On 14 July 2016 I attended an Italian Cooking demo at Adriana's place as part of the cultural aspect of IWAKL (immersion and exchange of knowledge between different countries). As I was driving the long distance there I felt like it was too much trouble and having got up early for a dance class, I felt sleepy too.
(Had to pay toll and enter mex highway to get here, maybe that was why I felt grumpy)
But as soon as I stepped into the apartment and interacted with this zany international bunch, my tiredness dissipated and I actually started to have a good time! Note: I had to wear Fitri's funny shades as my scabs hadn't healed!!
Debbie (from England) says I take too many selfies so she covers my eyes!!!
Today Adriana the host (in red and as Italian as they come) is going to show us how to cook gnocchi, ragu and pesto.
These are the ingredients ready for the demo
Basil leaves for making pesto
Gnocchi in pesto sauce
grating cheese
all done
cheese mixture for gnocchi
Adrianna is going to prepare the gnocchi on a clean plastic sheet because she does not have a marble of stone table to knead the dough (Being an expatriate she explains she refrains from buying too much stuff as she does not know how long she will stay in Malaysia)
Mashed potato, flour and an egg -- all you need to knead for gnocchi.. (from the net)
gnoccchi almost ready for cooking
Gnocchi are various thick, soft dough dumplings that may be made from semolina
Classic gnocchi recipe - Place potatoes in a saucepan of cold water. Cover. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce to low. Cook for 30 minutes or until soft (from the net)
Gnocchi rolled in cheese
In Italian cuisine, ragù is a meat-based sauce that is commonly served with pasta
This is pre cooked ragu which Adriana prepared the night before
Gnocchi in ragu
Shanti and Fitri are going to set the table now
This is gnocchi in pesto sauce for the vegetarian among us
Don't they look absolutely cute?
So we have three types of gnocchi: in ragu, in pesto and in cheese
with salad
cake/bread
my plate of the three types of gncocchi serving and salad
washed down with punch
group photo of all of us who attended the cooking demo
me posing and Debbie trying her hand at rolling gnocchi dough
So: I found I was actually enjoying myself having a relaxing morning with a cheerful bunch of women, it was so stress free and "worry-less", I lingered even after eating.
Shanti is showing off her great heels, Adriana is admiring them
awesome!!!
taking pic while Adriana is mixing the basil leaves for the pesto
Taking pic while Mabel is getting her hands floury with rolling the gnocchi pastry, Mumtaz and Shanti happily smiling, and I was glad I came, I don't know why, I just had the feel-good vibes that day, and I did not mind my pock-marked face!
