Wednesday, June 25, 2008
12 June 2008
We woke up to a continental breakfast. I had a croissant, they also offered yogurt and cereal. I was traveling from Florence to Rome, so I didn’t have much time to eat, I didn’t get a chance to eat again until dinner and I had once again….pizza. I got a salami pizza. My friend Mike decided to try an interesting pizza with artichokes, eggs, and sausages on it. He said it was good, but towards the end he started to get sick of it. Eggs is defiantly something we would normally put on pizza back home.
11 June 2008
Yogurt for breakfast…again. We went to Firenze today so we were on the go. On the bus ride there I picked up a bag of crispy M&M’s which they stopped selling in the states. I shared them with some pigeons, which I realized later probably ended up killing them.
For lunch I was kind of on the go so I just grabbed a sandwich from a little shop with chicken, lettuce and tomato.
We went out for dinner. I ordered a ravioli soup for my first course. It was ok, it kinda just seemed like ravioli thrown into hot water with a mild flavor. I guess it would be good if you were looking for something like. For second course I had chicken cassatorie. It was kinda bad. It was three little chicken wings topped with basil and olive oil and herbs, which would have usually been good, but because the chicken was so little I could barely get any meat, I wouldn’t have considered it satisfying.
For lunch I was kind of on the go so I just grabbed a sandwich from a little shop with chicken, lettuce and tomato.
We went out for dinner. I ordered a ravioli soup for my first course. It was ok, it kinda just seemed like ravioli thrown into hot water with a mild flavor. I guess it would be good if you were looking for something like. For second course I had chicken cassatorie. It was kinda bad. It was three little chicken wings topped with basil and olive oil and herbs, which would have usually been good, but because the chicken was so little I could barely get any meat, I wouldn’t have considered it satisfying.
10 June 2008
For breakfast this morning I had a yogurt. I was on my way to class so I didn’t really have much time to stop. For lunch I had a sandwich with spec and cheese, nothing too special.
I tried a magnum bar today, because I was dying for something cold in the hot weather, and I defiantly stumbled upon greatness. I picked up a double chocolate and caramel magnum bar, which anyone would say sounds just like any other ice cream bar until they’ve had it. I like dark chocolate and this seemed to be a darker chocolate around vanilla ice cream with a layer of caramel and then another layer of chocolate. They need these in the States.
We stayed in for dinner and Megan cooked a pesto pizza with sliced tomatoes and fresh mozz. it was really good. Hats off to the chef.
I tried a magnum bar today, because I was dying for something cold in the hot weather, and I defiantly stumbled upon greatness. I picked up a double chocolate and caramel magnum bar, which anyone would say sounds just like any other ice cream bar until they’ve had it. I like dark chocolate and this seemed to be a darker chocolate around vanilla ice cream with a layer of caramel and then another layer of chocolate. They need these in the States.
We stayed in for dinner and Megan cooked a pesto pizza with sliced tomatoes and fresh mozz. it was really good. Hats off to the chef.
Cooking Class Part II
Tonight we had our second cooking class. I didn’t eat too much during the day in anticipation for the food. To start, chef Santa (my boyfriend) had us make polenta, which is kind of a cornmeal based piece with a gelatin like texture. It was accompanied with trout mixed with a sauce made of raisins, anchovies, capers, and of course, olive oil. The thought of eating anchovies in anything grossed me out but I tried it and it was actually a really good mix with the other things. The polenta wasn’t really something I would usually choose however, I’m glad to say I’ve tried it, but I wasn’t really a fan of the texture.
For the first course we had a risotto with mixed vegetable. It was really good, something I really enjoyed, it had kind of a creamy buttery taste to it which went really well with the vegetables.
Our main course was amazing. It was beef I believe with a meat mouse rolled into into it, with scalloped potatoes, and a red wine based dressing over it. The beef was one of the best things I’ve ever eatin. It was really interesting to see him wrap it in cow mesentery, which is the inside covering to protect the cows stomach, mostly composed of fat. He used this in place of any other fat based products. The scalloped potatoes were pretty simple, pretty much just sliced potatoes baked with a cream sauce. And the dressing that went over all of it was made of red wine which had to be boiled down to bake out the alcoholic taste, and then boiled with the carrots and onions that were cooked along with the beef. Amazing.
Dessert =heaven. I don’t usually like lemon flavored things, but after this trip, my boyfriend Santa has changed my views. For dessert we had a lemon croissant pie. The crust was very buttery and flakey, and it was filled with a lemon filling. It was so good. No words to describe.
For the first course we had a risotto with mixed vegetable. It was really good, something I really enjoyed, it had kind of a creamy buttery taste to it which went really well with the vegetables.
Our main course was amazing. It was beef I believe with a meat mouse rolled into into it, with scalloped potatoes, and a red wine based dressing over it. The beef was one of the best things I’ve ever eatin. It was really interesting to see him wrap it in cow mesentery, which is the inside covering to protect the cows stomach, mostly composed of fat. He used this in place of any other fat based products. The scalloped potatoes were pretty simple, pretty much just sliced potatoes baked with a cream sauce. And the dressing that went over all of it was made of red wine which had to be boiled down to bake out the alcoholic taste, and then boiled with the carrots and onions that were cooked along with the beef. Amazing.
