Friday, May 10, 2013

Farewell Firenze

As I sit here in bed on my last night in Firenze I can't help but think just how fast time goes by. I cannot believe my adventure here has come to an end. I have been to 7 countries and over 30 cities all in less than 4 months. I truly can't even explain to anyone just how amazing this time has been and I probably never will be able to.  The only thing I will be able to do is share some of the recipes I learned while here to try and let my family and friends relive my trip through their taste buds.

But my trip here has been about so much more than food. I have learned to become so much more independent, to go with the flow, to relax even when I see a gypsy in a supermarket or when a sketchy Italian man tries to sell me a rose, and I have learned a whole new way of life. It will definitely take some adjusting eating a big breakfast in the morning instead of just my regular macchiato and if I eat dinner before 9pm, that will be weird too. It's crazy how in such a short amount of time I have really adapted to a new culture. However, there are so many things about home that I miss and will be so excited to get back to. These things include: clothes driers, not having to rely on wifi for everything, bread with salt, normal plug ins, and Diet Coke.

This last week has just been about soaking up our last views of Florence. We went to the Boboli Gardens on Friday with our friend Liza who was visiting, went out for Dana's 21st birthday and then Carleen's birthday the next night. I said goodbye to all my teachers and took my exams...I had to cook asparagus risotto for Food, Culture, an Society, chocolate mousse for chocolates, pasta alla norma for pastas, and crepes for Contemporary Cooking. Fingers crossed that I passed!! haha

But other than finals, we really just enjoyed as much food, gelato, and sights as possible. We went to the leather market, went to both the Sant' Ambrogio and San Lorenzo food markets, went to the Rose Gardens and the Piazzale Michelangelo many times. And tonight we had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants called La Giostra where I had the pear and pecorino ravioli. And then we strolled around one last time and took some last photos with our friend the Duomo. I still can't believe I got to call this city my home for nearly 4 months! I cannot wait to return some day and get to show my children what an amazing opportunity I got to have when I was only 21 years old! I'm so blessed and grateful for this chance to live abroad and I think it will help me so much when I pick up again and move to New York for the summer...lots to look forward to!

Well it's late here and I have to be up in 2 hours for my plane but I hope you enjoyed my blog! I can't wait to be back in Minnesota in 24 hours!!

Saying goodbye to Chef Desy:(

Look what's in the gypsy's basket



So they do have money after all....

Boboli Gardens

Boboli



View of Florence from the Rose Gardens




Happy Birthday Donna!!

My city:)

Happy Birthday!!

Free Birthday Champagne? Why suuuure!

Saying goodbye to Chef Cecilia

My chocolates final



Roses

More Roses



My perfect macchiato breakfast
made by our favorite barista, Sandra:)


One last Gusta

Last night out:(



Saying goodbye to my boyfriend, Neptune
Hope you enjoyed my pictures!!! Until my next trip....

xoxo,
Alli

Friday, May 3, 2013

Munchin' in Munchen


Ciao! I cannot believe that all my travelling around Europe has come to an end:( We got back on Sunday from our last trip which was Munich Germany for Springfest! And thankfully it was the last bus trip I'll be on in awhile! We left Thursday night at around 7:30 and got to Munich at about 3:30 in the morning. We went straight to bed.

Friday, Day 1: We woke up early around 8:30 because we were supposed to do a bike tour of the city. However, there was some complications and somehow there weren't enough bikes for us to go so we ended up just wandering around the city of Munich for while and checking it out. It is actually such a pretty city. Everyone bikes, it's very green, and there are open markets everywhere! We got some coffee and then made our way to the beer tents. The only way to describe springfest is the Minnesota State Fair. Delicious fair food, carnival rides, and huge beer tents where 1 beer is 1liter! 1 beer was 10 euros and was equivalent to 4 beers so 2 beers in one day is all you need haha. Here are some pics from our first day:
Springfest Entrance!
Love us some beer!

Me with my huge beer!
Drinkin' my beer

Mikey with her beer
 That was pretty much all our Friday consisted of:
beer, sausage, pretzels, and chocolate covered bananas. Oh and then we had to ride a few rides too.

Day 2, Saturday: We were actually able to do the bike tour today which we were so happy about! We woke up around 9 and were on the bike tour by 1030. We got to bike for about an hour around Munich and then we stopped at the Beer Gardens which were in the middle of the park and you could get beer and food of course. Then we finished the bike tour and on our way back we stopped at this one bridge called surfer's bridge. People actually surf right under this bridge. It was so random but so cool! After the bike tour of course we hit the beer tents for round 2!
Church in Munich
Government Building


Surfers Bridge
Mikey and Colleen
Just making German friends!


Delia and I with our beers

Some more Cornell friends
Delia and I


 Day 3, Sunday: Before we left Munich at 3pm, we took a day trip to the Dachau Concentration camp. We took a train to Dachau and then took a bus to the camp. It was a very emotional and moving experience. We got to see where the barracks were and saw the crematorium as well. It was not easy to get through but we were really glad we did it. Then we went back to our hostel to get on our bus back to Florence.

