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I’ve made a lot of food since my last food post, so rather than posting them one by one, I’ve decided to show all of them at once. Quite some time ago, I made Tagliolini al Limone. I’m not sure if you’re supposed to eat the lemon rind after cooking them with the pasta, but even without them this pasta dish packs quite a punch! It’s certainly not something I would fix often or eat in large amounts, but it is quite good, especially with fresh lemons from the Campania region. Although the combination of citrus and Parmigiano is not something I expected to work well, I was pleasantly surprised by how delicious these two flavors were together.

Next, I prepared pesche cotogne with Chianti, which is not actually a recipe from Fred Plotkin’s book. I asked my Italian professor what cotogne means after buying these peaches in the open air market. She explained that the word literally means “quince,” but pesche cotogne are simply a different variety of peaches. She then mentioned that these are often eaten with a little bit of wine and sugar. In my online research of the pesche cotogne, I stumbled across a website mentioning these peaches being eaten with a little bit of Chianti wine, of which I just happened to have a bottle! I cut up one peach and poured a little Chianti over the slices (no more than a small shot glass). Then I topped them with some sugar and a couple pinches of cinnamon. They were delicious! If you happen to find some of these and want to try it, I would make two suggestions. Firstly, don’t eat the peaches until they are well-ripened. If they are not, the flavor of the wine will overpower that of the peaches. Secondly, give them at least a few minutes to sit and steep in the wine. This allows the flavors to better intermingle and makes it an even better treat.

The following dish, a Frittata Modenese, came from Emilia-Romagna as one might guess from the name and ingredients typical of the region. Frittate are essentially omelettes, but with a few subtle differences. Firstly, while fillings are usually folded inside omelettes, with frittate they are mixed in with the eggs and cooked together. Secondly, frittate are cooked longer than omelettes and therefore develop a firmer skin. Thirdly, they are usually served at room temperature or even chilled. This particular one was made with just eggs, Parmigiano, and balsamic vinegar. This is another example of flavorful yet simple Italian cooking.

I finally got around to making a sweet dish from the book, Pere Martine al Vino. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to prepare this exactly as suggested. First of all, I could not find Martina pears, so I had to settle for Bosc pears. Secondly, because a Barbaresco was unavailable, I used a Barbera as suggested by the lady at the enoteca next door. The wine was excellent by itself — it had cherry flavors that set it apart from any other wine I’ve had in Italy! Together with the pears it was wonderful as well. Topped with a little bit of sugar, this was indeed a rich treat.

More recently, I prepared Risotto alla Parmigiana. This is exactly what it sounds like — risotto with parmesan, but don’t let that fool you. This dish is both appetizing and filling. The flavor of the parmigiano is neither overwhelming nor lost. This is an easy recipe I will probably be making quite often on busy nights next semester.

Finally, my most recent culinary exploration was Zuppa di Vino di Terlano, or Terlaner Weinsuppe in the German that is spoken in Alto Adige where this recipe is from. Late at night I was unable to find the Pinot Bianco called for by the recipe, so I settled on a Pinot Grigio instead. This soup is unlike any other I have ever had — a little sweet, a little creamy, maybe even a hint of bitterness. Nevertheless, it was flavorful and rich, especially with the cinnamon croutons. It certainly hit the spot on a cool night after a long day of classes.

Now it’s getting late, so I must decide what recipe I shall make next so that I can get groceries in the morning. Until next time…

Some days it seems the world is just working against you. This was how I felt a while ago when my roommate Hunter and I set off for the motherland of motoring, Emilia-Romagna. The day began with bad weather — in fact, I’m not sure if it stopped raining the entire weekend. This was followed by missing two trains and having to take a taxi to Ducati, where I realized I had made an error in the schedule. We then attempted to visit Pagani, but missed our stop and ended up in Modena. We decided to take this in stride and go ahead and make our way to Maranello, the home of Ferrari — problem was, we couldn’t find the bus stop! After wandering around for close to an hour, we gave up and decided to head to the hostel. It wasn’t until we were walking the opposite direction that we spotted a sign for the Autostazione.

We finally arrived at the Ferrari Museum and were greeted by the raspy exhaust note of a Ferrari F430. Finally things were starting to look up! The museum was filled with gorgeous old and new Ferraris. I even got to see the new 458 Italia! However, some of the most beautiful objects there were the engines. It was interesting to see a 120-degree twin-turbo V6 used in F1 Racing.

After returning to Modena and checking into our hostel, we asked about a place to eat. The receptionist recommended Trattoria da Enzo. It turned out to be a wonderful, small restaurant with a mom-and-pop feel. As we sat and waited for the food to arrive we watched the owner, an elderly gentleman, straightening the wine bottles and making his way around the restaurant, casually chatting with patrons in an Emilian dialect. It was obvious that even at his ripe age he still had a passion for life and wouldn’t be slowed down. I ordered the pumpkin ravioli with butter and sage. It was very different, but so delicious! The roasted potatoes were delicious as well. It might seem that potatoes are a difficult food to mess up, and in some sense, this is true — you’d probably have to try to make them taste bad. However, once you’ve tasted potatoes done right, there is a noticeable difference. There was a perfect balance between the flavors of the seasonings and the potato. Everything was great. Even a vegetarian such as myself couldn’t help eyeing Hunter’s balsamic roast beef.

