Our brand new 2000-square-foot kitchen doubles our cooking and private party space; light, airy cheese souffles ready to be served at a recent cooking event.

It's been almost four months since we last wrote you all. And what a busy four months it's been!

The big news is that we have opened a second cooking loft. Just like our original RUSTICO STUDIO, this new space is sprawling (2000 square feet), with a huge, beautifully designed kitchen equipped with state-of-the-art appliances from Wolf, Sub-Zero, Asko, Franke, and an elegant dining room which seats up to 80 people. The result: we now have two airy cooking lofts, both in the same building on West 39th street in Midtown Manhattan, with independent kitchens and dining rooms, for a combined capacity of 150 guests.

We're very proud of this new space, and also thrilled to showcase the uniquely beautiful art of our good friend Bill Bateman at our loft. Be sure to visit Bill's web site for a glimpse of his art before you have a chance to come see it in person at our studio.

Although we've been very busy launching our new loft, we still found the time to create and photograph 14 new recipes for this issue of our newsletter. Some of the recipes you'll find in this issue: Our favorite bean and tuna salad; sweet pears poached in a Chianti syrup, stuffed with a luscious Gorgonzola mousse; spaghetti tossed with a delicately spicy sausage & pepper sauce... and more to whet the appetite. And be sure to read our informative feature on homemade chicken broth, the secret to so many delicious Italian soups and sauces...

Many of you have emailed us, asking for our summer calendar of classes. We have posted our calendar through the end of August on the site and you'll find over thirty brand new hands-on cooking classes and wine tastings to choose among this summer, including a fun-filled pizza class (back by popular demand), a class on the cooking of Calabria, another on Bolognese cuisine, a class devoted to cooking with herbs, classes on seafood cuisine, and more.

And speaking of wine tastings: Don't miss our First Ever Battle of the Wines on April 7.

This one-time-only class, designed by our Wine Director Costas Mouzouras (photo right), provides the rare opportunity to taste 10 top-rated Italian wines--some traditional, others modern--as you ask the question, "Do you prefer classic, traditional wines (think Chianti), or bold, new, "Super" wines (think the Super Tuscans)?" Taste for yourself: compare and decide if you prefer your wines big and bold or silky and elegant. Costas will unveil 10 contrasting wines (some classic, some not) and lead you on a fascinating tasting that will surely change the way you approach Italian wine. Before you sit down for your wine tasting and dinner, you'll participate in a brief hands-on cooking class during which we'll prepare five Italian dishes: crispy goat cheese ravioli; braised chicken with mushrooms and Marsala; roasted garlic risotto; butternut squash with sage and Parmigiano; and a refreshing berry tiramisu. Don't miss this one time-only cooking class and wine tasting... it promises to be one of the year's most interesting!

Wines Served, First Ever Battle of the Wines on April 7:
Tenuta dell'Ornellaia 1999
Tenuta San Filippo Fanti Brunello di Montalcino 2002
Cascina Ebreo Segreto 2000
Moccagatta Basario Barbaresco 2004
Tenuta Santa Maria Decima Aurea 2001
Bertani Amarone 2000
Falesco Ferentano Lazio
Villa Bucci Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi 2003
Vie de Romans Flors di Vis 2005
Movia Puro Brut

To reserve, call us at 917-602-1519 or click here.

And another class we are very excited about is our Olive Oil Tasting & Cooking Class on June 13. Roll up your sleeves and prepare a fabulous Italian feast featuring extra-virgin olive oil, then savor a sumptuous three-course dinner paired with wine and a guided tasting of Italian extra-virgin olive oils with a master taster, Marco Petrini. After you enjoy a taste of bruschetta, we’ll cook Puglia ’s famous orecchiette pasta with broccoli raab and sausage; its garlicky, bold flavors are ideal paired with a fruity Pugliese olive oil. Next, we’ll slow-cook herb-rubbed chicken with green and black olives, a splash of white wine, a hint of chili, and a lightly floral Umbrian olive oil with an almond bouquet. We’ll serve our chicken with a colorful roasted pepper and onion medley; the direct, intense flavors of Tuscany’s prized olive oil will contrast beautifully with the sweetness of the peppers. And for dessert, we’ll bake our favorite cake—featuring a delicate Sicilian extra-virgin olive oil and plenty of citrus to finish the meal on a sweet note. But the best part of the evening will be the rare opportunity to learn all about extra-virgin olive oil—how it is produced, what cold-pressed actually means, how to read the label on a bottle of olive oil, how to pair olive oil with your cooking, and how to actually taste olive oil like Italy’s master olive oil tasters—from our special guest, Marco Petrini.

