Basta pasta

Today

EXPLOSION.

I got home from class, crawled into bed and couldn't move for 2 hours.

Class: colored pasta!

• There was a couple from Washington (state) that joined me for class yesterday
• They had never made pasta before so we reviewed a lot of the basics I had learned the first day, and I didn't get to be as hands on as usual because there were more people

Dishes

• Tagliolini Neri alla Seppia Bianca (Black Narrow Noodles with White Cuttle Fish)
  • Inspired by the traditional dish: pasta with black ink sauce, made from squid ink, this dish instead incorporates the black squid ink into the pasta itself
  • The tagliolini were awesome--texture and flavor were unreal

Black ink pasta

• Fazzoletti Verdi con Asparagi e Gamberetto (Green Handkerchieves stuffed with Asparagus and Shrimp)
• • We made the pasta green using spinach
  • I was disappointed that the spinach flavor wasn't stronger and I don't really like shrimp or asparagus
  • I didn't get asparagus pee though, so that was a plus!

Spinach ravioli

• Tagliatelle al Caffe' con Carciofi (Coffe Tagliatelle with Artichokes)
• Who would've thought that coffee and artichoke go together? INCREDIBLE.

Coffee tagliatelle with artichoke

• Tagliolini Rossi con Zuicchini e Scamorza Affemicata (Red Tagliolini with Zucchini and Smoked Cheese)
• We made the pasta red by adding pureed roasted red pepper to the traditional pasta dough
  
• Baked in a parchment paper sleeve covered in sauteed zucchini and smoked cheese...om nom

Red pepper tagliolini

• Pasta all Lecitina di Soia (Basic Pasta with Soy Lecithin)
• Soy lecithin is a cholesterol-lowering alternative to eggs that gave the final product a more grainy texture
• It was different, but I enjoyed it

Soy lecithin pasta

Then, for dessert, we had a strawberry-lemon shortcake leftover from a previous class...EXPLOSION.

Like I said, I spent the afternoon in bed unable to move. I had planned on going to the Bottanical Gardens but that will have to wait for another day. In the evening, the whole family went to a reception for Alyssa's school showcasing the artwork some students had been working on for the semester. Sarah Lawrence is a whole bunch of granolas. We drove to the reception which was weird--I hadn't been in a car in two weeks...and I was enjoying it. Manuela and I walked home, though, which was really nice. Language barriers are fun(ny), but she has much better English than she gives herself credit for.

Lesson of the Day

5 plates of pasta + dessert = WAY TOO MUCH FOOD.

Photo of the Day

Eye of the squid

The Count

Glasses of wine drinken: 30

Pasta dishes eaten: 22

Photos taken: 1263