Cooking Classes

Now that all of my cooking classes are over, I feel like I have learned enough to cook a nice meal for my friends and family! I enjoyed learning from Christina. Her technique is very interesting and she taught me that the Italians do not use strict recipes, but rather make their own measurements. This allows Italians to interpret the recipes as they see fit and take certain liberties with each dish. I think that this encourages people to change recipes and experiment with their cooking. I have taken some of the recipes that Christina has given us, and changed them a bit to better suit my tastes!

My favorite cooking class was the dessert class. No, this is not because I have a sweet tooth. Rather, I enjoyed learning how to make something that I thought I never would learn how to make in my wildest dreams! I cannot wait to take this recipe home and impress all my friends with this lavish dessert!

Here are me and some of my classmates enjoying our Chocolate Cream!

Food and Culture in Roma, as defined by me

This picture is a visual representation of my experience with food and culture in Rome. I have been fortunate enough to meet Italians my age and I now consider them my friends. I have been all over Rome with them and I feel that I have truly been able to experience something that I could not have found on my own. We have spent a lot of time eating and drinking and I have realized that the meals of the Italians are not defined by the food they eat, but by the people they are eating it with. It is not so important the individual dishes and the cost and the location of the restaurant, as long as we are all together. They plan long elaborate meals, but to me it seems as if they do not pay so much attention to the food. The entire meal is filled with constant conversation and laughter as we "cin cin" every five minutes and enjoy each others company.

In this picture we are eating Chinese food. You may ask why I uploaded a picture from a Chinese restaurant. I want to impress upon you that the Italians are more concerned with who they are eating their food with, rather than the actual food itself. In this picture everyone is laughing and having a good time, which is how every single meal that I have had with the Italians has been.

This style of socializing is very refreshing for me. In America, when I go out with my friends, we spend a long time in silence, choosing food from the menu. When we finally receive our food (and I say finally because someone always complains about how long it takes) we scarf it down, pay our separate checks, and leave the restaurant. We often do not take the time to slow down and really enjoy each other because our meal is focused on our food rather than each other.

The Italians are very proud of their cuisine and think that it is the best in the world. It may be, but even more important than their food is the quality time they spend with their friends and family gathered around the food. And that is why I think Italian cuisine is the best.

Eating myself into oblivion

This past week Skip, my father, came to visit me in Rome. We spent our time eating, discussing where to eat, and digesting our food so that we could quickly eat again!
Ok, maybe not seriously, but we ate A LOT and it was damnnnnnnnnnnnn good!

I will take you through my wonderful week of gluttony meal by meal.
Wednesday April 21
Dinner @ Dar Pallaro
My dad's pilot friend had recommended this restaurant to him for the next time he was in Rome, and my dad's friend passed it on to us. We were told it was a fixed menu and for 25 euro per person you get a nice, filling meal. We were not sure where to eat that night, so we decided to go check it out. As we came upon the restaurant my father and I stopped dead in our tracks and looked at each other. We had been here 3 years earlier with our Rick Steves "The Best of Italy" Tour. Only last time we were there, we were told that the name of the restaurant was "Mama's." Either way, we walked in, sat down, and were soon greeted by "Mama."


Right away food started flying at us. They brought out cold cuts and cheese and olives and bread and fried balls of something and lentils and some type of vegetable that tastes like licorice. I ate it all because I thought that was it. Silly Claire, this is Rome, there is ALWAYS more food! For the second course they brought out carbonara and a rigatoni with a red sauce. Ok, this must be it, so I ate it all. Wrong again. After that they brought out more beans and meat and potatoes and another vegetable. It was so good, but I was SOOO full. Then came dessert. I felt bad that I wasn't eating all of MAMA's food, but I DID NOT pace myself.
From what I have experienced, this was a pretty authentic Roman meal. A few weeks ago, my Italian friends, who have been living in Rome their whole lives, brought me to Arricia for dinner. Over there the waitresses just kept brining out plate after plate. It began with cold cuts and cheeses and beans and bread, then progressed to pasta, then meat, and ended with a nice tirimisu. Oh, did I mention that there was a never ending supply of wine? I love Rome.