Featured Oils, Olive Oil Tasting & Cooking Class on June 13:
Dauno Gargano DOP Puglia Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Umbria DOP Umbria Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Toscano IGP Tuscany Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Val Di Mazara DOP Sicily Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

After class, you can purchase the olive oils you’ve tasted if you like. Each attendee will receive a handy olive oil tasting guide, as well as the evening’s recipes. You can sign up online or call us at 917-602-1519 to reserve.

If you'd prefer to cook with a group of friends or colleagues at your own cooking party, don't hesitate to inquire about our private cooking parties and team-buiding events... especially now that our capacity has doubled! We've also added some fabulous new spring and summer recipes to our private party menus, so be sure to take a look here.

We hope you'll enjoy this newsletter and that you'll spend some time cooking the new recipes on our web site. And we look forward to cooking with you soon!

Happy cooking!

If you're thinking about Mother's or Father's Day already, consider giving Mom or Dad the ultimate gift: a gift certificate for hands-on Italian cooking classes or a wine tasting in New York City at our state-of-the-art cooking loft.

Order gift certificates online (choose from a variety of packages) and we will email you a printable copy within 24 hours of purchase... Complete the gift by adding a Rustico Cooking apron, or a copy of Micol's cookbooks Rustico or The Italian Grill...

Your gift will be remembered long after the cooking class is over (and if you're lucky, the recipient might even prepare the recipes learned in class for you)!!!

Order online or call us at 917-602-1519.

There's no better way to mark a special occasion - be it a bachelorette party, bridal shower, birthday or anniversary - than with a wooden spoon in hand and good food simmering on the stove.

If you're looking for an effective, fun way to bond with colleagues, a cooking party is an original team-building exercise that will leave you and your guests smiling long after the cooking is done. As team members learn essential culinary techniques and master new recipes, they also strengthen bonds and relationships in a fun, informal environment.

Call us to inquire about hosting your private cooking party or team-building event at RUSTICO COOKING this year.

Past corporate clients include Google, AmEx, Newsweek, Victoria's Secret, NBC, and many more...

Call us at 917-602-1519 to check on availability. Parties last 3 hours and you can create your own tailor-made menu... You can also add on a wine tasting if you like. Click for more information.

Cooking Class Calendar

Our new cooking class calendar is online through August 2008... So if you like planning ahead, take a look at our new menus and offerings for 2008. New classes include a Pizza Class (usually among the first to sell out); regional classes on Rome, Bologna, Calabria, Portofino, Milan, Piedmont, Naples, and more; and our ever-popular Seafood Technique classes.

Cooking classes at RUSTICO COOKING are entirely hands-on rather than demonstration. In each class, you'll learn to prepare 4 to 5 recipes from start to finish, and get a firm grasp of basic cooking techniques and an understanding of essential Italian ingredients. You'll then sit down and enjoy the dishes you cooked, paired with specially selected Italian wines, with your evening's companions.

Lessons last 3 hours and start at 6 PM (we also have daytime classes from 12 to 3 pm). Classes include an average of 90 minutes of hands-on cooking, followed by a full meal paired with 3 wines.

You can book classes online using your credit card or call us at 917-602-1519 to reserve.

Here's a recent email from a cooking class student: "I enjoyed your class so much. You are a natural teacher. Your gentle and encouraging manner puts everyone at ease, gives them confidence in their abilities and makes everyone want to participate. Your recipes are delicious and I know now within my range. All of us agreed how much fun we had and how much we learned. We felt as if we were in our friend's kitchen and that we knew you for years. Thank you for sharing your time and talents with us. I know you'll see us again soon."Bridgett, NY

Technique of the Month: Homemade Chicken Broth

There's something very gratifying about making your own broth for soups, risotto, and sauces, rather than relying on the over-salty powders and canned stocks available in markets. It takes much less time than most people think to make broth, and the result is far superior to anything you can buy. A few words of advice before you head into the kitchen to whip up a batch of homemade chicken broth:

