Guys, remember we still have to eat the Tiramasu...

My cooking class, regardless of what the syllabus indicates, feeds me the biggest lunch of my week every Tuesday.  And even though my original professor is now out for the semester due to her pregnancy, we have a permanent substitute who more than makes up for this loss.  His name is Marco, and he intensifies boiling water.  The man knows how to cook, and furthermore makes me feel like I know how to cook! But the intensity was a little much at first, felt like I was on Hell's Kitchen that first day.

Last week I made saltimbocca, which is a veal cut with a slice of prosciutto on top, then fried with sage and served with a white wine sauce.  It's really no surprise to anyone in my class anymore when I get the difficult dish that deals with meat.  I've been assigned the meat dish since the second class meeting, and at this point I just go to the meat.  But this past week, I got stuffed tomatoes.  My friend and I (who is also put in the meat groups with me) were baffled.  What?! An EASY recipe? Seriously, the hardest thing we had to do was scoop out insides of the tomatoes.  Made a breadcrumb mixture to go in the tomatoes, and that was it. Here they are :)

We were so proud! We also had octopus in a tomato sauce; pasta with fried eggplant, tomato sauce, and dried ricotta cheese; eggplant parmesan; hand-made cannoli with ricotta cheese and chocolate; and of course those delicious tomatoes up there.  And after eating all that, Marco reminded us that we had tiramasu leftover from last week that we still had to eat.  SO MUCH FOOD. Good thing I don't have a class after that, otherwise I'd be snoozin for sure.  Here's our table:

Off to Capri, Sorrento, and Pompeii this weekend! Then next weekend, I'm headed to Padua, Italia! Then I'm going to CROATIA FOR EASTER :)) EEEEEEKKKKK!!!!

Buon appetito!
Rachael

Antiques, Vampire Paraphernalia, and Sunshine

So this past weekend, I travelled throughout Tuscany. Which means I ate for 48 hours. Let's be serious here. And also, a weekend in Tuscany apparently means you get to see where scenes from various movies were filmed
First off was Arrezo, where there was a really cute antique show and I got to see where La Vita e Bella was filmed! SO AWESOME! No food adventures though, just because we only stopped for lunch and I only got a sandwhich. Oh but don't worry, there's plenty of foods to come.
Next was Cortona, where Under the Tuscan Sun was filmed.  First of all, our hotel was right on the ledge of the mountain, so we overlooked a valley, and it was beautiful! Then we walked around the town, and our guide Luca bought us all gelato! Three flavors of gelato. FOR FREEEEEE!!!!!!!!! I got mascarpone e nutella, hazelnut, and creama di fiori! SO DELICIOUS!

Don't worry, after this I climbed the HUGE MOUNTAIN that is Cortona.  I was totally hoofin' it up there, because I get weirdly competitive like that and think that whoever gets to the top of this silly thing is a winner, or something. That's not true, but I still tried to beat everyone.  And I did, just ya know, for the record.

And then after our crazy expedition we went back to the hotel to rest before dinner.  And dinner, folks, was more food I have had in one sitting since Thanksgiving.  Maybe my life.  We had pre-appetizer appetizers of fried cheese balls, potato cakes with cheese, egg roll things (not very Tuscan, but delicious none the less), and some vegetables with (what else?) garlic and olive oil.  Then, we had a real appetizer.  Vegetable flan with zucchini and a spicy green sauce.  Pretty different, but still tasty.  Then we had TWO pasta dishes for primi piatti- ricotta ravioli in a cream sauce and vegetable risotto.  Happy, happy girl for that course.  But the next course, oh the next course, stole my heart and soul and mind.  The bistecca fiorentina, which is made ONLY from cows of the Tuscany region, and is just steak with herbs and olive oil cooked rare.  You all know how I feel about meat, and you can imagine the facial expressions of pure joy and contentment that crossed my face.  That actually might explain why the girl across the dinner table from me didn't really talk to me after that course.  Oh well.  Social awkwardness is a small price to pay for bovinity divinity.  And then, of course, a individual molten chocolate cake was the perfect way to end the meal. 

After that dinner, I passed out. Maybe literally. I went to sleep, and I did not move until I woke up.  I've never done that.  Breakfast was huge, big surprise, eh?  We left Cortona (sadly) and headed to Pienza.  In Pienza, I found multiple cheese shops with towers of cheese rounds.  The town is famous for Pecorino cheese, and this stuff is everywhere.  The entire town smells like cheese.  Here, there was a car show! And lots of stands selling different goodies, like a huge farmers market of all the things Rachael loves! 

then we went to a cheese factory, and had lunch.  So Delicious, and light.  and then we sat in the sun, drank a little wine, and played with the cheeseman's dog.  In the Tuscan sunshine.  I didn't want to leave.  I could work in a cheese factory, right? I've got the right stuff.  

