The Cuopo From Marche

We have traveled up north to find ourselves in a rut full of yummy fried things (again), and some other simple hearty dishes too. A cuopo is a cone full of fried foods usually fish or vegetables and sold as street food in Italy. Since we were making various fried items we thought to make a little package for everyone at lunch. Olive all'ascolana is a deep fried stuffed olive with beef, pork, and chicken livers and very different to any stuffed olive you may have had from the supermarket's antipasti station. It's the most grueling process trying to remove the pit of the olive, one by one by one, without cutting the thing into pieces. For those who like hints of cinnamon and nutmeg with their meat, you should give this a go.

Anchovies are quite common in our kitchen at school and we had the greatest pleasure making them again for Marche. They were cleaned and fried fresh, and actually made the cutest garnish for the paper cone (tails first). The Cavolfiore Fritto was my favorite part of the cuopo because it was this tender, fried cauliflower with hints of anise. The batter had white wine and anise liquor incorporated, which applied so much flavor that I could not stop eating them fresh out of the fryer. I would never guess these flavors and textures to be so accomplished!

Marche has vast property great for farming, as well as the coast for fishing. Zuppa di Ceci is a chickpea stew-like dish eaten as a primi course instead of pasta. It seems that every region might have its own version of lasagna, but I think Marche is the best in show. Vincisgrassi is a layer packed, lasagna-like dish with bechamel and a meaty pancetta sauce. It can pack 32 layers of large sheets of pasta, stacked and folded one onto the next. It's so satisfying biting into a pasta dish with that many layers, the sauces and cheese overflowing onto your plate and all you can think of is getting another piece. 

I was so delighted by how good the mussels were. They were steamed and then stuffed with a herby, buttery, breadcrumb making the soft to crunchy contrast just perfect. Another interesting treat we got to try in sweet and savory form were piconi al formaggio which are in the shape of a mezzaluna and stuffed with pecorino cheese. During Easter, they are pinched at the top to make a cross that reminds people of Christ. 

Chocolate Fanatics

I cannot say that I have ever tempered chocolate before. Maybe when I was in high school I tried to pour melted chocolate into a mold and call that tempered, but now I know the real deal. No wonder chocolate is such a crafted confection; it takes a lot of patience and efficient effort to make it perfect. The best part about this process was that as a past culinary student I have never seen chocolate done before. I even remember saying to myself as a college freshman, how I didn't want to go into pastry because I didn't want to learn the art of chocolate. Sometimes we ought to kick ourselves for judging too soon. The process starts and finishes as follows...

to begin:

dark chocolate must be 45 degrees celcius.

The chocolate is poured directly onto a cool surface like granite or marble. Only about a third of what is in the bowl. 

to finish:

little by little bring the chocolate down to 32 degrees celsius.

With quick motion toss the chocolate around the counter with an offset spatula and bench scraper. Make sure you have an infrared thermometer to check the temperature of the chocolate. Once it gets down to temp you must scrape it back into the bowl, check the temperature, and repeat the process with another third of the chocolate until the temperature is adjusted to tempered chocolate. 

After the chocolate was tempered, we poured it into molds, turned them upside down, and shook out the excess chocolate. Perfectly tempered chocolate will stick to the mold, harden, and create the outer shell. After drying upside down, we add the fillings. The chocolates I made had a butter ganache filling, but some others contained cocoa- butter saffron, a parmesan pancetta ganache, and praline chocolate ganache. Once filled, the chocolates are sealed with another layer of chocolate and put in the fridge to set. 

***to take chocolates out of the molds, bang them onto the counter.

All over my Instagram feed I see gloss covered cakes and petite fours and wonder how hard it is to make those desserts. These types of cakes are usually mousse cakes covered with a glaze made of glucose syrup and condensed milk, to create that mirror-like sheen. I had no idea I would get to make my own mini version in class and had the absolute best time coming up with a design. The best part was getting to spray the mini cake with an edible spray paint. I knew I always had a knack for pastry!

