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Classes | Tutorials | Recipes | Resources | News
Cooking with fire is the oldest form of
cookery. Whether in a wood-fired oven, fireplace, firepit or smoker or
on a tuscan grill, campfire, hardwood charcoal fueled grill or Big Green
Egg®, we’re drawn to
the process of cooking with fire.
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Fire is primal and alluring; elusive and magical. We beckon the flames to roar forth then seek to tame them into a fundamental source of fuel for cooking our food.
If you are a live-fire cooking enthusiast (or have one in your life), come along with me on a blazing wood-fired cooking adventure as we explore this ancient yet contemporary form of cooking. I’ll guide you to wood-fired cooking classes, in-home tutorials and share my favorite recipes and resources for cooking the most amazing, delicious and simply prepared food.
Stay tuned! Mary is currently writing her comprehensive book about all aspects of wood-fired cooking. If you would like to be notified when the book is available, please send an email to Mary.
| JUNE 2008 | ||
| 7 | Wood-Fired Mediterranean Flatbreads (Hands-on) Ramekins Cooking School; Sonoma, CA Saturday; 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.; $80.00 707.933.0450 or www.ramekins.com |
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| 26-27 | Sophisticated
Palate: The Ancient Cookfire (Hands-on) |
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| 28 | Outdoor
Grilling and Micro Brews (Demo) |
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| JULY 2008 | ||
| 5 | The
Big Green Egg Cookery (Hands-on) Ramekins Cooking School; Sonoma, CA Saturday; 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 707.933.0450 or www.ramekins.com |
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| 26 | Introduction to Wood-Fired Cooking (Hands-on) Ramekins Cooking School; Sonoma, CA Saturday; 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.; $85.00 707.933.0450 or www.ramekins.com |
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| AUGUST 2008 | ||
| 9 | The
Wood-Fired Mediterranean Grill (Hands-on) Ramekins Cooking School; Sonoma, CA Saturday; 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.; $85.00 707.933.0450 or www.ramekins.com |
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Ovens, Grills, Fuel, Tools Resources
Wood-fired Ovens, Grills and Accessories:
Big Green Egg® oven: biggreenegg.com
Earthstone ovens: earthstoneovens.com
Forno Bravo ovens: fornobravo.com
La Caja China lacajachina.com
NapaStyle Hearth Tuscan Grill : napastyle.com
Ovencrafters ovens: ovencrafters.net
SpitJack grills, firepits, rotisseries: spitjack.com
Wood Stone ovens,tandors and char grills: woodstonehome.com
SoJoe Fire Pits www.sojoe.com
Stone Turtle Cooking & Baking School: www.stoneturtlebaking.com
Ethical Fuel:
Lazzari Lump Mesquite Charcoal: lazzari.com
Peoples Wood Hardwood Charcoal: peopleswoods.com
Summit Views charcoal and wood products: summitviews.com
San Francisco Magazine: Cook Sharp
by Jan Newberry
Pizza al forno with Mary Karlin
The wood-burning oven has a transformative effect on a pizza, lending
it a slightly smoky flavor, a char around the edge, and a crust that’s
perfectly crisp. An afternoon spent learning to use one will have a
similar effect on amateur pizza makers. For good measure, Mary Karlin
also demonstrates how to make grilled pizza, a ridiculously easy—and
brilliant—technique.
Instructor: A founding staff member of the Sonoma cooking school Ramekins,
Karlin has been teaching there since 2001, covering such topics as cheesemaking,
brunch, and, of course, pizza, calzones, and focaccia. Her eyes light up when
she turns her attention to the wood-burning oven. She clearly has a soft spot
for it, and her excitement is infectious.
Curriculum: In the course of the three-hour class, students work with
four styles of dough—some made with high-gluten flour, others with olive
oil and a bit of sugar, and each appropriate for a different style of pizza.
Students prepare the doughs from scratch and then go on to use premade versions
of the same—so no one has to wait for them to rise—to make grilled
pizza as well as focaccia, a sweet and a savory calzone, and a cheese pizza in
the wood-fired oven.
Philosophy: Keep it simple and use a light hand with the toppings.
The soul of pizza is its crust—don’t hide it.
Write it down: “Focaccia likes olive oil. Don’t
be afraid to use a lot.”
Worth the tuition: Grilling pizza in the insulated ceramic grill
known as the Big Green Egg is an eye-opener. A fetish item among grill nerds,
the Egg locks in heat like a sauna on overdrive. And for anyone who’s never
had grilled pizza, the soft, blistered crust is a revelation.
Extra credit: The barrage of pizzas at the end of the class.
The free wine is a nice perk too.
Tuition: $80. To register, go to www.ramekins.com.
—S.H.
Sally's Place: The
Seductions of Live Fire Cooking
by Mary Karlin
Sonoma Valley Sun
Food Affairs column, by Mary Karlin
Outdoor
cooking: Baby it’s (been too) cold outside!
“As a cooking teacher, Mary has followed
in the footsteps of many great chef-mentors,
but she has managed to develop a style all of her own. Mary's passions
come through in her recipes, lessons, and interactions with others.
The reactions from her students say it: "Give us more of Mary!" "Best
class ever!" "When is her next cooking class?" I share
in the excitement of Mary's cooking class students.”
–Bob Nemerovski
Culinary Director
Ramekins Sonoma Valley Culinary School
Mary's new book:
"Wood-Fired Cooking:
Techniques & Recipes
for the Grill, Backyard Oven, Fireplace and Campfire"
published by
Ten Speed Press
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