Friday we went to Brock's in downtown Fredericksburg for lunch. All Betty's sisters were there and her mom, and one niece. They all wanted to see me! How nice is that? We had a great time. After lunch we walked around downtown a bit. Some stores have close, some new ones opened since last time I was here. There are still quite a few antique stores. E weather, ore than the one day it rained, has been about 70. Amazing!
Yesterday Betty felt well enough to take a hike along the Rappahannock. It was a beautiful day! Don, her husband went with us.
Tonight is Halloween. Betty and Don get quite a few trick or treaters, of all sizes, lol! The little ones are so cute! I have been cooking and baking, trying to stock up their freezer with meals. Some of Don's family came today to visit and were treated to a nicer meal than they ever expected, lol. Roast pork, roasted potatoes and broccoli. Chocolate cookies with chocolate chips for dessert. Anyway, it was nice to meet them all.
Happy Halloween to everyone!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 28, 2010
I am finally feeling a little more normal since arriving back in the States. It didn't seem so hard going to Italy and adjusting to the time difference but coming back was another story! The weather in Fredericksburg has been in the low 70's, not what I was expecting for fall! The air here seems "heavy" though, no other way to describe it. Yesterday there were ton ado warnings for half the day-didn't expect that either! Rained cats and dogs too.
I have my first "gig". Personal chef for Betty and her husband Don. I am cooking up a storm to stock their freezer with meals for after I leave. It's been fun cooking again, and it helps that the audience is very appreciative! Both us girls have been resting up otherwise. I'll be in Fredericksburg till next Tuesday. It's been very nice spending time with Betty.
Thanks again for every one's support these last months. I just found out I did pass my chef course! Diploma is in the mail! Yeah! :-)
I have my first "gig". Personal chef for Betty and her husband Don. I am cooking up a storm to stock their freezer with meals for after I leave. It's been fun cooking again, and it helps that the audience is very appreciative! Both us girls have been resting up otherwise. I'll be in Fredericksburg till next Tuesday. It's been very nice spending time with Betty.
Thanks again for every one's support these last months. I just found out I did pass my chef course! Diploma is in the mail! Yeah! :-)
Monday, October 25, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Oh, dear! I have two days to catch up on!
Sunday Alta and I slept in and were eating breakfast at our hotel when Cris and his partner showed up. They wanted to don some sightseeing, so off we went! Our first stop was their hotel to pick Chris's sister, then a quick stop at a pastry shop (like I said, no one does pastry quite like the French!) and off to the Palace Gardens. They flank one end of one of the many palaces in Paris and are on the way to the Louvre. From the train/Metro station there, you can see the Eiffel Tower, the Arc d'Triumpe and and so many other things, I can't begin to name! Our next stop was the Louvre, that houses the famous Mona Lisa. Then a stop at Cafe Fregate for un cafe and a light lunch. Then off to the Musee d'Orsay down the river, another art museum. They have fantastic life-size statues of several jungle animals (an elephant and a rhinoceros). Then it was on to the Eiffel Tower. I'd forgotten how large it is! We got there too early to see it lit up but it is still impressive. We were so cold that Alta and I took a taxi back to our hotel. We happened to get a driver who spoke quite good English. Turns out he met his American girlfriend in his taxi and learned English from her and from listening to American music (I still am surprised by the number of places that play constant American rock and roll!). He calls himself the karaoke taxi, lol. Dinner that night was at Cafe Renato, an Italian(!) restaurant down the street from our hotel. Turned out to be pretty good! We both had lasagna with Bolognese sauce.
Then it was back to our hotel to pack.
Monday was up early to take a cab to Charles de Gaulle Airport. We both flew out on British Airway. The flight from Paris to Heathrow. At Heathrow, we had to go thru security again. Security appears to be very tight at Heathrow. The flight from London to DC was uneventful. Did you know that on Transatlantic flights they still serve a hot meal to guests? That was new for me! Betty and her husband picked me up at the airport and we drove back to Fredericksburg. Sure is nice to see Betty again! Now for a week of R&R!
Sunday Alta and I slept in and were eating breakfast at our hotel when Cris and his partner showed up. They wanted to don some sightseeing, so off we went! Our first stop was their hotel to pick Chris's sister, then a quick stop at a pastry shop (like I said, no one does pastry quite like the French!) and off to the Palace Gardens. They flank one end of one of the many palaces in Paris and are on the way to the Louvre. From the train/Metro station there, you can see the Eiffel Tower, the Arc d'Triumpe and and so many other things, I can't begin to name! Our next stop was the Louvre, that houses the famous Mona Lisa. Then a stop at Cafe Fregate for un cafe and a light lunch. Then off to the Musee d'Orsay down the river, another art museum. They have fantastic life-size statues of several jungle animals (an elephant and a rhinoceros). Then it was on to the Eiffel Tower. I'd forgotten how large it is! We got there too early to see it lit up but it is still impressive. We were so cold that Alta and I took a taxi back to our hotel. We happened to get a driver who spoke quite good English. Turns out he met his American girlfriend in his taxi and learned English from her and from listening to American music (I still am surprised by the number of places that play constant American rock and roll!). He calls himself the karaoke taxi, lol. Dinner that night was at Cafe Renato, an Italian(!) restaurant down the street from our hotel. Turned out to be pretty good! We both had lasagna with Bolognese sauce.
Then it was back to our hotel to pack.
Monday was up early to take a cab to Charles de Gaulle Airport. We both flew out on British Airway. The flight from Paris to Heathrow. At Heathrow, we had to go thru security again. Security appears to be very tight at Heathrow. The flight from London to DC was uneventful. Did you know that on Transatlantic flights they still serve a hot meal to guests? That was new for me! Betty and her husband picked me up at the airport and we drove back to Fredericksburg. Sure is nice to see Betty again! Now for a week of R&R!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
This was our last cooking day. We met Denis and Eric at the market to shop for lunch today. They are very nice guys, very helpful. It is amazing what is at the markets here in Paris. The fruits and vegetables are beautiful as are the fresh meats and seafood. Amazing! Why can't we get produce like this in the States? I don't know!
After that, it was back to the school to separate and each group make their portion of lunch. I was in the group that was making the first course. We had gotten four kinds of mushrooms at the market: Chanterelles, Shitake, Oyster and Portabello mushrooms. We also stopped to get some sherry and creme fraiche. We cleaned and chopped the mushrooms then cooked them separately to remove their water. Then we tossed them together and sauteed them in butter and salt and pepper. We then added the mushrooms, vegetable stock, butter, cream and a little sherry to a stock pot and let it simmer. After about an hour or so, we pureed the soup and let it sit for a while. We mixed up a savory Zabaglione using egg yokes and sherry and cooked it over the stove. We added the Zabaglione to the soup right before serving. To garnish then soup, we made whipped egg white and mushroom quenelles and poached them in water, drained hem and set them aside. We chopped some watercress into a chiffonade. We also made little toasts of a baguette topped with olive oil and baked. When it came time top plate, two ladles of soup, one quenelle, a dollop of creme fraiche, two small mushroom caps, chopped watercress and the toast at the top. It turned out quite well! The main course was two tone pasta with shrimp, scallops and muscles. Also good. Dessert was a fruit tart made with orange pastry cream and a large variety of fresh fruit. Figs were also on the plate next to the tart as well as a raspberry coullis.
We gave gifts to the chefs and we got a booklet of the last week's recipes as well as a Chef Martial apron that had our name embroidered on it. Very nice!
Last night we had our celebratory dinner at Brasserie Flo so thAt people could take Saturday night to pack and get ready to leave on Sunday. Brasserie Flo has been around for about 100 years. Lots of old wood, stained glass, chandeliers, painted plaster, etc. The food was excellent. I had French Onion Soup, as did several other people (how can you be in Paris and not try French onion soup?!). I had Escargot as a second course with bread to sop up the garlic butter that the snails had been cooked in. Yum! The wine both in Italy and France has been wonderful. Great wine at a fraction of the cost in America. This as been a wonderful time, with a few ups and downs. I stay another day in Paris then leave on Monday. Alta is also staying until Monday. We are going to try to see at least one museum and the Eiffel Tower. Going to take it easy though. Bon Soir!
After that, it was back to the school to separate and each group make their portion of lunch. I was in the group that was making the first course. We had gotten four kinds of mushrooms at the market: Chanterelles, Shitake, Oyster and Portabello mushrooms. We also stopped to get some sherry and creme fraiche. We cleaned and chopped the mushrooms then cooked them separately to remove their water. Then we tossed them together and sauteed them in butter and salt and pepper. We then added the mushrooms, vegetable stock, butter, cream and a little sherry to a stock pot and let it simmer. After about an hour or so, we pureed the soup and let it sit for a while. We mixed up a savory Zabaglione using egg yokes and sherry and cooked it over the stove. We added the Zabaglione to the soup right before serving. To garnish then soup, we made whipped egg white and mushroom quenelles and poached them in water, drained hem and set them aside. We chopped some watercress into a chiffonade. We also made little toasts of a baguette topped with olive oil and baked. When it came time top plate, two ladles of soup, one quenelle, a dollop of creme fraiche, two small mushroom caps, chopped watercress and the toast at the top. It turned out quite well! The main course was two tone pasta with shrimp, scallops and muscles. Also good. Dessert was a fruit tart made with orange pastry cream and a large variety of fresh fruit. Figs were also on the plate next to the tart as well as a raspberry coullis.
