Beer School

Thank God I am good at math! I knew brewing was a lot of math and chemistry but I feel like I'm in Mr. Clune's math class not beer school. My first two days of class was a lot of explanation of what is needed to calculate a recipe. I learned more in those first 2 days then I have in my first 3 home-brews. On Wednesday we went on a tour of the Simpsons Malt Company to see the complex process of how barley becomes malt. Then we stopped at the Ships Inn Brewery and Pub to see how a very small but efficient micro-brewery operates and of course sample some of the brews. The brewery and pub is located in a very tiny town right on the beach. It was beautiful even in this weather, and I can imagine it a pretty fun place to have a beach day in the summer. Today I worked making a brew in the brewery at my school. This is meant to give us an opportunity to see what day to day work in the brewery is like. Tomorrow I will begin my first recipe, which hopefully I calculated correctly. So far I have been really enjoying my classes here and everyone is really nice. I am already thinking of ways to improve my system at home and coming up with some potential brews. Well the general idea of them at least...Dad maybe you could give your math class extra credit for calculating my recipes? Parents would be okay with that right?

Ciao Italia, Hello UK

Wow, so my last week in Italy was a busy one. I can't believe it went by so quickly, yet when I think about being at Newark Airport it seems like a million years ago. Of course as always the highlight of my week was the dishes we made in class, but I also gained 2 classmates this week. We still all made our own dishes, so it was nice having some company in the class. Monday in my Italian Regional Class and we studied the region of Piemonte. We made Agliata (Fresh Pasta with Walnut Cream Sauce), Cipolle Ripiene (Onions stuffed with Pork, Bread and Cheese) and Bonet (kinda like a Chocolate and Amaretti Caramel Flan). Tuesday for our Tuscany class we looked at the town of Pistoia and made Gnocchi Alla Pistoiese (Gnocchi made out of Spinach and Ricotta Cheese), Uccelli Scappati (a Stuffed Cabbage dish) and Ciambellone di Castagne (a chewy chocolate and marsala cake made with chestnut flour). And in my Vegetarian Class,my last cooking class:( we made Gnocchi di Carote al Rosmarino (Potato and Carrot Gnocchi with a Rosemary Sauce), Spuma di Carote al Bitto (a kinda carrot and cheese soufflé) and Torta di Carote (a very different then our American Carrot Cake). And on Thursday in wine class I tasted some really interesting wines from Southern Italy, particularly one from Sardinia where the fact that the grape are grown on an island really comes through in the saltiness of the wine. I'm going to add a recipe from each day over the course of this week starting with the Cipolle Ripiene. Also above is a picture from my last class with Chef Desy, we will pretend like its a good picture of me bc its the only picture I got in the kitchen. Also, also I should probably explain that the look on my face is bc I didn't know the picture was being taken not because he is grabbing my wrist. He was showing how to do that flippy thing with the pasta in the pan.

And sadly on Friday I had my last meal in Italy, and this morning I headed to England. And boy am I glad my return trip is not the same! My morning started with waking up at 4:30 am, getting picked up by a car service at 5 am (because I didn't trust I would find a taxi that early), getting a 2 hour flight from Florence to London-Gatwick, taking a shuttle to the train station, taking the Gatwick Express to Victoria, taking the Victoria metro line to King's Cross, not having the energy to drag my heavy bags over to platform 9 3/4 (but I will make myself on the way back), taking a train from King's Cross to Newcastle, taking a local train to Sunderland and getting in a cab to my dorms here. So needless to say if none of what I'm writing now makes sense, you understand why. Here in Sunderland I am in a 10 room dorm building with my 9 classmates at brewing school. So yes, that is me and 9 dudes. I have my own room and sink, but there is 1 toilet on each floor and 1 shower on each floor and one kitchen total (which BrewLab has completely stocked with food). I'm really glad I brought my shower flip flops. Some of my dorm mates have arrived but there is a big soccer game on right now, so they are not here and I haven't met them yet. After I settled in I went to the closest place to grab a pizza for dinner, and let's just say, I'm not in Italy anymore. I guess I will meet my dorm mates tomorrow because pathetically I'll probably be in bed by 8, I'm sooo exhausted.

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.

New Recipes

I have been busy cooking! Monday was my Italian Regional Class and we studied the region of Valle D'Aosta. This region is in northern Italy and boarders France and Switzerland. So the food here are very heavy due to the cold climate and has French and Swiss influence as well as Italian. On this day I made Zuppa Valpellinense (a beef and cabbage soup baked on top of bread and cheese), Costolette alla Valdaostana (a breaded veal cutlet stuffed with fontina cheese) and Ciambelline di Mais (a lemon and corn cookie.)