I cannot believe that was our last trip! It was such a great and fun way to finish off my abroad experience. And now I have just a week left, with so much left to still do in Florence! It seems like just yesterday we arrived and had no clue what we were doing in a foreign country and now it has become my home:) We have planned out our last week in terms of what restaurants we are eating at each night, of course. I am getting more and more excited to come home, but I know it will be so sad when officially have to say bye to this amazing city:( But enough of that, it's not time yet!!! I will give you one last update before my journey ends. My friend Liza is visiting from Paris right now and it is Dana's 21st birthday tomorrow so there is still a lot more fun to be had!

xoxoxo,
Alli

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Culinary Adventures Part 3!


Ciao!! Just thought I would give those of you who enjoy my food pics some more entertainment for the week. I have been busy cooking every week and am learning so many new recipes! I can't wait to make the biggest feast for my family when I get back:) Hang in there, and try not to drool too much please.

Food, Culture and Society: A few weeks ago we made a traditional spring and summer soup that is served in Tuscany. This is one of my personal favorites: Pappa al Pomodoro. It is a tomato bread soup made with bread, tomatoes, basil, and garlic. So fresh and so filling and delicious!
Pappa al Pomodoro
The next week was Easter Monday so we had no class:(( But the next week we made homemade tagliatelle with Ragu sauce. I was predicting it to be more of a tomato meat sauce, but here in Tuscany it has a lot less tomato and just more meat. For this recipe, we made homemade tagliatelle pasta and then for the sauce we started with onions, carrots, and celery chopped very fine and then sauteed them in olive oil. Then you add ground pork and beef and deglaze the pan with some red wine. Then meanwhile, you prepare a vegetable broth. Then we used tomato paste, dissolved it in the vegetable broth and added it to the meat. If you like it more tomatoey, then you can just add more tomato paste.
Tagliatelle with Ragu
The next week we made some very simple but traditional Italian dishes: Parmigiana di Melanzane and Tiramisu. This was one of my favorite weeks and the recipes were so easy! For the eggplant parmesan, we started by slicing the eggplants, and salting them to start releasing the water. Meanwhile we made a simple tomato sauce using both canned and fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Then we lightly dusted the eggplant slices in flour and shallow fried them in olive oil. Then we began preparing the eggplant parmesan in individual pans. You start with sauce on the bottom, then layer the eggplant slices, then add slices of mozzarella cheese, then sauce, eggplant, mozzarella, more sauce and then top it with parmesan cheese. Then for the tiramisu, our teacher didn't want us using raw egg yolks so we replaced the eggs with whipping cream. We whipped the cream with sugar and folded it into the mascarpone cheese. Then dipped the lady fingers in a mixture of coffee and rum and then started layering. We finished with a light dusting of cocoa powder.
Parmigiana di Melanzane
Tiramisu














And now were at this week! This week was all about antipasti. We started by making such a simple starter: Prosciutto e Melone. We made it with both cantaloupe and honeydew. The combination of the salt from the prosciutto and the sweetness of the melon goes perfectly together! Then we also made a recipe called Gamberoni al Lardo. Literally this means shrimps with lard. This was the first recipe I wasn't so excited about. When I think of lard I think of the shortening that my grandma uses to make her pie crust! I was a little nervous. But as it turns out, it was very good! We started by peeling, de-heading, and de-veining the shrimps. Then we washed them and lightly sauteed them in olive oil. Meanwhile we blanched asparagus and tomatoes. We peeled the skin off the tomatoes and chopped them. Then the lard came into play. It really looked like strips of prosciutto but with just the white part. It was very thin and didn't look nearly as gross as I thought it would. We wrapped each shrimp in a small piece of the lard. Then we placed it on top of a crostini and broiled it in the oven. The lard sort of melted around the shrimp and you couldn't even tell it was there but it gave it a really meaty flavor. Then we served the crostini with the asparagus and tomatoes. So light and fresh!
Prosciutto e Melone
Gamberoni al Lardo














Chocolates: So we moved on from our chocolates unit, and started out baking unit. Who knew Italian cakes could be so amazing! A few weeks ago we made two cakes: Torte Morbide con pere e cacao and a sbrisolona al cacao. Both were so unique and so delicious! The first cake was a pear flavored cake with chucks of dark chocolate in it. And the second cake was a sort of chocolate crumble cake made with cocoa powder and in the center of the cake was a filling made with chocolate chunks, ricotta cheese, and strawberry jam.
Torte Morbide con Pere e Cacao
Inside view of the cake














Sbrisolona al Cacao
Inside view of the cake














The next week we continued our baking adventures by making spuma di cioccolato all'olio extra vergine, con zafferano e salsa di vaniglia al romarino. That sounds really complicated but basically it was just an olive oil dark chocolate mousse served with a cream on top that was infused with the flavors of vanilla and rosemary.
Olive Oil Chocolate Mousse
The next week was more cakes: Sacher Torte and a Black Forest Cake. I think these were by far my favorite cakes we made in this class. A sacher torte is essentially a chocolate sponge cake that has apricot jam inside the layers and around it and then is covered in a layer of melted dark chocolate. And even for people like my dad who don't like to mix fruit with chocolate, this one is sooo worth it! And then the black forest cake was layers of chocolate sponge cake, with cherries in between each layer, then covered with whipped cream and more cherries and chocolate shavings.
Black Forest Cake
Inside View