We gave gifts to the chefs and we got a booklet of the last week's recipes as well as a Chef Martial apron that had our name embroidered on it. Very nice!
Last night we had our celebratory dinner at Brasserie Flo so thAt people could take Saturday night to pack and get ready to leave on Sunday. Brasserie Flo has been around for about 100 years. Lots of old wood, stained glass, chandeliers, painted plaster, etc. The food was excellent. I had French Onion Soup, as did several other people (how can you be in Paris and not try French onion soup?!). I had Escargot as a second course with bread to sop up the garlic butter that the snails had been cooked in. Yum! The wine both in Italy and France has been wonderful. Great wine at a fraction of the cost in America. This as been a wonderful time, with a few ups and downs. I stay another day in Paris then leave on Monday. Alta is also staying until Monday. We are going to try to see at least one museum and the Eiffel Tower. Going to take it easy though. Bon Soir!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
We started out our class today learning how to tourne both mushrooms and potatoes. The potatoes were not so bad, but the mushrooms were definitely a challenge. In the mushrooms the cuts were more decorative and you have to hold the knife just so to get a proper line. When you are done, it is suppose to look something like an umbrella. They thought we should each get a kilo of mushrooms when we got home so we could practice some more, lol! Once we finished that, we started in on our lunch. For the first course, we made avocado mousse that sat on a bread round then had peanuts sprinkled over it. They looked a little like the "snowballs" we used to eat as kids. Ot
It was plated with a salad of lettuce and Daikon radish that had been given a julienne. On top of the salad were little strips of smoked salmon. There was also a "schmear" of Greek yogurt with a few herbs and spices thrown on. The main course was Chicken Tangine, with a Moroccan flavor profile. It also contained potatoes, mushrooms and zucchini. Dessert was a layered chocolate mousse cake that was devine! It had a crunchy layer, a chocolate mousse layer, chunks of poached pears and was topped with whipping cream. Yum! Not to rich and not to sweet. Once lunch finished and we were getting ready to leave, I discovered they sold a cookbook Chef Martial had written and even though it was in French, I think it will still be useful, so I bought it! Nice pictures of food in it.
Tonight we are going out to a nice dinner. I' ll have to let you know how it is. I have had really good food here and just ok food, sonI guess that is a problem no matter where you live, lol.
It was plated with a salad of lettuce and Daikon radish that had been given a julienne. On top of the salad were little strips of smoked salmon. There was also a "schmear" of Greek yogurt with a few herbs and spices thrown on. The main course was Chicken Tangine, with a Moroccan flavor profile. It also contained potatoes, mushrooms and zucchini. Dessert was a layered chocolate mousse cake that was devine! It had a crunchy layer, a chocolate mousse layer, chunks of poached pears and was topped with whipping cream. Yum! Not to rich and not to sweet. Once lunch finished and we were getting ready to leave, I discovered they sold a cookbook Chef Martial had written and even though it was in French, I think it will still be useful, so I bought it! Nice pictures of food in it.
Tonight we are going out to a nice dinner. I' ll have to let you know how it is. I have had really good food here and just ok food, sonI guess that is a problem no matter where you live, lol.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
It was only 30 degrees this morning! Brrrrr..... A cold walk to school! We stopped off at a street market before going to school. Marie Ann met us and showed us where it was. Unbelievable vegetables-any and all varieties, fish and shellfish-some of which I have never seen, meats of all kinds-everything from raw beef, pork and chicken to charcuterie cured meats, only one bread maker and loads of clothing, scarves, shoes, etc. It seemed to go on for blocks! We did get a black turnip to try. None of us had ever seen one!
After the market, it was off to cooking school. Today Chef Denis (Pronounced Denny) was back. I had not met him before today but he was very nice. He is another assistant to Chef Martial. We made Pumpkin Soup garnished with a mix of Chanterelle and white mushrooms as a first course. Our main course, or Les Plats Principaux, was Filet de Canette roti aux navets etnjus court. In English, duck breast with a brown sauce with a side of tourne of parsnips, carrots and onions ( I didn't know they did tourne to things other than potatoes! ). Dessert was Napolean or in French, Millefeuille a la vanille. It was definitely not your mama's (or Cook Street's for that matter) Napolean. We let the rectangles of puff pastry rise in the oven. So each layer was quite large. It ended up very light and fluffly, just the right ending to a heavy meal.
Once school was finished, we took the Metro to see Raoul Maeder's bakery. He has won many awards for his baking and supplies many of the Michelin star restaurants in Paris with bread. He works in the basement of his store, the retail portion taking up the first floor. His kitchen is quite small, but he manages to turn out anyway from 1400-2000 baguettes a day! He also makes pastry as well as numerous other breads. We watched him mix a batch of bread that will be baked tomorrow morning. They use fresh yeast, water, salt, and flour for their baguettes. The baguettes were the best I've ever had! We also tasted bagels, seed crusted bread, sourdough bread, chocolate bread with chocolate chips, anise and orange zest sweet bread, orange zest and chocolate sweet bread as well as a couple of different pastries made with pate sable and filled with fruit. Absolutely wonderful! No one does bread and pastry as well as the French.
Alta and I did a little shopping after our field trip. We found a cook book store called the "Librairie Gormande". Alta bought a couple of cookbooks and Tim bought a wine map of France. Tim was from the class before ours and woks for a winery in North Dakota (didn't know they made wine in North Dakota-who'd a thought!) and is going to do a presentation for his co-workers when he gets back. We kind of got lost and the stores close at 7pm, so we ran out of time and did not go into any more stores. Maybe later. I've noticed that almost every French woman wears boots! And they dress nicer than most American! Unfair that they can look so good! Ah, well....say la vie!
I did learn something in Italy that I keep forgetting to write about. Chef Piero told us that instead of using lemons to keep fruits and vegetables from turning brown, you can use carbonated water. The water doesn't alter the taste of the food. I thought that was a nice alternative. Just thought I would pass that on!
After the market, it was off to cooking school. Today Chef Denis (Pronounced Denny) was back. I had not met him before today but he was very nice. He is another assistant to Chef Martial. We made Pumpkin Soup garnished with a mix of Chanterelle and white mushrooms as a first course. Our main course, or Les Plats Principaux, was Filet de Canette roti aux navets etnjus court. In English, duck breast with a brown sauce with a side of tourne of parsnips, carrots and onions ( I didn't know they did tourne to things other than potatoes! ). Dessert was Napolean or in French, Millefeuille a la vanille. It was definitely not your mama's (or Cook Street's for that matter) Napolean. We let the rectangles of puff pastry rise in the oven. So each layer was quite large. It ended up very light and fluffly, just the right ending to a heavy meal.
Once school was finished, we took the Metro to see Raoul Maeder's bakery. He has won many awards for his baking and supplies many of the Michelin star restaurants in Paris with bread. He works in the basement of his store, the retail portion taking up the first floor. His kitchen is quite small, but he manages to turn out anyway from 1400-2000 baguettes a day! He also makes pastry as well as numerous other breads. We watched him mix a batch of bread that will be baked tomorrow morning. They use fresh yeast, water, salt, and flour for their baguettes. The baguettes were the best I've ever had! We also tasted bagels, seed crusted bread, sourdough bread, chocolate bread with chocolate chips, anise and orange zest sweet bread, orange zest and chocolate sweet bread as well as a couple of different pastries made with pate sable and filled with fruit. Absolutely wonderful! No one does bread and pastry as well as the French.
Alta and I did a little shopping after our field trip. We found a cook book store called the "Librairie Gormande". Alta bought a couple of cookbooks and Tim bought a wine map of France. Tim was from the class before ours and woks for a winery in North Dakota (didn't know they made wine in North Dakota-who'd a thought!) and is going to do a presentation for his co-workers when he gets back. We kind of got lost and the stores close at 7pm, so we ran out of time and did not go into any more stores. Maybe later. I've noticed that almost every French woman wears boots! And they dress nicer than most American! Unfair that they can look so good! Ah, well....say la vie!