Anyways, Skip and I had a lovely first meal at Dar Pallero - go here if you want to eat like a Roman.

Thursday August 22
For lunch, I introduced Skip to the miracle that is FORNO in Campo di Fiori. This is the best pizza I have ever had. They get the sauce to crust ratio PERFECT everytime!

For dinner, we went to GLASS! I had been waiting for this moment for so long and it had finally arrived. My started with a pistacio encrusted scallop with white chocolate sauce, it was heavenly. Then, by compliments of the chef, we received a sort of pureed corn soup with hot sauce in it, delicious as well! For our main course I ordered a coffee pasta. I cant remember what else was on it, but it was a great mixture of flavors. My father got the saffron risotto and it was WAYYY better than what we made in class. It had a date sauce in it that really made it pop. For desert we got a cake thing with passion fruit, so so so good.


Besides the amazing flavors, I liked the portion size of this restaurant. I walked out of their feeling good. The night before, at Dar Pellaro, I was overly stuffed from the amount of food placed in front of me. Grazie, Glass!

Friday August 23
This day, Skip and I did some sightseeing around Rome. For lunch we stopped in the Jewish Ghetto and had some vegetables. I had zucchini cooked in a Jewish way and artichokes baked with cheese, tomatoes, and parmesan. Both very very good.
For dinner, we went back to a Rick Steves restaurant near the Vatican. It was very good, and very cheap! We had pasta cooked in an orange cream sauce. I do not think that this is typical Italian food, but it was still very good!
For dessert, OLD BRIDGE! Now I have been told my many Italians that real gelato is chocolate or nutella, or flavors like that. However, I enjoy the fruit flavors much much more. At Old Bridge there is amazing blood orange gelato! Highly Highly recommended!

Saturday August 24
This was the day we went to the Catacombs. For lunch we just had some snacks at my apt and then we went to Trastevere for drinks before dinner. In the main Piazza there is an "orange Bar." They serve amazing blood orange juice. I got juice, sans alcool, and my father got it with Compari, of course. I think that the juice is so so good that alcohol ruins it. Anyway.... GO HERE, so good!


For dinner we went to Dal Checchino! Skip was a little nervous for this restaurant, but he ended up loving it. We both ordered the Straciatella Soup which was amazing. It got better with each sip. I think this was because the lemon flavors were more concentrated near the bottom of the bowl. The soup is a sort of Roman egg-drop soup with cheese, parsley, and lemon. I will definitely be trying this again before I leave Rome.


For dinner I had Pasta with tomato sauce and Ox Tail. It was very delicious, but the oxtail was chopped up so finely that I could not get a good taste of it.


My dad ordered one of their specialty dishes and received a commemorative plate that is from the Unione that they are part of. He like his meal a lot. It was a braised beef stuffed with carrots, celery, and prosciutto.


For dessert we got a pear cake, YUM!


Sunday, April 25
This day we hung out in Rome and lived la dolce vita.
For lunch we went to Piazza Navona and sat down and had a nice loonnnggggg meal!
I ate the house pasta, Tres Scalini! It was penne pasta in a shrimp and mushroom cream sauce, it was mucho delicioso!


For dinner I decided to cook for my father. I made him my favorite mushroom recipe and pasta carbonara. They were, of course, both divine.

Monday April 26
Today, my father and I got more FORNO bc it is SO FREAKING GOOD
For dinner my dad took me and two other girls to the restaurant in Campo that Federico took us to.
I had something that I have been looking alllll over Italy for. I ordered a pumpkin-cheese mousse pasta dish. I was not sure what to expect, but I have been looking for pumpkin or butternut squash ravioli or something like that everywhere!
When I received the dish, the waitress called it a crepe. It was square with filo dough on the bottom, a sort of noodle on top with melted cheese. Inside was a pumpkin moose filling that was amazing!


