"Be vewwy, vewwy quiet. . . I'm hunting wabbits!"

In case you spent your childhood living under a rock, that quote is from Elmer Fudd. It pertains to this week's food class. But before I get to that, I have 2 random facts! (I forgot to put one in my last post. . . silly me.)

A female ferret wiill die if it goes into heat and cannot find a mate.

A 2 X 4 is really a 1-1/2 by 3-1/2.

Think about that for a minute. . .

Got it?

Good.

Now. Today in food class, we talked about Tuscany. (AKA where I live.) Tuscan cooking is simple country cooking. Some common Tuscan dishes are:

• Pappa al pomodoro (bread/tomato soup)
• Ribollita (vegetable soup with cavole nero- black cabbage)
• Zuppa di farro (farro soup)
• Caciuccio (fish soup)
• Fiorentina steak (a grilled beef steak from the chianina cow, a cow from Val di Chiana, between Arezzo and Siena; the cow is raised on the grass it eats outside; called Fiorentina because the cut of meat is made in Florence)
• Pecorino cheese (a sheeps' milk cheese, the only cheese actually produced in Tuscany; ask if you want details; I'm practically an expert now.)
• Salami and prosciutto (many kinds; again, I won't bore you with the details of each.)
• Wild boar (sauce, sausage, stew, etc.)
• Rabbit (typically fried; also made in sauce, baked, or grilled)
• Trippa and lampredotto (different parts of cow stomach; yeah, the real Tuscans actually eat these in sandwiches; I haven't been brave enough for that yet)
• Olive oil (Tuscany produces some of the best olive oil! I'm a connoisseur of olive oils now. I can totally tell you all about them.)
• Cannellini and zolfini (white and white/yellow beans)
• Cantuccini (almond cookies; you probably know them as biscotti)
• Chianti, Brunello, Nobile, Sassicai, Solaia wines (reds; Meghan and I did a presentation on Tuscan red wines today for our wine class.)
• Vin Santo (a sweet white wine made from dried grapes; we tried it last week in wine class and it was disgusting; I almost puked; but don't let me influence you.)

So, what did we make today?

Coniglio and Carciofi fritti, Pappa al Pomodoro, and Cantuccini

Fried Rabbit and Artichokes, Tomato-Bread Soup, and Almond Biscotti

or you can call it by its alternate name,

"OHMYGOSHTHISISDELICIOUS"

but it's up to you :)

We'll start with the Cantuccini, because, well, why not do dessert first?

You need:

• 330g flour
• 150g sugar
• 100g almonds (toasted)
• 2 eggs
• 1 yolk
• 1/2 bag baking powder (I think it's about 1 teaspoon; it Italy, baking powder is sold in little packets.)
• 50g butter
• Zest of 1 lemon

Mix the flour with the butter to make crumbles; add sugar, 2 eggs, lemon zest, and baking powder. Mix. Then mix in the almonds and shape the dough into long rolls. Place them in a pan, either buttered and floured or on parchment. Beat the yolk separately and brush it on top. Bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees C. Let them cool. Cut in diagonal slices. Put them back in the oven for a few more minutes to dry. They should be crunchy, not chewy.

We made a half batch (except we still used 100g almonds and 2 eggs; she told us to; I don't know why; maybe the recipe is wrong how it is written?). It turned out wonderfully. Most of the biscotti you buy here is pretty expensive. I think the kind we made tasted the same as, or even better than the kind I bought! Also, you can find all kinds of chocolate biscotti; real Italians don't eat that. They eat the traditional almond version. Be a real Italian, and make some of this. :)

You're supposed to dip it in Vin Santo. I hate Vin Santo (if I didn't get my point across earlier). But you might like it!

I could eat the whole plate of them

Next, Pappa al Pomodoro

You need:

• 250g (8oz) stale coarse country bread
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 leek (optional)
• 1 hot pepper (optional)
• Sage (optional)
• A couple tablespoons olive oil
• 700g (1-1/2lb) very ripe tomatoes, peeled and cut into pieces (Since tomatoes aren't in season right now, we used a jar of sauce)
• 1 litre (1-3/4 pints) light chicken stock (use 1 stock cube)
• Salt and pepper
• A handful of basil leaves

Slice and toast the bread. Cool. Break it into pieces. Fry the garlic, chopped leek (my first time cooking with leek!), sage, some basil, and pepper in oil until it begins to color. Then add the tomatoes and bread. Cook, stirring, until the bread blends with the tomatoes. Stir in some stock to get a thick, mushy (That's a gross word.) consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer 20 minutes. Serve topped with more basil.

The book says to serve hot with a little olive oil dribbled over each serving. We didn't add the extra oil. We didn't even have spoons or bowls, so we ate it on plates with forks, and it was amazing. Confession: I am partial to all things tomato-y. Ketchup, tomato soup, tomato sauce, tomatoes in pasta, tomatoes in cottage cheese (Try it! cottage cheese + tomato + a little salt = PERFECT snack), plain tomatoes. . . Dad doesn't call me Kato Tomato for nothin'!

Comfort food. This would be great on a cold day.

And finally, Coniglio e Carciofi Fritti

You need:

• 400g rabbit legs
• Rosemary
• 4 artichokes
• 1 lemon
• 70g flour
• 30g rice flour
• 1 egg (We left it out to make it lighter)
• White wine (I'm going to estimate we used about half a cup, plus half a cup of water)
• Oil
• Salt and pepper
• Ice cubes

Cut the meat in small pieces. Put it in a bowl with pepper and rosemary. Leave for 30 minutes.

Clean the artichokes. (It was my first time cooking with those, too!) Slice them (You should get 8 "fries" out of each), and leave them in a bowl of water with lemon juice.

In another bowl, mix the flours with the egg. Add the wine until it's a creamy consistency. Leave it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Get a big bowl. Put ice cubes inside. Place the bowl of cream mixture on top of the ice to keep it cold.

Take a frying pan. Cover the bottom with olive oil. Make it hot. Dip the meat in the cream mixture and then put it in the oil. Fry until golden, turning when necessary. Dry the artichokes from the water and dip in the cream as well. Fry those, too. Sprinkle with salt, and serve.

Close-up of the rabbit and artichoke plate

My teacher says rabbit tastes better than chicken.

I'm telling you, rabbit tastes better than chicken.

Now, I want all of you to pick up some rabbit legs next time you're out at Wal-Mart doing your grocery shopping. . . what? You're telling me Wal-Mart doesn't carry rabbit legs? WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO?

On a totally unrelated (or maybe it is related) note, I finally went to the Paperback Exchange bookstore Lindsey told me about! They have new and used books in English. I bought 2 pretty cheap used books. Julie and Julia and Starting from Scratch. Both have a lot to do with food. Are you hungry yet?

Also, Saturday is Hannah's birthday. She wanted a cheesecake. And since we're in Italy, I decided I'd make her a Nutella Cheesecake. It'll be better if it can chill for at least a day before it's eaten. (Yep, guilty; I've made it before, but a slightly different recipe.) Since Meghan and I are going to be in Verona all day tomorrow, I made it tonight. NOW are you hungry?

I hope so. Thanks for reading! :)