Under the Tuscan Sun

Well, Natalie, Melissa, and I decided to go to a cooking class. Miami Dade Kendall Campus offers great classes (ie. sushi, italian cooking, cooking on a dime, etc). I highly recommend going! We went to the Tuscan Cooking class. We arrived, and were definitely the youngest cookers there by a long shot, so everyone told us what to do, but overall it was a fun time! Go out and take a cooking class! (or host one yourself!)

The first thing we made was VEAL SCALLOPINI. This was a fun adventure. It might be easier to cook them in some sort of muffin cup, because the melted cheese made it fall apart a bit.

Veal Scallopini Recipe:

First Layer --> Egg Plant

You will need 2 medium eggplants. Remove the stem from the eggplant and discard. Cut the eggplant horizontally into 1/4 inch slices. Sprinkle liberally with sea salt to remove the bitterness in the eggplant (do this on both sides!) Let the eggplant stand for 30 minutes, then rinse off the salt, dry the slices. Brush both sides with butter or olive oil, and broil for 1 minute on each side.

Second Layer --> Veal Cutlets

You will need 12 4-5 oz cutlets for this recipe. Melt 4 tbsp. butter and add 4 tbsp. olive oil. While this is heating, pound the veal to be very thin. Dredge veal in sifted flour with salt and pepper (could be delicious to add some italian seasoning, orgeano, parsley, etc to this flour dredge), and sautee for 1 minute on each side.

Third Layer --> Mozzarella cheese

You will need 12 1/4" slices for this recipe

Fourth Layer --> Proscuitto Ham

You will need 12 thinly sliced pieces of this meat. Sautee lightly for 30 seconds on each side, just until crispy

Fifth Layer --> Mushroom Caps

We cut designs into the caps, but when we cooked this, the mushrooms were not cooked. We recommend sauteeing the caps first, so they are cooked, and then top the scallopini.

Sixth Layer --> Sauce

Melt 6 tbsp. butter in a skillet, and add 2/3 c minced shallots. Sautee for 3-5 minutes. Pour in 2/3 c dry white wine, 2/3 c beef stock, 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp minced parcley, and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Stir and simmer for 5 minutes. Sprinkle 1 1/2 tbsp sifted flour over sauce and stir sauce until sauce thickens slightly.

Structure --> Assemble all the ingredients in the order provided. Pour sauce over top of the structures, and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

This was delicious, but a little salty, so do not add salt to anything. The proscuitto will add enough salt flavor for the entire dish!

We also made a great PESTO SAUCE that we put on top of toasted italian bread. Everyone was grabbing spoons, and eating this out of the food processor. It would be amazing to make and freeze and just use when you needed something fast!

Pesto Recipe:

6 cloves garlic, chopped

3/4 c roasted pine nuts

1 c grated parmigiano cheese

3 c sweet basil leaves, chopped

1 c oregano leaves, chopped

1 tbsp. rosemary leaves

2 c flat leaf parsley

1 c olive oil

1 tsp. pepper

Blend all ingredients in a food processor while slowly adding the olive oil in as you process. So yummy! We put this on pasta too, to go with the entree.

Lastly, we made a fruit salad. This went so fast that we didn't get a picture of it, but it was sooooooo good! I dare you to try it!

Macedonia Di Frutta

1 canteloupe

1 honeydue

3 apples

4 bananas

1 pineapple

1 pint of strawberries

1 cup sugar

1 1/3 c orange juice

2 tbsp. lemon juice

1 c Kirsch Liquor

Cut everything relatively the same size. Let marinate for about an hour, so everything tastes yummy!