Couples cooking classes are always a big seller in ICE’s Recreational Cooking department, so it was only natural that cookbook author and ICE alumna Sarah Copeland created and taught a newlywed class. Earlier this year Sarah published her first book, The Newlywed Cookbook, a colorful and locavore recipe-filled guide encouraging couples to cook together. But you don’t have to be recently married to enjoy the book’s seasonal recipes and vibrant photographs! I brought my fiancé Luke along (yes, I know, we aren’t newlyweds yet) for a Sunday supper at ICE last week.
While we followed a menu based on recipes from her cookbook, Sarah emphasized the importance of good quality ingredients. We washed and prepared baby arugula, parsley and chervil for a Window Box Green Salad and Sarah passed around a favorite extra virgin olive oil for tasting that we used in a classic vinaigrette. Luke and I channeled our Italian grandmother as we prepared potato-Parmesan dough and gave our best shot at rolling gnocchi. We found that making those little pillows are a task best done with a partner, as it cuts your prep time in half and leaves more time for eating! We tossed the finished gnocchi in an herb butter sauce with fresh, haricots verts and wax beans. To complete our dinner, Sarah swapped out basil for the citrus-like herb sorrel, which she used in a hand-chopped pesto that we served over seared arctic char with sorrel pesto.