Date Night: Summer in Italy Cooking Class at Sur La Table

We enjoyed a taste of summer in Italy at our local Sur La Table with a cooking class!

Friday night classes are ‘Date Night’, you’re encouraged to bring a date and bring along some wine if you would like to sip along with your class.

You know the quote from Julia Childs. . .

source

“I enjoy cooking with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food…” ;)

You work in groups of 4 in the class with hands-on classes limited to 16 students. This is my fun and beautiful friend, Ginny, who had been to a cooking class at Sur La Table before and invited us along for a double date to our Summer in Italy cooking class.

Our Summer in Italy Menu:

House Smoked Burrata with Olive Oil and Summer Herbs – Pea, Prosciutto and Parmesan Risotto – Zucchini Noodles with Grilled Shrimp, Goat Cheese and Burst Cherry Tomatoes – Peach and Blackberry Crostata

I took theses photos with my iPhone so the quality and lighting is not the best and has nothing to do with the wine I sipped at our 2 hour class. . . *hiccup* ;)

All the ingredients are supplied and organized, mise en place. . .

Here are our Pea, Prosciutto and Parmesan Risotto ingredients.

I’ve made the Zucchini Noodles with Grilled Shrimp, Goat Cheese and Burst Cherry Tomatoes several times since our summer night in Italy! It’s super easy, healthy, flavorful and fun to make with a spiralizer!

I have a hand-held spiralizer that works like a pencil sharpener for zucchini noodles, but I think I might have to break down and buy a top-rated Paderno with multiple blades for more spiralizing fun.

Zucchini Noodles with Grilled Shrimp, Goat Cheese and Burst Cherry Tomatoes, recipe Sur La Table

Zucchini noodles or ‘zoodles’ replace the pasta with tender and flavorful strands of zucchini for a healthy and low carb alternative.

Ingredients

1/4 cup pitted roughly chopped Castelvetrano olives (I omitted)

1 teaspoon chopped rosemary

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic

 2 yellow squash, spiralized (I used zucchini only)

2 zucchini squash, spiralized

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes

1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese

Combine olives, herbs, vinegar and 1 tablespoon olive oil, toss to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

To prepare shrimp: Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. In bowl, toss shrimp with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper until well coated. Grill shrimp, turning once until center is opaque, 1-2 minutes per side.

In large saute pan over medium-high heat, add remaining oil and heat until simmering. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add zucchini noodles and tomatoes to the pan, season with salt and pepper. Saute until noodles are just noodles and tomatoes have burst, about 5 minutes. Add vinegar, herbs and olives, stirring to combine. Transfer zucchini and tomatoes to serving platter, top with grilled shrimp and crumbled goat cheese. Serve immediately. Makes 4 Servings.

My Notes: I added tomatoes to pan first so they’re at the bursting point, then added zucchini noodles since I want them to retain some texture, just heated through without becoming too watery. If you’re not a fan of goat cheese, substitute fresh grated Parmesan.

In addition to enjoying a generous taste of every dish, you receive a coupon good for 10% off in-store purchases the day of class and 10% off a future class if you sign up within a week. There are lots of fall goodies and temptations in store at Sur La Table now including fall leaf spring-loaded pie crust cutters for Blue Ribbon Apple Pie or Pumpkin-Pecan Streusel Pie.

We had a great time and looking forward to doing another date night there again in September, maybe for Autumn in Paris or Modern Tuscan Cooking: Roasted Tomato and Olive Crostini – Grilled Steak with Rosemary and Garlic – Creamy Polenta with Pecorino and Wild Mushrooms – Spiced Apple Crostata!

If you receive emails from Sur La Table, you’ll even be notified if classes go on sale. You can find a cooking class schedule at your local Sur La Table, here.

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