I did learn something in Italy that I keep forgetting to write about. Chef Piero told us that instead of using lemons to keep fruits and vegetables from turning brown, you can use carbonated water. The water doesn't alter the taste of the food. I thought that was a nice alternative. Just thought I would pass that on!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
I am feeling better and so went to class this morning. Chef Martial is a very charming man, as is his assistant chef, Chef Eric. We all worked at a very large table, with cutting boards set up just like at Cook Street. Today we made Ratatouille, Bouillabaisse and Deconstructed Apple tarts. We spent quite a bit of time chopping celery, fennel, eggplant, onions, leeks and garlic. The Ratatouille was served as a cold appetizer. All the vegetables were sauteed separately then together, chilled and then put inside a rectangular mold to form a type of structure, then a poached egg was placed on top of it as well as a Rouille sauce. Great presentation! The Bouillabaisse was not what were used to, it was not really tomato based. A fumet was made, then the various fish to be put in the dish was cooked (separately) in the stock. There was monkfish, langoustines, very large eel and another kind of mild fish that remains unnamed at this time. We got to filet the fish and clean them. We had little bite to eat before we sat down to eat of sliced baguette topped with the meat terrine from yesterday. Very tasty. The only addition was the apple compote that was made yesterday. The compote really added to the taste of the terrine. Yum! Dessert base was a Pate Sable (a nut crust) baked in little round rings, topped with roasted apple (no sugar or spices added), with the apples being topped with sauce that was somewhat like a nougat, with almonds and pistachios.
The kitchen itself is quite large and I found out that almost everything including cabinets and appliances came from Ikea! Who would have thought you could get such a beautiful kitchen with stock materials? It is all very modern looking and Chef Martial uses induction cooktops and has a double oven as well as a blast freezer. We all sat down to eat at a very long table that seats at least 24 people. Interestingly enough, the chairs are aluminum! Tres bien!
After class was a wine tasting with a female sommelier by the name of Odile Pontillo. She talked all about French wines and food pairing. Alta and I walked home together but got lost on the way (we walked to the school each day, which is about a 15 minute walk) and it took almost an hour to get back to our hotel. The streets in Paris are not all well marked.
The kitchen itself is quite large and I found out that almost everything including cabinets and appliances came from Ikea! Who would have thought you could get such a beautiful kitchen with stock materials? It is all very modern looking and Chef Martial uses induction cooktops and has a double oven as well as a blast freezer. We all sat down to eat at a very long table that seats at least 24 people. Interestingly enough, the chairs are aluminum! Tres bien!
After class was a wine tasting with a female sommelier by the name of Odile Pontillo. She talked all about French wines and food pairing. Alta and I walked home together but got lost on the way (we walked to the school each day, which is about a 15 minute walk) and it took almost an hour to get back to our hotel. The streets in Paris are not all well marked.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Well, I was not able to go to school today as I have either the flu or bronchitis. I guess better now than when I go see my friend Betty! I rested and slept and read and watched BBC World ( its the only channel where everone speaks English, lol) all day while my classmates went off to class. Cris and Jackie tell me they had a great day and got to cook all day. The made a meat terrine, stuffed tomatoes and salmon with a curry sauce. Sounds yummy! Jackie brought me ham and cheese on a baguette for dinner and I stopped off in Cris' room just to say hello. We'll see how I feel in the morning. The news is filled with talk of the strike and at least half of all flights coming and leaving from Paris have been cancelled. The Parliament votes on the retirement bill Thursday so hopefully things will settle down after that. Say a pray that we can all get home when we are scheduled to leave. More tomorrow!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Still very cold here in the southern portion of the Champagne district. We were up early and off to Maisons-Les-Chaource for a visit to a goat farm. This is a single mom whose kids are now grown, who decided to raise goats to sell milk and make cheese. Before starting her own farm, she worked with another female cheese maker for a year to learn the trade. She then started her own goat farm. When her children were younger, she had more goats but says by herself she can only handle 22 goats. She has two males while the remaining 20 are female. When she has a "kid", she usually sells them to keep her group size stable. She raises three breeds of goat and milks them twice a day. She makes fresh cheese or fromage blanc as well as several types of aged goat cheese. The older the cheese, the harder or firmer the texture. Whole goat milk is used, then natural rennet is used to cuddle the milk. If she cools it, the curds form quite quickly. If she "cooked" us, which means she maintains the milk at the goat's body temperature for up to 36 hours, it curdles more slowly. She has different molds she uses as each shape given the cheese a different flavor. After we saw the goats and watched her make cheese, she gave us samples of each of her cheeses. All her cheeses were better than any other goat cheese I've ever had! She did let us buy from her, as she had missed her market day to give us a tour. However, we can't bring it back to the States because of import rules (oh my, that means we'll have to eat it this week-too bad!).
After the goat farm, we were off to Les Riceys for lunch at Le Magny. As this is champagne country, we had champagne with our lunch of an amuse Busche (avocado mousse), salad greens with fried goat cheese rounds, and roast duck breast with multiple vegetables. Dessert was raspberry ice cream (or semi-freddo, we couldn't decide which) with a mix of fresh fruit.
On the road again, www were off to Urville to visit Domaine Drappier, one of the finest but less known champagne house. The house was started right after WWII in a 12th century monastery (the monastery still exists but is 15 miles away). All their vintage champagnes are stored down in the rock cellar. Drappier produces 1.5 million bottles of champagne a year, using Pinot noir, Chardonnay and pinot menuire grapes they grow themselves. They were very kind! We tasted four different champagnes at the end of tour after which several people bought champagne.
Back to the bus and on to Paris. So far, the only issues we have seen in regards to the strike, has been regarding fuel as in potential shortage. Apparently neither the government nor the people seem willing to back down. In case you have not heard, the French are protesting the government's raising the national retirement age. Tomorrow we start our cooking classes. We are excited! I did manage to catch a cold though, so I am going to bed early!
After the goat farm, we were off to Les Riceys for lunch at Le Magny. As this is champagne country, we had champagne with our lunch of an amuse Busche (avocado mousse), salad greens with fried goat cheese rounds, and roast duck breast with multiple vegetables. Dessert was raspberry ice cream (or semi-freddo, we couldn't decide which) with a mix of fresh fruit.
On the road again, www were off to Urville to visit Domaine Drappier, one of the finest but less known champagne house. The house was started right after WWII in a 12th century monastery (the monastery still exists but is 15 miles away). All their vintage champagnes are stored down in the rock cellar. Drappier produces 1.5 million bottles of champagne a year, using Pinot noir, Chardonnay and pinot menuire grapes they grow themselves. They were very kind! We tasted four different champagnes at the end of tour after which several people bought champagne.
Back to the bus and on to Paris. So far, the only issues we have seen in regards to the strike, has been regarding fuel as in potential shortage. Apparently neither the government nor the people seem willing to back down. In case you have not heard, the French are protesting the government's raising the national retirement age. Tomorrow we start our cooking classes. We are excited! I did manage to catch a cold though, so I am going to bed early!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
It was cold and rainy as we left Torino to drive to Milan. We were all expecting to pay for weight overage on our suitcases but they did not charge us any extra. My suitcase alone was 27 kilos-they wanted 20 kilos or less! Surprising for someone who usually packs light, lol! Our plane was slightly late taking off as they had to take on extra fuel because they would not be allowed to refuel at Orly Airport in Paris because of the strikes in France. We had yet to see if will affect our time in Paris. When we arrived ar Orly, it was quite cold and there was also a wind chill factor. Brrrrr....
We met Marie Ann then got on a bus and started off for the Champagne region. It was a three hour drive but the bus was comfortable and warm so most of dozed off. We did stop once for a snack and bathroom break. Bathrooms in Europe are always an adventure! The women's bathroom was just a porcelain hole in the floor with places to put your feet. The most interesting thing though was that the holes in the floor flushed!! Like I said, always an adventure!
Our hotel is literally in the middle if nowhere but the beds are comfy and the pillows soft (our hotel in Torino had hard beds with hard pillows). We share two people to a room tonight then are back to our own rooms in Paris tomorrow. Dinner was at our hotel. They served a first course of offals, sauteed mushrooms, fried Brie-type cheese and bread. The main course was roasted pork with potatoes au gratin, cooked apples, spinach and a potato quenelle. Dessert was an apple tart with caramel and vanilla ice cream. Today is Jackie's birthday so Cris ordered some champagne with dessert. Champagne is Jackie's favorite!
Then it was time to turn in, we have another long day tomorrow!
We met Marie Ann then got on a bus and started off for the Champagne region. It was a three hour drive but the bus was comfortable and warm so most of dozed off. We did stop once for a snack and bathroom break. Bathrooms in Europe are always an adventure! The women's bathroom was just a porcelain hole in the floor with places to put your feet. The most interesting thing though was that the holes in the floor flushed!! Like I said, always an adventure!
Our hotel is literally in the middle if nowhere but the beds are comfy and the pillows soft (our hotel in Torino had hard beds with hard pillows). We share two people to a room tonight then are back to our own rooms in Paris tomorrow. Dinner was at our hotel. They served a first course of offals, sauteed mushrooms, fried Brie-type cheese and bread. The main course was roasted pork with potatoes au gratin, cooked apples, spinach and a potato quenelle. Dessert was an apple tart with caramel and vanilla ice cream. Today is Jackie's birthday so Cris ordered some champagne with dessert. Champagne is Jackie's favorite!
