Recently Chef Raymond Gillespie brought Salumeria Italiana to a cooking class at Boston Center for Adult Education. In a lively, interactive, hands-on class, Chef Raymond and the students made Polenta with Cacciatore Sauce, Asparagus Risotto, Orecchiete with Roast Cauliflower and Sundried Tomatoes, and Asparagus Risotto Cakes drizzled with Truffle Sauce and Rubio. As a bonus, he whipped up a White Pizza with Taleggio, Crimini Mushrooms and Black Truffle Oil. Some fine Italian chocolate -- Perugina Dark Chocolate -- finished the evening.

The students got lots of tips, ways to make cooking easier and more fun, and insight into how to select ingredients -- friom the right olive oils for cooking, drizzling, and salad vinaigrette, or the textural differences between quick and slow-cooking polenta.  They went away with recipes, and declared that the class had been molto fun. We're looking forward to more classes to showcase the talent and resources of our very special treasures at Salumeria Italiana.