Well it all had to end. There were two people who wanted one day of cooking on Saturday, so they joined the class. I think that because they joined we had a day with some repeats. Not a bad idea, since the style of cooking was reinforced for me. Chef Alessio didn't measure anything. "Just important to look and listen and smell and taste," he said several times. "Only in baking important to measure." I ended up being the chef's helper. He would shout to me in Italian to hand him this or that. I could understand burro (butter) and balsamico (basil) and branzino ( a type of fish) and a few more things.
We made a steak, which with all of the ingredients and methods (Marsala wine, truffles), seemed more like French than Italian. It was very tasty, though. We made a scallop risotto with saffron that was beautiful to look at, and tasted good also. The appetizer of mascarpone and parsley wrapped with prosciutto was ok, but I would add something that would give more texture contrast.
Of course there was plenty of wine and lots of food, so I walked home/hotel in the rain full and happy.
I have learned a lot about cooking during these two weeks, from pizza dough to that wonderful seafood soup. I have enjoyed the different cooking styles of the two chefs. And I learned "Just important to look and listen and smell and taste."
There are more pictures here.
