2013 is the first year for the Pasta Making seminar at the Swan & Dolphin Food & Wine Classic. Our friends Kris and Kevin really wanted to attend this, so we made sure to get four spots as soon as tickets became available – turns out that was a good thing because this sold out rather quickly. We knew before hand that potato gnocchi was going to be involved but that was about it – we weren’t sure how “interactive” it was going to be nor how much food we were going to be getting…
We showed up about 5 or 10 minutes before the event began and checked in. We were given a booklet containing all the recipes for the food we’d partake of, a description of the charcuterie, the cheeses, and the roasted marinated & pickled vegetables available before and during the event (we didn’t know that or we would have showed up earlier!), and details of the two wines being served. We were given aprons to put on, and then we were escorted to the ballroom where it would all happen.
Before I start with Nick’s pictures, the lighting in this space was crazy bad for taking photos… these aren’t the quality that Nick usually likes (keep in mind he took nearly 150 photos and these were the best)…
The space was huge, but there were only a few tables and a few high-tops… these were all taken… because we didn’t show up super early. There were three spaces set up for demonstration of three types of pasta making…
This area served two purposes, at the far end was where the Hand Cut Tagliatelle group took place and then the center and near end was where the cooking took place
now you can see some of the tables, and on the right is the Gnocchi making area
at the back end of the space was the area for making egg pasta (far end) and turning it into ravioli (near end)
here is the charcuterie, cheeses, vegetables, and bread (for us, this was enough for a meal!)
another angle, this food was absolutely delicious
roasted, marinated and pickled vegetables – dragon carrots, tokyo turnips, marinated peppers, and marinated eggplant (I particularly enjoyed the carrots and eggplant)
Salami, roasted eggplant, dragon carrots, bleu d auvergne, carmody (hard cheese), and brillat-savarin (a wonderful soft cheese0 (I overindulged in all the cheeses!)
Kris started out with the Sauvignon Blanc (Cakebread 2012), the rest of us started with the Pinot Noir (Paul Hobbs 2011) and stuck with it… This wine was very, very good. I’ll have to look for it away from Disney World
Chef Cib went from group to group (each group had two of his Chefs working with guests) – this is the tagliatelle group… hand cut pasta
Gnocchi group, this was very popular (I think because it was the one that everyone knew about when they purchased their tickets, i.e. it was expected)
two guests working with the potatoes, our friend Kris is on the far right looking on – “you have to use hot potatoes”
Kris shaping the gnocchi
Nick was able to circulate and get photos, I spent my time at the fresh pasta and ravioli group. There are lots of photos from this group, partly because there was a lot going on…
Our main presenter was Chef Tyler (he’s been at Il Mulino as Executive Chef for 2.5 years, I think it’s been longer than that since our last dinner at Il Mulino with Lisa & Andy) – he imparted a lot of information, mostly about making basic pasta…
- this pasta recipe contains A LOT of egg yolks, these react with aluminum, so don’t make pasta on an aluminum surface because your pasta will be grey and bitter
- flour – they use farina flour 00, it has a finer grain and that works best for the pasta, all the flour has to be sifted and the recipe works with one kilogram of flour… halving the recipe doesn’t work, and doubling the recipe doesn’t work… they’ve tried it
- they made 42 batches of pasta for the ravioli being served out on the Causeway tonight
- so, after you sift the flour pull a little bit away just in case you need it, you make a well in the center (like Granma Dickens making biscuits!) and add the fluer de sel, then the wet ingredients – start mixing
- being a chef is a lot of math and ratios and proportions (I chimed in that I think cooking is a great way to teach math and fractions)
- okay, so you’re mixing the pasta, how do you know when to start kneading it? when you get streaks on the table (called “nape”) it’s time to to do the kneading
- after you knead the dough to the proper consistency, it must rest for at least 1 hour in plastic wrap in the refrigerator – if it doesn’t rest, it will be TOUGH
Chef Cib talking about the well in the center of the flour
Chef Tyler is beginning to work the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with his fingers – you have to do it in a stirring, swirling motion
guests getting in on the pasta making, Chef Tyler watches and advises
time to begin kneading the pasta dough, this is a real workout
I asked Chef Tyler, “What do you want to eat after working with pasta all day?”… He said “A sandwich and a beer, made by my wife” – very cool
Chef Alejandro (?) readies some already prepared and rested pasta dough for the pasta machine as Tyler continues to knead the dough
Chef Cib lets us handle the rested dough (on the tray) and the just finished dough – the texture is very different, the rested dough is soft and supple, the other is tight
running the pasta through the machine to make thin, long sheets
making another long, thin sheet of pasta
Chef Tyler is putting the potato filling on the sheet of pasta (the bottom sheet is always smaller than the top sheet)
placing the top sheet of pasta over the filling
cutting the raviolis… Chef Tyler uses two circular cutters, the smaller one he uses upside down so that it seals the ravioli, the larger one is used to cut out the ravioli
The scraps of pasta are used for staff snacks (pasta fried and dusted with cinnamon sugar, made into ugly cut pasta, or the egg whites are made into omelettes or frittatas).
guests try their hand at cutting out the raviolis
tray of finished raviolis, ready to be cooked!
Chef Tyler really likes to hire green chefs and teach… I really like that attitude… teaching and mentoring are an important part of how he does his work.
oh yummy, these look pretty good
after cooking, our ravioli with peas, mushrooms, onion, and brown butter
this one was almost pan fried in the brown butter, reminding me of a pot sticker
cooking station: four sauces (tomato basil sauce, bolognese sauce, brown butter & sage, and clam sauce)
gnocchi group with their pasta, ready to be cooked and EATEN
Chef Cib cooking away!
gnocchi with brown butter and sage sauce with mushrooms
tagliatelle with tomato basil sauce – tastes like my Granny’s macaroni & tomatoes (comfort food!)
plain gnocchi with only brown butter – delicious
tagliatelle with clam sauce (vongole)
Would we do this event again! Oh yes! Absolutely! We even have ideas for how to improve the experience for guests (which we hope to share with Chef Cib) and we’re ready to give Il Mulino another try after meeting Chef Tyler. So all, in all, this was definitely a win-win-wine-cheese-pasta experience for us!
booklet cover
White Bean Ravioli
Chef Cib’s Gnocchi (actually, I think it’s his grandmother’s gnocchi)
Hand Cut Tagliatelle
Tomato Basil Sauce
Bolognese Sauce
Brown Butter with Sage
Vogole (Clam Sauce)
Charcuterie
Cheese
Roasted, Marinated & Pickled Vegetables
Wines
Back Cover
