For thousands of years Jewish people have been gathering around the table on Friday nights to celebrate a humble but ancient ritual, the sabbath meal. The lighting of candles, the singing of simple blessings and the breaking of bread have been the unifying thread that has connected Jewish life across centuries and continents. In this multi-dinner series, Alissa Kondogiannis explores Shabbat dinners as they have evolved in Jewish communities around the world, e.g. Ashkenazi in Eastern Europe, Sephardi in Spain and North Africa, Mizrahi in the Middle East and Central Asia.

Join Chef Anthony Sestito of Pastaio for a fun, hands-on class exploring a selection of traditional egg-based pastas and shapes typical of central and Northern Italy. You'll ease into the class with a beautiful spread of antipasto on arrival, and then dive into learning how to make a simple and versatile fresh egg pasta dough from scratch, with an emphasis on choosing the right flours and the importance of resting the dough. Then Chef Anthony will walk you through some simple, yet significant shapes and styles of pasta made with minimal tools, focusing on classic handmade pasta shapes such as fettuccine, pappardelle, farfalle, garganelli, and soppressine. There will be a discussion of the pairing of different shapes and sizes with their traditional sauces. The class culminates in a light meal of Tagliatelle al Funghi, a delicious creamy mushroom and parmesan dish. Any extra pasta made in class can be taken home, along with PDF recipes and new skills to impress your friends!

Paella is the quintessential Spanish food of celebrations. Originating in Valencia, but with countless regional variations, this classic rice dish has five key ingredients: Spanish short-grain “Bomba” rice, saffron, pimentón (Spanish paprika), olive oil and the paellera, the wide, shallow, purpose-built pan from which the dish gets its name. Join José Arato, owner and Head Chef of Pimentón, for an elegant Spanish meal around this signature dish.

Maple sap starts to run in mid-February, so what better way to celebrate this quintessentially Canadian milestone than two delicious maple recipes: Maple Butter Tarts and Maple Scones. Let 20-year cookie biz veteran Alan Zelcovitch walk you through creating delicious maple syrup butter tarts — they are so much easier to make than you might imagine — and you may never want to buy another butter tart again! You will learn the secrets of a beautifully flaky crust, and exactly how to make the perfect maple filling as well. As a bonus, you'll  be shown a great trick to easily remove them from the pan. Building on these pastry skills, you'll also get other make some fabulous Maple Scones as well. These flakey, layered scones can be frozen in raw, and baked off as you need them, so you are always ready to enjoy freshest scones, warm from the oven.