Then it was time to turn in, we have another long day tomorrow!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Our last say in Italy! Hard to believe our trip is half over! We were picked up and taken to the school at 8am today. We had a lot of courses to prepare. Our chef today was Chef Ricardo, who is the director of the IFSE school program. We were broken down into groups and each group was given a specific course to prepare. A little like what we did at Cook Street. I was in charge of bread. I waited while he told the other groups what do do. Rosanna, of course, had to interpret for us. The chef sent me downstairs with Valentina who was very nervous about being with me as she speaks only a little English. I told her, is ok, parlo Italiano un picolo. That made her laugh. She helped me make the bread dough using a biga or sourdough starter. The dough they mix is stiffer than what we did at Cook Street but the bread turned out well. I made plain rolls, rolls with walnuts (noci) and grissini or breadsticks. I did a lot of kneading by hand!
At 1pm, we sat down to a lunch of Parmesan custard with spinach cream, pumpkin gnocchi, Braised beef cheeks with a brown sauce served with steamed potatoes and zucchini, and a dessert of chocolate Pots d'Creme. It's interesting, they seal many of there vegetables in a vacuum seal bag and cook them in the vacuum bag. They are seasoned and buttered or oiled then steamed. Apparently there is more flavor and less fat used in cooking this way. I have seen this method in magazines but not in real life. They did turn out well.
After lunch, we had a little ceremony in which we were given a certificate on lovely paper and also an IFSE apron. They have been very nice to us. We got back to the hotel about 3:45pm. A group of us are going out to dinner downtown tonight, apparently a nice restaurant vs a little trattoria. I am going to take a nap first as I woke up this morning with a sore throat. Don't want to run myself down! Buona Serra everyone!!
At 1pm, we sat down to a lunch of Parmesan custard with spinach cream, pumpkin gnocchi, Braised beef cheeks with a brown sauce served with steamed potatoes and zucchini, and a dessert of chocolate Pots d'Creme. It's interesting, they seal many of there vegetables in a vacuum seal bag and cook them in the vacuum bag. They are seasoned and buttered or oiled then steamed. Apparently there is more flavor and less fat used in cooking this way. I have seen this method in magazines but not in real life. They did turn out well.
After lunch, we had a little ceremony in which we were given a certificate on lovely paper and also an IFSE apron. They have been very nice to us. We got back to the hotel about 3:45pm. A group of us are going out to dinner downtown tonight, apparently a nice restaurant vs a little trattoria. I am going to take a nap first as I woke up this morning with a sore throat. Don't want to run myself down! Buona Serra everyone!!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
9am and we are in the kitchen with Chef Pierro. We have two dishes we are going to cook this morning, "Stuffed paccheri (a tubular pasta) au gratin with Parmigiano Reggiano Sauce and Open Raviolo with spinach, sauted mushrooms and fried egg yolk. He was good enough to go over the composition and plating of the dish with us before we started, which helped us to visualize the dish better before we started (visual leathers all if us). The dishes were not complicated but took quite a bit of work. The fresh Porcini mushrooms here are so flavorful! Too bad you can't get the in the States. We did better today than Tuesday. I still am nit a fan of induction cook tops, however!
After class, and we finished late, we had lunch. The angoloti pasta from the pasta factory ( I must admit, not as good as we had hoped) and veal tenderloin in a sauce with carrots and grilled polenta. Can't believe we finally got some vegetables!
After lunch we got on the bus and were driven to Asti, the home of Asti Spumane and Moscato d'Asti. We were taken to a medium sized winery called Romano Dogliotti. Their specialty is Moscato, although produce some Barolo and Dolcetti as well as grappa. We toured their facility while their dog, Busche, tagged along. He seemed to take a liking to me but I think he knew I would scratch his head, lol. It was interesting to see how they stored their bottles, in cages, on their sides and stacked. This is before the bottles have labels on them. They finished picking their harvest by hand September 30. They were done processing the wine by the time our tour took place, although the wine will continue to age. We got to taste their Moscato d'Asti and their Asti Spumante-Janell would have enjoyed that part!
Once we were finished we were driven to Alba, where the truffle fair has just begun. The fair officially starts tomorrow but apparently there are so many people who attend, you can barely walk. We had to be content with walking thru the piazzas, window shopping (or in a few cases, buying). I bought a pair of short boots. After an hour and a half, it was time to leave.
Driving thru the Italian countryside is spectacular. There are rolling, green hills filled with grape vines. You can see castles on many hillsides off in the distance. The contrast of old and new is especially striking. Makes you wish you lived in a place that seems so inviting! We had a long drive back and we had to stop by school to drop off Rosanna. It was a long full day.
Tomorrow will be our last day at IFSE. Hard to believe it's almost over! Time for bed!
After class, and we finished late, we had lunch. The angoloti pasta from the pasta factory ( I must admit, not as good as we had hoped) and veal tenderloin in a sauce with carrots and grilled polenta. Can't believe we finally got some vegetables!
After lunch we got on the bus and were driven to Asti, the home of Asti Spumane and Moscato d'Asti. We were taken to a medium sized winery called Romano Dogliotti. Their specialty is Moscato, although produce some Barolo and Dolcetti as well as grappa. We toured their facility while their dog, Busche, tagged along. He seemed to take a liking to me but I think he knew I would scratch his head, lol. It was interesting to see how they stored their bottles, in cages, on their sides and stacked. This is before the bottles have labels on them. They finished picking their harvest by hand September 30. They were done processing the wine by the time our tour took place, although the wine will continue to age. We got to taste their Moscato d'Asti and their Asti Spumante-Janell would have enjoyed that part!
Once we were finished we were driven to Alba, where the truffle fair has just begun. The fair officially starts tomorrow but apparently there are so many people who attend, you can barely walk. We had to be content with walking thru the piazzas, window shopping (or in a few cases, buying). I bought a pair of short boots. After an hour and a half, it was time to leave.
Driving thru the Italian countryside is spectacular. There are rolling, green hills filled with grape vines. You can see castles on many hillsides off in the distance. The contrast of old and new is especially striking. Makes you wish you lived in a place that seems so inviting! We had a long drive back and we had to stop by school to drop off Rosanna. It was a long full day.
Tomorrow will be our last day at IFSE. Hard to believe it's almost over! Time for bed!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Today our morning class was a wine tasting. Our instructor was a local sommelier who is certified by the International Sommelier Association. He taught in Italian (although quite a few of the speak some English, I suppose as good as my Italian, lol) but Rosanna translated for us. Much of it was the same as our classes in the States, although he spoke only of wines from the Piedmont region-the Barolos, the Barbarescos, the Moscatos and a few of the other whites from this region. We tasted two Barolos and one Barbaresco, then rated them. He gave us the form they use in Italy which is much the same as the scale used by Wine Spectator (so now I understand how they come up with their wine scores-92, 89, etc). Interesting as it was all in Italian, lol! He then asked what foods we would pair with each of the wines we sampled but told us we could not say "meat"!
After the wine tasting, we got on a bus to travel to Trofarello to have lunch at "la Valle". What a charming restaurant. We were expecting the usual three course meal but they kept coming out with dish after dish until we had had seven courses and all of us were busting at the seams!!! We had Tuna Tartare, Angolini Pasta filled with cheese, Salt Cod served over Pureed Potatoes, Risotto with Chanterelle mushrooms, Steak Filet breaded with breadsticks served with Hollandaise, and Berry sorbet with fresh fruit and creme anglaise. Even with all this food, we had to admit that we had not been given much fruit or vegetables during our stay in Italy. After lunch ( and two types of wine-a Chardonnay and a Barolo), we waddled out to the bus to tour a small pasta factory (although the Barilla factory is not far from here). Many of the businesses we have seen here are family owned businesses and are very commited to use local products. They are very proud of their food and traditions. The factory, the Academia Della Pasta, makes fresh pasta but about 90% of their business is frozen pasta. They make pasta for local restaurants, supermarkets, and private businesses. The pasta you get here in Italy may or may not be made by the local restaurant you are eating at! The owner who gave us the tour works with his grandfather and his mother and father. His family has been making pasta for five generations! We were suppose to wat at the end of the tour but Rosanna told them we had just finished a large meal, so instead, they sent 10 kilos of pasta back to the school for us to eat tomorrow for lunch!
After we gotback to our hotel, a few of us decided to take the tram to the Centrale section of Torino to see if we oils find the quaint side of Torino. Much of Torino is industrial but we did manage to find some lovely piazzas and some street vendors and finally got our gelato! Then back to the hotel and bed. Buona Noce!
