Ciao Andiamo: Italian Cooking Parties with Vera and Cristiana

In February, Ciao Andiamo led a week-long series of Private Italian Cooking Parties in New York. The parties were hosted right in people's homes, together with their families and friends, everywhere from Chelsea and Midtown Manhattan to Long Island and Westchester.

Classes were run by some of our wonderful Italy collaborators, who flew in special from Umbria, and brought with them some fantastic small-production wines, cheeses, olive oil and other local ingredients.

It was a whirlwind of a week, with 4 dinners in 7 nights. And we loved every minute of it.

Vera ('la mamma') and Cristiana (her daughter) whipped up a traditional Italian feast, featuring several courses of typical Umbrian dishes, amazing wines and -- the highlight -- handmade pasta.

Some of our guests asked if we would be bringing a pasta-making machine, and Cristiana replied 'la mamma e' la machinetta' ('my mother is the machine!'). And what a treat it was to watch Vera work, making the pasta from scratch, as though we had just stepped back in time into old-world Italy.

To make the pasta, Versa started first with some flour, creating a hole in the center, into which she cracked the eggs, and then added salt and mixed together to form the dough...

And then came some pure pasta-making magic...

Many a brave dinner guest volunteered to lend Vera a hand, and they fared pretty well, I must say.

And when we weren't putting the guests to work, they got to enjoy all the delicious creations and an authentic Italian feast.

Here's a look back at some of the dishes (in pictures):

Aged Balsamic over Pecorino Cheese from Pienza in Tuscany. Served along with assorted Bruschetta.

Radicchio Strudel with Ham and Mozzarella, Cristiana's Signature Dish.

Handmade Tagliatelle alla Spoletina (with Tomatoes, Oil, Garlic & Parsley). We also served a Pasta al Tartufo (with truffle sauce) and a Pasta Cacio e Pepe (pecorino cheese and peppercorns, very typical pasta in Rome).