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!