Ramekins Culinary School:

Awhile back, Steve's parents gave us a gift certificate for a class at Ramekins Culinary School in Sonoma. We redeemed it last Sunday. 

Our class was called From the Kitchens of Puglia: Focaccia, Pasta and Panzerotti. Puglia is a region in southern Italy that borders the Adriatic Sea. It makes up the heel of the boot of Italy.

Steve and I were so excited; we both love Italian food (who doesn't?) and were eager to learn to make these dishes from a region we don't know much about. We have attempted several Italian recipes together (most memorably, the Valentine's Day ravioli), but knew we'd learn so much more from a hands-on class than trying it on our own. We totally did and we had a great time. 

I am in love with the door handles at Ramekins. 

They have a beautiful facility. In addition to the culinary school, Ramekins hosts weddings and other events and is an inn. The courtyard area is gorgeous and the perfect place to wait for our class to start. 

Our class started at 3:00 pm. There were 18 students, one main chef-instructor, Linda Carucci (affiliate link), and three assistant chef-instructors. When we came in, the room was set with 18 chairs along one wall. Raised tables were pushed together in the center of the room, with 18 cutting boards set on them. There was a large mirror over the demonstration workspace, and cameras over the stovetop connected to monitors. 

I sat dead-center, but all of the seats had a good view of everything. After introductions, Linda did some demonstrations, including how to make focaccia. Not only could we watch directly and via the mirror, but the assistants brought everything around for a closer look.

They also passed around flours and doughs so we could feel the textures, and a commercial version of something we'd be making so we could taste it.

After the demonstrations were over, we each took a spot at one of the cutting boards. At our first station, Steve and I made ring-shaped taralli, which would become a crispy snack after they were boiled and baked.   

This is what they looked like after boiling and before baking.

At our second station, we made panzerotti, which are fried triangular pockets of pizza dough with mozzarella and tomato sauce inside. Think calzone, but smaller and deep-fried. 

At our final station, we made two pasta shapes: cavatelli ("little hollows") and orecchiette ("little ears"). It was a lot of fun.

Finally, when everything was done, we dropped the work tables down and rearranged them to make a large banquet table. Soon, the wine was flowing and we got to enjoy everything we'd cooked.

Everything was absolutely delicious. 

We had such a great time at Ramekins! If you're local (or will be visiting the Sonoma area), I'd definitely recommend looking into a taking a class there. Thanks to my inlaws for the chance to do this! I have a feeling we'll be back.