After the wine tasting, we got on a bus to travel to Trofarello to have lunch at "la Valle". What a charming restaurant. We were expecting the usual three course meal but they kept coming out with dish after dish until we had had seven courses and all of us were busting at the seams!!! We had Tuna Tartare, Angolini Pasta filled with cheese, Salt Cod served over Pureed Potatoes, Risotto with Chanterelle mushrooms, Steak Filet breaded with breadsticks served with Hollandaise, and Berry sorbet with fresh fruit and creme anglaise. Even with all this food, we had to admit that we had not been given much fruit or vegetables during our stay in Italy. After lunch ( and two types of wine-a Chardonnay and a Barolo), we waddled out to the bus to tour a small pasta factory (although the Barilla factory is not far from here). Many of the businesses we have seen here are family owned businesses and are very commited to use local products. They are very proud of their food and traditions. The factory, the Academia Della Pasta, makes fresh pasta but about 90% of their business is frozen pasta. They make pasta for local restaurants, supermarkets, and private businesses. The pasta you get here in Italy may or may not be made by the local restaurant you are eating at! The owner who gave us the tour works with his grandfather and his mother and father. His family has been making pasta for five generations! We were suppose to wat at the end of the tour but Rosanna told them we had just finished a large meal, so instead, they sent 10 kilos of pasta back to the school for us to eat tomorrow for lunch!
After we gotback to our hotel, a few of us decided to take the tram to the Centrale section of Torino to see if we oils find the quaint side of Torino. Much of Torino is industrial but we did manage to find some lovely piazzas and some street vendors and finally got our gelato! Then back to the hotel and bed. Buona Noce!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
We were up at 5am today in order to catch the bus for our two field trips. We drove to Parma, which is about 2-2 1/2 hours from here. Rosanna came with us. Aside from the large trucks, I think everyone who drives on the Autostrada thinks they drive a Porsche! One of the students asked if the red signs with numbers in the middle were speed limit signs and was told that these were more like suggestions! This would appear to be true, watching how people drive, lol (our own Kim had our minivan up over 90 miles an hour!).
Our first stop was the cheese factory where they make Parmigiano-Reggiano. The factory is owned by three farmers, who are a part of a larger consortium called the Consrzio del Formaggii Parmigiano-Reggiano. Their motto is "Never manufactured, always handmade". In the land between the Po River and the Apennine Mtn, Parmigiano-Reggiano was born if ancient roots. During the Middle Ages, Benedictine monks began aging large blocks of cheese. Steeped in ancient history and tradition, this cheese owes it's value to the cooperation between the producer of the milk, the cheese maker who transforms it and the ager who refines it. Some 270,000 cows produce the milk that goes into making Parmigiano-Reggiano. They are milked twice a day and their milk is taken to the cheese house within two hours of each milking. The milk is produced by cows fed according to strict regulations that require the use of grasses grown only in the place of origin and natural vegetable feed. In the feed given to the dairy cows the following are forbidden: any kind of silage or tormented food and food of animal origin or any by-product of the food industry. Milk from the evening milking is held in holding basins. The separation of the cream takes place naturally overnight. The morning milk is delivered the morning if the milking. It takes about 600 liters (158.5 gallons) of milk to make one wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano. The milk from the evening milking, partly skimmed thru natural separation of the cream, is poured into the Copper cauldrons where it is mixed with whole milk from the morning milking. After warming the milk in the copper cauldron, natural whey starter is added. It is a culture of natural lactic ferments obtained from the cheese-making process of the day before. Next, rennet, a natural enzyme from the stomach of suckling calves, is added. It causes the milk to cuddle. The cuddled milk is broken down into small granules with a huge balloon whisk called a "spino". The next step is cooking. The heat is skillfully controlled by the master cheese maker to expel water from the granules. Once the heat is shut off, the granules sink to the bottom of the cauldron, forming a compact mass. The cheese mass is then lifted from the bottom of the cauldron and divided into two parts. Each part is placed in a special mold called a "cascara", where it rests for 2-3 days. The cheese is then marked with the marks of origin- which stamp the words Parmigiano-Reggiano in a repeating pin dot pattern along with the identifying number of the cheese and the month and year of production and a casein disc is applied to the top
surface which contains a unique alphanumeric code used to identify each cheese wheel individually. The cheese is then immersed in brine (a solution of water and natural salt) for about 20 days to allow the absorption of the salt needed to flavor the cheese and permit it's long aging. At the end of the salting process, the cheese wheel is ready to be aged. The aging process continues for 24 mo the or more, during which time the cheese develops it's fragrance, texture and digestibility. At the end of the minimum aging (12 months) each and every wheel is inspected. An expert evaluates the appearance, structure and characteristics if the cheese. The certification mark is applied only to the wheels that pass inspection. This mark is then branded into the surface rind. Two by-products if this process are ricotta cheese (which is not actually a cheese) and whey- which is fed to the pigs in this district that are used to make Proscuitto de Parma and culatello.
Our next stop was Antica Corte Pallavicina, to see how culatello is made. This is an old castle situated on the banks of the Po River. It was built in the 1400s by the Pallvicino marquesses and converted into a farm in the 1700s. It is here that the culatello is made from white and black pigs. Culatello is a delicately flavored ham and us Italuan for "little rump". Culatello is considered a delicacy among cured meats and is taken from the upper part of the pig's hind leg. The salting mixture contains only salt, whole and cracked peppercorns, a bit of garlic and dry white wine. The fresh ham must be tightly tied with string to ensure that no air bubbles get trapped inside. As the curing process takes place, the string becomes looser. The cured meat is then aged anywhere from 15 to 36 months. It is so good that many people reserve their meat ahead of time. People such as Armani and Prince Charles!
Once we finished our second tour, we were taken to the Spigaroli family restaurant and given a lunch if cured meats and sausages as well as cheese ravioli in a butter sauce and pasta gnocchi in a tomato meat sauce. Dessert was hazelnut semi-feed and a strawberry torta. Molti benne!
After this, the long ride back to our Hotel on the bus. I think we will all sleep well tonight!
Our first stop was the cheese factory where they make Parmigiano-Reggiano. The factory is owned by three farmers, who are a part of a larger consortium called the Consrzio del Formaggii Parmigiano-Reggiano. Their motto is "Never manufactured, always handmade". In the land between the Po River and the Apennine Mtn, Parmigiano-Reggiano was born if ancient roots. During the Middle Ages, Benedictine monks began aging large blocks of cheese. Steeped in ancient history and tradition, this cheese owes it's value to the cooperation between the producer of the milk, the cheese maker who transforms it and the ager who refines it. Some 270,000 cows produce the milk that goes into making Parmigiano-Reggiano. They are milked twice a day and their milk is taken to the cheese house within two hours of each milking. The milk is produced by cows fed according to strict regulations that require the use of grasses grown only in the place of origin and natural vegetable feed. In the feed given to the dairy cows the following are forbidden: any kind of silage or tormented food and food of animal origin or any by-product of the food industry. Milk from the evening milking is held in holding basins. The separation of the cream takes place naturally overnight. The morning milk is delivered the morning if the milking. It takes about 600 liters (158.5 gallons) of milk to make one wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano. The milk from the evening milking, partly skimmed thru natural separation of the cream, is poured into the Copper cauldrons where it is mixed with whole milk from the morning milking. After warming the milk in the copper cauldron, natural whey starter is added. It is a culture of natural lactic ferments obtained from the cheese-making process of the day before. Next, rennet, a natural enzyme from the stomach of suckling calves, is added. It causes the milk to cuddle. The cuddled milk is broken down into small granules with a huge balloon whisk called a "spino". The next step is cooking. The heat is skillfully controlled by the master cheese maker to expel water from the granules. Once the heat is shut off, the granules sink to the bottom of the cauldron, forming a compact mass. The cheese mass is then lifted from the bottom of the cauldron and divided into two parts. Each part is placed in a special mold called a "cascara", where it rests for 2-3 days. The cheese is then marked with the marks of origin- which stamp the words Parmigiano-Reggiano in a repeating pin dot pattern along with the identifying number of the cheese and the month and year of production and a casein disc is applied to the top
surface which contains a unique alphanumeric code used to identify each cheese wheel individually. The cheese is then immersed in brine (a solution of water and natural salt) for about 20 days to allow the absorption of the salt needed to flavor the cheese and permit it's long aging. At the end of the salting process, the cheese wheel is ready to be aged. The aging process continues for 24 mo the or more, during which time the cheese develops it's fragrance, texture and digestibility. At the end of the minimum aging (12 months) each and every wheel is inspected. An expert evaluates the appearance, structure and characteristics if the cheese. The certification mark is applied only to the wheels that pass inspection. This mark is then branded into the surface rind. Two by-products if this process are ricotta cheese (which is not actually a cheese) and whey- which is fed to the pigs in this district that are used to make Proscuitto de Parma and culatello.
