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  • Italian

Veal Scaloppine

Veal Scaloppine is a classic Italian dish that’s as elegant and refined as it is quick and easy to make. Scallopine are “scallops,” or cutlets, that are so thin they cook in a matter of just a few minutes. That they cook so quickly actually presents a dilemma: the scaloppine are overdone before the exteriors can attain decent browning. Our solution is to sauté the cutlets until deeply colored on one side only and until just lightly golden on the other—this way, we have the flavor benefits of good browning, but the cutlets are still moist and tender because they’re properly cooked. Sautéing the cutlets leaves fond, or browned bits, in the skillet that are the flavor backbone for a pan sauce. But because the sauce takes longer to reduce than the scaloppine should wait to be served, in this recipe, we begin making the sauce before sautéing the cutlets, and put the finishing touches on the sauce after the cutlets are cooked. The typical veal cutlets sold at the grocery store are not the super-tender scaloppine cut from the pricey loin muscle that you might find being served in better Italian restaurants. Rather, average veal cutlets are sliced from the leg or shoulder, and because they have considerable chew, they require the help of a meat pounder as well as some meat tenderizer to achieve a pleasing texture.

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  • Italian

Focaccia and Ciabatta

What are the differences between focaccia and ciabatta? Why do we dimple focaccia? For these answers and much more, search no further than this online cooking class. Discover how these yeasted breads develop flavor (hint: a biga), and how to shape the different loaves. Learn how to ensure each one bakes up properly, how to know when they are done, and what the crumb should look like. We will talk you through what equipment is necessary to ensure success, including how to care for, store, and use a baking stone.

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  • Italian

Italian-Style Turkey Meatballs

We can understand the appeal of using ground turkey in place of beef or pork in meatballs, especially if you're trying to cut back on the amount of red meat in your diet. When we decided to develop a turkey meatball recipe, we quickly learned that we couldn't just swap in ground turkey in our Classic Meatball recipe. The results were mushy and grainy meatballs that couldn't hold their shape. Developing this recipe forced us to reconsider many rules about making meatballs. For example, with beef or pork, you want to handle the mixture as gently as possible, since overworking can cause the meat proteins to tighten up, creating a too-springy, sausage-like consistency. Turkey is another beast altogether: Although it contains the same sticky proteins as beef and pork, it also has a higher moisture content (ground turkey contains about 71 percent moisture versus 66 and 61 percent for pork and beef, respectively). This means that even after a good amount of mixing, ground turkey remains wet and hard to work with. So we needed to find a way to absorb some of that moisture—which meant the traditional panade of bread and milk was out. Thanks to many rounds of testing and a few test kitchen tricks, we created turkey meatballs that rival any beef or pork versions. We start with 93 or 85 percent lean turkey; the 99 percent lean type didn’t have enough fat to create a palatable meatball. Next, we add an egg and fresh bread crumbs (instead of a panade, which made the meatballs too wet) to help bind the meat. We also add a small amount of unflavored gelatin, which mitigates graininess by trapping moisture and giving the meatballs a juicy mouthfeel. To boost meaty flavor, we add glutamate-rich ingredients such as Parmesan cheese, anchovies, tomato paste, and rehydrated dried shiitake mushrooms.

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  • Italian

Homemade Pasta

Have you ever wondered if fresh pasta is better than dry? After all, they’re certainly not the same thing. Tender and chewy, fresh pasta is best dressed with rich, lush sauces—and we love that it takes just seconds to cook. Some think making fresh pasta is too hard, but here we show you a quick and simple food processor method. See how we take all the mystery out of rolling the pasta out and cutting it into your favorite shape. You will learn to make a satisfying filling for ravioli, and then how to fill and cut them. And while not made from fresh pasta dough, learn how to make potato gnocchi by hand with a delicious sauce that complements all the flavors in the dish. You’ll also learn how to avoid common mistakes like gluey gnocchi and overcooked pasta, and what ingredients are best to create the right flavor and texture in your fresh pasta dishes.

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  • Italian

Authentic Tuscan Bean Stew

This simple, hearty bean stew hails from Tuscany and showcases one of the region’s favorite ingredients: cannellini beans. Our recipe fortifies this version of the dish with pancetta, aromatic vegetables, and hearty greens to make a meal in a bowl. In this online cooking class, we’ll teach you how to get the beans to cook up plump, whole, and tender-skinned by brining. We’ll also share tips on how to avoid common mistakes like blown-out or tough, undercooked beans. You don’t need any special kitchen equipment for this dish, but we’ll give you our recommendations for the best chef’s knife, Dutch oven, colander, and more.

