Cooking Class at 51 Lincoln - 5 Pasta Sauces!

Last weekend, I took a cooking class at one of our favorite restaurants, 51 Lincoln in Newton, MA.  The title of course sold me immediately: "Five Minute Pasta Sauces".  They have a whole series of classes that have included Breakfasts, Homemade Pasta, Canning, and Butchering (just to name a few).  The courses run from 9am-12pm and take place in the restaurant's kitchen.

I arrived at the restaurant a little before 9 and immediately made my way to the kitchen, where I found a station set up for each person in the class.  As everyone filed in, we started the class with some knife skills.  This class we focused on dicing onions, mincing and slicing garlic, and cutting herbs so they don't bruise.  We all chopped away, actually preparing the ingredients we'd use in our pasta sauces.  We also practiced "flipping" the contents in the pan using kernels of corn.  After spilling corn all over the kitchen, we quickly mastered the "push, pull" motion that would allow us to stir our pasta sauces without using a spoon.

The instructor had prepared some paperwork with information about each of the five sauces we were going to make, along with the recipes.  The sauces we made were Marinara, Puttanesca, Butter & Cheese, Meuniere, and Alfredo.  Today I'll share the Puttanesca and Meuniere sauce recipes with you, so make sure you check back for the other three later!

It was amazing to watch her make each of these sauce.  You always think you can never make something as fantastic as what you're served in a restaurant like 51 Lincoln, but NOW I can...and in about the same time as it takes to brew a pot of coffee.

Then it was our turn!  We each grabbed a frying pan, claimed our burner on their massive stove top, and got to cookin!  Only one person burned something out of all 6 of us, which I thought was pretty good for some first timers cookin' fast.  Here are a few of my creations!

Once one of us would finish a recipe, we'd transfer it into a large bowl with the like recipes.  When everyone was done in the kitchen, we moved to the bar to relax and enjoy a spread featuring all of all our hard work!  It was the perfect way to end a fun morning.

The important thing with these sauces is to have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to add.  Since the sauces take such a short amount of time to cook these, you won't have time to stop and chop!

As promised, here are two of the recipes from the day.

Puttanesca Sauce
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
3 anchovy filets
1/4 cup white wine
1 28-ounce can whole plum tomatoes (drain and reserve juice)
1/2 cup pitted black olives (preferably oil-cured)
2 Tablespoons capers
Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooked pasta of choice

Directions
1.  Place a medium pan over high heat.  Add oil, turn down to medium.
2.  Add anchovies and garlic, and cook until garlic is golden brown.
3.  Add olives and capers, cook for a few seconds and de-glaze with white wine.
4.  Add tomatoes and 1 Tablespoon of the reserved juice.  Cook on medium-high for a couple of minutes
5.  Add pasta and toss, adding more tomato juice if needed.  Finish with parsley, chili flakes, and a drizzle of evoo.

Meuniere Sauce
Ingredients
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tablespoon chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1.  Heat up a medium pan over medium-low heat.
2.  Add butter and cook until it begins to brown.
3.  Take off the heat and swirl in lemon juice and parsley.
4.  Serve over fish, chicken, or toss with pasta.

It was seriously some of the most fun I've had in a long time.  The instructor was friendly and a fantastic teacher - encouraging and clear...just what we needed.

If you live in the Boston area, check out 51 Lincoln's cooking class schedule to see if there's a class you'd like to take.  I hear there will be several more added in the next few weeks!  I'll DEFINITELY be going back!

Travis' Dissertation Concert & Celebrating at 51 Lincoln

Time sure does fly.  I planned on telling you about our dinner out at one of our favorite restaurants, 51 Lincoln, weeks ago...but am just now getting to it!  (Bad blogger.)  We love an excuse to go out for a nice dinner, so the fact that Travis finished his dissertation piece was no stretch of the rule - it was time to celebrate!  This time, our friends Ann, Terence, and Allyn came with us for a roaring good time!

51 Lincoln is in Newton, MA, just a few minutes down the road from us.  The restaurant is cozy and sophisticated and plastered with fantastic art!  The first time we ate there, we were mentioning to our waiter how much we liked the art, and we learned that the chef is both a culinary artist AND a visual artist!  I guess it should be no surprise that the two talents overlap - after all  cooking IS art.  (Here's a blog the chef wrote about his art if you're interested.)

When we all arrived it was time for appetizers.  Ann and Terence split a cheese and pâté plate, Allyn enjoyed the Pan Seared  Watermelon Steak (which I'd never seen before...it was interesting!), and Travis ordered his favorite - the Polenta Fries with Truffle Parmesan Dip.  The polenta fries are to die for, fluffy, and unassumingly heavy.  They're meant to be a side, so if you order them as an app, make sure you share or you won't want your dinner!  51 Lincoln also has the best corn bread and bread dip.  I don't know what it is made of exactly, but it's tomatoey, sweetish,...it's fantastic.  (You don't dip the cornbread.)  :)

For dinner, I had the Chicken Under a Brick.  The first time we visited 51 Lincoln this is what Travis got, and he couldn't stop talking about it for weeks.  Everywhere we went it was, "OMG CHICKEN UNDER A BRICK!,"  "Where can we get bricks," or "Let me tell you about the most amazing chicken ever!"  I decided to have it this time, and it was equally enjoyable as the last.  The only strange thing was a unidentifyable purple vegetable on my plate.  I took one bite and knew it wasn't for me.  After dinner, Ann wanted to give it a try (she's notably more brave about her food choices than I am) and she agreed...it was bad.  Note to self - radicchio is gross.

Travis ordered the bolognese, and has since taken up his regular "OMG 51 LINCOLN'S PASTA!!," "We need to learn how to do that!," "Let me tell you about the most amazing pasta" routine.  To his credit, it really was fantastic.  They make all of their pasta in-house and difference is obvious.

For dessert, the table split the chocolate lava cake (topped with hazelnuts and bourbon caramel) and their banana ice cream.  The perfect way to end an evening.

We had a fantastic time and can't wait to go back.

A few days later Travis had the premiere of his piece at Brandeis University!  Remember the Berry Basket Cake from last week?  It made its appearance at the reception.  Take a look & listen!