Eat. Pray. Life. I’m sure you’ve all heard that saying before, or read the book, or watched the movie! The chapter on “Eat” is conveniently set in Italy – the mecca of tantalizing and comforting foods. You have pizza and pasta, you have cannoli and tiramisu, there’s antipasti with bruschetta, salumi, cheeses, olives and breads dipped in oil. We have classics like chicken parmigiana, linguine frutti de mare, carbonara, cacio e pepe, cioppino, shrimp scampi, insalata caprese, lobster fra diavolo, risotto ai funghi, pesto sauce, and burrata with fresh figs and pistachio drizzled with honey. Can you tell I’m obsessed? For someone who has never traveled to Italy, I am seriously worried if I went I would never return. Perhaps assemble myself a nice little life in Cinque Terre perched on the hill in one of those colourful houses sipping cappuccino. Sigh….but for now, the pastel painted Bermudian stone cottages will do.
– Bermudaful Day – view from my room –
Mike and I have been mulling all week over tonight’s dinner service, and have prepared an elaborate feast for our diners. We’ve decided to go with fresh homemade ravioli two ways! I spend a whole day before watching Youtube videos, ranging from ninety year old nonnas kneading dough and making traditional pasta from scratch, to professional chefs creating all sorts of different pastas and demonstrating the use of kitchen gadgets I’ve never seen before. Behold, this is a biciclette – this adjustable wheel cutter helps cut the pasta into thin or wide uniform strips. Next, we have an gnocchi paddle which soft little pillows are gently rolled over this ridged board to create little grooves where delicious Arrabiata sauce can slither in and occupy the spaces. On the right we have a pastry scraper, which is also used for cutting pieces of dough that is transformed into a single farfelle or fusilli or lorighitta! I was instantly mesmerized when I saw this braided pasta shape, which was very intricate and beautiful. Lorighittas originate from the village Morgongiori on the island Sardinia. Their name comes from the resemblance to the iron rings that tethered horses and oxen in the olden days. It is typically served with a ragù sauce. Yum!
Of course, we are no short of kitchen gadgets ourselves. Mike is gifted a ravioli lamp as we are serious about pumping out little stuffed pillows of joy like a factory. Mandy also brings out the big guns and assembles the pasta maker which provides us with long sheets to make our ravioli. We’ve prepared two types of fillings as well as two types of sauces to accompany our delights. Chef Kisala has made a ricotta, spinach and chicken sausage filling and a homemade tomato sauce which was incredibly divine (remind me to get the recipe from him). Chef D offers a roasted butternut squash and mascarpone cheese filling, paired with a brown butter and sage sauce. Sous Chef Heather diligently sips on wine and ensures we are working at our hardest. Aprons on!
For our starter, we’ve chosen to go with a light caprese salad to balance out all the carbo-loading that is about to ensue. I went to the farmers market on Saturday and procured a bunch of golden beets which I roasted overnight. This sweet and earthy root vegetable really became the star of this dish as we drizzled balsamic and oil over top. Guys, look at all these vibrant colours – talk about tasting the rainbow!
A fun little game happened while we annihilated our raviolis. In the chaos of stamping them and boiling them, we got a little confused as to which fillings were in each. Everyone bit into their pockets inquisitively to see if the correct filling was matched with the correct sauce. There were surprised looks, questionable eyebrows, laughter, excitement and drool!
Ravioli tip: ensure that the dough is pliable and soft, it should almost resemble playdough. this will allow the pockets to form a seal all around so that the filling does not leak out. keep the dough in plastic wrap to keep the moisture from escaping at room temperature. boil for 4 min and the pillows should float when cooked. top with piping hot sauce and garnish with grated parmigiana or pecorino.
vanilla bean crème brûlée
There’s always room for dessert, especially if it’s crème brûlée. Nothing is more satisfying then taking a spoon and cracking the glazed sugar coating on top. This warm and fluffy custard is so decadent and aromatic, Mandy helps herself to three servings! Buona notte
Sunday Sessions 
I’ve been to Italy and I can tell you that this was the next best thing to actually being there. = )
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