Let's Cook!

I would love to be able to cook. Not just throw a couple of things in a pan and cross my fingers type of cook, I mean really cook.  That knack of knowing when you've kneaded your dough enough, or added just the right amount of salt has always eluded me.
However thanks to the generosity of a very good friend, I have been able to add a few new skills to my repertoire. I was lucky enough to be invited to an 'in home' cooking lesson my girlfriend received as a birthday gift. Before you baulk at the idea, and the inference that we needed cooking lessons, let me set the scene......
All ingredients, cooking implements, aprons etc were provided by the instructor, and my girlfreind had been able to select which dishes she wanted to prepare during the evening. All cleaning up was taken care of while we sat and ate the amazing food that WE had made - in this case fresh pasta with ricotta and spinach filling, and a small sweet pastry filled with almond/chocolate.
I never thought in a million years that I would ever be able to make pasta from scratch - my culinary experiements usually end up with the dish in question being refused by my kids and the kitchen looking like the pantry has exploded all over the bench. But I have discovered that with a little expert help (and a few glasses of chardonnay), there may just be a Nigella hiding in here somewhere!
A big thanks to Jess for the invite, Penny and Barb for the great company and Keryn from La Micia for a wonderful time!


** Photo courtesy of Keryn's website; http://www.lamiciacooking.com.au/index.htm