A Greater Appreciation For Constant Cravings

Nothing is more exciting than going to a pasta factory and taking away a goodie bag full of free artisanal pasta. Benedetto Cavalier pasta factory has been in business for one hundred years cranking pasta in a very special way. The machines, I think, are practically old fashion, running their current life of forty years. 

Lovely Andrea, showed us around the factory pointing out every small detail. He showed us the types of semolina used to process each type of pasta as well as which ones get shipped to other countries, and how the packaging process works. The Japanese receive all the long pasta, the U.S. gets bucatini and orecchiette, Australia eats orzo, and Russia receives anellini or tubetini. Puglia has a more diversified selection like Casarecce and orecchiette. However, as the frivolous story goes, Casarecce and orecchiette are often packaged and prepared together in Puglia resembling the symbol of matrimony (the male and the female genitalia). Sometimes these things really make me chuckle.

We all put on cotton robes and hair nets in order to go upstairs to the room where they processed and dried the pasta. The dough is simply made with water and flour and shaped in rooms with high humidity in order for the pasta to dry perfectly without cracking. 

This vat opened to a pit full of different semolinas they use to process their 32 types of pasta. The white semolina is more elastic and the yellow semolina contains more protein.  More glutinous flours for longer kinds of pasta like bucatini, spaghettoni, and tagliatelle and less glutinous flour for the shorter pasta like Anellini, Tubatini, Lumache, and Ruote Medie. 

We were able to chew on spaghetti fresh off the machine producing long continuous strands. It almost tasted like it was cooked, but very al dente. I think that it's possible for a quality ingredient to make your product taste good no matter what form it's in.

As we walked through the entire factory we watched the final stages of the pasta, as it slid up the conveyor belt and dropped into bags in perfect proportions. I have noticed gendered spaces in multiple places around Italy and I think this place was definitely one that amplified that thought. While men were upstairs sweating as they pushed around carts full of spaghetti on drying racks, six women stood around a room stamping dates, hot gluing decorations, and sticking the final labels onto the bags of pasta. This gave me a greater appreciation for many artisanal products I buy and consume.  And yes, the end of our tour resulted in me gratefully walking away with four bags of pasta!

My Sweet Confessions In A Pastry Kitchen

It's been awhile since I've spoken about sweets, so here's a dose of everything dolci packed into one day. The fruit here is amazing, but we can't just eat that. And for many, fried foods are a delight, and most of the desserts made were just that, besides a few things like gelato. 

Gelato came awhile after shaved ice and flavored purees. The Egyptians would eat crushed ice with fruit purees and the Romans ate snow with honey. It was an architect in the 1500's who conceived ice cream with milk and eggs. Gelato is a bit different than ice cream because it contains more milk, is churned slowly eliminating air bubbles, and makes a dense and highly addictive creamy consistency.

For lunch, we got to eat a variety of dessert, who could be happier about this? We enjoyed cantucchi, a type of biscotti with almonds, olive oil gelato which was amazing none the less, and struffuoli, mini fried balls of anise-flavored dough carmelized in honey and stacked into small mounds. I was excited to eat chiacchiere- a fried pasta dough dusted with powdered sugar from Veneto- because my grandmother would make this for my family when I was little. I even remember her making gingerbread men around the holiday and sprinkling them with nonpareils. Monte Bianco is a dessert of pureed chestnut passed through a food mill which creates long twisted strands that remind me of a dessert from elementary school. It's then topped with whipped cream, my absolute favorite part (chestnut is a unique flavor). And finally the tortelli di carnevale made from pate choux and stuffed with pastry cream and dusted with powdered sugar. The only bad part about that day was smelling like fryer oil.

