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

I'm In Love, and I Don't Care Who Knows It!!

So I'm officially in love. Head over heels. With France.

Maybe it was the fact that I can actually communicate over there (Tu parles francaise? Uh-Huh-huh! Mais oui! Biensur!). Maybe it was the 49033 pastry shops I saw. Maybe it was the 49031 pastry shops I went to. Maybe it was the musicians in the streets playing "La Vie En Rose" on every corner.  Maybe it was the fact that I almost knew multiple people in the town of Bayeux after only 24 hours. Whatever it was, I fell in love with France.

First couple of days, obviously dedicated to the wonderful sights and sounds of Paris.  We're talking the whole nine yards (meters? I am in Europe): Arc De Triumphe, Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysees, Louvre, Versailles, Notre Dame, and just some good-old-fashioned exploring.  We saw a Parisian wedding, which was one of the fanciest I've seen.  I saw a bird market, with roosters and parrots and insert exotic bird name here.  I saw old men sing The White Stripe's "Seven Nation Army" on the metro.  A woman and her daughter asked me to take a picture of them in FRENCH and I UNDERSTOOD.  I accidently started talking to someone who totally was NOT talking to me (what a faux pas!).  I got a little too close for comfort to some fellow Paris Metro riders.  Let me just say, though, that people in France were really nice, even to my friends who didn't speak a lick of French.  I have no idea how the rude stereotype came about, but I didn't encounter anything of the sort.

And then my daddy got here! AH! I went to charles de gualle (actually, technically snuck in, because the metro was being weird, so I completely tailgated behind someone to get into the airport. Pas de probleme, n'est pas?).  Train to Bayeux, where we accidently sat in the wrong place on the train. But then we got to Bayeux.  Saw the tapestry (it's so long, holy crepes), and went to checkin at our hotel: the Churchill. In Normandy. Somebody pinch me, because this can't be happening! Saw the Bayeux cathedral (which is jaw-dropping), and stopped a few bakeries along the way!  Had dinner at a wonderful wonderful WONDERFUL restaurant, where the staff greeted us with smiles and handshakes.  By the end of the meal, we felt like locals.  Pictures of the food adventures, because there were many!

little olive snacks. YMMMMM:)

My appetizer, salumi, pate, and some cured meat! 

oh yeah. Steak, potatoes, salad, and scallion butter. SO DELICIOUS

Laura's omelette, tres bien!

Gateau au chocolat. 

this is a french mcdonald's. I don't understand how they have this, and we don't.

my lunch of quiche and salad! 

We had chinese! Boeuf au poivre! 

haagan-das. not so french, but oh so good.

This was in Bayeux. It's a steak in a blueberry reduction, with various vegetables on the side! 

Dad's meal, Fish with a mild sauce with the same veggies. 

our desserts- dad tart au pommes with cinnamon ice cream, and my almond cream cake. 

marzipan! look at the little piggies!!!!!!!!!

a chocolate beignet.Which really means a nutella beignet. 

the best pain au chocolat I had in France - this one had white and semi-sweet chocolate chips!

well dear readers, I'm sorry to say but that's all I can write today! But alas, tomorrow we will continue with the Normandy expedition and the second wave of Parisian activities.  

Buon Appetito! 

Rachael

THIS IS ITALIA.

So my awkwardness has finally hitched a plane over to the Atlantic and found me.  It's good to be reunited with an old friend.  Even if I prayed and hoped that that friend had taken a semester-long hiatus. In the words of Ross, WE WERE ON A BREAK.

First of all: Getting hit on by an Italian man is not a frequent thing in my life, but I do get some "Ciao Bella!"'s a couple times a week.  On Monday, I heard one directed at me, and turned to look. And it came from a girl. I can't even imagine what my face did, nor do I particularly want to know, because her friends kind of laughed at my expression. I get that a lot, actually, Italians laughing at my facial expressions.  I really hope it's out of actual amusement rather than pity.

That was Monday of this week.
Tuesday? I had two midterms, Italian and Food of Italy ( I have it so rough, don't I?).  Well, because my food professor is the best, she offered us chocolate and coffee.  So I'm nibbling on a nice piece of cioccolato pepperocino and writing down some of the typical dishes you can find in Umbria, and wonder why the corner of my mouth feels wet.  Look down at my test, and I have drooled onto my midterm exam. Hello, My name is Rachael. I'm 20 years old and eating chocolate prevents me from keeping my saliva to myself.

Today? Well, on the way home I was mentally worn out from taking another two midterms back to back (Pre-Renaissance Art and World War II), and passionately mouthing the words to a country song (you know, totally normal IN ARKANSAS. I keep forgetting this crucial detail).  And the lady at the fancy wine bar/restaurant near my house that saw my fishy face earlier this semester? Saw my karaoke-winning rendition of Miranda Lambert's  "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend".

So Thursday can just go ahead and make my semester, because it's Italian Unification Day, the last day of midterms, and St. Patrick's day.  So just bring it on, Italy, because I'm not slowing down the awkward train any time soon.

In other news, leaving for Paris THIS FRIDAY! :) vado a normandy con il mio padre! Molto bene! Can't wait! Delicious food, War Memorials, and Communicating efficiently with locals!

Buon appetito!
Rachael

It's Not Even Noon, and I've Got Stories.