Our next stop was Antica Corte Pallavicina, to see how culatello is made. This is an old castle situated on the banks of the Po River. It was built in the 1400s by the Pallvicino marquesses and converted into a farm in the 1700s. It is here that the culatello is made from white and black pigs. Culatello is a delicately flavored ham and us Italuan for "little rump". Culatello is considered a delicacy among cured meats and is taken from the upper part of the pig's hind leg. The salting mixture contains only salt, whole and cracked peppercorns, a bit of garlic and dry white wine. The fresh ham must be tightly tied with string to ensure that no air bubbles get trapped inside. As the curing process takes place, the string becomes looser. The cured meat is then aged anywhere from 15 to 36 months. It is so good that many people reserve their meat ahead of time. People such as Armani and Prince Charles!
Once we finished our second tour, we were taken to the Spigaroli family restaurant and given a lunch if cured meats and sausages as well as cheese ravioli in a butter sauce and pasta gnocchi in a tomato meat sauce. Dessert was hazelnut semi-feed and a strawberry torta. Molti benne!
After this, the long ride back to our Hotel on the bus. I think we will all sleep well tonight!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
We got up a little later today, as the bus did not come to pick us up until 8:30am. School started promptly at 9am so we were dressed up in our chef's finest this morning. Chef Piero (not Pietro-I was confused-what a surprise!) shied us two dishes this morning-"Ricotta Flan with Stewed Pancetta and Gorgonzola cream" and "Veal tenderloin with Porcini mushrooms". The fresh Porcini mushrooms are spectacular here! We only see them dried in America. Apparently they do not grow in the States, not sure why-although they grow wild here and are huge. It was a little confusing about what we were suppose to do, the chef did a little, then we did a little but we all managed to get out of sync! And let me tell you, induction cook tops take a LOT of getting used to!! Some of the ovens kept turning off all by themselves! All that said, these are probably dishes I would make again at home. What I wish they would teach us though, is plating techniques. Chef Piero's plates were magnificent although he has many years of practice. And even though we ate what we cooked for ourselves, they still fed us lunch! Although Cris had issues with their portion size or rather lack of "appropriate" portion size. We were served Veal Tartar ( raw minced veal with flavorings) topped with blanched baby artichokes, Creamed lentils topped with whole lentils topped with fried fish pieces and Panna Cotta (correctly cooked we were told).
We had about a half hour free so went to look around Torinese-the town the school is in. A quaint little town, although most of the businesses were closed for the lunch hours. Yes, I said hours, lol. They can be closed from 12 to 3 or 4pm for lunch!
At 2:15 we left on our field trip to the chocolate laboratory. It really is a small chocolate factory called Guido Castagna Ciocolata. It was about a half an hour's drive from school. Guido is a 36 year old man that has been an electrician and a pastry chef but has decided he enjoys making good quality chocolates! He showed us the bug pods the beans come in and when they are ripe, you can hear the cocoa beans move like a rattle inside the pod. The beans are removed and then shipped raw to each purveyor, who then roast their own beans. Roasting cocoa beans for a short times gives you a high acidity, low bitterness bean. Roasting the cocoa beans fir a long time gives you low acidity but makes them bitter. He let us open a roasted bean so we could taste them. They insides had a very mild, light chocolate flavor, somewhat surprising! Guido buys most of his beans from Mexico but gets them from any country that produces choice beans. He does however make sure the company he buys from does fair trade and is sustainable, which is nice. He would talk about several chocolate flavorings and then bring out samples, which of course we "must try"! He makes gianduia which is a chocolate hazelnut flavoring because
Piedmont is famous for their hazelnuts. They are harvested in September and used right away, although Guido does age his chocolate anywhere from two months to one year. Apparently it improves the flavor of the chocolate! We did have a chance to taste more chocolates and also to buy chocolates, which everyone did! It was a very pleasant afternoon!
Back at the hotel, I elected to have a quiet evening. Many if my classmates went downtown but Cris, Alta and I had a light dinner at the restaurant next door. It's early to bed for me tonight, we have two field trips tomorrow, no cooking, and we leave the hotel at 6am!! So....Buona Serra!
We had about a half hour free so went to look around Torinese-the town the school is in. A quaint little town, although most of the businesses were closed for the lunch hours. Yes, I said hours, lol. They can be closed from 12 to 3 or 4pm for lunch!
At 2:15 we left on our field trip to the chocolate laboratory. It really is a small chocolate factory called Guido Castagna Ciocolata. It was about a half an hour's drive from school. Guido is a 36 year old man that has been an electrician and a pastry chef but has decided he enjoys making good quality chocolates! He showed us the bug pods the beans come in and when they are ripe, you can hear the cocoa beans move like a rattle inside the pod. The beans are removed and then shipped raw to each purveyor, who then roast their own beans. Roasting cocoa beans for a short times gives you a high acidity, low bitterness bean. Roasting the cocoa beans fir a long time gives you low acidity but makes them bitter. He let us open a roasted bean so we could taste them. They insides had a very mild, light chocolate flavor, somewhat surprising! Guido buys most of his beans from Mexico but gets them from any country that produces choice beans. He does however make sure the company he buys from does fair trade and is sustainable, which is nice. He would talk about several chocolate flavorings and then bring out samples, which of course we "must try"! He makes gianduia which is a chocolate hazelnut flavoring because
Piedmont is famous for their hazelnuts. They are harvested in September and used right away, although Guido does age his chocolate anywhere from two months to one year. Apparently it improves the flavor of the chocolate! We did have a chance to taste more chocolates and also to buy chocolates, which everyone did! It was a very pleasant afternoon!
Back at the hotel, I elected to have a quiet evening. Many if my classmates went downtown but Cris, Alta and I had a light dinner at the restaurant next door. It's early to bed for me tonight, we have two field trips tomorrow, no cooking, and we leave the hotel at 6am!! So....Buona Serra!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Monday, October11, 2010
Up at 6:30am to get ready, eat our complimentary breakfast (they do make lovely cappacinos here!) then get on the bus by 8am. We had about a 20 minute ride then pulled up to what had been at one time a palace of sorts. The school, which is called the Italian Food Style Education Culinary Institute is just outside Torino. If you want to check it out, their website is www.ifse-world.com. The hotel is www.hotelguala.com. We were greeted by Rosanna Canobbio , who was our guide on the tour and is also our interpreter. All of our lessons are in Italian. I can understand some of what Chef Pietro is saying but nit all of it. Our first lesson started at 9am with Finger Foods. This was strictly a lecture and Demo. The chef showed us how to make "Orange-scented minced meat (raw veal) with a Parmigiano bisquit", "Shrimp lollipops with toasted sesame seeds", "Mini sweet burgers (turkey burgers) with old-style mustard", and "Light (in flavor not light fat) bang cakes with bell-pepper cream". Everything was delicious and not too difficult to make. Made me want to have a cocktail party! Chef Peitro's presentation was spectacular! I will come home with a few new tricks!
We had a break where they showed us how to make ourselves coffee, which is in fact espresso-no coffee, no crema (Mike's dad would be so proud of me drinking a real espresso!). It takes some getting used to but they are quite good. They do offer hot tea but it is very sweet. We were able to walk some of the grounds although the weather has turned quite cool. Somewhat if a shock after the too warm Rome!
Lunch was at 1pm. We were served a potato "thing" (they never did quite tell us what it was!) that looked like it had been baked in a muffin tin then turned out onto the plate. In the center was a "surprise" of chopped ham, with a sauce of pureed red pepper and/or tomatoes (not particularly good when culinarians can't tell what they are eating, lol!). The main course was an asparugus risotto served with a Chardonnay from the Piedmont region. For dessert we had Nougat Mousse (I know how to make that!).
After lunch and more espresso, we had a lecture on the different flours in Italy "0" and "00". Italy rates their flour on it's gluten level and on it's moisture content. Quite interesting! Then we made pizza dough, focaccia with Rosemary and "Farinata". The Farinata is made from chickpea flour, water, EVOO and sea salt (they do not use Kosher salt in Italy only sea salt). The dough is very watery and gets poured into round pizza pans and baked. After it bakes, the Farinata is sprinkled with black pepper, sliced like a pizza and served warm. It is surprisingly good and makes a nice first course or appetizer. We learned the Chef Peitro method tomaking pizza, nothing fancy. We each made our own Margherita pizza (tomato sauce, basil and mozzarella in an oven outfitted with a baking stone. The have very modern appliances here, using induction cooktops (imagine Kelly Rippa in the Electrlux commercials bragging about boiling water in 90 seconds-all true!) and Combi ovens. Amazing! They have a BIG machine that mixes and kneads dough, mimicking the actions of human hands. There is also a machine that just makes laminated doughs! The focaccia recipe was also good, but instead of just putting I've oil on top of the dough right before it is baked, they use water mixed with extra virgin olive oil for a moister and more flavorful dough, then sprinkle it with salt. They do not put the Rosemary on the bread until it is removed from the oven so it does not burn. The heat of the focaccia warms the fresh herb, adding flavor. We did not leave the IFSE until almost 6:30pm! A very long day! We were all too full of pizza and too tired to go out to dinner so we settled for having a glass of wine. It's nice to relax after a long day.
