Flour Power Class at Hotel Providence

homemade focaccia

I hope that you can join me for a cooking class at Hotel Providence in Providence, RI on Saturday, November 12, from 9am-4pm, for a day of transformation: flour to bread, flour to pasta, and flour to pastry.

Focaccia, a staple of Italy’s Ligurian cuisine, is one of the most simple, yet flavorful breads for the home cook to make, and can be topped simply, with salt and herbs, made into a meal with the addition of roasted vegetables and cheese, or transformed into a sweet with dried fruit and honey. All of us are familiar – and quite likely reliant upon – the pantry staple, dried pasta, but handmade pasta is easy to prepare, and elevates pasta night far beyond the box. Crostata, a rustic Italian tart, is great entertaining fare, as it’s a perfect way to highlight the season’s local produce – say, apples, perhaps – and can be made either sweet or savory.

In class, I’ll demonstrate how to make focaccia, pasta, and crostata, then will assist the class in making their own. The day will start with coffee and sweet focaccia, followed by pasta-making, a lunch of our own handmade pasta, quick-to-prepare sauces, and salad, followed by an afternoon of crostata-making, and, of course, we’ll sample our crostata handiwork before the class comes to its conclusion!

The class includes a signed copy of “Poor Girl Gourmet: Eat in Style on a Bare-bones Budget“, as well as handouts of the recipes made in class. I’d love for you to join us as we make a floury mess (and good food, too!). The class costs $149 + $15 materials fee. To enroll, please contact Tricia Carter, Hotel Providence’s marketing manager, at 401-490-8144 or [email protected]

Hope to see you there!