The Land Of Lemons And Sfogliatella

Arriving into Napoli was a bit of a hustle. Our bus squeezed its way through the overly crowded city streets, maneuvering past people and cars double-parked on both sides. My mind was fixated on finding the best Sfogliatelle, and I did, quite a few. For dinner we ate some of the most flavorful pizza I have ever tasted, and it happened to be right next door to a pasticceria (I will tell you about the pizza in a minute). Of course I had to go in and see that yes, they did have Sfogliatelle, which they were pulling straight from the oven per order. I also noticed they had two different types; Sfogliatelle Frolle and Sfogliatelle Ricci. The Sfogliatelle Frolle has the same filling as the Ricci- semolina, ricotta, sugar, and candied orange peel. The Frolle has a cookie-like exterior as opposed to the mille feuille, layer packed exterior of the Ricci, which is the one we are accustomed to eating. Baba rum (with French influence) is another pastry that is very popular here and seen all throughout the streets of the city. This pastry is like a sweet brioche soaked in rum simple syrup. Italy is also common to see the baba rum packed in jars full of syrup or limoncello. 

Now, let me tell you about the mouth-watering pizza, from Antica Pizzeria da Gaetano. It was called “Pizza DOC” (controlled Designation of Origin) because of how and where the pizza was made. It had fresh buffalo mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, fragrant basil, and the most elastic crust; the texture was perfect. I also noticed that Italians like to use a fork and knife to eat their pizza. I guess I have been eating it the wrong way!

On day two, we left Napoli on an excursion to see the island of Capri. It was gorgeous, like nothing I have ever experienced before and I knew from pictures it would be this good. Pulling away from the port in Napoli and crossing the blue waters to Capri, we witnessed Mt. Vesuvius peeking through the fog in the distance. I had never had a fascination with science or volcanoes, but Mt. Vesuvius put me in awe. I could almost see the crater from which the still active Mt. Vesuvius has erupted and preserved the city of Pompeii centuries ago.

Once on the island of Capri, we hiked up the side of a mountain and found ourselves in what seemed to be the center of town, where everyone was walking around, sipping cappuccinos, and shopping for limoncello. Yes, there was limoncello and lemon flavored candies everywhere you turned. The island, and much of southern Italy for that matter, is currently sprouting citrus fruit in the season of its harvest. As we strolled, I focused on a road cut into the top of the mountain and thought how frightening it would be to ride in a car up that high and so close to the cliff’s edge. And before I could think twice about it, I was on a very crowded bus, standing subway style, on that very road, headed to the other side of the island. The amazing views were a welcome distraction from the frightening ride. Vespas and cars whipped around tight curves with the backdrop of sparkling blue waters, stucco buildings and a speckling of boats. This is a highly recommended place to explore.

"But Then, Miraculously, There Is Olive Oil."-Mark Kurlansky

       The first things that caught my attention when arriving in Puglia were all of the olive trees that surrounded the highways. I could not believe that I was seeing these gorgeous, fruit bearing trees in person. They have this look to them; they are short, stout and gangly with curvy branches jutting out from every which end.

There are a few different methods of grinding olives; stone mills, hammer mills and metal tooth grinders (not as common). The stone mills are classic, but also hard to clean and time consuming. October to December is the best time for harvesting and producing olive oil. Olive oil can be classified in a few phases as virgin extra virgin, blend, or lamponte. You may know, extra virgin means the olives have been through a second press making the oil a bit more bitter and spicy. Lamponte is the oil at its lowest quality and may be considered for beauty products instead of consumption. We had a very passionate olive oil connoisseur visit our class to do an olive oil tasting. Could anyone imagine how interesting this would be to do for a living? Johnny was very insightful about the method of testing and tasting olive oil that he even had special vessels to use for the process. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to snap a picture of it. It was a small blue vessel (blue so you don't notice the color of the oil when tasting) with a tall inner lip that traps the smell of the oil when exposed to oxygen.

The first thing we smelled was a bag of olive residue called sansa. It looks like crushed black sun dried olives. Later when we ventured off to the olive oil factory in Ugento, we saw a heaping pile of the stuff; it filled the air with this harsh, bitter smell.

Olive oil tastings follow strict guidelines:

1.Never taste olive oil on a metal spoon; plastic or glass is best.

