Cooking class with Mary!

This morning the boys and I woke up and went to the Pigna apartment for brunch. Cami made pancakes and Richelle made crepes. After eating we sat around for about an hour or two before going to the Rome Center for Mary's class.
The highlight of the day was Mary's cooking class. The first thing she taught us was how to properly chop an onion. Lia and I have always done it differently but Mary's way made sense to us.


This picture shows Richelle hard at work with her onion. We all did a good job and Mary was rewarded with a pot full of chopped onions.

The next thing we made was an eggplant parmesan. I have always loved eggplant parmesan so I was thrilled to learn how to make it. I tried it a few times before but it always came out really sloppy or with the eggplant just being mush. The important step that I didn't quite do correctly was to brown the sides of the eggplant slices either by lightly sauteeing them or by broiling them in the oven for a bit.
Again, it was a fascinating process. Matt and Kelly were especially floored.


After adding several layers of a delicious ragu sauce, eggplant, and parmesan we baked the eggplant parmesan for about twenty minutes. We could hardly contain ourselves and it didn't take long for us to finish it.


Later that night I decided to make bread for the apartment. Baking bread is something that I only learned recently but I have perfected an easy and cheap way to make several loaves of bread. Matthew has expressed an interest in learning how to make along with several others and so I've decided to share the recipe.
Start with adding a cup of warm water to a large mixing bowl. Add a spoonful each of sugar, salt, and yeast and let it sit for about five minutes. Once the yeast has been activated slowly add in 2 cups of flour and stir quickly for a few minutes. Add a cup of melted butter or if you want to make it healthier, add a cup of an oil and warm water mixture. Then add another two cups of flower. Before it gets too doughy add in a spoonful of pesto sauce, some dried red pepper, and anything else you may want (some rosemary is nice). Once you have a big glob of dough then divide it into loaves and let it rise for 2 hours. Bake for about half an hour at 350 and serve immediately.
Ciao!