Fettucini Under the Tuscan Sun

I never knew there were so many different styles of pasta. The first day in Italy I drove 30 minutes out in the Italian countryside to a farm and vineyard to take a cooking class in traditional Italian food. A lover of all things carbohydrates, I was thrilled to hear we would be hand making pasta noodles and tiramisu for lunch!

As I said earlier in my blog, I am fortunate to be traveling with my parents, so my mother and I took this class together and found a table up front as to not miss anything. To begin, the chef instructed us to put on our aprons. We learned that in order to make pasta, it only requires 2 ingredients- flour, and eggs. To start, we poured the flour out of the bowl onto the table and made a small diver in the middle where we cracked our egg. We were supposed to then scramble the egg in the middle of the self-made crater, mixing in the flour slowly, but unfortunately my egg kept running out, so the chef had to come over to help me multiple times. My mother, on the other hand, was an absolute pro! As the dough eventually become completely soaked with the egg, we rolled in out flat to prepare for cutting.

The way pasta is cut depends on what kind of dish you are planning to prepare. Fettucini, which is what I chose to make, is a noodle of medium thickness, and made special for sauce and meat dishes. Other pasta that we did not make, like penne pasta and tortellini is made for thicker sauces, and bow tie pasta is made for creamier sauces because it tends to stick better to the flatter surface. We also learned the translations of some pasta types, my favorites being "Fedelini,"meaning "little faithful ones,"and "Barbina" meaning "little beards."

As the pasta was being cooked, we had a chance to walk around for a little while so my mom and I headed into the vineyard. In Tuscany, they are known for their wines, so it was fun to run through the grape vines and check out the olive trees. The scenery is absolutely to die for and I can see why so many people like to vacation in Italy for a summer. I certainly wouldn't mind spending a month relaxing in an Italian villa and learning the language and culture.

When we headed back, we helped make tiramisu. Normally it is made with coffee liquor, which I personally am less of a fan of, but today we made it with orange juice. We got to try it at lunch and the citrus was a welcomed change. It was so easy to make, we asked for the recipe and I plan to make it at home for friends!

The day adventure came to a close with a long 4 course Italian meal complete with a bruschetta, our homemade pasta, chicken and salad, and tiramisu. The red wine they had on the side was phenomenal, and didn't put me to sleep like it normally would- though the warm sun beating down and a full stomach certainly did the tricky. During the meal we were also presented with a certificate of completion of the cooking class, so it's official! My mom and I are recognized fettucini ragout chefs!