Trenette Alle Noci and Crepes Suzette

Today was the day I had been waiting for, the first real cooking day in my Italian food class! We studied three regions in the Northwest of Italy: Piedmont, Valle d'Aosta, and Liguria.

We divide the class into three groups of four people each. Each group makes the same dishes, but this way everyone gets to help with every part of the process. First, we made trenette alle noci, fresh pasta with walnut sauce. Here's how: We measured out 300 grams of flour and dumped it on the table, making a hole in the middle. We cracked three eggs into the hole. (Use 1 egg per 100 grams of flour) Then add just a few drops of oil and a pinch of salt. Mix the eggs with your fingers, slowly working the flour in, and kneeding the dough for about ten minutes, until smooth and elastic. Then we wrapped the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for a while while we started on. . .

Crepes Suzette. These were wonderful. First, mix two eggs with 20 grams of sugar; add 75 grams of flour, 1.3 dL (I'm not sure what dL is, but she told us to measure 130 grams) of milk, and 20 grams of melted butter. Grease a frying pan with butter, and make it very hot. Pour in only a little batter and swirl it around, waiting for it to cook.

Here's the real chef-y part. Toss it up in the air to flip it! I was really nervous. I envisioned crepes flying across the room, getting stuck to the ceiling, etc. No need to worry, though. It worked perfectly. I'm a pro.

Now, while those were cooking, it was back to the pasta and getting things ready for the sauce. This was the most fun part.

Using the pasta press!

Perfect! We've got to get one of these at home. . .

The walnut sauce was just:

• 300g (10oz) shelled walnuts
• 1 clove garlic (It was a really big clove)
• 2 slices country bread, crusts removed
• 300ml (1/2 pint) milk
• 50g (2oz) freshly grated parmesan
• 5-6 tablespoons light olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Soak the bread in the milk while you're doing other things. . . and when you're ready to make the sauce, put all the ingredients in a blender. Push the button. Voila.

Back to the crepes.

Melt 80 grams of butter in a big frying pan. Add 60 grams powdered sugar and zest of both a lemon and an orange. Add the crepes, folded in fourths to look like triangles, the juice from the orange, and four tablespoons of cointreau. Saute for a minute. Add four tablespoons of cognac, and fire it. (The teacher did most of our "firing")

Here's how our crepes turned out.

Our noodles cooked in boiling, salted water for just a few minutes. Here are the noodles being mixed with the walnut sauce.

Finally, we got to eat! The crepes were sweet and orangey and delicious. The closest thing I've had to the pasta is alfredo. It was definitely a different texture than alfredo (because of the walnuts), but it was really creamy and heavy and satisfying. Mmm. . .

I might have to buy a scale to measure food in grams for when I get home. I will probably want to recreate some of these recipes!

Stay tuned for next week: Risotto alla Milanese, Ossobuco and Caramelle alle mele. I forgot what exactly that is. But doesn't it just sound good?

Souvenirs Thus Far

I've been in Italy two weeks now. Wow! It feels like forever, and only a day, at the same time. I'm starting to feel like I'm living in a bubble. From my apartment, I've only been as far as (at most) a 25 minute walk. It's weird not driving, and having everything I need in walking distance from where I live. It's weird that there are so many streets nearby I haven't yet been down, so many stores and sights left to see and explore. Which isn't to say I haven't found my fair share of treasures. Here are the souvenirs I've collected the past two weeks.

Two scarves. I think I may limit myself to a total of three. I also refuse to pay more than 5 euros for each.



Earrings!



Florence scrapbook! I will need this when I get home.

BEAUTIFUL ceramic ornament made in Florence, with scenes from the city on it.
Is it just me or does this photo look profesh? I just surprised myself with my photograhy skills.

The cutest thing in the world. Seriously.

Now I'll elaborate on the last two pictures. I saw these at the most adorable little kitchen-y home store ever. I wanted them a few days ago, but decided I didn't want to impulsively buy them. (I wanted those, and a polka-dot cutlery set, and a clock, and a toaster that looks like a cow. . .) I went back today to look again. They were half off, so I paid 8 euros for the whole set, plus they're dishwasher and microwave safe. I am so excited about them! I can't stop looking at them. There is also a blue set and an orange set. I thought these were the cutest, though.

I did return to the chocolate festival for round 2. There seemed to be a few different venders than we saw last time, but a lot of the same ones. I bought some more of my favorites from last time, though I'm still not quite sure what they are. (Other than AMAZING.)

After leaving the chocolate festival this afternoon, Kate and I went to Gelateria de Neri, one I have been wanting to try. I got a big cone of two kinds: nutella, and cream. My tummy couldn't be happier right now.

