Food!!!

This has been an amazing food weekend and by weekend I mean since Wednesday. Wednesday was vegetarian cooking class again and the focus was fennel. We made a Finocchi Ripieni (Fennel stuffed with Peas, Corn and Cheese), Bavarese di Finocchio (Fennel Custard) and Torta di Finocchi (like a Fennel quiche in a puff pastry). I have included the recipe for the Finocchi Ripieni at the bottom of the page. Thursday I had my second wine tasting class and I learned about wines from Northern Italy. I had a bottle from right outside of Verona (town from Romeo and Juliet) and a bottle from near the border of Germany, where they use both Italian and German grape varieties. Then Thursday night I had my cooking lab for my language class where we followed a recipe that was in Italian to make Risotto Carciofi (Artichoke Risotto) and Cantuccini Alle Mandorle (an Almond Biscotti which is one of the most popular desserts in Tuscany).

Friday night I went to a restaurant own by an Italian family where the grandma is in the kitchen cooking everything on the menu. This was easily the best meal I have had in Florence. I had the gnocchi with meat sauce which was amazing, but the real show stealer was the pork loin with sautéed cabbage. I don't even really like pork that much, and this is still some how one of the best dishes I have had in my life. And of course their tiramisu (my favorite dessert) was perfect. Saturday before departing on another wine tasting, we went to go get "the best panini in Florence" as recommended by another student. Having now eaten a panini there I would say that is a very fair assessment. Instead of walking into 1 of the millions of identical cafes and ordering an panini that has probably been sitting there for hours, you head into this shop so tiny the door doesn't even open all the way. They make the panini as you ordered it, slicing the meat and the cheese right then, and they take the time to heat it through all the way. Now what I just described probably just sounds like how a panini should be made, which is true, but this paninis were truly fantastic. I got the salami, pecorino and eggplant, and I wish I got about 3 of them.

The wine tasting Saturday afternoon was a nice compliment to the first wine tasting I went on. This one was at a Castello del Trebbio vineyard which surrounds a castle where the wine is made in its cellars. The family (who live in the castle) opens it up to tourist for tours and wine tastings. The castle itself has a very interesting history. It was originally owned by the Pazzi family, which were the second most powerful family in Florence after the Medici. Naturally the Pazzi wanted to become the most powerful family, so along with the Pope, the Pazzi set up a plot to kill the 2 ruling Medici brothers, Guilano and Lorenzo (as in Lorenzo the Magnificent). They succeeded in killing Guilano, but Lorenzo got away. In revenge, Lorenzo had 200 member of the Pazzi family killed and hung in all the major squares in Florence. As far a revenge on the Pope and the church, Lorenzo waited until the Pope died and then guess who became the next Pope, Lorenzo's son. So what this has to with the Castello del Trebbio, is this is where the meeting was held by Pazzi family members to plan the assignation of the Medici brothers. Also after Lorenzo's revenge, the castle then came to be own by, Lorenzo, of course. The family that now owns the vineyards produce Chianti Rufina, Chianti Rufina Riserva and Vin Santo, all of which we tasted. Chianti wines have to be 80% sangiovese grape, but here at Castello del Trebbio they choose to use 100%. The castle falls in Chianti Rufina which is one of the 8 subdivision of the Chianti region. In order to make their reserve wine, it must be aged in oak for at least 2 years. The Vin Santo is a popular dessert wine in Tuscany, which is commonly used for dipping Cantuccini Alle Mandorle (the biscotti I made in class).

And after all this eating and drinking, today I woke up, put on my sneakers and climbed up to the Piazza de Michangelo. This is the square where you have an amazing view of Florence from, that I went to previously at night, but I think it was better during the day.