On Tuesday night I went to a teaching dinner at Apro with some of my ex-colleagues from AlbaBarolo.  It was really fun, and the food was great.  Basically, once a month, the school invites a chef from a highly-respected restaurant to be a guest teacher for a day.  The chef comes up with a menu and explains the preparations to the students, who then work together with the chef to prepare the meal for 40 people.  Each dish (there are usually four or five courses) is paired with a wine from the region.  The wineries are invited to the dinner and present their wine at the beginning of each course.  Since Apro teaches front-of-the-house-management as well, the waiters & waitresses are all students.

The guest chef on Tuesday night was Massimo Dellaferrera from La Coccinella (the ladybug: what a coincidence!) in Serravalle Langhe.  I hadn’t been to his restaurant before, but after sampling his work at the school, I feel we’ll be visiting the restaurant itself soon.  Yummers! Here’s Tuesday’s dinner menu:

Ostriche al lardo con polenta e salsa allo spumante

Oysters wrapped in lardo (like prosciutto) with Polenta and Champagne Sauce

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Frisse di capocollo di maiale con verza e salsiccia

Shredded Capocollo with Cabbage and Sausage

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Individual Lasagna filled with veal tripe, fresh tomatoes and parsley pesto 

Lasagnetta di trippa di vitello al pomodoro fresco e pesto di prezzemolo

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Roasted Duck Leg with braised Scallions 

Coscia d’anatra stracotta con scalogni brasati

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Soufflè di melighe e zabaione con sorbetto agli amaretti

Cornmeal soufflè with zabaione center served with Amaretti Cookie Sorbet

Wines

Piemonte DOC Spumante 2004 Pinot Nero – Aziena Agricola Castello di Neive – Neive

Barbera d’Alba DOC 2006 – Azienda Agricola Filippo Gallino – Canale

Barbaresco DOCG 2003 – Cantina Produttori del Barbaresco – Barbaresco

Moscato d’Asti DOCG 2007 – Azienda Agricola Bera – Neviglie