Silversmithing, a Failed Attempt at Italian, and a Promising Future

Yesterday afternoon/night I had my second Jewelry Making class. I was very EARLY this time! Not that it will make up for the big tardy of last week, but I'm sort of paranoid about having a relapse into a late funk. I don't think I explained how cool this class is yet, so here's what I have to say. It is NOTHING like I expected. I signed up for it thinking I'd be an expert at stringing beads and maybe bending some wires or putting clasps on necklaces.

However, after two class periods, I'm essentially a silversmith. That's right. I'm now practically an expert with the soldering iron! . . . I'm lying. I'm horrible at it. My stupid solder pieces always fly off when I start torching with the blow torch thing. I either use too much or too little solder. And I burned my arm. But I have already improved so much! Here's my ring, in progress.

After the first class period

In the middle of the second class period

After what you see in the second picture, I spent literally two hours filing the "bezel" so that the inside of the ring is round. Very tedious work resulting in very sore arms and hands. Next week I'll be doing more filing, sanding, polishing, and then I will get to set the stone! This is a legit ring, people. Nothing like I ever would have thought I'd be making. I have a whole new respect for silversmiths!

Last night we also got to see pictures of the earring project that people from other classes have done. For the earrings, we can basically do whatever we want. Some of the pictures are amazing. I hope mine turn out well! Although at the moment I have no clue what sort of earrings I want to make.

Today, I had Italian again. I'm terrible at Italian. Mostly, I didn't study. Like at all. Our homework for today was to study what we had learned in class, so naturally, I didn't look at it. I hate homework that doesn't call for anything written! I figured I didn't really need to look over my notes because I didn't need them to write anything or do a worksheet, and there wasn't a quiz today. But the teacher went around and asked us questions, in Italian, which we had to answer, in Italian. And there was me, fumbling through my notes like a bad student, wishing I had taken the (in my opinion) vague assignment more seriously. Lesson learned. And Thursday's homework? Hallelujah. A worksheet, AND book work. This I can do.

One more topic. Today, I polished off my final piece of chocolate from the chocolate festival. Then I checked my calendar, where I was reassured that tomorrow, Wednesday, also my day off, is the start of ROUND TWO of this thing. Life is good. Beautiful, you might say.

So I may not be so great at Italian, but I do have my priorities in order.

Umm. . . Yeah. . . Priorities. . .

Museum Musings

This post gives a summary of each of the museums I went to this weekend. The best thing I saw is posted at the end. DON'T skip ahead! But be excited. . .

Museum Number 1

Yesterday (Saturday) I went to the Uffizi Gallery with Hannah, where we met up with the two other Truman girls, Lindsey and Brittany. The four of us got our tickets and climbed up four flights of stairs to begin our tour of the greatest overall collection anywhere of Italian paintings. First, we saw paintings from medieval times, like this Madonna and Child by Giotto,

and similar ones by Duccio and Cimabue. All the medieval paintings were religious and depict scenes from the Bible. We saw the angel telling Mary she would be the mother of Jesus, nativity paintings, and crucifictions of Christ. (Works by Martini and Fabriano) Then we moved on to the Early Renaissance, when non-religious people were first painted. Art in this part of the museum includes paintings by Pollaiuolo, Uccello, and Francesca. Here's one from the Early Renaissance.

Piero della Francesca's "The Duke and Duchess of Urbino"

My absolute favorite part of the museum are the works from the middle of the Renaissance, from 1450 to 1500. Botticelli painted the two works that are, by far, my favorite. Here they are.

Birth of Venus

Allegory of Spring

Unfortunately, you can't take pictures at the Uffizi, so I had to settle for postcards in the giftshop and google images for the ones I'm posting on my blog. After the Botticelli paintings, we saw some really amazing ones by da Vinci and also some sculptures. Because I'm a good Lutheran, I feel obligated to post a picture of another painting found in the Uffizi.

Cranach's "Martin Luther"

Then we reached the one part of the museum where pictures are allowed: a hall of sculptures, with glass windows overlooking the Arno River. We had someone nearby take our picture.

Hannah, Brittany, Lindsey, and Me, representing Truman at the Uffizi!

The High Rennaissance section of the museum was next, with works by Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian.

Fun fact! This painting, by Michelangelo, was painted for Angelo Doni for 70 ducats. When it was delivered, Doni tried to talk Michelangelo down to 40, but he was offended and took it away, and wouldn't sell it until Doni agreed to pay 140.