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  • Italian

Chicken, Italian-Style

What is chicken cacciatore? And how do I make the best chicken saltimbocca? These dishes may sound familiar, but are they complicated to make? Learn how three basic cooking techniques are used to create classic Italian dishes at home. Sautéing is a quick, high-heat cooking technique used for thin cutlets; stewing and braising use long, slow, moist-heat which turns dark meat chicken tender; and grilling adds an extra layer of flavor from cooking outdoors over coals. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to sauté, braise, and grill chicken as well as how to cut your own chicken cutlets and butterfly a chicken. Pair these techniques with easy to find ingredients to create Chicken Saltimbocca, Chicken Cacciatore, and Italian-Style Grill-Roasted Chicken.

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  • Italian

Meat, Italian-Style

Cooking techniques like braising, sautéing, and roasting are pretty common, no matter what country you live in. It’s when you add local ingredients and use traditional methods that these dishes learn to speak the local dialect. Review the essentials of how to roast, sauté, and braise meats, including videos on the proper technique. Discover what herbs, wines, and other ingredients help transform a simple pork loin into a taste of Tuscany. Learn about the equipment best suited to each of these recipes, then put that knowledge to work in three authentic Italian dishes: Veal Scaloppine, Tuscan Pork Loin, and Beef Braised in Barolo.

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  • Italian

Pasta Classics

Ever wondered which pasta shapes go with which sauces? After all, there are scores of pasta shapes, and even more sauces. From pesto to cream sauces to tomato-based sauces, the combinations are endless. But not all pasta shapes work with all sauces. Discover how to pair the classic shapes with traditional sauces, and how to highlight the best of both the pasta and the sauce. Learn how to make a bolognese sauce, pesto, and a classic tomato sauce. We will show you how best to cook pasta and when you know pasta is properly cooked. See which canned tomatoes are best for sauce and then take all this information into the kitchen to make Baked Manicotti, Pasta with Pesto Alla Trapanese, and Fettuccine with Bolognese Sauce.

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  • Italian

Easy Baked Manicotti

Manicotti are tubes of pasta stuffed with Italian cheeses and baked in a simple tomato sauce, similar to a meatless lasagna. Those who have made manicotti before and have been scarred by the experience may want to run in the opposite direction from this recipe. But fear not: thanks to no-boil lasagna noodles, we have a dramatically streamlined manicotti recipe that does away with precooking the pasta and the fussy task of stuffing each pasta tube with filling. Learning how to make stuffed manicotti with our recipe requires a fraction of the work of a traditional manicotti preparation yet tastes every bit as good.

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  • Italian

Risotto, Polenta, and Italian Beans

If you’re a fan of Italian cooking, you know how good risotto, polenta, and Italian beans are all supposed to taste. But that doesn’t always translate to the home kitchen. Risotto and polenta have traditional cooking methods where constant stirring is required for the proper outcome, and that is a challenge in our busy lives. And with all the different recipes out there, how do you cook Italian beans? There are many theories on the different stages of bean cookery, like to soak or not to soak. In this online cooking class, you’ll discover a tried and true method for making hands-free risotto (that means no tired arms) and learn when risotto is cooked. See how to make creamy Parmesan polenta, and learn some great toppings to showcase the earthy cornmeal. And let us debunk the various myths of cooking dried beans with one simple and reliable method.

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  • Italian

Foolproof Rosemary Focaccia

Focaccia’s popularity has skyrocketed in recent years. Once virtually unknown, it is now in bread baskets and on menus across the country. With that kind of spotlight on focaccia, it’s no wonder there are now countless recipes in books and on the internet for this yeasted and seasoned bread. But for every delicious focaccia, there are countless bland versions that give this Italian bread a bad name. In this online cooking class, we will teach you how to work with yeast and produce a biga—the secret to focaccia’s great flavor (and other yeasted breads too). You will discover what an autolyse is, and how to fold the dough to develop gluten, ensuring a structure that bakes up into an open, rustic crumb with irregular bubbles and a perfect balance of tenderness and chew. Find out what equipment works best (we use a baking stone and cake pan) and how to shop for and store yeast.

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  • Italian

Meatballs Around the World

Whether doused in red sauce or slathered with gravy, most cuisines have some version of a meatball recipe. Meatballs come in a variety of shapes, sizes, ingredients, and cooking methods. Historically, meatballs were made out of necessity, since meat was expensive and needed to be stretched to feed the family. Add some bread crumbs for bulk, herbs for flavor, and sauce to pull it all together, and you have a full meal. Ask a group of Italian grandmothers how they make meatballs, and chances are you will get different answers. Once you know the basics, you can swap out herbs and spices to make different flavors of meatballs. Experimenting with the type of meat will also yield drastically different results. Not all meatballs are globe-shaped, either: Middle-Eastern kofte are elongated and grill on a skewer. One thing is for sure, regardless of how they are made, meatballs are comfort food. In this course, you will learn about some of the different types of meatballs found in different cuisines around the world. You will learn how to shop for the meat that goes into those meatballs. We've found that grinding meat at home leads to the most consistent results, so we will show you how to do that using a food processor. Cook along with our instructor as she shows you how to make Italian-Style Turkey Meatballs with pasta, as well as classic Meatballs and Marinara and Mediterranean Lamb Meatballs.

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