The Sustainable Dinner Party with Dana Cowin

Seafood, vegetables, whole grains, herbs and olive oil are among the ingredients most associated with countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. They make for flavorful dishes that trigger memories of sunbathed vacations and leisurely meals. This class focuses on the cuisines of Southern France, Eastern Spain, Italy and Greece. You will cook your way through a menu-map that includes French olive tapenade on garlic toast; Greek briam; Spanish fideua Catalania; and Sicilian pesce spada.

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.

Recreate a French bakery at home with this selection of delectable desserts. They may seem intimidating now, but they definitely won't be once you get done with this class. Together, we'll tackle: mousse au chocolat; palmiers and gâteau au yaourt (yogurt cake).

The genius of Tuscan cuisine lies within its simplicity of fresh ingredients. The landscape is a romantic patchwork of grapevines, farmhouses and olive groves. If you and a date are considering an Italian countryside getaway, save yourself the plane tickets and join ICE for an intimate Tuscan feast where you will make: Tuscan chicken liver paté; shaved fennel and radicchio salad; handmade pappardelle with truffle sauce; and bistecca alla fiorentina.