Michelangelo, "Holy Family"

I don't want to bore anyone with more Art History lessons, but I did enjoy the Uffizi more than I thought I would. It's much different to see these works of art in person than in a book or online, but hopefully this gives you an idea of what you can find at the Uffizi!

Museum Number 2

Today, I started my Sunday off with a trip to the Duomo museum. (Duomo means House of God.) Here I was allowed to take pictures, so these are straight from my camera to you:



A few of the statues that sat on the Duomo's original facade



Michelangelo designed and carved this centepiece for his own tomb



"Mary Magdalene," one of the many works by Donatello

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for. . .

This.

is the SEVERED INDEX FINGER.

of.

JOHN THE BAPTIST.

See that little glass thingy? It's in there!

By far the coolest thing I've seen today. Probably way cooler than anything you've seen today, too. Jealous? Come visit!

Thanks for reading! :)

Fiera del Cioccolato? Yes, Please!

I started the morning off with a trip to the bookstore to buy my textbooks. I google mapped it, wrote out directions, and thought I knew where I was going. For any normal human with a mediocre sense of direction, it would have been about a 5 minute walk. It took me about an hour. I was going up and down the same streets and just couldn't seem to find it! The buildings in Florence are a little confusing. The red numbers are businesses and the black numbers are residences. I knew that, but I just couldn't find what I was looking for. The numbers skip around, or something. Anyway, after that excursion, and spending way too much on spiral notebooks and folders (I have an obsession with school supplies), I got myself organized for all of my classes.

Meghan got up around noon and we went for a run along the Arno River. It was a gorgeous day, sunny and in the mid 60s! I can't say I'm homesick for Missouri weather, yet. When we got back, I made a baked potato, chicken, and peas for lunch. Then it was time for some real fun.

Well, I had planned on going to the Uffizi Gallery today. . . but then I found out about the 7th annual "Fiera del Cioccolato." Yes, this is. . .

a CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL.

Today was the opening day. We just had to check it out. So we walked down to Piazza Santa Croce, and here is what we saw.


See those white tents? Under those are about 25 different little stands with chocolatiers from all over the country (maybe even surrounding countries) selling their chocolates. I took a LOT of pictures. Here are a few. . .

Chocolate tools!



Chocolate shoes!



I don't even know what all these are, but I'm drooling

I bought 4 truffles, the three in the front: caramel, coconut, and classic; and the one in the far back: dark chocolate

Hannah and I with our truffles (I've eaten 2 so far. Divine.)

Hannah, Me, Kate, and Meghan

There were also lots of chocolate fountains for dipping marshmallows and waffles and fruit-kabobs, chocolate rum and other alcohol, tons of different shaped chocolates, big hunks of chocolate with different things in them, chocolate-covered fruit, nuts, filled chocolates. . .

I bought a total of four truffles, a handful of chocolate-covered almonds, three nougaty chocolates, and three with a creamy lemon filling. Oh, and did I mention there are samples? This was heaven on earth.

BUT WAIT. There's more.

The chocolate festival is here for more than a week. On February 9th, these chocolatiers leave and are replaced by a whole new group of chocolate makers! Boy, did I pick a great place to study abroad.

Why I Love Thursdays

I LOVE:

• My Italian Class,
• My Food Class, and
• My Wine Class

My Italian Class.

The teacher is an old man. He's Italian, but speaks VERY good English, and lived in the US for a couple of years. He speaks to us mostly in English so he can explain things. He's very patient because we are learning a new language and don't always know how to pronounce everything. The class is very small.There are eight of us in the whole class. We have it twice a week, for an hour and 15 minutes each class period. So far, we have learned the alphabet, punctuation, greetings, numbers, days of the week, seasons, months, and weather. I say "learned," but I mean that we went over them, and now I have to study. It's much more fast-paced then the French classes I've taken, but I guess that is to be expected because I started French in high school, not college.

My Food Class.

Another small class, about 10 people, I think. Throughout the semester, we are traveling through Italy, via food. We're starting in the north and working our way south. We start each week learning the history of the region we're "in", the weather and geography, what types of foods are found there, etc. Then, we make two or three dishes from the region, following simple recipes the teacher will give us. Finally, we get to taste the food, and then clean everything up. I love the teacher because she is very knowledgeable. She went to cooking school, worked in a restaurant for many years, and did catering for a few years before she started teaching. She stresses the importance of buying and using what is in season and what is fresh. Today, for the first class, she took us to the market and explained all the different kinds of pastas, sauces, cheeses, meats, fruits, vegetables, and fish. She told us what regions they're from, how you prepare them, and what you eat them with. She told us what to look for in meat to make sure it is fresh, and what sorts of vegetables and fruits to buy now, and which to wait until the summer to buy. I learned about a lot of different types of tomatoes, what regions in Italy they grow in, what they taste like, and what they are used for. I'm very excited to have the opportunity to learn how to cook things I never would have tried. The syllabus says we will be cooking clams, calamari, etc. I'm thrilled! This is my FAVORITE class. Ever.