Finally, my taste buds had been satiated! I will definitely be going back to this restaurant to eat this dish before I leave Rome!

Tuesday April 27 - Skips Last Night In Town
For lunch we ate at a shitty, over priced restaurant near the pantheon. Just don't.
For dinner my father wanted to go to Dar Poeta in Trastevere. This is a small pizza place that is very very reasonably priced. The pizza is delicious and the crust is unique. It is soft and thin, very very good.
For dessert we went to Giolitti, which is supposedly one of the best gelato places in Rome. I got Kiwi gelato, it was great, but the men who worked there were ASSHOLES! Seriously, I had an unpleasant experience bc I walked away in a bad mood, I resented the fact that the gelato was good because I wanted it to be bad since the servers were so rude to my father and I. I guess thats how the tourist places work, they don't work on customer service bc they get a whole group of brand new tourists each and every day.

Ahhhh ROMA! THank you for increasing my waistline over the past 4 months!

Filming

So we FINALLY finished filming! It was a great experience being able to work with the camera's and decide what to put in the documentary. It was pretty difficult at first; and I didn't even handle anything technical!

Cason and I wrote the script, and I felt pretty good about it! I thought that we collaborated well and put together a nice piece of work! During our research we found that Dal Checchino is part of a unione of restaurants in Italy that work to preserve regional traditions and dishes.

Last night my father and I went to Dal Checchino for dinner; it was very very good! We started off with the Stracciatela soup, which was delicious. It had eggs, cheese, parsley, and lemon in it. For my main course, I got the ox tail cooked in a tomato sauce with pasta, once again, delicious! My father got braised beef stuffed with carrots, celery, and proscuitto, which was also delicious. For ordering this dish, he received a commemorative plate for the meal. This plate is from the unione of restaurants that Checchino belongs to. Every restaurant has a painted dish for their specialty that they give away to customers.

I would like to go to at least one more restaurant that is part of this unione before I leave Rome. Filming the documentary was very interesting, and I got to learn about this very important union!

Where the Buffalo's roam

So I just returned back to come after a weekend in Cilento. It was a very fun weekend and I ate a lot of very delicious food. On Friday we left Trastevere around 9.30. We arrived in Cilento around 1 and had lunch. For lunch we ate fried seafood and pasta with tomatoes. It was very good. After lunch we went to a kiwi farm. The farm was beautiful. I also learned that fruit grows on trees.
After our enlightening visit to the kiwi farm, we went to the sea to see some seafood. Once again, do they think we are 5? We stood there while the fishermen showed us their catches for the day; squid, shrimp, and some fish.
The next day we went to some “museums.” We began the day at a buffalo farm. It was pretty neat. We watched men make mozerella di buffalo. Then… guess what we had for lunch? Tomato pasta, again! It was ok, but the antipasta was where it was at! We got eggplant parmesan, fried artichoke, fried zucchini blossoms, and mozeralla cheese!
We drove around some more and then ate… again! For dinner we went to a pizza factory place. We tried 4 pizzas which were all delicious. Apparently, this place sets the standard for Italian pizza. Unfortunately, they did not describe what qualifies an “Italian pizza.” From my understanding, it is very thin. And…. That is all I am able to gather. Either way, the pizza was very good.

The Leaning Tower of Cheeza

A few weeks ago we went outside of Rome to a place in the countryside where they make cheese. The cheese maker adds an enzyme to the cheese in order to make it. This enzyme comes from lamb organs. In order to make the ricotta they cook it twice.
People from the state come to check the cheese for quality. If it passes, they brand it and then it can be sold. This is to protect the cheese maker’s authenticity and quality of the cheese. The cheese can be labeled as a specific type and it makes it very difficult for others to copy it. Therefore, the cheese is protected in its region.
In big industries, the producers often do not know where the milk comes from. This causes every cheese to become very similar because the individual cheeses lose their unique characteristics. It is different in this small cheese farm in Italy because they have more control over their inputs. For example, the cheese is made with raw milk because it does not need to be pasteurized. Consequently the cheese always comes out good and unique because the animals eat different things.
This day was a lot of fun. I enjoyed seeing the animals and experiencing the cheese production process. Unfortunately, I did not like the cheese. It was too salty and I did not enjoy the texture of it in my mouth.