The next morning we got up early and caught a taxi to the Panini Museum, home to historical Maseratis, race cars, and many motorcycles. Strangely, this treasure trove of automotive history is tucked away on a quiet dairy farm not far outside of Modena. There was no showy architecture for the museum, just a small warehouse. Inside, the museum had an intimate, hometown feel to it, and it smelled of old oil and vintage machinery, a scent I am font of. Upon entering, I was immediately drawn to the A6GCS. It was probably the most beautiful car there, and possibly one of the most gorgeous cars I’ve ever seen. Everything there was immaculate. Maseratis have always had quite quirky styling in my opinion, but when you’re standing next to them it all somehow works.

We finally made our way back to Modena and decided to head home when the bad luck set in again. Our train from Modena to Bologna was 30 minutes late, resulting in us missing our train from Bologna to Firenze and having to wait at least another hour. There were a lot of frustrating parts to that trip, but the cars were all beautiful and if nothing else I know it helped me learn more about traveling in Italy. I am sure that my journies since then have been smoother as a result of the struggles that weekend.

Wow, what a whirlwind the past couple weeks have been! Midterms were suddenly here and immediately after my family came to visit. Things are getting back to normal now and I’ll have some more blog posts soon. In the meantime, I thought I’d share a couple images from my photography class. I was excited to try out film photography as I’ve only done digital shots so far, and I have not been disappointed. It is a much different process and requires patience and experimentation, but having the physical final product that I made is very satisfying. Below are a couple shots from early on in class, and there will be more to come. Enjoy!

Earlier last week I made Tajarin con Gorgonzola e Noci, another Italian pasta dish from Fred Plotkin’s book. I had heard of Gorgonzola cheese before, but never eaten any. It is, put simply, Italian blue cheese. The kind that I got was a softer consistency closer to Brie, but it is possible to get it in a firmer, crumbly form like the blue cheese that is common in the US. The Gorgonzola was quite flavorful, so much so that I was actually worried it would be overpowering in the pasta. However, once melted with cream and butter and mixed into the pasta with the walnuts, it is perfect — enough to taste, but not so much that it is overwhelming. This is definitely a recipe I will be taking home with me!

Last weekend the Arcadia students set out for Napoli, Sorrento and Pompei. The way there brought troubles — there was an accident on the highway and traffic was backed up to a standstill. Thankfully, because traffic wasn’t moving we were able to get off the bus and walk around a little. After the traffic let up, we were able to make progress towards our destination, but still couldn’t make it to Pompei in time for our tour. We ended up rearranging our schedule and going to Sorrento Saturday and Pompei on Sunday.

Driving through Napoli and Sorrento, one of the first things I noticed was the color. The scenery passing by was reminiscent of vibrant houses I have seen in pictures of Latin America. One of my favorite color combinations on buildings was a cool, medium gray with Ferrari red shutters and accents. In Sorrento, the walls lining the narrow streets envelop you in a sense of warmth. It is almost as if the architects based their color palette on the peppers hanging from street stands and storefronts. Even a dome I saw in the city was topped with colored shingles. I don’t recall anything particularly significant about Sorrento, but it provided me with an opportunity to take pictures and I certainly took my share.

After visiting Sorrento, we went to the town of Vico Equense, where we stayed overnight. We ate dinner at L’Università della Pizza, where I had quite possibly the best pizza I’ve ever eaten in my life. The desserts were delicious as well. I don’t know what mine was called, but it was a sweet pastry filled with whipped cream, with a sweet liqueur drizzled on top. The view from the hotel where we stayed was gorgeous. From the patio outside I could see Mount Vesuvius from across the bay, and from a balcony on the building I was able to look over the small town and out at the hills dotted with lights.

The following day, we went to Pompei. I was told that it was a major port city at the time, but even by today’s standards it could still qualify as a large town. It was amazing to see the excavated buildings and how they had been preserved over so many years. Many frescoes were still quite visible on the walls, and mosaic tile floors made of tiny pieces were still intact! As amazing as it was to see, it left me wanting to experience Pompei in its former glory. I guess I’ll just have to imagine, but visiting was in and of itself a kind of trip back in time, a glimpse into what it might have been like.

I had some penne to kill off so I decided to make Penne con Ricotta e Noci this week. This Sardinian recipe is another illustration of the simplicity of Italian cooking — just penne, ricotta, walnuts, and some grated Pecorino Romano on top. The flavor of this dish is not overwhelming, as neither ricotta nor walnuts have particularly pungent flavors. Nevertheless, it is an incredibly rich fare. So rich, in fact, that could not finish a normal sized portion and had to put some of my serving with the leftovers — that never happens. I can only assume that this is because of the fat and protein content in ricotta and walnuts. However, that’s not to say this recipe is unhealthy. Ricotta is relatively low in fat compared to other cheeses and walnuts have heart-healthy polyunsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids. Who says you can’t eat food that’s both healthy and delicious? So far this is one of my favorite recipes and I plan to make it again.