And so begins a new chapter.

On thursday we took our final exam for our breve course in I.C.I.F. We pulled recipies out of a hat the day before, the recipies include everything weve gone over so far so if had missed a recipie it could really backfire. I pulled Semifreddo al Torrone Con salsa Al Cacao, a dessert dish. We started cooking at 9 and had to have 3 portions ready by the time the 3 judges were ready to taste your food. Everyone had a different time and the courses were all in order so being the dessert I was close to dead last to present. I finally did around 12:30 and all went quite well. I got a 24 out of 30 for a grade, 4th highest in class. The rest of the day went smoothly and we received our dipolmas at eh end of it all.

I also found out where ill be heading for the next 3 months on thursday. I decided to go to Foggia, Puglia to a...well im not sure what to call it. Its a farm with a wine vineyard, a reasturaunt, a hotel, and a school. Its huge and I cant wait to go. (Peppezullo.com) Im also going with a fellow student (Anthony John Rinaldi) so we'll be sure to keep in touch.

As always Be Happy. Ill update sooner than later.

...Always venture the path less traveled

Finally some peace, quiet, and internet to type up another tale...

So this weekend thankfully happend after a few tries. Myself and a few other students were orginally supposed to go to Venice on friday night and come back but the trains and hotel just dident happen to work, our next plan was a 3 day stint in cinque terre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinque_Terre) but that too wasent successful...well atleast the first day.

Rapallo from our hotel room

 We did go Cinque Terre but we left saterday morning so we figured leave early, stop in Rapallo to set up the hotel, head to Cinque Terre, See two towns, head back, sleep, finish on sunday, and go home exahausted. Well we made it to Rapallo and fell in love, we couldent leave such a beautiful town and use it only as a rest stop so we insted spent saterday walking through the town. We stopped to get dinner on the coast line and it brought a whole new meaning to fresh sea food. I had a spaghetti dish with clams, mussels, shrimp, and sepia, it was fantastic. We then went and continued walking around only to stop once again at a local bar. We enjoyed a few drinks and then headed back for our big day tomorow.

Monerosso Al Mare

We caught the train early and left directly for Monterosso Al Mare the first town on our journy. It was a soft dizzle of rain at this point but it became a constant down pour later in the trip. When we arrived we were instantly hit with the view of the cliff faced coast line and it was unbelivable, from there it was a small hike to the main part of town from the train station. This city was the most populated of all the towns we were to visit that day but most of everything was closed because of it being sunday. After walking around the town we headed up towards a church at the highest hill in the town to see the view. When we reached it we found a cemetery behind it wich went even higher. While walking around I found some staircases that headed higher so after a bit of hiking and searching I was able to see the whole coast from one of, if not thee, highest point in monterosso.

Vernazza

From there, still raining, we headed to Vernazza the second town out of the 5. This town was more of a fishing port and sailing town then anything eles. We walked around and to our suprise it was quite small compared to the last but it still had its own perks that made it completely different. When we decided we had finally seen as much of Vernazza as we could we checked the train schdule to see we still had 45 mins to burn before the next train to Corniglia so exploering we went. The group decided to see the back side of the town and as we were headed that way a small staircase, no wider than the average mans shoulder, caught my eye. Now in said situation I probably should have talked to the group to see if they wanted to go or to see if the stair case was private or not but insted I went. It was close to a mile hike up stairs, slick roads, dirt paths and other potential hazards in the pouring rain but the view was absoluetly worth it. I was able to see the entire town below me; The lighthouse, the church, the dock, all of it seemed so small and it was at this point I was determined to see as much of the next towns as I could.