Then we went to Montepulciano, where new moon was filmed.  And you better believe I took Edward and Bella pictures reenacting there "dramatic" moment.  I was a little bothered, though, that the town totally played up their role in the film by having t-shirts and signs EVERYWHERE.  You just can't escape Kristen Stewart's always-open jaw or Robert Pattinson's shady and exasperated face.  Unfortunately. 

Anyway, went to a wine tasting, which was just ok.  I know I'm in Italy and everything, but red wine is just getting annoying.  I don't really like it.  Sorry. 

Anyway, I'll have to post tomorrow about my cooking class. Here's a spoiler alert- we made octopus. WHAT? SI! Believe it! 

Buon appetito!

Rachael  

Don't Hate Me. Please.

So I know I said I would update about a week ago, and I didn't. For that I apologize.  Want to know something embarassing, will that help ease the disappointment?  So the other day, I was waiting outside of a cafe for a friend who hadn't gotten there yet.  This group of men walked by, and one of them in particular looked at me like I was a smurf or something.  After he had passed, I made a face at him. Because no matter how much I try, I guess I just have the compulsion to make faces in any situation I'm in.  And I really need to learn that no matter what that situation, the person the facial expression is directed at will ALWAYS turn around and see me.  As well as, in this specific case, chuckle and tell his friends about it.  I will never learn, and I have accepted this.

Well, anyway, BACK to FRANCE! The Normandy beaches were simply incredible.  I really don't know how else to describe what we saw.  I mean, Omaha Beach and the American National Cemetery were simple, but so impacting.  Almost no one in our tour group was talking, it was that powerful.  The biggest sense of gratitude washed over me that afternoon, and I'll never forget it.

That night, we took the train (almost a little reluctantly) to Paris.  Ate a little dinner on the train (simple sandwich stuffs, though my dad did discover the wonder of vending machine waffles.  Sounds crazy, but they are DELICIOUS. Even the vending machines have fancy food! ooh la la!) and mapped out our Paris Plan.  Hit the sack early for some early morning explorin'.

First day was dedicated to the stereotypical sights: Eiffel Tower (again, for daddy), the outside of the Louvre, Notre Dame, Arc De Triumphe, and seeing Napoleon's tomb.  We ate dinner in our neighborhood, which was totally sort of the immigrant side of town.  Turkish restaurants everywhere, and Indian and Chinese scattered about too.  My dad and I, of course, had no problem with this.
Delicious lamb with rice, and the next day we had the beef with rice, and I had a salad.  Served with fresh Turkish bread, and the guy took great care of us.  Even fended off some guy who was about to ask us for money.  Makin' friends in high places! That night we also had some Chinese- caramel chicken. Delicious! And a spring roll.  We ate it outside, and the lady working the counter saw my dad and I were sharing the dish, and she ran out of the store and gave us a fork.  I love these people.

 

Look at all those good eats!  The first one is the beef, and the third is the lamb from our Turkish friends.  The bottom two are our Asian lady.  The next day in Paris, we went to the Musee d'orsay! WONDERFUL! and then, we went to the chocolate museum.  That's right, a museum. Dedicated to CHOCOLATE. Look at this stuff! :

All of that is chocolate! It was INSANE. We got some hot chocolate afterwards too, and that was just simply divine.  I got the spanish one, with cloves and cinnamon, and my dad got the spicy one that is the original Aztec recipe.  And then, my friends, we had the dinner of a lifetime.  Moroccan Food IN PARIS. It was indescribably the most interesting, unique, and genuine meal I've ever had.  The first photo of the stuff that's not chocolate is of our appetizers, which were picked vegetables and olives! The next is our appetizer, a flaky fried tuna and egg fritter.  Sounds crazy, but it was delicious!  And then we had tanij, which was a meat served with a side of couscous.  My dad and I got our own, we got a lemony garlic chicken and lamb with dates.  But that's not all we got.  To go with that and our couscous, we got vegetables, raisins, nuts, and hot sauce.  As well as mounds of couscous.  And when I say chicken, I mean it was an ENTIRE CHICKEN.  There was so much food, we couldn't bare ourselves to eat it all.  If I go back to Paris, I am eating there again at least once.  They didn't want us to leave (our waiter offered to buy us mint tea, totally on him!).  It was the most memorable meal to a most memorable trip!
Updates to come about Tuscany, because this past weekend was definitely a culinary adventure for Tuscan delicacies!

Buon appetito!
Rachael