Chef Vicki Caparulo turned to her class, “Does anyone have any questions?” To the surprise of one student, Danielle, her boyfriend Jerry raised his hand. Or rather, got down on one knee.The happy couple was hardly new to ICE. One of their first dates was Chef Loren Banco’s Great New York Restaurants’ Signature Dishes. When deciding how to propose, Jerry passed on a private yacht or freezing the ring in an ice cube at a fancy restaurant. Instead, he opted, “to give Danielle a story that was uniquely her own…that related to our story together, so I went back to that early date at ICE.” After an afternoon Cheese Lover’s Romp with Alexandra Leaf, the couple headed to Chef Vicki Caparulo’s Essentials of Mediterranean Cooking.

“I didn’t expect to be so nervous,” said Jerry, ” I kept going into the bathroom to practice my proposal while we were cooking.” Luckily, his accomplice, Chef Caparulo, is no stranger to kitchen romance. The engagement went off without a hitch, to the delight of Danielle and the rest of the class. “The only unanticipated downside was that after cooking for four hours, Danielle was too excited to eat anything. But she loved the experience, and we wouldn’t change a thing”.

Congratulations Jerry and Danielle! We look forward to seeing what you’ll cook up as husband and wife.

What do you think of when you think of the food of Sweden? How about Norway? What defines the food of Denmark? ICE Recreational Chef Instructor Vicki J. Caparulo began ICE’s Modern Scandinavian Cuisine class by discussing how to define the flavor profile of a cuisine, “When I talk about tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil, the cuisine you associate these flavors with is Italy. And scallions, ginger and soy sauce associate with China.” To us Americans, Scandinavia, which refers to the cultural-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, is best known for its flavorful gravlax and iconic meatballs. But Scandinavia’s flavor profile goes far beyond salmon and dill. Caraway, vinegar, licorice, root vegetables, foraged berries, fatty fish and gamey meats round out this intriguing cuisine. We broke into groups and began to prepare ten authentic recipes using these flavors in uniquely Scandinavian ways.

Our meal began with Chef Vicki pouring the class a drink of aquavit, a clear, caraway-flavored liquor which is Latin for “water of life.” In Scandinavia, drinking aquavit during a meal is a formal procedure known as snaps. For this traditional ritual, the host pours shots of the liquor and leads songs before the drink is taken. Luckily, we had some Swedes in class to help sing. Swedish-born siblings Magda and Gustav, along with their mother, led us in a snapsvisa, a traditional Scandinavian drinking song. Between snaps we snacked on a delicious smoked salmon tartare. More…