Tomorrow morning we will be in the kitchen, have lunch, then will be touring a "chocolate laboratory". Will fill you in tomorrow night with all the events of the day! (although it being nighttime here and morning in Nevada is still an odd concept! We are nine hours ahead of Reno here in Italy). Buona Serra everyone!
We had a break where they showed us how to make ourselves coffee, which is in fact espresso-no coffee, no crema (Mike's dad would be so proud of me drinking a real espresso!). It takes some getting used to but they are quite good. They do offer hot tea but it is very sweet. We were able to walk some of the grounds although the weather has turned quite cool. Somewhat if a shock after the too warm Rome!
Lunch was at 1pm. We were served a potato "thing" (they never did quite tell us what it was!) that looked like it had been baked in a muffin tin then turned out onto the plate. In the center was a "surprise" of chopped ham, with a sauce of pureed red pepper and/or tomatoes (not particularly good when culinarians can't tell what they are eating, lol!). The main course was an asparugus risotto served with a Chardonnay from the Piedmont region. For dessert we had Nougat Mousse (I know how to make that!).
After lunch and more espresso, we had a lecture on the different flours in Italy "0" and "00". Italy rates their flour on it's gluten level and on it's moisture content. Quite interesting! Then we made pizza dough, focaccia with Rosemary and "Farinata". The Farinata is made from chickpea flour, water, EVOO and sea salt (they do not use Kosher salt in Italy only sea salt). The dough is very watery and gets poured into round pizza pans and baked. After it bakes, the Farinata is sprinkled with black pepper, sliced like a pizza and served warm. It is surprisingly good and makes a nice first course or appetizer. We learned the Chef Peitro method tomaking pizza, nothing fancy. We each made our own Margherita pizza (tomato sauce, basil and mozzarella in an oven outfitted with a baking stone. The have very modern appliances here, using induction cooktops (imagine Kelly Rippa in the Electrlux commercials bragging about boiling water in 90 seconds-all true!) and Combi ovens. Amazing! They have a BIG machine that mixes and kneads dough, mimicking the actions of human hands. There is also a machine that just makes laminated doughs! The focaccia recipe was also good, but instead of just putting I've oil on top of the dough right before it is baked, they use water mixed with extra virgin olive oil for a moister and more flavorful dough, then sprinkle it with salt. They do not put the Rosemary on the bread until it is removed from the oven so it does not burn. The heat of the focaccia warms the fresh herb, adding flavor. We did not leave the IFSE until almost 6:30pm! A very long day! We were all too full of pizza and too tired to go out to dinner so we settled for having a glass of wine. It's nice to relax after a long day.
Tomorrow morning we will be in the kitchen, have lunch, then will be touring a "chocolate laboratory". Will fill you in tomorrow night with all the events of the day! (although it being nighttime here and morning in Nevada is still an odd concept! We are nine hours ahead of Reno here in Italy). Buona Serra everyone!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
We were up by 7am, ate breakfast and then off we went, once again on the Autostrasse, racing toward Torino. What I did not tell you the other day, was that when Kim and Cris picked up the minivan, they thought they could make a tight turn but ended up scraping the passenger side of the van! Oh, my! It did not look that bad, a long scratch really, but it just goes to show you how tight some of the streets here really are. Today we drove down yet another narrow street when we came upon an Italian guy leaning against his parked car. He took one look at Kim driving down this little street and hopped into his car and moved it! We laughed over that one! We drove as far as Modena, then decided to rake a look around. Little did we know there was a race thru town, so they had most of it blocked off. We drove all over trying to find our way back to the Autostrasse and although we did see a lot of pretty scenery it took us about 45 minutes to get out of town! We never did find the town square, lol. Our next stop was gas. They have these rest stops called the "Auto Grill" where you can buy gas and food and often times groceries-really fancy groceries (prosciutto, salami, cheeses, chocolates, dried pasta, etc). The bathrooms here are always an adventure-you may or may not have a toilet seat. The only rolls of toilet paper we saw were in Rome, otherwise they use paper that looks like cheap napkins. Finding the handle or button to then flush the toilet takes some detective work, cause none of their toilets have tanks attached to the toilets. And, sometimes you have to pay to use the bathrooms, especially public bathrooms!
Our next stop was Parma, where the make Proscuitto and Parmesan cheese. We finally found a parking place then walked until we found a restaurant. Many businesses are close on Sunday. We had a lovely meal outside sitting in the sun. But you sure can feel the change in weather from southern to northern Italy. Then we were off again, this time driving straight thru to Torino and our hotel. The rest of our group was already here and we met at 8pm for dinner. There is a restaurant and pizzeria next door to the hotel. The hotel, Hotel Guala Residence, is a residential hotel, so many of the rooms have kitchens in them. It sure is quiet when you have a room all to yourself!
Time for bed-tomorrow will be a busy day!
Our next stop was Parma, where the make Proscuitto and Parmesan cheese. We finally found a parking place then walked until we found a restaurant. Many businesses are close on Sunday. We had a lovely meal outside sitting in the sun. But you sure can feel the change in weather from southern to northern Italy. Then we were off again, this time driving straight thru to Torino and our hotel. The rest of our group was already here and we met at 8pm for dinner. There is a restaurant and pizzeria next door to the hotel. The hotel, Hotel Guala Residence, is a residential hotel, so many of the rooms have kitchens in them. It sure is quiet when you have a room all to yourself!
Time for bed-tomorrow will be a busy day!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010
We got an early start to as there were many things we wanted to do today. So after an ok breakfast (not as good as the breakfast in Rome, but you can't complain too much about a complimentary breakfast), we walked over to the Galleria dell'Accademia to see Michaelangelo's statue of David. It really is amazing! There are also quite a few other statues, paintings and the Di Medici collection of Strativarious violins. We then walked to the Duomo (the famous church in Florence you can see from almos anywhere in the city). After looking around at the carved doors and marble statuary, we walked to the marketplace near the Ponte Vecchio. Florence is famous for leather goods, handmade paper and gold jewelry. It was fun looking around at all the vendors. We each bought a few things and a few gifts, then went to the Uffizzi Galleria (by appt only so we quickly made reservations in the morning for the afternoon . The Uffizzi houses many art pieces (paintings and statues) that were collected centuries ago by the Di Medici family. There are a great number of Botticelli paintings hanging there. After we got "cultured", we walked to the Ponte Vecchio (which means old bridge) to look at jewelry. While everything was beautiful, nothing said "buy me April"! After that, it was off to dinner at Cafe Concerto, which was in the Piazza Michael and I stayed at ten years ago when I took cooking lessons outside Florence. I remembered quite a few stores, etc walking around there. A nice surprise! The restaurant had live music starting just as we were leaving so we listened for a while. The Italians seem to have a fascination with American rock and roll! Very interesting, lol! Afterwards us girls rode on a carosel that was set up in the Piazza-just like kids! We laughed so hard and had a grand time! Then it was back to the hotel. We leave in the morning for Torino and the start of our cooking class. Hard to believe!
Friday, October 8, 2010
Friday, October 7, 2010
Bouna Serra! We got a late start this morning as it took Kim and Cris longer to get the van than they thought as there was some sort of student protests that blocked the streets so they had to go around them. We never did find out what the protest was about!
We had good intentions about visiting all these places, but got off the Autostrasse (A1) at Orvieto. A little Tuscan town south of Florence. It was so pretty! We walked around, taking pictures, had a late lunch at a trattoria, then walked around town, ending at their Duomo (church). Such a lovely relaxing day! We found a store that sold gelato, which I ordered in Italian! Then it was time to move on and get to Florence.
Kim and Crus did a fantastic driving/navigating job! They totally rock! It took some driving around, but we finally found our hotel-hotel Le due Fontaine in the Piazza of the Innocents. Once we got settled in our rooms ( where the bathroom is so small you can take a shower sitting on the toilet!) we went out and found a pizza place-it just sounded good to all if us. Then back to the hotel, a glass of wine, then bed. We'll see what tomorrow holds!
We had good intentions about visiting all these places, but got off the Autostrasse (A1) at Orvieto. A little Tuscan town south of Florence. It was so pretty! We walked around, taking pictures, had a late lunch at a trattoria, then walked around town, ending at their Duomo (church). Such a lovely relaxing day! We found a store that sold gelato, which I ordered in Italian! Then it was time to move on and get to Florence.
Kim and Crus did a fantastic driving/navigating job! They totally rock! It took some driving around, but we finally found our hotel-hotel Le due Fontaine in the Piazza of the Innocents. Once we got settled in our rooms ( where the bathroom is so small you can take a shower sitting on the toilet!) we went out and found a pizza place-it just sounded good to all if us. Then back to the hotel, a glass of wine, then bed. We'll see what tomorrow holds!
