Verona, Italy

Before coming to Italy I had it on my bucket list to take a cooking class while I was here. Well, the other weekend I got to cross it off my list. A few other Au Pairs and myself went to Verona for the day to take a cooking class and briefly explore the city. It was so much fun and well worth every penny. Our teacher was the cutest little Italian woman who has written three cookbooks and is an official "wine expert." Needless to say, she knew what she was doing. She taught us new techniques and squashed a lot of my preconceived notions of how to cook. The class was made up of people from all over the world - Australia, South America, Iceland and the US. (It was actually the first time I met someone from North Carolina while being here which was really fun.)

Together, we made squash risotto, homemade pasta with tomato sauce and tiramisu. After we made each dish we ate them with wine that our teacher choose paired best with it. It was, as you can imagine, delicious. Aside from having a great time, learning recipes, eating the food and enjoying good company - we got a collection of recipes (including the ones we made and a few more) to take home.

Below you will find from photos of my trip and I also decided it would be fun to share one of those recipes here so you can try too. So, scroll to the bottom to get an authentic Italian recipe to try for yourself at home.

Arena di Verona - this is still used to put on theatrical plays, operas and more.

Where we cooked all day.

My friends Amy (left) and Lara (right).

Our sweet Italian cooking teacher.

Squash risotto

Our completed homemade pasta with tomato sauce.

Individual tiramisu cups

If you go to Verona and don't go see Juliet's balcony did you even go to Verona?

These are letters people write to Juliet to ask for love.

View from where we got drinks after the cooking class. Not too shabby.

If you look on the right - the white umbrellas are where we had drinks and where the photo before this one is from.

My American friend. (:

The coolest part about being an Au Pair is the people you meet from all over the world. There are 4 different countries represented here. (US, Canada, South Africa and Australia)

Now what you've been waiting for ... this is taken directly from the booklet given to me so any questions about the recipe I will probably have too and won't be much help. Sorry in advance!

Ragu alla Bolognese

(sauce with meat)

*takes 3 hours+ to cook*

Ingredients:

200 g/7 oz minced beef

200 g/7 oz minced pork

1 stalk of celery, finely chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup white wine

1 cup milk

2 cups broth (or water)

grated nutmeg, to taste

200 g/7 oz tomato sauce

45 g/1 1/2 oz butter

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

Heat the butter and oil in a heavy-based saucepan. Add the onion and, when it begins to soften, stir in the carrot, celery and bay leaf. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.

Add the beef and the pork. Turn the heat up to high and cook until medium-brown and nearly crisp, crumbling it in the pot using a fork.

Add wine and cook until evaporated. Add the milk and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the nutmeg to taste, and the tomato sauce. Add broth, or water, and simmer over very low heat for about 3 hours. By the end all the liquid should have absorbed and the ragu should be rich, thick and saucy.

Taste and adjust the seasoning.