My Wine Class.

So much fun. The teacher is very young. He seems like he is in his 20s, but I am also horrible at guessing ages. He's a wine expert. Today we went over the history of wine, which was first made like 8000 years ago or something. We covered the brief history of wine in Italy. Similar to the food class, we're studying different regions each week. We try four different types of wine each week after studying all the background information. Then we try to describe it-- how it looks, smells, and tastes. Today we only had time to try three of them, all white wines. I actually liked them more than I thought I would! This class was fun today because when he asked us to describe the different smells of each and we had never done that before, we all said to each other, "It just smells like wine..." He's been describing wine for years so he knows what he's talking about, but we're still clueless.

So now I have had a full week of class. I love that they are all so small and the teachers are very good. I can tell I am getting a really good education here and will learn a lot.

There is no class on Fridays, so I think I will go to the Uffizi Gallery tomorrow. Arrivederci!

First Week of Class!

Sunday, Kate and I went out in the drizzly rain and walked to the Duomo. It's only a minute or two from our room. We went inside when it opened at 1:30. We didn't climb the dome inside this time, but we might come back sometime and do that. It costs a few dollars but it would be cool to see.

The front of the church

(Part of) the inside of the dome

When we left the Duomo we walked down to the river again and found where the Uffizi Museum is. We're going to buy a pass there that will get us into all of the state-owned Florence museums for free and discounts at many other places. On the way back home, we found the Chanel store!

If only I had the money...

We considered getting gelato for what would have been the third day in a row but decided we wanted real food instead. Back at the apartment I made pasta with pesto and parmesan for lunch. It was delicious. The rest of Sunday we didn't really do anything, just took naps and tried to plan out where we want to go on different weekends this semester.

Monday, I got up early and went to see my advisor about switching one of my classes. I wanted to drop the literature class. I was only taking it because I needed a lit class for Truman, but Truman changed the requirements so I actually didn't need to take that. I switched it to a wine-tasting class called Wines of Italy, instead. I'm excited to learn all about different types of wine, because I know absolutely nothing about it as of now.

Late morning and early afternoon I spent shopping with one of my roommates, Meghan. I made my first non-edible purchase: a scarf. Yes, I already have a million of them at home, but I could only bring a few with me, so I figured it was necessary. After shopping, I made some lunch around 3 and then decided to nap until 4:30. I'd be up in time for my Jewelry Making class at 5. Being the very punctual person that I am, I even woke up before my alarm to get ready.

I grabbed my things to go to class and glanced at my schedule to see where I needed to go. It was then that I realized the class actually started at 3. Shoot. I practically ran to the building. I walked in. Luckily, it was a class of only about 10 people. They were all working on their projects, and the teacher was in the corner helping someone. When he saw me, he came over to show me what I had missed. I apologized several times. I really am NEVER late. I still can't believe that happened!

The teacher was nice about it because it was the first day. I got caught up pretty quickly. Our first project will take us the first four weeks to complete. It's a silver ring with a stone. It is hard work. We have to cut the silver to the exact right length, bending it with our tools to get it perfectly round. Then we have to solder it and put it in a pickling solution and then put it on a steel rod to hammer it into a perfect circle. It's fun, though! At the end of the course we will have completed a ring, earrings, and I think either a bracelet or a necklace. The only problem with the class is that it is from 3 to 8:30-- 5 and a half hours! There is one break from 5:30 to 6, but still. It's a long time.

This morning I had The Architecture of Florence. That class will be interesting because we get to take field trips each week during the last part of class to look at the things we just learned. This class is just 2 and a half hours long. The teacher is very nice. She said before the midterm and the final she will tell us what is on the test to study. We have a couple of papers to write for that class, but they shouldn't be terrible.

I have my first Italian language class today! I'm very excited. Maybe in my next post I can teach you all some words.

One more thing! If any of you would like to send me any mail, my address is:

Katie Sommerer

C/O ISTITUTO LORENZO DE' MEDICI

Via DEL MELARANCIO 6/r

50123 Firenze, ITALIA

Regular mail takes 8-10 days. Packages take 10-20 days if sent Airmail, 60-90 days if sent Surface rate. Express mail (Fed-Ex or DHL) takes 3-4 days, and UPS is not recommended.