Cooking Class Two

My second cooking class...

The Menu

Focaccia

Pasta soup with chickpeas

Lemon chicken

Eggplant parmesan

Sweet fake salami

Food Lessons/Fun Facts

• It is a tradition in Italy to make imitation desserts for Mardi Gras. It is popular to make a dessert that looks like something savory, but is sweet and eaten as a desert. An example of this is the fake salami. It is a dessert food made to look like real salami. Our cooking teacher fools her American exchange students every year with this recipe.
• It is tradition to hide a fish (paper or plastic) in someone’s shoe/jacket/purse when a joke is played on them. I am fairly positive this tradition is specifically for Mardi Gras, although I am not 100 percent sure.
• The primo generally consists of some form of starch and the secondo tends to consist of meat and a side vegetable.

Cooking and Eating the Meal

Antipasto- Focaccia

First, make the dough which will need to rest for an hour or so. Next, cut up any vegetable you want to put on top. We used onions, olives, oregano, and sea salt. Flatten out the dough into two smaller circles, put the veggies on top and cook for about 30 mins at 400. When it is done, drizzle olive oil on top.  This is a super simple and delicious antipasto.  

Primo- Pasta soup with Chickpeas

First, place the beans in a pot with 4 times as much water as it takes to cover them. Warm them on the stove for 2-4 hours until they are cooked. Tie up some rosemary and sauté with garlic cloves, red pepper flakes, and add half the chick peas. Puree the other half in the water from cooking them, then add the sauté to the pot. Add pasta and wait until the pasta is done cooking. When the pasta is done, your soup is ready. This soup was good, although it didn’t have too much flavor. I would experiment with adding other spices.

Secondo-Chicken in Lemon Sauce

This is a very easy recipe. Flour both sides of the chicken breast and brown both sides.  Then add salt, lemon juice, and cook covered on low until the chicken is done. Super easy.

Eggplant Parmesan-

First, slice the eggplant, cover in salt, and let sit. In the meantime make your tomato sauce. After about 30 mins, rinse, flour eggplant, and sauté eggplant.  Once the sauce is cooked and the eggplant has been sautéed, layer the sauce and eggplant with parmesan cheese. Cook on 350 for about 30 mins. This is a little more time consuming, but so worth it. It was the best eggplant parmesan I have had.

Dessert- Fake Salami

Its sounds weird, but it is so good! This is something made specifically for mardi gras. It is a tradition to make dessert look like savory foods such as a tomato or in this case, salami. First, crush up plain cookies leaving some large pieces and making some cookie dust. Add 2 beaten egg yolks and ½ cup sugar. Next add melted butter, marsala wine, and cocoa. Inside aluminum foil, roll into a log shape, and freeze. When it comes out dust with powdered sugar to give it the moldy salami look and cut into slices that look like salami. 

Cooking Class Day One

Food Class One-

While I am studying abroad in Italy, I am attending cooking classes for five weeks. This post is based off my first lesson.  

The Menu

Chestnut flour crepes with bacon and cheese

Tomato bread soup

Frittata with leeks and potatoes

Stewed green beans

Raspberry Torte

The cooking class started with an explanation of how the class is structured. She will be teaching us basic and simple Italian recipes that are easy to turn into spin-off recipes. All meals are five course meals which include all the traditional courses eaten at special occasions. Typically, an Italian family will only eat the first (primo) and second (secondo) course in one meal unless it is a special celebration.

Food Lessons/Fun Facts

Our cooking instructor plans on teaching us about all the ingredients we are using and why they are used. Here are a few fun facts I learned from the first class...

• The Mediterranean diet consists primarily of eating as fresh as possible, which includes changing what is consumed as the seasons change. It is more common to buy fruits and vegetables from the suppliers at markets rather than buying produce at grocery stores. In Italy, it is important to build a relationship with the farmers. If you are a recognizable and well-loved customer you will find yourself receiving free spices or an extra few onions in your shopping bag.
• Olive oil is used in just about everything. Butter is only used for baking specific pastries, but never used to cook a meal.
• When looking for tomato sauce, only buy the ones in the glass bottles that you can see into. Sometimes the canned tomatoes will be greenish and nowhere near being ripe. Also, glass saves better in the refrigerator. Your tomato sauce won’t pick up an “essence of the fridge” flavor.   
• “A occhio” and “quanto basta”- These are Italian phrases used to describe cooking methods. The first, a occhio, means “the eye wants its share”. This refers to using colorful ingredients when cooking. The second phrase, “quanto basta”, means until it is done. This is a very liberal way of cooking and can be used to describe almost anything. For example, “How long do you cook the soup?” “Quanto basta”…helpful, right?
• Tuscan bread soup originally comes from the soup eaten by servants during the Renaissance. After cleaning up a meal for a wealthy or noble family, the servants threw the leftover bread, vegetables, herbs, and water into a pot. This was then boiled and became their dinner.
• When baking…cold dough likes to be kept cold and warm dough likes to be kept warm. Sounds simple, but many people will warm up cold dough when it comes out of the fridge. To get the best results keep it cold until it goes in the oven.
• In our cooking teacher’s family, wine and water are mixed in the same glass. She said only do this if it is table wine, never with something fancy. Since wine enhances the flavor of food, people will just mix the water they would normally drink in a separate glass with the wine. Therefore, every bite tastes good.  