Beef Stew and Wienerschitzel

I spent this past weekend in Hungary and Austria and I had some goooooood eats!
Thursday night we went to a restaurant on Raday street in downtown Budapest which is famous its restaurants that line the street. I had Dijon Duck breast with potatoes. It was so good and nice to have something really out of the ordinary. The dijon was sweet and spicy; not a flavor that is easily found in Italy.

The next day we headed to MICKY D's for breakfast. We noticed that they had hashbrowns and sausage biscuits, so we had to! Ahhhh America, all up in my mouth!
I have never eaten so much McDonalds in my life as I have in these past 3 months. Well, not seriously, but I have eaten it quite a few times. I think it is because anytime I get homesick or nostalgic, I want to go there and get a cheeseburger because it reminds me of home.

On Friday we did not eat anything special because we were in a big rush with sightseeing and spelunking and going out.

On Saturday, after a long relaxing day at the Thermal Baths and a massage, we went to a small hummus place near the Oktogon stop. I got hummus with mushrooms and sesame sauce. It was so so good. I miss hummus a lot! This was the best hummus plate I have ever had; actually, it is the only hummus plate I have ever had, but it was delicious. The mushrooms were warm and the hummus was cold. The sesame sauce was just sweet enough to offset the hummus. Hummus is Yummus! Ahh, I miss you, Trader Joes!

On Sunday we headed to Vienna for a day trip (just a 3 hour train ride from Budapest). When we arrived we went to a small cafe for Breakfast. I got a farmers omelet with bacon, cheese, leeks, and potatoes. It was very very good. I have not had an omelet since America. It was nice having a real breakfast for once! The cafe was called Klines Cafe and I highly recommend checking it out!

For dinner we went to Figlmueller for the best Wienerschintzel in Vienna! It came with a potato and field greens salad. This was very good and reminded me a bit of German Potato Salad. It was sweet and vinergary and had a hint of balsamic vinegar in it as well. The wienerschintzel came served on a small plate to emphasize how large it was. It was huge! It was beaten down very very thinly and breaded and cooked in vegetable oil. It was not greasy at all! It came served with Lemon, which I squeezed all over the veal. What a perfect dinner! If you are ever in Vienna, do not miss out on Figlmuuller. It is moderately priced and has a very very nice atmosphere! Be sure to go in early to make a reservation!

Ciao!

SB 2010!

I did not have a typical college spring break this past week. My travels were relatively tame compared to those of my state-side friends. However, I believe that I had the best Spring Break ever. I traveled to Ireland and Paris and did some amazing things. I visited family in Ireland and had a lovely, lovely time. The Irish are very fond of the word "lovely" and I have taken it upon myself to start using that word more often.

My family cooked for me while I was in Ireland and I greatly enjoyed my meals. Both nights we had mashed potatoes with gravy, mashed carrots and turnips, and meat with gravy. It was very simple, but also very delicious. I also drank and INSANE amount of tea. Everywhere I went, everyone was offering me tea. In the morning, during lunch, after dinner, after a walk, after sheep-herding ,after a late night talk. Along with tea, there were also small cakes and muffins. The Irish also put a lot of milk and sugar in their tea which I found odd. I like tea, but I enjoy the bitterness of it and I prefer to drink it as is. I drank tea a total of 7 times in 2 days!

