for those who burn to learn

Jim Lahey’s Pizza Class – The Best Birthday Gift

Posted by Jill Strauss / in Class Essentials, Into the Fire Blog /

Val asked me what I wanted for my birthday this year…and I said, “to study pizza making in New York City with Jim Lahey.”  Jim’s no-knead bread recipe, first published in an article in 2006 in the New York Times brought him widespread recognition as an innovator and artist. In 2009, he applied his unusual style and techniques to pizza making and opened Co. Last year, he published his cookbook My Pizza and divulged his secrets for crisp crusts and amazing toppings.

Love Letter to my Italian Friends

Posted by Jill Strauss / in Class Essentials, Into the Fire Blog /

Don’t I look happy on this brilliant day in May? I am traveling by water taxi, on my way to Ristorante Signori, one of the finest seafood restaurants in Sirmione on Lake Garda. Maria Callas, the divine opera singer, had a villa on the shore of Lake Garda. Supposedly, this jewel of a spot is where “La Divina” came to recover from emotional wounds inflicted by her lover Aristotle Onassis.

I, too, came to Italy to heal. For me it was from the long, horrible winter of 2009. The only thing that got me through the ice storms and depressing economic news was the dream of coming to Italy in the spring to hone my Italian cooking skills and meet others who are truly passionate about good food.