My Own Cooking Adventures

It snowed last week.

the playground and field of ASM

And yet, still no snow day. Oddly enough, my former co-workers in Savannah had arranged for a few days off because of cold/snowy/icy weather and we were still going to work. Something felt oddly out of place.

Poor weather outside = perfect weather inside for testing some new recipes.

Saturday, Robert, an ASM teacher, offered to show a few of us how to make his most delicious bread. Robert had things set up like a cooking show, with the recipe in various stages upon our arrival.

We learned the secret to his recipe.

And watched him whip together a batch of dough with ease.

Robert, showing us how it's done

I thought for sure I could replicate this recipe with no problem; after all, I do have some experience in the kitchen.

By now you've probably already inferred just how wrong I was. My first batch of dough was a total FAIL! The yeast didn't activate, the bread didn't rise, the dough wouldn't cook. Argh.

Can you identify the secret ingredient from the list?
I know the Skyline fans will find it!

I don't know how those bloggers make a recipe a million times to get it right. My desire for perfection must be met quickly!!

I did, however, manage to talk myself into another try at this recipe.

The second time, I produced a loaf of bread that was edible, if not quite the same as Robert produces.

a work in progress

I'll just have to keep working on it.

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Sunday I decided that I would see if I could turn out a batch of dough for fresh pasta, after last week's Cook in Milano class.

I mixed up the dough, kneaded it for 15 minutes (15 minutes!!!!!!!!!), and then rolled it out as best I could. Turns out that it was a little thick, but for my first try, I was pleased.

my work...throughout the process

Cook in Milano, Round 2

It was Ali's birthday recently and she decided that she wanted to go back to our friend, Clara's, cooking class. Ali was able to select the menu for the night and a few of us from school headed out to learn a few new tricks. Ali and I had been to Clara's in November, so we knew we would learn lots! You can read about that night too!

We made croissants with sausage and cheese, fresh made tagliatelle with bolognaise sauce, osso bucco, and tiramisu.

There was a lot of work to be done in a short amount of time.

And I made pasta for the first time. Did you know it was only egg and flour?

Here's some shots from our cooking adventures.

Ali, Debbie, Clara, and Katie

the schedule

Heath getting the tiramisu started

cutting the tagliatelle

the tagliatelle tree

Clara working on the mascarpone cream