I also went out to eat at a restaurant located in the only hotel in Caherciveen. I ate their twice and it was not until I left Ireland that I learned that this is the place where my great-grandma Kate worked before she came to America. The first time I was there I ate fried scampi with chips. It was very good and my second cousin once removed ordered the same thing. As I doused my chips in ketchup, she dipped hers in mayonnaise. Odd.

The second time I went there with a distant cousin and ate fried cod and chips. Both times the food was very delicious! I will post pictures soon!

Paris is another great city for food and I had some lovely dining experiences.
The first night there we went to a small restaurant in Montmarte which is the artsy district of Paris on the Northwest side of the city. We ate at a restaurant that served its wine in baby bottles because people often spill in the narrow restaurant. Sadly, we could not show off our wine-tasting skills as we could not swirl our glasses or smell the wine. Darn!
For dinner we ordered meat fondue. It came with a big bowl of red raw meat and some taters! It was fun cooking our own meat and gave us a chance to really enjoy the meal and the atmosphere of Montmarte. This was one of my favorite nights out as I got to enjoy the company of my friends!

The next day I enjoyed free croissants at my hostel. After a lot of sightseeing we headed to an area where we heard there was good, cheap food. We found a restaurant offering a tourist menu with 3 courses for only 8 euro! I usually like to avoid touristy places, but when you find this amount of food at such a low price, you cannot pass it up! I ordered a chicken and mushroom crepe and beef bourguignon. The meal was delicious! For dessert we received ice cream, definitely a bang for your buck! That night I ate some fruit from a stand near my hostel.

The next day I grabbed lunch on the go as I headed to Chartes. I got a mushroom and cheese and tomato crepe from a stand near the train station. Once again, delicious! That night I got Kebab from a Greek restaurant in Chinatown!

The next day I was not feeling too well after a night out on the town. Finally, around 1 I regained my appetite and we went in search for another tourist menu. It was Saturday, so we knew we would have to spend a bit more money. After a long search, we found a restaurant serving 3 courses for 10 euro, success! I ate French onion soup, duck, and chocolate mousse. The Duck was my favorite. It was very succulent and tasty!

For dinner we found another restaurant in Montmarte with 3 courses for only 12 euro! Ah, Pareee!
I cannot remember the name of my first course, but it consisted of thinly sliced tomatoes with cheese and a lemony sort of sauce. It was warm and very very delicious. For my second course I ordered beef bourguignon once again. It was much much better the second time around. It was very tender and melted in my mouth. For dessert, chocolate mousse!

I loved the food I had during Spring Break! Now it is back to my reality of a quickly dwindling bank account and home-cooked sandwhiches for every meal! Boun appetit!

My Favorite Things

Chicago is a great city for food. Every year I look forward to the Taste of Chicago. This is a festival held near the lakefront each year during the 4th of July (my favorite holiday, I LOVE America).

There are about 60 or 70 different restaurants that set up booths in the street and sell their most popular dishes. Food is bought with tickets and costs between 2 and 8 dollars. You can also get "taste" portions of the most popular item at each stand. This, of course, is my favorite thing to do.

The Taste can get pretty overwhelming though - millions of people in the sweltering heat fighting for Eli's Cheesecake and Ricobene's breaded steak sandwhiches, it gets brutal! I have a friend who's family never misses the taste. They taught me how to easily conquer the taste and eat everything your heart desires.

First, you must go to Eli's Cheescake stand and ask for a box. Their cheesecakes get delivered in large boxes, so they are happy to give any of them away. Now you have a means of carrying all your food!

Then you must cut the line at every stand. It is vital that you do this alone because it is too difficult to stay with a friend, every man for himself! Determine a rendevous location for later.

Go to as many stands as you can and then meet back up with your friends. Find an open area in Grant Park and sit down. Go get a beer. Now you can sit down with your friends and enjoy the free live music and delicious food of Chicago!