2. Olive oil vessel will either be labeled with roman numerals or letters. One will never know what they are testing.

3. With the cover on the vessel one must warm the oil with the heat of their hand. It should never be cold.

4.Take a quick waft of the oil and close the lid. What do you smell? You should take note of the fruity, bitter, and spicy notes you waft and the levels each oil portrays. 

5. Think of the dish you would want to pair the oil with. This is a bit tricky but it helps get the creative juices flowing. Don't be fooled to think that all oils smell similar because they most likely do not; although it's easy to think that way.

6. Now one must taste the oil. The best way to conduct this step properly is by sitting down, poised, chin down. You do not want to slurp the oil with your head back as the oil should not enter your throat until you are ready to swallow. As you taste the oil, make sure to create slurping sounds to allow air flow in your mouth (similar to a wine tasting).

7. Take notes again recording the fruitness, bitterness, and spiciness of the oil on the palette. 

Tasting My Thoughts

I'm feeling a bit spoiled because we had a wine tasting during our class with a Sommelier from Bari. We also enjoyed a three course lunch with wine to pair (no spitting allowed). We learned that Italy is keen on producing Green Wines, those that are organic, biodynamic, and natural wines. We also reviewed the Charmat and Champenoise methods of sparkling wine production then tasting a wine made from each method. I would like to share some of my notes from the 5 wines we tasted and perhaps you can seek them out yourselves! 

 Cuve Vivon Cartizze (Blanc de Blanc); Proscco di Conegliano Valdobbadene.

Grapes: Corvina, Corvina Veronese, Glera (Prosecco)

***Lovely sparking wine! A bit sweet on the palette and could be served as an apertif if you desire. It also makes you salivate nicely.

~Color: straw       ~Aroma: white peach         ~Mouthfeel: high acidity

~Best Paired With: hard cheeses

 Conte Aimo Blanc de Noir; Sparkling Franciacorta

Grape: Pinot Nero

***This wine is a bit more dry and is definitely a great apertif. Not my favorite due to how dry it is, but I did enjoy the effervescent. 

~Color: straw yellow      ~ Aroma: pineapple and pear    ~Age: 5 months

~Temperature to serve at: 43-47 degrees      

   ~Aftertaste: very yeasty (tasted like I had a piece of crusty bread in my mouth)

   ~Best paired with: seafood

Fiano Salento Roycello 2016: From Salento Italy; Tomaresca Winey

Grape: Fiano

***This is a great wine to drink with orecchiette and broccoli rabe. The wine is fairly soft and mellows out the intense, bitter flavor of the greens. 

~Color: green hues/ straw yellow    ~Aroma: green fruit & fresh herbs   

~Mouthfeel: soft on the palette     

~Best paired with: orecchiette and broccoli rabe

Salice Salentino Riserva 2009; from Salento Italy

Grape: Malvasia Nera and Negroamaro

*** This was a very strong wine and definitely not my favorite. I tend to lean away from red wines and more towards the bubbles.

~Color: deep red with hint of orange     ~Aroma: molasses

  ~Mouthfeel: pungent

~Best paired with: roasted baby lamb and roasted potatoes 

Asti 2011 from Piemonte

Grape: Moscato

***My favorite was saved for last, of course! This wine is so sweet and spritzy. I love the viscosity of it too; its almost like simple syrup. Many will say that sweet wines are best for those who are just learning to appreciate wine, but they are my favorite regardless. 

~Color: white gold        ~Aroma: peach

 ~Taste: peaches that have been poached in syrup      

~Temperature Served: 43- 47 degrees

Best paired with: pastichoto

Mozzare

At the dinner table it's common for us to say "may you please pass the cheese," and in those exact words, it refers to a cows milk cheese. If you are eating any other type of cheese you must state the name; for instance "may you please pass the Pecorino Toscano." As silly as it may seem, that's the norm of certain cultures. 

