One of my goals this year is to not come home morbidly obese.
It’s a loftier goal than you might imagine when you have classmates like mine. For a recent assignment, we were set loose in the ALMA kitchens and told to prepare one dish of our choice on the school’s dime. Some of my classmates even awoke at 5 a.m. to drive an hour and a half each way to La Spezia to purchase fresh seafood. We’re a dedicated lot.
Each person made a dish of personal significance that we then presented outside under the portico in the courtyard. It was an intensely intimate experience seeing what each person chose to make and why, not to mention an intensely tasty one. And let me tell you, there is not one weak culinary link in this class. Each dish was uniformly awesome in every way. I am so lucky that I get to eat like this all the time, that I get to be with these people all the time.
And now for the food porn:
Pasta with Zucchini Flowers, Saffron and Shrimp
Sausage Rolls
Guacamole, Pico de Gallo and Hummus
Fried Prawns with Sweet and Sour Leeks and Pumpkin Puree
Raw Oysters
Roast Chicken with Arugula and Bread Salad
Meatballs and Tzatziki
Macaroni and Cheese (Thank You Parents for lugging a 2 lb block of extra sharp cheddar over in your luggage)
Korean Ribs Braised with Grappa
Zucchini Blue Cheese Soup
Stuffed Eggplants, Taiwainese Noodles, Tomato Salad with Fried Ricotta, Eggplant Yogurt Dip and Foccaccia
Renegade Sour Cherry Pie
Bread Pudding
Shortbread and Strawberry Basil Sauce
Strawberry Tiramisu (Recipe to Follow-Promise!)