We just returned from amazing trip to Italy. One of the highlights was a cooking class we took in Florence. The course was offered by Gigliocooking School, and I found it by doing a simple google search to find Cooking Classes in Florence.
I emailed my inquiry to the address on the web. Immediately, the school responded to me with their availability. In their email, they responded with a list of over 300 recipes that we could choose from for our class. Excitedly, I opened the email and began to pour over the list of recipes. I quickly became overwhelmed and asked for help. They responded with some sample menus to help me narrow down my choices.
One menu, in particular, caught my eye. It was the Tuscany and Liguria Wedding Menu, which consisted of: Gnocchi with Pesto Sauce, Veal Chops and Tiramisu. Initially, I was interested in this menu because of the Gnocchi. You see, my son had recently discovered gnocchi while he was on a trip to visit friends in Florida. He was crazy about it, so our family has made it somewhat of a mission to find the best gnocchi in Omaha. We had visited several restaurants to taste their gnocchi. When I saw it on our menu options, I couldn’t resist. The veal chops and tiramisu were just icing on the cake.
A week before our trip, we had taken our grandson to a local Italian restaurant and discovered that he loves tiramisu. Now the menu that we were going to learn to make in Florence was even more exciting!
After a bit of a hike to the cooking school, we were hungry and ready to cook! We were met at the door by Marcella, the Founder and Owner of the cooking school. The table was set for us, and she immediately sat down to get to know us. We told her that we were virtual novices in the kitchen and I, in particular, am not real confident in my culinary abilities. She laughed and said, “no matter.” She explained that she really only had 3 rules: Don’t eat poison, don’t cut off your fingers and don’t set the house on fire. I assured her that I would try to follow these rules.
Marcella had learned to cook as a small child working in her grandparents trattoria on the beach on a small island off the coast of Tuscany. She described it wistfully as the most beautiful island in the world. You can bet after hearing her talk about it, we added it to our travel bucket list!
Next, we set out to make dinner. She had a surprise for us. We would also be making a vegetable to go with our dinner! Zucchini flan. Pour Doug got the job of whipping up the bechamelle. (Okay, I’m just going to admit this. I did not know what bechamelle was. Apparently, that is a French word for white sauce.) Doug was a good sport as he had to whip that sauce for a long time to remove all the lumps! My job was to grease and flour the pans.
Zucchini Flan
Next, we set about making the pesto, veal and tiramisu. Once those were ready to go, we began the gnocchi. Gnocchi is tasty and fun to make, although a bit messy and time consuming.
Ultimately, we sat down to eat an amazing meal. But the meal was so much more than physical nourishment. Yes, food is necessary for survival, but cooking and food is about fellowship. It’s about conversation. It’s about learning something new as a gift for your son and grandson. Meals prepared and shared together help to facilitate the binding of families, friends and communities. Thanks to Marcella for a wonderful evening of conversation and giggles.
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