One thing that saddens me though, is that my favorite restaurant in Chicago does not participate in the Taste. I guess it does not need the publicity that the Taste brings in for restuarants because it is a very famous and historical restaurant for Chicago. The Berghoff on Adams street, just east of the Sears Tower is my favorite restaurant. A sad thing happened in February of 2006 when the Berghoff decided to close. The owners were getting very old and sold the restaurant to their daughter. Instead of keeping the restaurant alive, she decided to use the restaurant to operate her private catering company. Horrible!

People in Chicago were outraged! There as nothing we could do. Obviously, my family drove downtown every night for the last week it was open to wait in line for hours in order to eat at our favorite restaurant for the last times.

After it was closed for a few months, the new owner reopened it under a different name, 17 West. The purpose of this closing and reopening was to disband the union that all the servers at the Berghoff belonged to. They were the highest paid servers in all of Chicago and they received great benefits. It's a shame that the owners pulled this move on their loyal employees, but then again, this is Chicago.

17 West still serves the same food, with some new additions. The cuisine of the Berghoff is German and they brew their own beer and root beer. Everytime I have ever been there I have ordered the same thing because it is just so good. I get the Saurbraten with sides of spatzle, creamed spinach, red cabbage, and German potato salad.

For anyone traveling to Chicago, I recommend going to this restaurant for Lunch. You usually have to wait about 10 minutes, but it is definitely worth it. This restaurant has been around since the Prohibition. The Berghoff was the first place in Chicago to regain its liquor license after the Prohibition.

If you enjoy German food you cannot miss the Berghoff (17 West) on your next visit to Chicago!

http://www.berghoff.com/

Porn

After traveling to Amsterdam last weekend, I have realized that Porn is something very prevalent in this world. I regularly indulge myself with porn - but a different kind of porn. I love to eat. Actually, I love to eat well. All my life I have had an adventurous appetite. My parents and grandparents loved it because they could bring me to exotic restaurants and not worry about finding something on the menu that I could eat. My little sister, on the other hand, is extremely picky! She will not try anything new and hardly eats anything as it is. Often times my family has to leave a restaurant, or try to order off the menu for her. It's ridiculous; She is 17 years old!

Anyway.... whenever I cannot indulge and participate in some fine dining, I often ask others what they ate and try to live vicariously though them. I always find myself asking my friends to describe their meals. Since I have been in Italy, I have been missing a lot of my favorite restaurants at home. I receive weekly emails of specials from my favorite restaurants and instead of delete them, I scour over them, while thinking of the food I can consume when I return home.

My little sister knows how much I enjoy dining out in Chicago and she had to antagonize me by sending me an email with the subject line "mmmm this sounds goood!" and this link: http://chicagochefweek.com/

AH! I cannot believe I am missing this! The restaurants are offering a special menu at a fixed price for one week only and I cannot enjoy it.

Now, I feel like a fat kid writing this, and maybe I am a fat kid at heart, but I cannot hold back my love for all different kinds of food. My greatest fat kid moment in Italy happened in Berlin, according to my roommate. We were all very hungry so we went to a street side fast food joint to try Berlin's famous Doner Kebab. I ordered first and received my Kebab first. It was sooo good! Lamb meet, lettuce, onions, tomaters, cucumbers, and cucumber sauce in a toasted bread pocket. I began enjoying it but quickly stopped. Sarah asked me why I was waiting to eat it and I replied, "I don't want to eat this too fast because I will be jealous if I finish first and have to watch everyone else as they eat it!"

Wow, I need help!

Dam you, Amsterdam

I got home from Amsterdam yesterday morning, and had not slept in 36 hours. Thank you, Amsterdam! There is Dutch fare, but I did not get to experience it while in Amsterdam. Most of the restaurants there are fast-food and of all different cuisines. I suspect this is to satisfy all of the tourists that spend time in the Coffeeshops! While I was there, it was nice to try food that is hard to find in Rome.