When making mozzarella, mozzare means to cut and pasta filata means to stretch. Mozzarella production requires a lot of pulling and cutting to create beautiful shapes and braids. Mozzarella and Caciocavallo are two soft kinds of cheese that require both of these methods. Yesterday we had the pleasure of learning how to make fresh mozzarella with Davide, a local cheesemonger from Casarano, Puglia. He filled a large metal tub with hot water to melt the curd (cows milk in Puglia) and slowly, but surely whipped his oversized stirrer around the tub to create this smooth, elastic mozzarella. He pulled the cheese a few times to allow water seepage, and finally he formed small knots and braids; he just made it look so easy.

Other types of Formaggi are based on milk (Formaggi Vaccini), temperature (gorgonzola or raw milk parmesan), fat (Bitto), pastes (Taleggio), crusts (crostata fiorta), or consistency (stracchino). Two of the same types of cheese will never taste the same if one is from the north of Italy and the other from the south of Italy. The reason being is that cattle are grown and fed differently on every farm and their grain or grass could vary everywhere. It really is what animals eat that determine their flavor.

PS...

***I had the BEST sheep's milk ricotta from Puglia last week. I have never tasted a cheese like it. To me, it tasted like it had parmesan mixed in (there was a nutty background note) and it was so warm too. In all honesty, I had no idea what I was tasting because it did not taste anything like I would have expected. Amazing.

Sprinkle With Polenta

There are so many ways to cook Polenta in Lombardia so it's important I showcase at least one of- what I think- is super unique. It totally looks like a chicken nugget, but you will never find that in the cuisine here unless you go to McDonald's (yes Italy has those too). The Fiapon Mantovano is a sweet polenta- sugar and lemon- that has been fried to be eaten at the end of the meal. It can take on any shape you mold it to. We also had grilled polenta topped with lard and diced polenta with a buttery sauce. The important realization about Polenta is that it's served firm in Lombardia and soft in other regions like Veneto. Four main grains are Bramata, Fiorette, Fumetto, and Integrale. I remember when I was younger (and it was probably the only time she did it) my mom purchased store bought polenta and I remember thinking of the cheap taste. I thought I would never like polenta until I had it hot and creamy. Polenta is the perfect accompaniment with a brassato (braise) like Osso Bucco or goat, and often served in place of bread. 

So one of my absolute favorite pasta dishes come from this region. Pizzocheri is the name of the dish and the shape of the pasta. It looks like fettuccini that's been cut in half and doubled in thickness. Buckwheat is not for everyone's taste but with savoy cabbage, potato, and loads of bito cheese, grana padano, and browned butter with sage you won't be able to put your fork down. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Besides Extra Virgin Garda DOP olive oil, the region bathes in butter. Butter and sage coat polenta and pasta everywhere here!

 Something I am having a hard time coming to terms with Salame d'Oca a sausage made with ground goose and wrapped in the skin on the goose too. It looks quite peculiar if you could imagine. It's similar to the concept of ground rabbit wrapped in pork trotter which I was able to taste in class today. Although it was so juicy and flavor-filled it had a slightly slimy texture due to the outer case. Some things are meant to be tried only once. I love this region though, and excited to live there at the end of my travels here.

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Midday Tea And Afternoon Lasagna

      What is there to do here on the weekends? Watch the cat pounce around the courtyard, bike to the Saturday market, buy a pasticiotto from La Cometa in the center of town, enjoy leftovers from the week and drink tea while doing homework. Yes, although we are enjoying our stay in Italy, we must study, and write, and think and rethink where we plan to travel over the next three months.

The weather this afternoon was lovely, it felt so good as the brisk wind whipped through my hair; not cold enough that it felt as if snowfall is approaching, but refreshing.  We are lucky to experience rainfall every few days here, instead of the harshness of January snow! That is why I thought it would be a perfect day to set up a scene outside. An unique table on the patio below my bedroom balcony has caught my attention.  I am distracted by the thought of its potential purposes, so today's photo shoot includes this rustic table to set the perfect scene. 