Friday morning, October 7, 2010
It's 11:30am Roma time. We've had our breakfast (scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit, yogurt, multiple pastries, cafe-coffee, the strongest I've seen in a long time! And juice). Kim and Cris went for the van and ran into student protestor's so had to go around the way out if their way. Who'd a thought?! Another beautiful day here! More tonight. We are hoping to see Montepulciano, Siena and San Giamignano today on our way to Florence. I'll let you know if we make it!!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Our second day in Rome! We did quite a few things today! After breakfast at the hotel (complimentary), we walked to the Metro station and took the train to the Colliseum. Once there, we spent several hours walking thru the Colliseum, then moved on to the Forum. The Forum is mostly ruins, still under excavation. It never ceases to amaze me, the age of things here. The Collliseum, the Forum and the Pantheon were all built about 2000 years ago (give or take a few hundred years). And they are still standing!!! There is history everywhere you look.
After seeing the Colliseum and the Forum, we took a taxi to the Pantheon. We decided to eat lunch first, so ate at one of the restaurants-La Reita. The food was fantastic, the day was sunny and warm, a gorgeous day! I had Seafood Risotto, the others had pasta or pizza. We shared a bottle of Prosecco. The other funny thing about Italy I had forgotten, is when you ask for water, they ask you "gas or no gas?". Which means, spring or flat water or sparkling water (frizzante). We have fallen into eating Italian style- late breakfast, lunch at 3pm, dinner at 9pm. We'll see what happens when we get home, lol!
The Panteon is entirely intact, mostly due to it being taken over by the Church, which kept it from being taken apart and used to build other buildings in Rome. Most of the murals were done by Raphael so he is buried inside the church. I'm not sure modern man could have built these buildings! After this, we went to the Piazza Navona and walked around, then sat in one of the cares and had a cocktail and people watched. This is the part of Rome I would stay in if I came again, rather than near the Vatican-more places to shop and eat! Then we walked over to the Trevi Fountain. This Piazza was packed with people! We took pictures then threw our coins in. One coin if you wish to return to Rome, two coins if you want to find true love and three coins if you want to find your true love in Rome (just like the movie!).
While walking to the Metro station, we found an Italian deli and bought bread, crackers, 3 cheeses, 3 kinds of meat, olives, cookies and wine and brought them back with us to the hotel. Did I mention how hot and sweaty you get walking and walking and climbing stairs around in the heat and sun? So we all took showers, then met up again on our balcony for a picnic dinner. Even the deli food was great-or maybe it's being in Rome, with good friends. Maybe all of the above, lol!
Tomorrow we leave for Florence. Right now, it's bedtime!
After seeing the Colliseum and the Forum, we took a taxi to the Pantheon. We decided to eat lunch first, so ate at one of the restaurants-La Reita. The food was fantastic, the day was sunny and warm, a gorgeous day! I had Seafood Risotto, the others had pasta or pizza. We shared a bottle of Prosecco. The other funny thing about Italy I had forgotten, is when you ask for water, they ask you "gas or no gas?". Which means, spring or flat water or sparkling water (frizzante). We have fallen into eating Italian style- late breakfast, lunch at 3pm, dinner at 9pm. We'll see what happens when we get home, lol!
The Panteon is entirely intact, mostly due to it being taken over by the Church, which kept it from being taken apart and used to build other buildings in Rome. Most of the murals were done by Raphael so he is buried inside the church. I'm not sure modern man could have built these buildings! After this, we went to the Piazza Navona and walked around, then sat in one of the cares and had a cocktail and people watched. This is the part of Rome I would stay in if I came again, rather than near the Vatican-more places to shop and eat! Then we walked over to the Trevi Fountain. This Piazza was packed with people! We took pictures then threw our coins in. One coin if you wish to return to Rome, two coins if you want to find true love and three coins if you want to find your true love in Rome (just like the movie!).
While walking to the Metro station, we found an Italian deli and bought bread, crackers, 3 cheeses, 3 kinds of meat, olives, cookies and wine and brought them back with us to the hotel. Did I mention how hot and sweaty you get walking and walking and climbing stairs around in the heat and sun? So we all took showers, then met up again on our balcony for a picnic dinner. Even the deli food was great-or maybe it's being in Rome, with good friends. Maybe all of the above, lol!
Tomorrow we leave for Florence. Right now, it's bedtime!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Well, the seven of us left Denver Tuesday morning and arrived here in Rome at 7:30am, Wednesday. Such a long day! Delta served us dinner and breakfast! I have to say that I did not think any airline served real food any more(as opposed to just snacks). We took a van from the airport to the hotel (it cost us the same to do this as it did to rake the train, so we voted for convenience). We of course had to get some Euros from the ATM-US dollars won't work over here! It was too early to check in, so we left our bags at the Jotel Spring House, then walking to the Vatican, one block away. The Vatican is huge!! It is comprised of at least a dozen buildings, not the least of which is the Basilica. The painting inside are fantastic-all the colors, the gold leaf, the carvings... After we finished at St Peter's Basilica, we took an elevator part way up to the top of the Coppola, which is the inside of the duomo (dome). Even with the elevator there were 320 some stairs left to climb!! Round and round we went-we were dizzy by the end!! But the view of the city was well worth it! You can see forever it seems. The back to the hotel, showered the out for a light dinner. Ciao!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Hello, everyone! I am back in Reno, trying to get some rest (although I still need to buy a light weight suitcase for my Europe trip AND pack!), unpack, etc. I ended up having to ship 7 boxes to myself to get everything back to Reno. My car was still packed full dispite all those shipped boxes!
Jordan and I left Denver Tuesday morning and took I-70 west to go back to Reno. The Aspens were changing so the gold color intersperced with green was spectacular! We went thru Glenwood Springs, Aspen and other places I had only heard of before but never seen. The mountains were beautiful and we drove over the Great Divide-not sure that's what you call it, but it sort of divides the US in two. We took I-70 to US 50/6 and took that up to Salt Lake City and stayed the night at the University (of Utah) Guest House. Nice facility. Wednesday morning, Jordan flew to Boise, ID for a conference and I continued on to Reno, taking I-80 all the way. It is amazing to see the changing landscapes between each state. All in all, the trip went very well and it is good to be home, at least for a few days.
Carl's Restoration Party went well-only about 50-60 people showed up, not the 100+ he was expecting (because of RSVPs). Everyone had a good time and everybody thought our food was the best! Many of them came into the kitchen to thank us, which I thought was very nice. We had Chorizo Rolls, Baked Italian Omelets, Mexican Strata, Flammekuchen, Greek Quiche and Quiche Lorraine, Rice-Sausage Torta, Sausage muffins, brownies, bread pudding, Mexican Wedding cookies, Cranberry White Chocolate cookies and Sun Moon Cookies (orange flavored cookies dipped in Chocolate). Cris and Paula from my class came and helped out with all the cooking and setting up. I'm gonna miss Carl and Bailey!
It is nice being home and cooking and baking in my own kitchen. The cat, Ah Choo, seems happy I'm home, as does Jordan! I will update recipes while I am home, putting some new ones up. I will also update this blog while I am in Italy and France so you all will know what I and my classmates are up to. Ciao for now!
Jordan and I left Denver Tuesday morning and took I-70 west to go back to Reno. The Aspens were changing so the gold color intersperced with green was spectacular! We went thru Glenwood Springs, Aspen and other places I had only heard of before but never seen. The mountains were beautiful and we drove over the Great Divide-not sure that's what you call it, but it sort of divides the US in two. We took I-70 to US 50/6 and took that up to Salt Lake City and stayed the night at the University (of Utah) Guest House. Nice facility. Wednesday morning, Jordan flew to Boise, ID for a conference and I continued on to Reno, taking I-80 all the way. It is amazing to see the changing landscapes between each state. All in all, the trip went very well and it is good to be home, at least for a few days.
Carl's Restoration Party went well-only about 50-60 people showed up, not the 100+ he was expecting (because of RSVPs). Everyone had a good time and everybody thought our food was the best! Many of them came into the kitchen to thank us, which I thought was very nice. We had Chorizo Rolls, Baked Italian Omelets, Mexican Strata, Flammekuchen, Greek Quiche and Quiche Lorraine, Rice-Sausage Torta, Sausage muffins, brownies, bread pudding, Mexican Wedding cookies, Cranberry White Chocolate cookies and Sun Moon Cookies (orange flavored cookies dipped in Chocolate). Cris and Paula from my class came and helped out with all the cooking and setting up. I'm gonna miss Carl and Bailey!
It is nice being home and cooking and baking in my own kitchen. The cat, Ah Choo, seems happy I'm home, as does Jordan! I will update recipes while I am home, putting some new ones up. I will also update this blog while I am in Italy and France so you all will know what I and my classmates are up to. Ciao for now!
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