Roberto’s version was a quick and simple one and was something my mother would have loved. For the uninitiated, tiramisu is a classic Italian sweet featuring lady fingers dipped in a combination of strong coffee and brandy and then layered with a sweetened mascarpone cheese and egg mixture. Best suited for coffee lovers, this no-bake desert is dusted with cocoa powder.

After the tiramisu was placed in the refrigerator to set, I was assigned the task of making stuffed zucchini. The dish featured rounded whole zucchinis native to Italy. They were hollowed out to be filled with a mixture of diced and sauteed eggplant, roasted red bell pepper, tomato, and potato. The cooked mixture included parmesan and ricotta cheeses and was seasoned with fresh thyme and basil. Once assembled, the colorful and healthy zucchinis were baked in the oven to soften them and properly meld the flavors.

While I was busy contemplating whether life was too short to stuff a small zucchini, my spouse made the pasta dough by hand, and our son, Joe, focused on a simple Sugo al Pomodoro, Basiclico e Aglio sauce. After the

A cooking class without the jet lag at The Culinary Classroom with, from left, Mary Ellen Wells, your columnist, Virginia Rush, and Sue Koch. Fresh ravioli with tomato sauce.

dough rested for a bit, Roberto showed us the process of rolling it through a hand-cranked pasta machine he clamped to the work bench. Fondling it, he joked that his co-workers call it his ‘girlfriend’ because he spends more time with it than with the mother of his three children. The dough took multiple trips through the machine at different settings to achieve the proper thinness for making ravioli which we filled with a potato, tomato paste, garlic, and rosemary, combination my son prepared. While that potato mixture may sound heavy, the ravioli were light and delightful with the fresh tomato sauce.

The surprise stunner of the cooking class was a rustic farmer’s chicken dish that was as easy to make as it was tasty. It has become a staple in my kitchen since we returned home as the balsamic vinegar in the dish tenderizes the chicken and keeps the meat moist. The best part of the cooking class, other than the company of our seasoned instructor Roberto, was getting to enjoy the meal afterward.

The good news is that if you want to take a cooking class like ours without the jet lag, the Culinary Classroom, owned and operated by Linda Bell, is a Berks County gem who is the descendant of Roman Goddesses. She teaches the classes in her home kitchen at 402 S. Tulpehocken Road, Reading. According to its Facebook page, some of the classes currently on offer range from Spanish Paella to Asian Appetizers. I have taken two classes with her to date, including one with a few girlfriends where we prepared a Tuscan meal of ricotta-based gnocchi, roast pork with a rustic apple sauce, and vanilla panna cotta. My second class was with a group of strangers and focused on a variety of specialty desserts. Despite not knowing anyone, I had a delightful night and learned how to make those cannelles I fell in love with during our anniversary trip to The Inn at Little Washington in Virginia in 2020.

Whether you are a novice in the kitchen or an experienced cook wanting to learn a few new tricks, Linda’s repertoire has something for everyone. The best part of spending time in her kitchen is that, just like in Roberto’s classroom, each lesson ends with a tasty repast.

Ms. Denaro is with the Wyomissing law firm of Georgeadis||Setley.

Roberto’s Rustic Farmer’s Chicken

Ingredients:

1. Three or four boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces and lightly flour them with all–purpose flour 2. Thirty grams salted butter 3. Two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 4. One medium sized red onion, peeled and sliced into thin strips 5. One roasted red pepper, skinned and sliced into strips 6. Sprig of fresh rosemary 7. Sprig of fresh sage 8. One cup good quality red balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan. Cook the chicken until all sides are lightly browned. Add the red onion, roasted red pepper, balsamic vinegar, a sprig of fresh rosemary, and a sprig of fresh sage to the frying pan. Salt and pepper to taste, reduce the heat to simmer, and cook uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir as needed. Remove the sprigs of rosemary and sage before serving. Serves three to four people.

Note: If you do not want to roast, steam, skin, and deseed your own red pepper, you can use a good quality jarred version but make sure to rinse and dry the pepper before use.