Ok, so today has gotten off to an out-of-the-ordinary start already.  First things first: I slept in until after 9.  If you know anything about me, you know that is WEIRD. I mean really weird.  Even if I go to bed at like 4, I'm usually awake before the clock strikes 9.  Not this morning, and I didn't go to bed too late, like 1:30 or 2!

So that's not the most interesting thing, I promise. Otherwise, this blog post would be pathetic.  Next up is the gym. Swan (the name of the gym here), never ceases to amaze me with its Backstreet-Boys-era music videos and random showings of Pink Floyd's "The Wall", but today took the torta (cake in italian. jus sayin).  Italian BET. That's right. But they had a Beyonce marathon, right when I hit the elliptical.  After about 5 Booty-licious videos, some rap thug music video came on, but in the background there was a woman signing the whole song.  SIGN LANGUAGE. IN A RAP MUSIC VIDEO. So many thoughts in my head. So many questions that will not be answered.

While watching the enlightening programming at the gym, I realized I needed to go to the store.  For the record, going to the store is ALWAYS a hassle, because you have to pay for bags, bag your own groceries, lines are always long, and the aisles are not big enough for anyone to move. Today was especially challenging. They were out of the little cart things, so I'm wondering around Billa desperately clutching my grocery goods.  I get in line, realize I forgot eggs right when I'm next.  Retreat back to the dairy section, get eggs, realize I'm going to drop something if I don't get a cart, and find one all alone next to the onions and the peppers.  Some Luck! I think to myself. But, dear readers, the scene was much too good to be true.  An elderly man (seriously, he had a cane) who looked like an Italian Christopher Lloyd came at me, made a face like "what are you doing?!?!" and kind of sternly articulated some stuff at me in Italian. I just kept saying "Scusa, Scusa, Mi dispiace, Mi dispiace!", but his gaze wouldn't change.  He was giving me like a Clint Eastwood stare-down. Like a "do ya feel lucky, well punk, do ya?" stare-down. And no, I didn't feel lucky. So I almost literally ran away.  But not without paying for my groceries first.

It's raining here, and so the walk home was slippery, and I had to hold my bag like a baby so it wouldn't break.

This day is off to a racing start.
But it'll hopefully get a little more normal.  Actually, it will, because I'm not doing anything today but studying. Yes, dear readers, even in Italy one has to study.  I actually almost pulled an all-nighter this week to finish up a paper, an abstract, and a presentation.  And let me just say, Italy is not procrastinator friendly.  You can't check books out of the library, the library/study areas close at like 8 pm, and you have to print things the night before for morning classes because the print place doesn't open early enough.  C'mon, LdM! You're an international institute catering to mainly American students. BE OPEN LATE OR EARLY. I consider procrastinating to be nothing short of a beloved American pastime, and you're hindering on my cultural expression.

Meal wise, I've been extremely boring. Oh! But I did buy some ground beef this week, seasoned it with garlic salt, some herbs, salt and pepper! It's goooood! I'm actually just about to fix myself some. I miss meat so much I just eat it straight. Seriously, I formed myself a hamburger patty the other day and just ate it without a bun or any condiments. Happiest meal of my life.

Mid-terms this week, then St. Patty's day! Then Paris! Then Dublin (fingers crossed!!). SO GOOD!

Buon appetito!
Rachael

A Week of Culinary Delights

All the food I ate :) this class is my Tuesday lunch!

So, as everyone might have suspected, me following my strict dietary rules didn't exactly work out well. And by work out well, I mean all caution was thrown to the wind the minute I walked into cooking class on Tuesday. We had pesto (that's right, real ITALIAN pesto!), potatoes baked with mozzarella and prosciutto, meat stuffed with vegetables, pretty much the italian equivalent to mashed potatoes, and three different kinds of COOKIES! FINALLY SOME COOKIES. Sorry, I have a cookie fetish. We made one regular meringue cookie, one crunchy almond cookie sandwiched with dark chocolate, and one light meringue cookie that had a hazelnut chocolate sandwich filling.  Basically, a cookie smoooshed with nutella brownie batter. HEAVEN, dear readers, nothing short of HEAVEN. I saw God on Tuesday, in the form of that cookie. But my group had the meat with vegetables, which was the most time-consuming all intensive task. AGAIN. My professor is adorable, don't get me wrong, but I've been in the most labor-intensive, recipe-overload teams every time! It's pressure that I'm not sure I can handle!

Thursday night has also become a culinary adventure in and of itself! Cooking night at Lauren's, and this week's menu was Breakfast for dinner! scrambled eggs with mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes, banana pancakes with granola, chocolate chip pancakes, french toast, and fruit salad! Super tasty!! CHECK IT OUT:

So wonderfully deicious. And today, I found a smoothie place, that is exactly like Jamba juice. Words can't explain my excitement. I had a smoothie with cinnamon and cardamom, and it tasted like Christmas.

Anyway, midterms are this week, so my weekend consists of studying and studying and working out and studying and hopefully sleeping.  Then, however, it's off to Paris! and hopefully Dublin! SO EXCITED! I'll keep you posted with any other culinary finds! I'm sure after Paris I'll have an entire album dedicated to my food stuffs! Ciao!

Buon appetito!
Rachael