The Three Jewels of Parma

The Jewels of Parma?

No, these aren't the Jewels of Parma, but a group of friends that got together to experience the latest Jasper Mirabile cooking class at the Culinary Center of Kansas City. It had been a crazy day for all of us and we were ready to be entertained in mind, body and stomach. Pardons ahead of time for the photos -- didn't have time to run home for the camera, so the Palm Pre had to do.

Jasper with Jewel #1

This class was focused on those things made famous by Parma, Italy. Proscuitto, Parmigiano-Reggiano and Balsamico. The menu consisted of proscuitto & gruyere baked in puff pastry, proscuitto-filled chicken breast saltimbocco style, fettucine Pope John XXIII, and warm balsamico & berries over white chocolate gelato. So yes, all of my calories for the week were consumed within this one lovely evening.

Fettucine Pope John XXIII

J knows how to entertain, and one of his first rules is to feed us early. We started with the fettucine. It's amazing how good simple ingredients can be when they are made with love (along with a little cream). This dish consists of fettucine, butter, proscuitto, egg, peas, cream and parmigiano reggiano. I waited until everyone was watching J again before I licked the bowl.

Mirror Image

There is no bad seat in the house at the Culinary Center. A large mirror reflects everything that's happening to keep you engaged and learning all the best tricks. I've been to many "In the Kitchen with Jasper" classes, and I always pick up a handful of wonderful cooking histories and secrets. This night those included these jewels:

• Tuscan spices are called Tuscan drugs - what a great description
• In Parma, they have proscuitto "halls" - open air areas where the meat ages in the Italian breezes
• They test whether proscuitto is of good quality by inserting a horse's tooth - apparently one of the cleanest things they can use to test (my friend Brenda had to ask if the horse was dead or alive when that happened)
• J talked about an Iowa proscuitto producer that is now one of the hottest sellers in the country - he started selling out of the back of his car and has only grown from there - I found the website - http://store.laquercia.us/La-Quercia-Prosciutto-Green-Label-Organic
• J's mama was there (as she usually is) and he joked while draining a steaming pot of pasta that she calls those Italian facials!

The Colors of Parma

J finished up the cooking demonstration by dressing a simple salad, letting us make the chicken breast dish, and my favorite, the proscuitto and gruyere baked in puff pasty. What a simple and elegant appetizer/side dish/brunch item -- will definitely be making this soon. Sorry, I was so excited to see the dessert when it came, I failed to take a photo. Let me just say this - chunks of white chocolate topped with fresh fruit drizzled in the balsamico (that was also drizzled across the salad and the puff pastry - shoot, you could drizzle that over anything and I would eat it!

Erica Pozza and J

My friend Tom bought Brenda's foreign exchange student Erica the class for Christmas. It was quite entertaining watching this young lady from Milan learn from the master here in KC!

Unexpected Surprises

Checking out the chocolate!

One of my favorite all time things are those unexpected days with nothing planned that turn into amazing surprises. I've had a couple of those recently, and they both included food and wine (and beer!). The most recent was when Derek surprised the girls by taking us down to pick out chocolate for Valentine's Day at Christopher Elbow Chocolates in the Crossroads District. A perfect treat for the girl that always gives up chocolate for Lent.

Pretty pizzas

I have always wanted to try Pizza Bella and since we were just right around the corner, we did. Leah and Madison were famished since we made them wait to try out their chocolate choices.

Pizza Bella

Pizza Bella is a little hard to find and doesn't have it's own parking lot, but is worth the stop. And it's also right down the street from The Cellar Rat - a fabulous place to taste and buy wines.

My favorite part

I gave the pizza at B+. It was tasty but didn't quite live up to my expectations given the pizzas I've had in Italy. However, I was delighted to nibble (more like feast!) on the trio of olive oils with fresh baked bread and a variety of olives. I almost didn't let the girls have any, it was so good.

Oh, but we're not done yet

We were on such a roll, we decided not to stop. We took the girls over to the Legends theaters so they could see a tweenager movie, and Derek and I dropped in on Yard House for a selection of beer. I think it literally took me almost 20 minutes to pick one - there are just a couple to pick from.

Too pretty to eat

We brought home a mixed assortment of both chocolates, as well as caramels. I quickly decided they were way too good (and expensive) for the kids, and squirreled them away. I savored the best for last - the middle heart shaped caramel that was infused with red wine and coated in white chocolate. I must now hang up my keyboard as my chocolate-deprived Lenten body is about to revisit withdrawal.