When we first arrived in Amsterdam, it was midnight on Friday. The streets were packed and everyone was partying in the clubs. We wandered around and were amazed by all the different cuisines Amsterdam has to offer. Immediately we stumbled upon a place called Wok to Walk. I had to get it. Asian cuisine is my favorite and I have not had a lot of it while in Rome. This fast-food joint let you create your own stir-fry to go. It was magnificent. I got rice noodles with vegetables, pineapple, and peanut sauce; My favorite! After that we quickly fell asleep in our 5x5 hostel room.

On Saturday we went to a Tapas bar across the street from our hostel. I ordered 2 plates: Potatoes in a spicy sauce and calamari. The potatoes were delicious! The sauce was mild and tasted like a lighter and spicier version of McDonald's special sauce; I am American, so of course I love Big Macs! The calamari was ok; nothing special. It was just calamari rings and I received a lemon wedge with it and no sauce.

The next day I saved my appetite up for another Asian meal. We went to a restaurant called Eat Mode in the Asian community of Amsterdam. I ordered vegetable tempura and "Chinese noodles cooked in a Japanese way with vegetables." Once again, everything was delicious and I highly recommend this Asian restaurant!

On the plane ride home we received small cookies, i think they are called Stroopwaffels. They are small waffels, cut in half and stuck together again with a carmel-like sauce. Everyone needs to try these; they are great.

Well thank you, Amsterdam, for a wonderful weekend filled with munchie num-nums!

Berlin!

This past weekend I traveled to Berlin, Germany, and I had a wonderful time. At first, I was most excited to be in a land plentiful with Beer and Brats! I had no idea that Bratwursts come from the family of 'wursts, and that there are many different kind. Needless to say, it was the "wurst" fahrt ever! (Fahrt = Trip in German)

As soon as I arrived at my hostel, I threw down my bags and headed to the corner store to buy some Berliner Beer. After downing a nice, cold, German Beer, I headed to the opposite corner for brat. I decided to try a currywurst, which is a sausage smothered in spicy ketchup and paprika. It was delicious and I quickly grew tired and went to bed.

The next morning we headed out for some sightseeing. Around noon I was getting hungry so we stopped to get a brat from a lady wearing a grill and an umbrella - quite impressive!

For dinner we went to a restaurant near our hostel and ate some "authentic" German food. The restaurant was very cute, with stuffed goats, and men hanging out of trees. The waitresses also all wore checkered dresses. I ordered suckling pig with red cabbage and mashed potatoes. It was covered in a light but sweet gravy sauce that was delicious! The red cabbage was sweet and sour - just the way I like it.

The next morning I was hung over so I got another bratwurst for breakfast - yummy! After sight seeing we stopped at a fast food joint to try the famous DONER KEBAP. Doner Kabab starts with lamb meat on a bread roll. Then you add tomaters and onions and lettuce and cucumbers and cucumber sauce. I wish I had a picture :-(

On Sunday I saved up my money and my appetite for dinner. We ate at a restaurant called Schwartwaldenstueben. There were quaint tables with couches and chairs. It was very cozy and there were boars heads on the walls. We ordered the house beer - Rothaus! The menu was full of twists on authentic German recipes - I highly recommend it! I ordered meat stuffed pasta squares with potato salad and lettuce. It was amazing! For dessert we shared pineapple ravioli and apple crepes with mango sauce. The pineapple ravioli was pineapple cut very thin, stuffed with white chocolate and pressed together to make ravioli squares - exquisite! The apple crepes with mango sauce was also one of the best things I have ever tasted!

Berlin and its food was amazing and I cannot wait to try different cuisines as I travel throughout Europe!

Cooking in Roma

My apartment is quite small and the kitchen area is tiny! There is not much counter space, only 1 small fridge, and NO microwave! At school in Champaign I am constantly on the move and I never cook for myself. The most extensive thing I do is boiling Ramen or throwing a boca burger in the microwave. I work at a restaurant so it is easiest (and cheapest) for me to eat there almost everyday. I never have time to cook nice meals for myself, but now that I am living in Rome, I have the time and the energy to do so!