Dessert =heaven. I don’t usually like lemon flavored things, but after this trip, my boyfriend Santa has changed my views. For dessert we had a lemon croissant pie. The crust was very buttery and flakey, and it was filled with a lemon filling. It was so good. No words to describe.
7 June 2008
This morning I went to the market in Verona. They have a lot of people selling their meats and cheeses. A butcher offered me a sample of what I thought was just provolone cheese…..it ended up being goat cheese….not good for me. It had a really strong after taste that stuck with me for a minute, its probably not something I would typically choose to eat. The sample of salami her offered me however, was amazing. It seemed really fresh too.
As a late morning snack I grabbed what looked like a breadstick split open with sauce and some pepperoni slices in it. It was a good thing to just munch on. We decided to hop a train to Garda and picked up some croissants on the way. They were filled with orange marmalade. They were very good and the orange marmalade gave them the little bit of different flavor to make them better.
We ended up getting caught in the rain so we did what we do when we’re in Italy and decided to grab gelato. We all shared a banana split, gelato style. It was a banana split in two (who would thought) with coffee, vanilla, and I think melon flavored gelato. There was whipped cream and wafer circles on top.
Dinner was nothing special I just cooked myself some pasta with red sauce from the jar. We went out for drinks later and I got an aperol spritz (aperol, white wine, seltzer, and an orange slice)
As a late morning snack I grabbed what looked like a breadstick split open with sauce and some pepperoni slices in it. It was a good thing to just munch on. We decided to hop a train to Garda and picked up some croissants on the way. They were filled with orange marmalade. They were very good and the orange marmalade gave them the little bit of different flavor to make them better.
We ended up getting caught in the rain so we did what we do when we’re in Italy and decided to grab gelato. We all shared a banana split, gelato style. It was a banana split in two (who would thought) with coffee, vanilla, and I think melon flavored gelato. There was whipped cream and wafer circles on top.
Dinner was nothing special I just cooked myself some pasta with red sauce from the jar. We went out for drinks later and I got an aperol spritz (aperol, white wine, seltzer, and an orange slice)
6 June 2008
For lunch I went out for pizza again. I love the pizza here. I went with my friends Erik and Megan. We decided to get a pizza and a calzone to split. Erik and Megan had some sort of german beer, I ended up just getting water. The calzone had meatball and sausage in it. It was amazing, the first actual calzone I had since I got to Italy and it was huge. The pizza we ordered had hot salami on it. I think that’s now one of my new favorite pizza toppings. Pizza in Italy is so much better than any pizza I’ve had at home, it’s a lot lighter on the cheese and sauce and the crust is thinner too. Its enough to satisfy, not give you that too full feeling.
We cooked in for dinner, at our friends house. We all got together to buy ingredients. We just made a lot of gnocci ( a potato filled pasta) and two types of sauce. One just pesto, and one red sauce with some red wine and veggies in it. I stuck with the pesto (another new favorite for me to bring home).
We cooked in for dinner, at our friends house. We all got together to buy ingredients. We just made a lot of gnocci ( a potato filled pasta) and two types of sauce. One just pesto, and one red sauce with some red wine and veggies in it. I stuck with the pesto (another new favorite for me to bring home).
5 June 2008
Today I started off late, so there was no time for breakfast. After class though, I decided to go out to eat. We went to a little pizzeria. I split a pizza with artichokes, olive, and sausage with my friend. Splitting food doesn’t seem to be very common in Italy because when we only ordered one pizza, the waiter looked at us with a little confusion. To drink I had aqua frizzante (fizzy water) I’ve learned that I don’t really like the normal water over here, so the fizzy water kind of distracts me from the taste.
I ate dinner with some of my Italian friends. They wanted to take us out and show us to this little spot they like to go. It wasn’t exactly the typical Italian sit down dinner place, it was more of a place where you grab a quick bit to eat. The restaurant sold what looked like little mini calzones. I told them to order for me because I didn’t know what to choose. They ended up buying on of everything…
I had a little calzone like thing with mozz. and red sauce. It was really good, it kind of reminded me of a hot pocket actually haha. They also ordered what looked like chicken cutlets, it was just a piece of flat boneless deep fried chicken. We had what Americans would probably call deep fried meat balls. And there was one more little friend ball with rice and orange sauce. It was a very wide range of different little finger foods, but they were all very good.
I ate dinner with some of my Italian friends. They wanted to take us out and show us to this little spot they like to go. It wasn’t exactly the typical Italian sit down dinner place, it was more of a place where you grab a quick bit to eat. The restaurant sold what looked like little mini calzones. I told them to order for me because I didn’t know what to choose. They ended up buying on of everything…
I had a little calzone like thing with mozz. and red sauce. It was really good, it kind of reminded me of a hot pocket actually haha. They also ordered what looked like chicken cutlets, it was just a piece of flat boneless deep fried chicken. We had what Americans would probably call deep fried meat balls. And there was one more little friend ball with rice and orange sauce. It was a very wide range of different little finger foods, but they were all very good.
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