All' Onda

I don't think one could ever guess the original purpose of rice and its progression to what we know of it today. Rice was brought to Italy by Alexander the Great with the sole purpose of being used as a beauty product. In Italy, Italian women would have their slaves chew rice for them before blotching it onto their faces. Rice then progressed on to be used for medicinal purposes, desserts (think Grandma Zani's rice pudding), and food for the poor. 

Although Italy grows approximately 120 species of rice, it wasn't common to grow and use it in the south. The popular "street food" made with rice in southern Italy was arancini (known as rice balls in the U.S.). It is so important to buy rice for risotto at its best quality. Rice should almost be al dente with a perfect all'onda (wave). If you buy rice with broken pieces you run the risk of too much starch which may create a consistency that is too thick. Canaroli and Arborio are what we are most familiar with in America. Other varieties include Vialone Nano from Veneto, Originario, Riso Venere, and Integrale. Riso venere is a black rice varietal which does not contain much starch and is perfect with seafood. Once you have made risotto you either eat it, or keep it for leftovers and eat it cold. Never heat it up once you have made it! It will totally change it. It's kind of how I feel about reheating leftover pasta, it will just never be the same. It's all the more reason to eat risotto in one sitting without feeling guilty. I won't. 

I have to mention Sartu Di Riso since this relates to my Italian heritage .  In America, where my grandparents live, maybe once per year, my Grandma and Grandpa Zani will make "La Bomba Reali"- the kings bombe- also known as Sartu Di Riso. Today I found out the original name of this large cake-like mound of risotto filled with meats and vegetables. I was thrilled to learn about it since it is so rare in America! My grandparents are notorious for making this and I love it! It's very traditional to them and not something you would see served just anywhere, perhaps in the mountains of Tuscany where my grandmother was raised, with cobblestone paths, chestnuts trees and wild boar roaming the thick woods.  It must have been introduced to her some how having been originated from the south. 

Zuppa Di Pesce

 The Italian persons perspective on food is of great importance. As Chef Odette say's "you must smell everything"; you want to get a feel for the food using all of your senses. We made fish in class today and I got to make Zuppa di Pesce ai Peperoni. Chef would not let me take the lid off the pot until it was ready to serve because she wanted us to smell the aroma of the fish stew as we exposed the lid. She also stressed the importance of adding a bed of roasted peppers marinated in olive oil and garlic, which ended up being my favorite part of the dish. Is that ironic? This dish consists of mantis shrimp, sea bream, squid, and mussels and is typically served with grilled bread that has been rubbed with garlic. This easily became my favorite dish because it takes a very hearty and rustic approach conveying Italian cuisine at its finest. Honestly, if it's served with pasta or bread I will always love it. I am not typically fond of fish, although this dish was one of the rare times I enjoyed it. Zuppa di Pesce soup is almost a collation of inexpensive but delectable mollusks and white fish; and the best part is dipping crusty artisan bread into the broth at the end.

"It Had To Be You"~ Frank Sinatra

I am so in love with pasta. I think most people feel this way about it, but if they were in my head they may have something different to say. It's kind of like how people have obsessions with boy bands or baby goats, but instead, my enthusiasm goes towards pasta. I promise to be on the treadmill as soon as I post this, but I have no regrets after today anyway. 

The many types of pasta and their origins are so unbelievable that it's almost intimidating. You may want to try everything, but where do you begin? In the year 1000, Italy lost its connection with pasta but the Arabs brought it back! You will find that many recipes call for flour, salt, olive oil, and eggs in pasta dough. I will have you know this is not key to the best pasta dough. The right ratio of eggs, flour, and sometimes water (o, oo, or semolina) are key to the most tender doughs. There are dried and fresh pasta both made from flour, eggs, and water to clarify. Salt and olive oil are not necessary, just make sure you salt the water; that makes a world of a difference like I always try to convince my mother. 

Italy is a very small country with so much diversity. Pasta from northern Italy is dressed in butter and cheese while in southern Italy you will find tomato sauces. Just when you think you know all about pasta, you realize that you will never know enough... and today, that happened to me! I would like to inform you about some interesting pasta I learned about and ate today so that you can try it at home.