The best thing that I have cooked thus far is ricotta stuffed mushrooms. I love mushrooms so I found a recipe online that seemed very simple but delicious. Here is the recipe:

Remove stems from 6 large mushrooms

Chop stems and 7th mushroom and saute in EVOO with pepper, salt, and garlic

Mix Ricotta and parmesan in extra bowl

When stems are done, add to ricotta and parmesan

Stuff mushrooms with mixture

Sprinkle parmesan on top of mushrooms

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes

Enjoy!

Vineyard visit!

The Vineyard

Last week we went to a vineyard to learn about how they produce their wine! It was very fun except that it snowed in Rome for the first time in about 20 years. The Romans did not know what to do! There was not even that much snow. People were running around with umbrellas and our bus was an hour late. There was hardly any snow, just flurries for a few hours, and it didn't even stick! I cannot imagine what they would be saying in they were in Chicago right now!

When we arrived at the vineyard it was still snowing and the wind was very strong. We only stood outside for a few minutes because it was very cold! We quickly got back in the bus and headed for shelter!

First we saw equipment that is used to remove the stems from the grapes. Then we moved into another room and saw vats that store and ferment the wine. Afterwards we went inside to experiment with different wines.

We were given 4 types of wine in large bottles. After trying the wines, we mixed them together to our liking to create our own wine. I did not like any of the wines; they were very bitter and dry, as they were red.

Afterwards we went to a beautiful conference area and had a nice lunch. There was bruschetta and pasta. It was very good! The sun finally came out and all of the snow was gone; it was a beautiful ending to a nice day!

Prague

This past weekend I visited Prague with some friends from the program. Prague is beautiful and the food was a nice break from all of the Italian food I have been eating. The first night my friends and I went to a local restaurant and ordered four different dishes which we all shared.

We ordered goulash with potato pancakes, dumplings stuffed with meat, spatzle with chicken and mushrooms and spatzle with spinich, ham, and egg. We each also ordered hot spiced wine. Everything was absolutely delicious; definitely one of the best meals I have eaten in a while.

Going clockwise: Goulash with potato pancake, spatzle with chicken and mushrooms, spatzle with spinach, ham, and egg, and a dumpling stuffed with meat.

Claire and I drinking hot spiced wine.

At night we were able to get spicy brats with sourkraut. They were delicious and very satisfying after a night of drinking. I thoroughly enjoyed the cuisine of Prague and I cannot wait to travel to Germany for similar cuisine!

Roma Thus Far

On Saturday I walked across the river to visit the market in Testacchio. Among the things there were anchovies, an entire octopus, and horse meat. While I am living in Rome my goal is to try as many different things as I can. This includes eating foods I would not normally eat. I plan to eat or cook horse and anchovies at some point this semester.

At the market we met a Luciano, a sea-food merchant. He communicated by handing us an old newspaper article that he was featured in. Apparently he was one of the oldest and best known merchants in the Testacchio market. He had been selling there since 1941 and he was very enthusiastic. I felt bad for not buying anything from him, so once I learn how to cook some sea food I want to visit the market and buy it from him.

On Saturday night I took the metro to Cavour to get Chinese food. We found a small restaurant with some Italians and a few Asians inside, so we figured it was a safe bet. The food was not as good as I get at home, but it was still a nice break from all of the Italian we have been eating. It was also very cheap too! For 6.5 Euros I got 2 egg rolls, vegetable noodles, sweet and sour chicken and 1 liter of water.

This past Sunday our entire class went to the AS Roma game vs. Siena. The stadium was not that packed but there was still a lot of team spirit. I sat in the section with all the boisterous. s fans and had a great time. I think it would be interesting to go to a more popular game such as AS Roma vs. AC Milan. The fans were chanting and shouting the whole time. They seemed to be more interested in mocking Siena than watching the actual game.

Until next time, Ciao!