Cooking and Eating the Meal

Antipasto- Chestnut Flour Crepes

One of the reasons we were taught to cook this is because it is quickly dying out in Italy. These crepes are made with only chestnut flour and water. After mixing the two together, the dough has to sit long enough for it to become less watery and slightly gooey looking, about 30 mins. It is spread-out into a pan and cooked until the edges curl then flipped over for a few more seconds of cooking. The bacon and cheese are placed inside and it is rolled up and eaten as finger food. It was delicious. I couldn’t come up with an accurate comparison for chestnut flour… other than it tastes like chestnuts. It is different, but something worth trying.

Primo- Tuscan Bread soup

This is the easiest soup recipe. Basically, it consists of olive oil, old dry bread, tomato sauce, water and herbs. It is simple, but comes out tasting amazing. The only problem is that the bread likes to stick to the pot, so it is important to stir it often.

Secondo- Frittata and Stewed Green Beans

Frittatas are very similar to what we call omelets. The frittata we made in class consisted of leeks and potatoes. Both are cooked separately then added to the same pan with the beaten eggs. Let it cook until the sides begin to curl and it comes loose when it is shaken. The only slightly terrifying part is flipping the frittata. We used the top to a pan, but anything large and flat should work. Place the lid over the frittata, flip it upside down so the cooked part is on top, then slide it back into the pan for a few mins to cook the other side. The stewed green beans, the side dish, were very simple to cook. Just cut, place into a pan with garlic, olive oil, onions, carrots, and stewed tomatoes. Cook until tender. Easy and delicious.

Dessert- Raspberry tart

This was my favorite part! We made the dough first so it was able to sit in the fridge for about 30 mins. Once the dough had set and was cold, we put jam on top, put a lattice cover on it, and baked it. It was such a simple dessert, but it tasted fantastic.

Zio Gigi and Gato e Volpe

The first time I went to Zio Gigi’s I was beyond impressed with the atmosphere. The owner of the restaurant was a large happy man that sang loudly as he worked. He sang to himself, his customers, and just for the joy of singing. The food was good, but nothing more impressive than what I have had in other restaurants here. I went there a second time and the singing owner was not there. I recommend this restaurant if you are willing to take a chance on the owner being there. It is a wonderful surprise when he is, but if you expect him there and he is not working it can be disappointing.

I found a new favorite restaurant called Gato e Volpe. This literally translates to Cat and Fox. The food here was amazing. So far, it is my favorite dinner place in Florence. The first sign that this place was good, people were waiting in line. The second sign it was good, the menu was only in Italian. The bread was even better than any other place I have been to in Florence. It actually had spices in it. Traditionally Florentine bread doesn’t have salt, so it is pretty flavorless. This place had good bread, amazing meals, and a cozy atmosphere. I ordered lasagna bolognese, but next time I am going to order something on the menu I can’t translate and surprise myself.  

Volume, Gusto Panino, and Dolcissima Firenze

In this article are the restaurants: Volume, Gusto Panino, and Dolcissima Firenze.

I will back track and list places I have already been and what I have learned about them, but I am going to start my Florence Food blog with what started this idea…

Last night I joined a group of students from my school and one of our advisors for a mini tour of the Oltrarno (other side of the river). She pointed out a bunch of places that locals love and shared her favorites with us. We ended up for aperitivos at this wonderful place called Volume. Aperitivo is like a pre-dinner snack to hold you up until dinner which is anywhere between  8:30-10pm.This place we went to had a great atmosphere. You only have to buy a drink (5 euro for a glass of either red or white wine) and all appetizers are free! I got the red wine which was delicious, but there were also cocktails for 6 euros and water for 1 euro. The appetizers ranged from pita chips, toast, dips, olives, mozzarella, veggies, sautéed mushrooms, pickles, and more. The atmosphere is one in which you can walk up to the bar and re-stock your supply of little munchies to eat anytime you wish; you just have to reach around the people sitting there. If you choose to sit at a table you can still go grab the appetizers from the bar, but they will bring you a plate of a few dips, olives, and some different toasted bread and some chips. Honestly, I think they had Fritos on the plate.  

Today I went back to a few places our advisor had told us about. After exploring the Pitti Palace I went to Gusto Panino. Panino means sandwich in Italian, Panini means sandwiches. Unless you plan on ordering multiple sandwiches ask only for un panino. Another helpful hint: Italians tend to order a panino and walk around with it. Panini are not really a sit down food. Gusto Panino, where I went today has very fresh ingredients and they make the sandwich after you order it. This is the kind of place you want to get panini from. Don’t be fooled by the bars near tourist places. The premade panini in the glass displays are NOT always good. Sometimes they can be, but I wouldn’t risk it. Go to a shop that specializes in making panini, you will know when you see one because it will have large pieces of meat and cheese they cut slices from. It is more intimidating when you are not surrounded by fellow tourists, but if you want to eat good Italian food, which I am assuming you do, look for the special panini shops. Gusto Panino is one of these delicious places across the river in the Piazza Santo Spirito. It is delicious and well-priced. I paid 3.50 for a ham, brie, and sundried tomato panino.

After my lunch I went to a chocolate shop called Dolcissima Firenze, also near Santo Spirito. This place has a variety of beautiful chocolates and sweet treats. I got both a tiny tiramisu and a creamy fruit tart with a raspberry on top for only 1.45 euro. It was delicious and totally worth it. If you have a sweet tooth craving while you are here I highly recommend this place. 

New part to Finding Florence blog...

This is a sub-blog to my Finding Florence blog. This part will focus particularly on the food in Italy. I will soon be posting many different tips on where to eat in Florence and why. Buon Appetito!