But first-off, I must say taking this class was so fun. I met really nice people and learned a lot, including how to make a chiffonade of mint, a julienne of prosciutto, the proper way to handle a Chef’s Knife (also called a French Knife), and most importantly, how to make pasta from scratch.
I was so nervous entering the professional kitchen. All the stainless steel heavy duty appliances are monstrously intimidating. It’s easy to cook in a home kitchen, but this is a whole different level of cooking. There are rules, regulations, and chef lingo to get around the kitchen free of wounds. I know, seems like a dangerous undertaking. And it is. It is important to be attentive to everything that surrounds you and what everyone is saying. However, once I tamed my anxiety, I was so eager to learn and get my hands dirty.
We tackled 4 different recipes in 4 hours. Well, in order to do that, we had to divide into groups. My curiosity, however, got me traveling from station to station. I was assigned to the 'Paglia e Fieno' team. 'Paglia e Fieno' translates to 'Straw and Hay'.
It is a traditional Italian recipe that consists of mixing yellow and green (spinach) tagliatelle. I had to make the spinach dough. Let me tell you, it looked easy during the demo but it's a tough task (when it's your first time making it). Since spinach is so moist, it takes a lot of additional flour to knead and roll the perfect dough. I was working that dough for at least a half hour to get it just right. After that, I learned about shaping the dough, and took an hour to perfect my shaping skills with the pasta maker. 
I delicately cut the ultra-flattened dough into tagliatelle strips that we tossed in the 'Paglia e Fieno' sauce we prepared earlier. After completing this, I traveled to the 'Malfatti' station where everyone was learning how to make spinach and ricotta dumpling with an aromatic tomato sauce. I tried my hand at rolling a dumpling in a perfect mini egg shape. I then walked over to the 'Mezzalune' station. There, I was pleased to make half-moon ravioli with a delectable asparagus-leek filling. Post-cooking and learning, we all gathered to eat our creations, while sipping on Italian wine and nibbling on baguette made by the 'bread' daytime students.
Please find below the recipe for the tasty culinary production I was assigned!
"Paglia e Fieno" Con Menta, Piselli e Prosciutto
Parma style "Stray and Hay" Tagliatelle with Mint. Peas, and Prosciutto
(recipe borrowed from Chef Jessica Botta)
Ingredients:
4 servings plain fresh Tagliatelle or Fettucine
4 servings spinach fresh Tagliatelle or Fettucine
Sauce:
1 tbsp butter
½ cup finely sliced shallot
1-2 sprigs of thyme
½ cup prosciutto, cut into short fat strips
1 cup cooked English peas, either fresh or frozen
1 cup heavy cream
Fresh mint leaves, cut into thin strips
Shaved mild pecorino cheese, to finish
Preparation:
Melt butter in a large skillet until foamy. Add thyme and swirl until fragrant. Add the shallot and cook until it softens and turns a light golden color.
Add chicken stock, salt & pepper, and cook until reduced.
Add heavy cream and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.
Cook the pasta in abundant well-salted boiling water.
Drain from the water and toss pasta in the sauce , adding some pasta cooking water or additional chicken stock if necessary.
Twirl pasta into bowls, and top with a mild pecorino cheese, freshly grated or shaved.
The French Culinary Institute
462 Broadway
New York, NY 10013-2618
(888) FCI-CHEF
(212) 219-8890
[images 1 and 3 borrowed from the International Culinary Center's photostream in Flickr]
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