Last year when we were in London, I mentioned that one of my life goals was to travel to Tuscany and take a cooking course. Lisa quickly responded that that sounds like a win-win for everyone!
During lockdown, the company she works for has been doing some online teambuilding cooking and mixology classes.
Gnocchi
So, for Mother’s Day last year, my wonderful kids got me an online cooking class. Bridget and I joined with people from across the US to learn to make gnocchi with Chef James in San Francisco. The meal was delicious, and we had lots of fun.
A couple of weeks ago, Adam and Bridget and I decided to make gnocchi for dinner. We had learned how and had the recipe so, once again we enjoyed homemade gnocchi for dinner. We decided to see what other cooking courses are out there.
Cozymeal is the platform that we used for the gnocchi so we registered for another Italian adventure on Saturday. (The best part was that I realized after I registered that Lisa’s credit card was still on file…oops…I promise the e-transfer is on it’s way, Lisa!)
Fettuccine and Ravioli
We hit the motherlode on Saturday with Chef Davide in Tivoli teaching us to make Fettuccine with Pomodoro sauce and Ravioli in an herbed butter sauce. Bridget and I quickly agreed that there’s a reason his classes are all full. This is the class I imagined taking in Tuscany; you know, with a good-looking chef, with a great sense of humour teaching us to make delicious pasta.
At one point his power went out and he was so wired when he came back. In his wonderful Italian accent he apologized and said it had never happened before. He also said he almost “sheet his pants”. The good news is he came back, and we got to finish our dinner.
Upcoming Courses
Our next course is going to be “Thai Favourites Made Vegan” where we will make Pad Thai and Spring Rolls with Sweet Chili Peanut Sauce. All four of us are going to do that one so it promises to be a whole new level of adventure!
There’s also a Chinese Dumpling course that we hope to take. We have really expanded our meal repertoire over the past year through lots of experimentation. I feel like the courses are a good way to tackle something a little more intimidating or challenging, but we have absolutely “spiced up” everyday meals as well.
We are total opposites, but Bridget and I work well in the kitchen – she really likes to follow a recipe and I like to experiment, but we are finding a middle ground on that one. She likes to make a mess and clean up at the end, and I like to clean up as we go, so we both stay busy!
Once travel is possible again, I look forward to taking these courses in person, in a villa in Tuscany or overlooking the beach in Thailand but for now it is fun to join others online and learn how to make something new and delicious.
And we look forward to sharing what we have learned when we get to entertain again!