Corniglia

When I finally made it down the path, completely soaked from the rain, we boarded the train and headed to Corniglia. When we arrived the rain had died off , and we were informed that the entire town was on top of a hill roughly a mile and a half walk to the top, we could walk or we could wait around for a bus to take us to the top for a small fee. So we decided that seeing as we are all poor college students and time was of the essence that we would hauld you know what to the top. Along the way we met some locals and a dog that followed us all the way, some little things that made the hike alot more bareable. Once we reached the top we found out that this whole town was extremely tightly put toghther, all the ally ways and paths were just as tight as the path in the last town. As we were walking around my mind was still on one thing, getting to the highest possible point in the town to see as much as I could see. So after 4 dead ends, 3 Low veiw points, and I dont know how many locked gates I finally found a spot behind the local church in wich you could see the train station, the whole coast, and mountain side. At this point the hunt was becoming fun for me and the fatigue dident really bother me. We then headed back through the maze of buildings to the center of town only to see that we missed the bus and had to race back to the train station to make the next train...barely

 

Riomaggiore at night

While on the train we realized we had to make a decison as to wich town we were to see due to the fact we wouldent be able to see both and still make the train home, so it was Manarola or Riomaggiore. We decided asfter brainstorming and discussing the idea that we would see Riomaggiore. When we arrived the rain had picked up again so we decided we would go, look around, and go out because we were all soaked and cold. We found out that the last train back home was an hour away so we departed on our own adventure to see what we could. This town was somewhat of a mix between the first towns population and the port and fishing of the first. So this was it, the last town to see from a birds eye view, we headed up the main street wich would lead to the top of the town but for me, not high enough. While we were walking I saw some of the roughest looking stairs ive seen thus far, easily 6-8 inches in height between steps, but they went straight up to the top. I headed up with a fellow student in wich seemed like a hike forever, only to see the top of this town and to see what the entire Cinque Terre looked like under the lights. When we finally reached the summit of stairs we walked down the road to the furthest most point of the town so that we could see all of the life under us. The view at night was absoluely fantastic to see and worth every one of those hellish steps. After a few photos we headed back to the train (Wich we barely made) and took a long train back to our home.

Now let me say that I was freezing, wet, sore, fatigued, and all around completely beat but was beyond estatic to say that I had seen all of Cinque Terre in ways most people havent.

So always remember when given the oppertunity...

-R

One more week...

Still can't grasp the fact i'll be in italy untill february...



Fresh mozzarella with salsa verde

 So this week was a quiet week altogether but still eventful no the less, on monday we had a new chef (whose name I can't remember right now) and we went over lot of fresh herb techniques and recipies. We learned a salsa verde recipie along with steak tar tar, salted cod with orange segments, and poached shrimp with fresh mozz and fruit salsa. All cold served recipies garnished and made complete by the use of fresh herbs insted of sauces or glazes. That night some of the other students in our dorm went to a truffle hunt and were able to bring home white truffles, some the size of your hand, and that was a sight to see.

One of the dishes we made a potato and salted cod souffle

On tuesday we had chef mario once again and were slowly learning more about this 70 something year old man who we all refer to as pop-eye. He's written 7 books, teaches a college class with 1,600 students, and if anything goes the least bit wrong he sticks to he trademark statement of "Don't worry, Be happy." On that day he went over 2 basic plates of stuffed endives with a marinated leek salad and stuffed marinated onions. (I really should be writing the italian names but I can't fine my cook book at this exact moment.) That afternoon we were finally able to cook our own food, simple dishes but the feeling of using a kinfe again was fantastic, I can't wait untill extership so I can really get back to what  It used to be in the states.



Leek puree soup and squid.



On wensday we had chef mario again this time with the same results about the day, Don't worry just be happy. We went over a few different dishes including fried artichokes and fresh mozz, a potato and panchetta mixtured baked with fresh mozz and herbs, A vegetable lasgana consiting of eggplant and different peppers with a cheese and cream sauce, and a leek soup puree with poached squid. Its interesting to see someone with chef marios stature and speed at his age to think of all the ideas and recipies going through his head, now thats someone id like to grab a cup of coffe with.

White Wine

Today we were given a complete rundown in the proper way to serve, smell, drink, taste, and store wines. We spent more time learning about wines than I thought possible but I was pumped full of knowledge I dident know before and was suprised about all the little things we learned. How to grade wine based on color, flavor weither it was dry or not, the fruits used and how to distinguish them from each other when smeeling a wine, and every little thing you should look for when pairing a wine with your food. What we went over in 5 hours seemed like a life time of information for wines but the man giving the demo had been doing this for over 10 years and claimed we had barley touched the surface...I can belive it.

This weekend we are trying to figure out some train schedules and see if we can see more of this beautiful country while were here, Theres not alot of time...cherish what your given.

-R