Inside View
Sacher Torte













And then this week was all about cookies and tarts. Cookies are actually a pretty rare thing in Italy so this was a special treat! We started by making white chocolate raspberry and pistachio tarts and then also made 2 different types of sables (butter cookies). One cookie had chunks of cocoa nibs inside and the other was made by making a vanilla dough and a chocolate dough and then rolling them together to make a sort of pinwheel.
Sable with Cocoa Nibs

Sable Pinwheels

White Chocolate Raspberry Pistachio Tart
Pastas: A few weeks back, we made one of my favorite pasta sauces: Pesto. We learned that this sauce originated in the Liguria Region of Italy which is where Cinque Terra is located. In Liguria, the traditional linguini with pesto is served with green beans and potatoes with the noodles. Interesting, but so good! Then we also made another type of pasta called pizzoccheri which is made from chestnut flour. These noodles were handmade and had a very nutty flavor. We served them with a sauce of cabbage and potatoes. This wasn't one of my favorite dishes but it was very unique!
Linguine al Pesto
Pizzoccheri














The next week was all about lasagne. We made traditional lasagne bolognese by layer fresh lasagne noodles with bechamel sauce, ragu sauce and parmesan cheese. We even added porcini mushrooms to our ragu to add to the meatiness. This recipe was so rich but really the flavor cannot be beat when you make homemade ragu and you layer it with the creaminess of the bechamel sauce.
Lasagne Bolognese
The next week was focused on Tuscany: we made pici pasta with tomato sauce which is essentially like a homemade thick spaghetti. Then we also made the traditional crespelle alla Fiorentina which are the Florentine style crepes. I made these in my Food Culture and Society class on the first day but we made them slightly different in pastas class. We layered them with both a tomato sauce and a bechamel sauce which just added more flavor and cut the richness from the bechamel.
Crespelle alla Fiorentina
Pici Pasta














And then this week was all about Sicily and Puglia regions of Italy. We made pasta all Norma which is rigatoni with eggplant and ricotta salata cheese. And we also made homemade orecchiette pasta which are little ear-shaped pasta. This dish is called Orecchiette alla cimi di rapa and it is made with a sauce of anchovies and broccoli rabe. Once we made the fresh pasta we blanched the broccoli rabe in water. Then sauteed garlic in a pan with olive oil and added two anchovy fillets then added the broccoli rabe. Then you add a little bit of tomato sauce and mix with the freshly cooked orecchiette. It was so delicious and not too fishy at all!
Orecchiette alla Cimi di Rapa
Pasta all Norma














Contemporary Italian Cooking: Hang in there only one more class!!! So back up a few weeks. We made gnocchetti di Ricotta con Salsa di piselli al Tartufo. This was so delicious. It was gnocchi only made with ricotta. The sauce was made from guanciale (pork cheek), peas, and truffle. So fresh and bright, a great spring dish!
Gnocchetti di Ricotta
Then the next week we actually made crepes. These crepes were unique in that they were very crispy because they were made with corn flour in the batter. Then the filling was made from leeks and potatoes and we served them over a fresh tomato sauce.
Crespelle di mais con Salsa di Porri e Patate
The next week we made quite a complicated recipe. It was called Baccala mantecato con salsa di Pere. Baccala is a salted cod that can be found all over Tuscany. I wasn't sure I was going to like this dish, but I was pleasantly surprised. We cooked the fish in parchment paper in the oven. Then we made a pear sauce using pears and coriander seed. We also made two starches to go along with the fish: a rice pudding with lemon in it, and a potato pie made with parmesan cheese. There was a lot going on on one plate....once the fish was cooked we flaked it into a bowl and added olive oil and sort of made a mixture of the mashed fish. Then we made little cannelles with the fish mixture and served it over the pear sauce. We garnished it with sauteed guanciale (pork cheek). Not sure how a chef thought fish, pear, and pork would all go together but somehow it did. Definitely not my favorit but it was interesting!
Baccala mantecato con Salsa di Pere
And then last week was all about Risotto! We made two types: Risotto con Provola affumicata, pistacchi e noci, and the second type was risotta al tuorlo d'uovo e parmigiana. The first risotto I liked better than the first although I thought both were too rich. The first one was made just like any other risotto with white wine but then we added cubed smoked provolone cheese (scamorza) to the risotto to add to the already creamy mixture. Then pistachios and hazelnuts were added on top. The second risotto was even richer than the first. It had parmesan mixed into it as well as white truffle cream and was served over a bed of a lightly cooked custard made from egg yolk and more parmesan cheese. Much too rich! I literally took one bite and was full!
Risotto con provola affumicata
Risotto al tuorlo d'uovo e parmigiano
Ok, so I feel full from just writing all of that so I hope I have done my job and you were able to eat vicariously through me! I really don't know how I'm going to eat Italian food in America...I'm so spoiled here!

Munich is this weekend...can't wait to fill up on something other than Italian food: BEER!!

xoxo,
Alli