stellar cooking class yesterday from the chef and partners from La Conda Rosati in Orvietto Italy

So my friend Dr. Dan, band mate and bass player in my band invited me to his annual cooking fest in Harrrison NY given by Chef Paulo and host Giampiero from the agritourism farm in Orvietto Italy. locandarosati.it It was truly a wonderful experience. these guys grow many of their own ingredients and have a small hotel and cooking school/restaurant that i would love to attend called La Conda . We started by making a dry rosemary garlic rub for a leg of lamb. after rubbing it vigoursly all over and in between the lamb, we added salt, pepper and their very own olive oil and white wine. 3 hrs later, after slow and low roasting, it was pure heaven. The depth of flavors were superb and served with roasted potatoes. Perfect for a cold snowy sunday lunch/dinner.

As the lamb roasted and the smell permeated the kitchen, Chef Paulo showed us how to make one of his signature dishes; chicken liver pate. We created a mix of onions, carrots, celery, parsley, apples, sage, chicken liver and chop meat. after this was cooked, we put it through an ancient meat grinder and created this pate/spread. Rich, earthy, terrific.

Then we made 3 batches of dough; 1 for tagliatelle we would serve w a mushroom sugo, one for these super light fried dough pufs that were truly ethereal and this is what we ate with the pate as well as a sundried tomatoe and capers anchovy tempanade. These puffs were light, salty and perfect. The 3rd dough for pie crust for a fruit tart w some custard that was outstanding.

I brought some baby octopus and sepia as a special treat and the chefs and everyone loved them. We had these as an appy. i first made a ceviche with both and then grilled them up. They were marinated in olive oil, garlic and hot chilis for 2 days and then grilled and finished with lemon. They were a big hit. drank some good wines including a home made red that was a bit like welche's grape juice with a hint of lemon. not good, not terrible. during the cooking 3 of us band mates went below to Dans studio and jammed up a storm. Great Sound System and a fabulous microphone and sweet electric with some cool sound effects that made even me sound pretty pretty good.

All and all, a wonderful fun filled day with some good culinary education and new friends. I am still full as i write this post. wow. good stuff.

"The Locanda Rosati is a traditional Umbrian stone country farmhouse located only a few kilometers from the magical city of Orvieto along the panoramic road to Lake Bolsena and Bagnoregio. This is an ideal place for your farm holiday in Umbria, convenient to Rome but miles away from the noises of the city."