Handmade Tacos & Tequila: A Virtual Class

Although it contains vast areas of arid landscape, the Middle East is a fertile spot on the culinary map. Over the years, various empires have ruled the region's countries, leaving their imprint on the colorful, aromatic and diverse flavors. Recipes are dominated by spice blends, in-season vegetables and fruits, grains, olives and olive oil, nuts, herbs, and pickled and preserved foods. From Beirut, the “Paris of the Middle East,” to Jerusalem, considered the oldest city in the world, you will get a taste of the incredible culinary heritage with a magnificent vegetarian menu of hummus; tabbouleh; spicy falafel, tahini sauce; baba ghanoush and homemade pita.

This class is for the Italian food enthusiast! ICE Boot Camps give you the opportunity to learn how to cook and bake like the pros. This four-day Boot Camp focuses on the class cooking techniques and regional cuisines of Italy. On day one, we will tour Northwest Italy with a focus on fresh pastas. You will learn classic pasta dough techniques; how to extrude pasta and shape gnocchi and ravioli. On day two, we will cover the five courses of the Italian meal (antipasti, primi, secundo de pesce, secundo de carne, contorni) and explore the cuisine of Northeastern Italy. On day three, our main focus will be the the four pastas of Rome (carbonara, cacio e pepe, alla gricia and amatricana) while we also cover the regional cuisine of central Italy. On our final day, we will head to southern Italy and explore classic dishes like pesce all acqua pazza and fritti di melanzane as well as learn how to make fresh mozzarella.

Whether you're making a casual dinner or a gourmet multicourse meal. We'll cover techniques including poaching, sautéing, grilling and cooking risotto. Using your newly acquired skills, we'll make and dine on a complete meal of: grilled vegetable gratin; mushroom risotto; pan-seared steak with compound butter and mesclun salad with Dijon vinaigrette.

This fun class is especially designed for chile-heads. Couples will collaborate to cook an international menu that hits every region of the hot-and-spicy world --- along with cooling, refreshing cocktails. Your menu includes: blistered shishito peppers; Nigerian beef suya skewers; Korean buldak ("fiery chicken"); cooling cucumber salad; and Thai iced tea.