Andiamo

Wednesday was another great day in the cooking class. It was Italian regional cuisine again and we were making Ossobuco Alla Milanese (which was veal shank pretty much boiled in red wine and vegetables) and Risotto Allo Zafferano ( Risotto with Saffron). Both of which turned out amazing. The veal shank we coated in flour and braised in a pan for a few minuted, then set aside. We then chopped up carrot, onion, celery and threw it in the pan with olive oil. After a couple minutes we added the meat and red wine until it was about a quarter full in the pan. Every couple minutes the wine evaporated and we added more. After that happened a few times we filled the pan with wine until it just barely covered the meat and turned the heat down. While that was cooking we started on the risotto. The saffron they used was pieces of actual petals, not powdered. In a pot we saute'd onion and olive oil and added sliced beef marrow and cooked until the marrow was soft and transparent. We then added the rice and stirred to coat the rice in the oil, onion and marrow mix. White wine was then added and cooked until it evaporated this was repeated a few times and finally beef broth was added along with the saffron. When the rice was done al dente (slightly undercooked) take off heat and add in butter and parmigiano. It should be creamy and very good. When the meat was almost done we peeled off only the yellow part od a lemon peel and mixed it with some chopped parsley, this along with the veggies that cooked with the meat would go on top on the shank. The risotto went on the plate first, smothered in the veal shank. the mix of all the flavors was very good, possible the best meal ive had here yet. The risotto was smooth and the saffron was noticeable but not overbearing. The mead was soft and had a wine taste to it but still held its own. Although I was recovering from a cold that went through me and my roommates this week it was a very enjoyable day in school.

Yesterday (Thursday) I had nutrition, which is the only class I have here that is comparable to classes at home. We read out of a book about how digestion and all that works. Right after class was another school activity that i signd up for. Called Cibo vision it was where we go together and watched one of the chef shoes that is on TV and do related activities. When we got there there was a table with some carafes of red and white wine, which i thought was a good start. We watched top chef (which was won by an Apicius alumni last year) and halfway through we had a blind taste test where we were fed food and had to write down what we thought they were after. When that was done we went into the kitchens and made pizza. Since time was limited the dough was already made we just rolled out the shape and added toppings. We had a selection of fresh produce like mushrooms, bell peppers and onions as well as fresh mozzarrella parmagiano and salami. (Im just going to stop writing "fresh". just know when i write about a food in this blog that it is always fresh) I of course used everything. When we put our pizzas in the oven we sat down to more wine and watched the rest of the show. When the pizzas were done we all had somee of each others and went home. It was definitely a fun night and i think in the future we're going to mimic the competitions on the shows, which will be fun.

Today was the first of the free trips. If you go back a few posts you can read about them. This one was the trip to the olive oil producers. We met at the train station and took a bus up into the hills, a very scenic and nice ride that only took about twenty minutes. We got out of the bus and walked around the hills for about a half hour, viewing some of the olive trees. The olive people also produced a nice Chianti so we saw their trees as well. Some of the workers in the wine trees threw us some of the red wine grapes and we got to eat some of those. The grapes had thick skin and a sweet taste. The tannic acid made my mouth dry and they each had about three seeds, but they tasted great. After our walk we all met up and went down to the villa of the olive and wine producers. It was a large place with fig, grape, apricot and lemon trees scattered around. It was very quiet in the hills and a beautiful sunny day. There were tables spread around for us to sit at and soon we were treated to their 2006 olive oil and bread. The bread here in Tuscany is unsalted but once you get used to it its very good. The next course was a very good cheese, two kinds of salami, bread and fige. We were told to put salami on the bread and mash the fig down onto the meat. It sounded different but I'm on a mission to try everything possible no matter what it sounds or looks like. I mashed the fig down and added the cheese and it actually tasted very good. A few minuted later the main course was brought out. There was Ribolita (a vegetable soup), a baked pasta dish, liver pate, sliced pork, some kind of white bean cooked in olive oil, fresh peas, eggpland, roasted bell peppers and more bread. It was a beautiful spread in a amazing setting on a sunny day. They next brought out their Chianti, which was very dry but tasty. Last was a kind of biscotti and a desert wine, that looked and tasted like a liquer. We had about another hour to walk around and hang out. I took the time to take pictures (im over 1,000 already!). It made me want to live in Italy. Im finding things daily, if not continually through each day that make me want to live here. It feels like home. I also am very excited to show everyone that is coming to visit me all the things that ive found, and Im barely past my second week. I feel energized continually in a way that I would only occasionally in Fairbanks. Dont get me wrong I'll always have love for Alaska and Fairbanks and miss my family but this feels like what Ive been looking for. So all of you need to buy tickets and come visit so i can show you all the amazing things Ive found.
Ciao

Figs!