I will start by discussing one of my favorite pasta dishes known as Pizzoccheri. This dish originates in the Alps of Lombardia and may be common in restaurants of Switzerland. Typically you may find buckwheat flour in the Alps so this very dry, low in gluten flour, is used to make fettuccini. The pasta is mixed with potatoes, cabbage, fontina (mountain cheese), brown butter and sage. Corzetti is from Liguria nearest France on the northeast. These flat round pasta are stamped into different textures. Women will get together to make pasta;  and in order to differentiate one families pasta from the other, each person's stamp has its own pattern. 

I have found this particular pasta to be quite unique. Sufilandeu reminds me of a very tight basket weave with thin strands of pasta. It is hard to describe especially because we did not make it today and told that it was quite a challenge. San Domenico Uovo in Raviolo looks like one large raviolo stuffed with spinach and ricotta and a runny egg yolk in the middle. Egg yolks are notorious for taking food to a different level, I absolutely love the idea of this pasta! This raviolo is often served with white truffle. 

I have saved cannelloni for last because that is what I made today. This stuffed pasta was created before tortellini or tortelli back in the 1300s. My mother always made this delicious dish when I was young, except she may have cheated a few times using the preformed pasta also known to be called manicotti. However, cannelloni is made by rolling out a sheet of pasta dough and cutting it into rectangular pieces, cooking, and then rolling them up with the stuffing. I used  mortadella, veal, and spinach stuffing bound with one egg. The stuffing is typically dry, but the bechamel and tomato sauce add great moisture. 

The Morning Mercato

This morning after oversleeping slightly (I usually like to stick to a schedule) I got up and walked to the market in the town of Ugento. Every Saturday they host a market a few streets behind the castle where locals go to gather fish, cheese, salumi, produce, and olives for their midday meals. A young gentleman wanted me to try a few different types of taralli, such as saffron and cipollini. I decided on the traditional taralli, which have always been my favorite. Some others who went into town bought dried figs stuffed with almonds and olive bread made in the local region of Salento.

“No Mortadella”

I stood by a bread stand where there was a police officer telling me to have a sandwich with mortadella. I said- "no, proscuitto"- because in the past I have not always been fond of mortadella and that just may be because I have seen the rubbery, processed, bright pink American kind, which is nothing short of a turn off. He said "no, mortadella" and about ten minutes later, the officer approaches my friend and I, giving us half of a mortadella sandwich each. And then he made a gesture about how delicious the sandwich is.

Mi Amore Cannolo

As I travel around Italy I would love to find the best cannoli on the street!  We made Italian street food in class and I was thrilled to make the cannoli, a task I did not want to pass up. This delicacy is mostly found out on the streets of Sicily, the place of their origins. Traditionally cannoli are made with sheeps milk ricotta since there are not many cows roaming Sicilian territory. This time the shell contained cocoa and coffee although I am used to seeing the lighter version of these shells. As well, the Sicilians have adopted an Arab tradition of adding candied orange and lemon peel to the filling. We added the candied citrus and small chunks of chocolate in the ricotta filling with granulated sugar and sprinkled one end with pistachios, a nut popular in Sicily. I don't normally like candied citrus peel, but somehow they defeated my distaste for them once I took a bite of the cannolo. The textures of chocolate, citrus, and creamy ricotta were heavenly beneath that crispy crunchy shell. I ate one too many but, they were so worth it!

Class in the Castle

A few days into the trip and we have toured our cooking facility at the Castello di Ugento. To form a bit of clarity, Ugento is the town in the province of Lecce where we are staying; Puglia is the entire region. The Castle has been around for many centuries and continues to be restored. Our cooking facilities are nothing short of beautiful with state of the art equipment lining the kitchen from wall to wall. How interesting it will be to bake in ovens temped to celcius and cook on induction burners. 

The weather here in January is unimaginable for the season I am used to living in. The weather has been upwards of fifty degrees which is so refreshing for this harsh winter month. New York was iced over last I left it and I don't miss that! But, instead of snow there comes thunderstorms which are still much more reassuring to hear compared to seeing snow. I can't wait for the rain to pass so I can sit in the garden after class and take the beauty in.

