ChattyChic4Design: Rustico Cooking School

Hey Everyone!

This weekend my 3 sisters and I tried something a little bit different. We all do a fair amount of cooking, but my sister MaryAnn takes the prize for most time spent behind the stove. Rossana has 4 boys, her style is more - get it on the table fast! They never stop eating there! But in this story, the 4 us were in fact out celebrating the 50th birthday of my 3rd sister Donna. Donna and I are not only sisters, we take it to the next level, we will truly just think of one another, and the next thing you know the phone rings, we watch TV together while talking on the phone, clean house on the phone, cook on the phone, speak every morning until we go to work, (she owns and runs a hair salon), and so on. (yes, this would make a good comedy skit, that our boys would actually dress in drag to have the opportunity to play us in) For all of my Italian followers, we are often referred to as Carboniere, the Italian police, which always work in pairs! Well, Donna loves the cooking channel, and we were out honoring her on her day, to do this the 4 sisters attended the Rustico Cooking School in midtown Manhattan, owned and run by Micol and Dino. Micol and Dino, are wonderful instructors, our kitchen was top notch, immaculately clean, well organized and the group which consisted of some 22 students all walked away with many new ways to prepare some foods we only wondered about.

Our menu consisted of:
Cannelloni made with homemade pasta, mozzarella and prosciutto in a Bechamel sauce-OMG!
Chicken Cacciatora in a light tomato, red onion and anchovy - so good!
Roasted Fennel - quickly boiled then roasted - delish, who would have thought!
Polenta - with cream and chives - a great substitute for mashed potatoes!
Orance Scented - Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti- so worth the calories!

This was so much fun! Even if you do not spend your day watching the cooking channel, this is still a great way to spend a afternoon in the greatest city in the world. I love learning new things and experiencing something different, this was definitely worth doing again, a very enjoyable day spent with my 3 sisters and 18 new found friends. Dino and Micol are having a pizza class this August that I am sure I can talk Donna into attending! Here are some shots of us just for giggles.