February 2012
Cari Amici,
Here at Cucina Casalinga we are well on our way with our new offerings for spring 2012. Lots of you are signing up for our exciting day and evening classes as well as our Saturday workshops. We have just posted new classes for March and April. Check out our class page Our first pizza class will be on Wednesday evening May 16th, using the Tuscan wood-fired oven. Always lots of fun and delicious “apizza”!
The 2012 schedule of our food and wine programs in Italy is a little different than in the past. I am staying home this spring but plan to lead two tours to Northern Italy, back to back at the end of September and the first week in October. For those of you who really love to cook and want to learn from a fabulous professionally trained Italian chef, join me for Chef Valter Roman’s program, “The Tuscan Chef”. This time our home away from home will be in a stunning palazzo in the charming town of Lucca . Each day will include cooking lessons in the large kitchen of the villa as well as time on your own to explore the lovely walled town of Lucca with its many parks, shops and historical sites. In addition to the cooking classes, we’ll enjoy excursions 
to markets, wineries, salumi and cheese makers and a day in the breathtaking Siena countryside. Several of our lunches and dinners will be at our own palazzo, while others will be in local restaurants and trattorie in the Tuscan countryside. I love this program so much that this is the fourth time I’m returning. The warm hospitality of Chef Valter, his lovely wife Julia and their superb staff will thrill you. For a full itinerary please call us at 203.762.0768.
On October 1st our adventure in Piemonte begins when we meet at the Malpensa Airport in Milan. “Piemonte”, translated as the “land at the foot of the mountains”, is located in the northwest corner of Italy and bordered by France. This region is the most magical in the autumn, when the leaves change color and the morning mist drifts over the valleys and hills. Few regions of Italy evoke such strong feelings of food and vinicultural tradition. Our tour begins with the southern Piemonte region sloping south towards Liguria and the sea. It is notable for its beautiful countryside covered with clay and planted with vines and oak trees affording just spectacular panoramas around every corner. It is home to 45 prestigious D.O.C. wines, producing the noble Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera, Nebbiolo, Dolcetto and Roero and the little known but dry and smooth white wine, Arneis, as well as celebration favorite Asti Spumanti and 
Vermouth!
The second half of our tour highlights the beautiful and elegant city of Torino (Turin), the capital of Piemonte and the seat of the Fiat and Ferrari empires. It is truly a remarkable city architecturally and a walker’s city both for culture and shopping. The Po River flows dramatically through Torino and the city boasts covered walkways and connecting arcades that line the miles of streets and plazas throughout the city center. Grand and vast piazzas provide background for stunning baroque edifices especially the Royal Palace of King Vittorio Emanuele II
Torino, the host of the 2006 World Olympic Games is elegant, clean and may be one of the more under-rated food towns in northern Italy! Not surprisingly, it is also the capital of sweets! Pastries, chocolate, including gianduia, and coffee are particular specialties, and the city is known for its grand, often very ornate, coffee bars and cafés.
Piemontese specialties, considered regional treasures, include its delicious white truffles; an infinite variety of cheeses, such as Bra, Tomme, Pecorino, local Gorgonzola and Castelmagno; salumi; Canaroli and Vialone Nano rice and Gianduia - a superb combination of the finest chocolates and locally grown hazelnuts. You will experience all of this and more while discovering the elegant towns of Piemonte. Lovers of outstanding cuisine and wines, of art & culture, of storybook charming villages & medieval castles, will delight in this amazing journey through one of Italy’s most spectacular regions and one of the country’s best kept secrets! Did you know that even breadsticks (grissini torinese) were invented in this region in the late 17th century?
I would love to discuss the details of this fabulous tour. Please call me at 203.762.0768 for more information.
New classes for May through August will be posted soon. Those of you who have budding chefs, ages 11 – 16,will be interested in our annual Kids Cook Italian Camp in late August, right before the start of the new school year. The dates and details of the camp will be posted soon on the Kid’s page.
Spring is coming sooner than we think, so let’s cook up a storm to banish those winter blues with comfort foods and camaraderie. Andiamo nella Cucina!
Buona Cucina,
Sally Maraventano
Corporate cooking classes are so much more fun than just
going out to eat! Clients and employees love it!
Corporate/group classes attendees
“Thank you for making this experience for our clients and us unbelievable! You went out of your way to make this a memorable event together!”- Morgan Stanley
“Thank you for a wonderful meal. I am so glad we chose to come here and cook with you instead of having dinner in a restaurant. I definitely learned things about cooking and I am looking forward to cooking at home!”- Ernst & Young
“Sally and Vicki,
Thank you so very much for a wonderful day! Our clients were thoroughly pleased and we all enjoyed every moment”
- Robert Reby & Co. Inc.
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Adult classes attendees
“Thank you for such a wonderful andwarm experience. I had such a great time with you and my sisters and the others you welcomed into your home and gorgeous kitchen. I will be sure to enjoy these recipes forever as well as the memory of the evening we spent here with you! I will certainly come back foe another delicious meal". - Sue F.
Once again, such a wonderful evening was had by all. Thank you for making my husband’s birthday gift so memorable. We’ll be back yet again.”- Lori C.
“Multi Bene! Thank you for a wonderful experience. We learned a lot and enjoyed our time with you thoroughly.”- Jack B.
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