The courtyard is spattered with trees growing persimmons and tangerines. The paint on the trees is mixed with a pesticide to ward off insects like slugs and snails. There are also loose grape vines knit through the top of the walkway and bushels of rosemary on the perimeters of the yard. Our Chef has a vase of picked herbs and aromatics on her counter in the morning.

There are vibrant paintings all over the castle ceilings. It's so easy to look straight up and get lost in its 3D like designs. The small kitchenette above was built for the long ago castle prince. He complained of cold food so much it was best to build a kitchen nearest his room so he can have hot food served to him as soon as it was prepared.

Arrivato

I have never done something so frightening in my life. Everyone always talks about the beauty of places and how much something can capture your breath, but until you have experienced it for yourself do you really know? I have practically pulled an all nighter between two plane rides and a long drive further south to our destination in Puglia, Italy and I am still inspired to write about my discoveries so far, because truly the life here is changing all of us at a glimps. 

Masseria Le Mandorle 

The Masseria has welcomed its third batch of CIA students with open arms. Everyone treats us so kindly here and they have done immense work to prepare for us. The rooms are chic with slight rusticity and each with its own personality. Many rooms have a small balcony that over look the distant villages in Puglia; the terrain is so evenly lit at night. There are so many levels and passage ways throughout the Masseria. The courtyard, rooftop lounge, and the private garden in the shape of a perfect square. 

I have always loved goats and sheep and was lucky to land a room with a view. They also come loaded with sounds that will probably keep me up for the next month and half. I do think they are absolutely adorable though!

Beautiful citrus trees scattered about the yard.

Mandorlina, she is the cat that roams the grounds. She sneaks into our room and hides under the bed! Her name means little almond.

We all gather around one long table next to the fire place for dinner each night. The chefs at the Masseria cooked us our first meals today and they were truly wonderful. The olive oil here is quite potent and bitter. Puglia is known for producing olive oil with evidence as you drive hours down the highway through Puglia where olive groves line either side of the road. After a lunch of pasta, boiled potatoes and tomatoes, and thinly sliced meat with tuna sauce (so good), we gathered back for dinner to have another pasta and potato meal. Soup with greens and spaghetti, stewed beef and boiled potatoes, and then Panatone with chocolate for dessert.

My final semester of school will be spent traveling to Italy where I will be studying regional cuisine spending four to five days a week immersed in flour, savoring the regions best olive oil and wafting wine with dinner. Follow me through my blog (Blog Italia on Thegarnishedpalate.com) as I post my tour of life in Puglia and my weekend travels. As I wander about Europe I will be taking notes not just of cuisine, but social life and attractions trying to capture every small detail of what may seem like a world far away from here. And whats more, all the pasta that I can get my hands on!

Remnants from Last Night

I always love a good dense chocolate torte after a heavy meal. There is no sense in having something light after a heavy meal, just keep eating delectable things! I also had a bottle of Rosa Regale- sparkling red wine- that pairs perfectly with chocolate, another reason why I made the cake. See the link below so you know what to look for this weekend at the liquor store.

No dessert is complete without whipped cream, heck even if it's from a can it will satisfy you. Raspberry gastrique folded into whipped cream creates a little bit of tang on the chocolate suffocated palate. A gastrique is one part sweet and one part sour, so with the addition of an acid in the gastrique- like lemon juice or white balsamic vinegar- and a splash of port it makes for a less fatty mouth-feel.

Please Save some for Santa

I am always unsure what to call these, but they are so buttery that you can take one bite and they will dissolve in your mouth instantly. Some call these Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, or Danish Butter Cookies. But, regardless of the name and their origins, my mother always makes these for Christmas and each year they waft our tiny brick house with butter and particles of powder sugar. They are absolutely worth fighting over especially when she started adding mini chocolate chips to them. We are true chocolate people here and just a few more hours when the rest of the family arrives they will be gone.