Today I had my Tuscan cooking course and we focused on the cities of Pisa, Livorno and Lucca. Like most Tuscan cooking meals here involve a lot of meat and cheese, and "poor man's" dishes. We made Intruglia (a vegetable and beef broth soup), Pollo All'Elbana (Chicken with a cheese and white wine sauce) and Scarpaccia (zucchini cake).

At the bottom of the page I have switch the recipe to show both the Ciambelline di Mais and the Scarpaccia.

Rome and the Tuscany Vineyards

Friday was a holiday in Rome to celebrate the day the 3 wise men arrived after Jesus was born, so it is like a second Christmas. There is also a Santa Claus equivalent on this holiday, a witch comes into your house and leaves a stocking full of candy. So pretty much Halloween in a stocking, but I don't know how the witch part doesn't scare the shit out of kids.

Because of the holiday we had the day off from classes, so I went to Rome with my roommates for a day trip. We managed to fit the Colosseum, Vatican City, Trevi Fountain and Pantheon all into one day at the expense of my feet. It was nice to see Rome again, particularly the Trevi Fountain which I think is my favorite thing in Rome. Unfortunately because of the holiday the Sistine Chapel was closed, keeping in its place of the thing in Rome I didn't see. (The last time I was in Rome the Sistine Chapel was closed because they were having conclave to pick the new Pope.) The pizza in Rome is much better than in Florence, so we made sure we got plenty of slices.

Yesterday, I went on a field trip through the school to Pineza (a small town in Tuscany that is known for its great sheep's milk cheeses), Salcheto Vineyard and Winery and Montepulcia (the city of the wine region of Montepulciano). The Salcheto Vineyard and Winery is one of the leaders in a growing trend in Italy to find a more ecologically friendly way to make wine. The lights in the cellar are solar powered and also just directly funnel sunlight. And they have recently redone their cellar to organize it to make the most use of gravity to move grapes and wine. Salcheto mostly grows the Sangiovese grape which is the main grape variety in Tuscany. The Sangiovese grape is used in wines such as Chianti, Vino Noble de Montepulcia and Rosso de Montepulcia. Salcheto makes all three these wines, but they seem to be most known for their Vino Noble de Montepulcia which they make according to DOCG standards (the highest level of standard for wine making in Italy). Some of the qualification for this being it is grown in the region of Montepulcia, they used 100% Sangiovese grapes and it was aged in oak for 2 years. There we tasted their Vino Noble de Montepulcia and Rosso de Montepulcia paired with an amazing pasta lunch. My wine tasting instructor, Mossimo, who I met at my first class on Thursday, was our guide for this field trip. I guess my wine tasting class in college wasn't just an easy A and a great happy hour, because Mossimo told me next class he needs to bring more challenging wines for me.

I'm looking forward to my first full week of classes (I don't know if I have every said that before!)

I'm Here!

So yesterday I made it to Florence and I started my classes today! I even somehow got my 50 pounds suit case up to my apartment which is a fifth floor walk up! But is has a beautiful view of the Basilica di San Lorenzo which I will post a picture of eventually. I have 5 roommates, all of which are also here for 3 weeks studying different programs through the study abroad school. I am the oldest out of all of us (what a change for me) and the only one not from Long Island. We went out to dinner and I ate an amazing pasta Bolognese for dinner, which was well earned after my move in.
Today I first had my Italian language classes, and we actually learned a lot for the first day. I was nervous I wouldn't be able to practice it too much, because people usually just start speaking English to Americans, but I must be blending in well because I initially get a lot of Italian from people... until I open my mouth and butcher their language. So far 4 tourist have stopped me for directions, and I actually was able to help them. I'm the only person I've met in the program who hasn't gotten lost yet, so thanks Dad.
And then I had cooking class and I really lucked out with that. I only paid for the group classes, but since it is a slow time of year, I have a private class with my teacher, Chef Desy. He was born on the Ivory Coast, but moved to Florence as a child and has worked as a chef in restaurants in Florence and NYC. Today was Italian Vegetarian Cooking, and I already learned how to make pasta and made some serious improvements to my chopping and cutting skills. We made Pasta Fresca al Limone, Insalata di Arance and Torta al Limone (It was citrus day). The best part, I got to eat it and got wine! And Chef Desy was plating my food like it was in some trendy restaurant and we sat for a sit down dinner. So far it was the best meal I've had. In a box at the bottom of the page I am going to put on of the most recent recipes we have made. I meant to take a picture of my dishes but I was so excited to eat them I forgot.

Miss you all a lot!!