Pasta making at Poggio

This morning we had to be up and atom as we would be going to Pamela's kitchen to learn about her techniques on how to make pasta. We were to meet downstairs at 10:00 A.M. while the other group would visit the place we went to dinner last night and learn about goat cheese. Tomorrow, we would do the same but since Pamela wanted to have more intimate group lessons she broke us up.

The morning began with us going into her house and her giving us a little lesson about the history of some foods and where it has brought us today. For instance, she talked a lot about the quality of food in Italy versus that of the United States. She brought up a really interesting concept of why so many people have allergies or dietary restrictions. Milk was one of the products she spoke about. Many people are now lactose intolerant due to all the chemicals and preservatives used in the milk. However, in Italy, the milk you're getting is pure; it's straight from the cow which is why a lot of Americans who come to Italy don't have stomach issues after eating dairy products here. We also learned more about what we would be preparing for lunch today and had a little tasting of some fried vegetables before we got started. We tried some fried green tomatoes, sage leaves, and zucchini. Anything fried is good so it was no surprise that we all devoured these aperitivos. Pate was also present for the tasting and I was absolutely in heaven. Mixed in with the livers were onions and apples which completely elevated the flavor of the pate. Another part of the tasting, before we got our hands dirty and began working on our pasta, was an olive oil tasting. This was another educational moment where we learned how to properly taste the oil and how you use the tannins in your mouth to truly gather the flavors of the oil.

Now that we had this great knowledge under our belts, it was time to start making some pasta dough. We made two types of dough, one with eggs and one without. This class was different than the ones we had in Florence, in the sense that we used a completely different technique. It was a slower process, but I think that's why the pasta turned out better than the times we made at InTavola. Once we had finished making our pasta in a variety of shapes and sizes, Johnny came in and taught us how to make Picci pasta (thin noodles).

Once we were through with making pasta, we sat outside and waited for everything to be cooked.

This was the Pici we made and it was so so good! I would've been content simply having this for lunch but in true Italian style, there would be more entrées served.

Next, we tried the ravioli we made stuffed with ricotta, spinach, and swiss chard in a beef ragù. The ragù had carrots, celery, onion, and herb salt in it. This too was quite delicious, but I could only eat a few bites as I was getting full off of all the other snacks and previous dish brought out. Knowing that more would be served, I opted to hold out on this dish and save up for the next.

The third course included a fresh salad with carrots and mandarin oranges along with a tangy vinaigrette- I ate it all. Served with it was a beef peposo with onions, celery, and a touch of red wine over mashed potatoes and a side of peas. I wasn't overly impressed by that portion of the dish simply because meat isn't something I get excited about in the first place. However, the pairing all went really well together.

Finally, for dessert we had an olive oil cake. It was so crispy on top but perfectly moist in the inside and went perfectly with the fruitiness of the homemade strawberry gelato.

This is the red wine we drank with lunch. It was alright, but I wasn't a huge fan. This lunch was incredibly filling to the point that I had to just sit for a bit before I even attempted to get up and head back to my room. Dinner would be soon and I had no clue if I'd even be able to eat for the rest of the day.

For dinner, we headed back to 3 Stelle but this time I ordered salmon and arugula because of the heavy meal we had earlier. The salmon wasn't anything special, but I was ready to eat something that wasn't a carbohydrate.