Dinner Party

Last monday, at the end of my baking techniques class (Monday 9AM to 1130) the head instructor Andrea asked for volunteers to help with a dinner that night. Scott and I volunteered and we were asked to come in at 3 with our chef gear on. We got there a little early and were put right to work. My school had just opened a restaurant called Ganzo (means cool in italian) near Santa Croce which was staffed by student volunteers and had food cooked by students from the masters class. The affiliated art school (FUA where Brittany went last semester) helped design many parts of the restaurant and menu layout. Anyway due to the restaurant being open almost everyone was always halfway across town so they were short handed for a dinner they were putting on at the school for about 50 english doctors and scientists and their families. As soon as we got there we began prep work. I cut up quail eggs, atichoke and asparagus in assorted shapes and sizes. After the chopping was done I made a fondue out of 600 ml of milk which i brought to a weak boil and then took off heat. I stirred in a large bag of parmesian and put on heat for about 30 seconds, after which i periodically added milk out of the 1000 ml carton while the pot was off heat until all the milk was added. When the consistency was right I added salt and a little nutmeg. After the fondue I was put to work creating the appertivo. First I used a pastry bag to spread a salmon mousse onto crostini and then put canals of caviar (canal is a technique using two spoons to put thick sauce or puree on a plate in an attractive way) topped with a sprig og green and they were done. I also cut up pecorino and arranged it on a plate with walnut and honey.We spent about an hour putting together all kinds of appertivo. After the antipasti were finished we began to prep the main courses. We made gorgonzola gnocchi, toasted the artichoke risotto and seared beef with rosemary and olive oil . Andrea was skilled with molecular cooking so we mixed olive oil with a powder that was odorless and tasteless and made the olive oil a solid. It was placed inside ravioli and had a excellent taste. For pasrt of the dessert they made a foam out of espresso and baked a special kind of sugar in silk sheets that created an amazing crystal, glass effect that looked like ice sculptures. At about 5 we all ate a meal of pasta with ragu and red wine. Once guests arrived we started cooking! We finished the risotto and cooked the ravioli, which we plated with lightly sauteed radicchio and the fondue. We cooked the gnocchi with a tomato confit (lightly cooked) and plated it with basil and other herbs that we had fried previously. The sauce was a saffron olive oil. We also had a broccoli quiche that was excellent. It was fun actually cooking and plating food for real people instead of for ourselves or teachers. Second course we finished the beef which we plated with a blueberry sauce and an edible flower in applesauce. For desert there was a tomato sorbet to cleanse the palate and then tiramusu with the sugar crystals and coffee foam. After the night was over we had spumante and relaxed. It was alot of fun and a little taste of what working in a restaurant could be like.

Vacations over....

Sunday was the night of our welcome dinner. We had seen the place dinner would be during orientation. (walked by it not inside) It was a huge stone building with high castle walls about two blocks from one of our school sites, on via san gallo. It had large black gates and what looked to be a beautiful garden. The Invitation said to dress casually but by the look of the place and the city that we were in, me and my roommates decides to wear ties and dress nicely. I love dressing up and rarely wear a tie outside of work in Alaska. I had bought a nice burberry tie and shirt before i left and decided this would be the night to break it out. We figured that we might me the only guys in ties but had been told on a few occasions that in Italy, and especially Firenze, that there was no such thing as being too dressed up. When we got to the gates we were stopped by two men in suits that checked all of our names before being allowed to enter. That impressed us and we knew we had chosen correctly. We entered and directly in front of us was a long row of short columns with small statues on top that led us to an open lawn inside the compound. All around the lawn pillows and almost on the ground tables had been set up for people to sit at. There were about four food and drink stations scattered around the perimeter. The lawn was full of all the Florence University of the Arts students and students from my school, Apicious. All the girls were in dresses and were very pretty. Alot of guys had dressed up but we were the only ones in ties. We walked over to the food stations that were covered in beautiful spreads of fresh cheeses and meats, including a large side of pig that had men in bow ties cutting slices of the cured meat on request. We got glasses Prosecco, a sparkling Italian wine, and raised them. Their was also mini sandwhiches and other very fancy finger food that I dont know the name of! My roommates and I walked around, meeting as many people as possible. Hidden away in one corner was a food station that had deep fried zucchini flowers, basil leaves, potato, and other things that i had never had but that was absolutely delicious. You all have to make fried basil leaves. So good. They came in a large coned leaf and was the best food I had that night. After about an hour and a half of mingling I went inside and found yet another complete food display. Good thing we walk about 20 miles a day because the food here is unbelievable.... The inside of the villa was beautiful with paintings all over, including a mural on a domed ceiling. A huge wooden staircase spiraled upstairs but we were not allowed to explore too much. I listened to the count who lived there and he seemed like a very nice old man. He was heavily accented and was very personable. In the ballroom they had sign ups for the daily activities, which include soccer, basketball, recreating cooking shows, and hilltop walks. I signed up for them all. After the faculty talked for a while Dessert came out, which was also great, and we met more people ( there was over a hundred people there) and finally left. It was a great night, very elegant and friendly. The next day was my first class.

The next day my first class was Italian regional cooking. On the way there the clouds begun to darken (one thing i have noticed is that i miss seeing the sky. in Alaska you always see a whole eyeful of sky, but in an actual city I usually only see a sliver. I actually notice it alot and it feels weird. Never though id be missing the sky) and only a few minutes later begun to thunder, lightning and pour rain. It reminded me of flash floods id been in in the south. I arrived in the Apicious chef Jacket and Hat that came with the book fee, along with a knife set. The kitchen that my class was in was about a 8 minute walk from my flat. There were about 5 stations, all in a row with two people per station. I was partnered with a 25 year old Londoner named Ed. After a brief summary of the class and a once over of the syllabus the chef said we'd be cooking spaghetti. The key to Italian food he said was simplicity. Every recipe would be with as few ingredients as possible but would have the best, freshest ingredients available. We first received our basil, garlic, tomatoes and olive oil. He had up make a "T" on the top of the tomatoes then drop them in boiling water for about 15 seconds. We then pulled them out and cooled them and took them back to the station. When we pulled on the T the skin peeled right off. He collected the peels from us and put them in the oven. We cut up all the ingredients and cooked it down for about 20 minutes and that was it. With some pepper and salt it was a very simple recipe but very very tasty. When he took the peels out he handed them to us, along with fresh Parmesan to use as decoration. Definitely a fun class. The teacher is laid back, funny, and most importantly very knowledgeable. The rest of the day i wandered around my neighborhood, bought chef pants and an apron and took it easy.

Today my first class was at 9am. This one was introduction to professional cooking. My teacher for this class was the master chef at apicius. He was originally from the Ivory coast and has worked in New York, Orlando, and at Apicius for a long time. We went over the basics of the kitchen and how to be sanitary and what each utensil did. He was very thorough and personable, although his accent was pretty strong. The next class I had was wine appreciation. that class had raised tables that fit 3 people and had a trough along the top that emptied out the bottom for spitting wine into. My teacher for that class, Carlotta, was extremely outgoing and funny. She talked about the different classifications of wine in Italy and the rules and regulations that wine makers must follow. That class also seems very interesting. At the end of class we had a nice white wine to celebrate the beginning of school. Definitely going to be a good year. All my classes are ones that I would never want to miss. Homework for most will be eating and drinking, which works for me.