Tag Archives: padova
Insights About The Scrovegni Chapel
A treasure in Padova; this video provides a great example of the sorts of insight Doug Sassi is able to offer about not just the well-worn tourist attractions in Rome, Florence, and Venice, but also the off the beaten path cultural treasures Italy has in small towns everywhere.
Tiramisu!
The video for the tiramisu class is up, and it’s a fun watch. Mama Isa is preserving the old ways of doing things (Italy really is the original slow-food movement) and artisanal approaches to food preparation. You can’t tell from watching, but rest assured that soggy four day old processed mess of a tiramisu you’re getting at the Macaroni Grill is *nothing* like the light, airy, to die for tiramisu Isa and my wife made in Padova. I tried not to give away all of her trade secrets here, but you will see her talking about the simple ingredients list that comprises this elegant dessert.
Can’t wait for the SO to make some more. 🙂
A Preview From Mama Isa’s Cooking Class
After she finished the tiramisu preparation class, Isa showed my wife how to do a simple pomodoro sauce with garlic, capers, and a special type of cherry tomato called “daterini”. You can’t get them in the US, but a good cherry tomato from your farmers market or organic grocer will taste almost as good as what we ate that day in Padova.
I shot about 20mins of video that I’ll edit and share for the foodies out there, but I wanted to get a sneak peak out before dinner time to make you dear readers good and hungry. We tossed this sauce over some homemade tonnarelli (think square spaghetti) that the wife rolled out and cut right there in Isa’s Padova kitchen. What a blast! After all this time sending clients there, the wife was glad she finally got her turn to enjoy Isa’s teachings; Isa’s committed to the original “slow-food” culture, meaning locally sourced, home-prepared ingredients and dishes that eschew processed foods. She’s keeping the old ways of preparing Italian cuisine alive in this day and age of rampant processed food addiction, and needless to say we support that wholeheartedly.
More on tiramisu and tonnarelli soon! But for now…yes, this was some darn tasty stuff, so feel free to be jealous. 🙂
Tiramisu and Tonnarelli
Today’s cooking class with Mama Isa in Padova was everything the wife hoped it would be. The results speak for themselves!
Tonnarelli are a fresh pasta made via an instrument known as a chitarra (guitar), pressing the dough through a series of strings to make a square spaghetti-like noodle.
Mama Isa’s Tiramisu
“Pick me up!” Desserts like this are why I put 15lbs on in three weeks on my first trip to Italy in the 8th grade…they’re hard to say no to!
Join us in Padova for a private cooking class with Isa and learn to make this yourself.
Sassi Italy Tours 