1. Don't think of the stockpot as a bubbling garbage bin. If you put rotting or flavorless ingredients in the stockpot, your broth will taste rotten or flat. Use leftover diced onion, crushed garlic, even a lonely tomato half for the stockpot as long as they're flavorful and fresh; you might want to keep a bag of vegetable trimmings in the refrigerator for use in your next broth, a way of cutting down on waste and making a richer broth.
2. Don't cook the broth at too high a temperature; once it has reached a boil, lower the heat and let it simmer slowly for a long time (anywhere from 2 to 24 hours). High temperatures cloud the broth.
3. Remember to skim off surface scum once the broth comes to a boil to avoid making the broth cloudy.
4. Don't season broth with salt and pepper. You never know how much you'll be reducing it, or in what recipe you'll be using it.
5. Use the recipe below as mere guidance. If you like the taste of tomatoes in broth and don't like carrot, substitute the one for the other. What counts is balance between the meat base and the aromatic and vegetable flavoring base: a chicken broth should taste like chicken, not carrots or thyme or onions.
6. When you intend to freeze broth to be used in sauces, reduce the broth to one-tenth of its original volume and pour it, once the fat has been skimmed off, into ice cube trays. Once the broth is frozen, empty the trays into a plastic freezer-safe bag. Whenever you need broth, defrost one or two cubes and dilute with enough water to bring the broth to the right potency.

• 2 pounds chicken parts (bones with some meat attached) or 2 pounds chicken wings
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 leek, green part only, washed thoroughly and chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 thyme sprig
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• stems from 1 bunch of Italian parsley, washed thoroughly

Place all the ingredients in an 8-quart stockpot, add enough cool water to cover by 2 inches, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 2 to 24 hours, skimming the surface with a slotted spoon every 30 minutes or so. The longer you simmer the broth, the more reduced it will become and the more intense its flavor will be; intensely reduced broth is ideal in sauces, but may need to be diluted somewhat for use in soups or risotto.

Strain the broth through a cheesecloth-lined strainer set over a bowl, discarding solids. Refrigerate until cool, skim off the layer of condensed fat, and keep refrigerated for up to 5 days or freeze up to 2 months. Makes 2 to 8 cups depending on how long you simmer the broth

For a recipe for brown chicken stock, click here.

Chicken Broth: Escarole, Meatball, and Cannellini Bean Soup over Bruschetta

This chunky soup is especially gratifying on a cold winter evening. Traditional recipes call for making your own meatballs from ground pork, garlic, minced parsley, eggs, and bread plumped in milk... but using a good Italian sausage (removing the casings first) cuts down tremendously on preparation time and turns this into a soup you can make on the spur of the moment. If possible, buy spicy Italian sausage with fennel seeds.

Click here for the recipe.

Chicken Broth: Chicken and Porcini Mushrooms

This robust stew is a perfect vehicle for the earthy taste of dried porcini--although if you can get your hands on fresh (or flash-frozen) porcini, don't hesitate to add them to the chicken.

If using dried porcini, be sure to save and strain the soaking liquid from plumping the dried porcini: it will add an incredibly earthy flavor to the sauce for the chicken.

Click here for the recipe.

Chicken Broth: Farro Polenta with Game Ragù

Three meats (venison, chicken, and lamb) create a robust ragù best savored over nutty farro polenta. Of course, if obtaining farro flour proves too difficult, serve the game ragu over cornmeal polenta.

Click here for the recipe.

New Recipes

We've added 14 brand new recipes to our web site this month. Many of the new recipes are ideal for entertaining and feature color step-by-step photos to guide you through the cooking process (step-by step-recipes are indicated below).

Let us know which dishes you prepare!

Here are links to the new recipes:

Shrimp Fritters over Spicy Fennel Slaw	Salt Cod Salad with Smoky Peppers and Green Olives
Hearts of Palm Salad with Prosciutto Cotto, Bocconcini, and Olives	Grilled Polenta Coins with Mushroom Ragu
Crispy Four-Cheese Phyllo Triangles over Baby Greens	Cannellini Bean and Tuna Salad with Cucumbers and Basil
Spaghetti with Sausage, Peppers, and Pecorino	Bread, Cabbage, and Fontina "Soup"
Penne with Arugula and Tomatoes	Barley Risotto with Corn and Smoked Mozzarella
Castelluccio Lentils with Pancetta and Aromatic Herbs	Brined and Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin
Slow-Cooked Peppers and Onions with Anchovies and Garlic	Chianti-Poached Pears Stuffed with Gorgonzola-Walnut Cream