I'm Back!

Well, I've been back since July 15th.

And man have I been busy (a slight change from my usual "do nothing all day" thing in Italy).

First things first: reacquaint myself with my kitties. Cookie took hold of my computer immediately (that's my excuse for not blogging recently).

He's intent on not letting me use technology.

Next, find a way to have Italian coffee at home. Cue the espresso maker I bought in Modena.

And my adorable espresso cups.

Attempt to hug our kitchen cabinet and end up just staring at it in awe. So much snack food.

And make a trip to Wegmans. This is a real cereal aisle, Italy. (And this is only half of it).

Finally, lots of baking.

A bundt for my brother's breakfast every morning.

I replaced half the lemon zest with orange because I didn't have enough, and it worked out just fine.

Two loaves of bread: one sourdough boule and one whole wheat. YUM. My all-carb diet isn't going anywhere.

This morning, I finally found this baby in the basement.

Get ready for fresh pasta everybody.

-Meri

Stuzzica Gente!

This past Sunday was a kind of food fair in Modena, called Stuzzica Gente. You paid 13 euros for a ticket and got to try an array of foods from different participating restaurants around the center of town.

I was so distracted by the idea of food that I forgot to take a picture of our first taste: gnocco fritto. Thankfully, Victoria eats slowly enough that I got a picture of her last bite.

I swear Magda is not in pain in this next photo. She's displaying our second stop which included water, naturale o frizzante.

She went with classic naturale. Good choice.

Next, pizza tricolor: a pizza with a pesto crust, tomato sauce and mozzarella.

Then we had some artisanal beers.

At La Mamma Pizzeria, we had pasta with a sausage and cream ragu.

I think this a half smile indicating happiness to be eating, but a little bit of disappointment with serving size...

Next, we headed over to L'Erba del Re, one of the three restaurants in Modena to have at least one Michelin Star.

I was pretty excited, until I saw the so-called "hamburger" they were giving out.

It was so dang small!!!

So small you could eat it in one bite.

That is not a hamburger.

I thought that it was pretty good, but Victoria was not as impressed.

Lambrusco! You chose between two kinds--I got amabile, the sweeter one. I loved it. Mostly because it tasted like cranberry juice.

Gelato was next on the list, but I forgot to take a picture. It wasn't very exciting because we had to get "fior di latte" and "crema"which are basically two kinds of gelato that both taste like frozen cream. I mean, it's good, but I want exciting gelato.

Then, I took the first successful shot of my life. Mostly because I think there may have been two drops of vodka in the whole shot. The rest was juice.

But look at me go! I'll totally be ready to turn 21 by the time I get back in the US...

That was it. Then I continued to make my way through the newest season of Arrested Development!

Good day.

-Meri

Recent Adventures

We've been having lots of fun these past few days! This is mommy and daddy on the infamous red stairs by my residence. They are slanted down and incredibly scary.

In other news, I haven't put up pictures from the calendars in two months!

Okay, now we're all caught up. Happy April and happy May!

Me, my mommy, and my daddy went to Embassy for the best aperitivo in Modena.

And then to Slurp--one of my favorite gelato places.

I got the Slurp (the store's flavor) and Biscottino. With free whipped cream and nutella! Incredibile!

We also got to explore my university a little bit. I got to show them the crazy Harry Potter stairs. Here we are at the fourth floor. We want to go to the fifth floor. But how do we get there?

Here we find the other set of stairs that only go from the fourth to the fifth floor. You have to go through the secret library room to find them.

After our harrowing adventure, we deserved some good foodsies. Gnocco fritto with prosciutto crudo from Bar Tiffany, home of the Gnocco D'Oro--the golden gnocco (they won an award for having the best gnocco fritto).

Look at that happy face.

I found a Phillies hat in the store where we got my shoes! It was hidden away behind the Yankees hats, but it was there!

And we went to Venice!!!

We had a lovely lunch.

And I convinced the waiter to get me a Spritz even though he looked at me funny. You're only supposed to drink it for aperitivo, but I didn't care.

We shared an artichoke pizza to start. Delightful.

And then I got Spaghetti Aglio e Olio Peperoncino. Super simple and deliciously spicy.

I found a sign for a veterinarian. It's hard to see, but there is a cute little outline of a german shepherd on it.

Che bello!

There were too many people this time. Definitely a difference between February and May. It's still my favorite city though.

Next time on the blog, we go to the third best restaurant in the world.

-Meri

Fava Beans and Some Yummy Toast

Fava Beans ("fave" in italian) are abound at this time of year in Italy, or at least this part of Italy. They are at every market stand and every supermarket.

This was my first venture in working with fresh fava beans...

and the rumors are true: these guys are a true labor of love.

First, you peel back the pod to get the beans out, like for peas in a pod. But then you also have to peel the individual beans. If you were smart and decided to follow directions, you would blanch the beans before doing the second peeling to make it easier. I decided to waste the time fiddling with the outer skins while watching The Sopranos.

Turns out there's more than one reason for blanching the beans first. The quick boiling takes away a bit of the bitterness. The first time I cooked them, I just sauteed them and they were still a tad too bitter. Depending on the beans you buy and how long you keep them, they might always have a hint of bitterness, but blanching them quickly tempers it.

So this is how much I had after peeling one kilo of fava beans. I had to keep telling myself the price and time spent were totally worth it for the final product (spoiler: they were).

I decided to use them in pasta. Blanching them first and then cooking the pasta in the fava blanching water.

Then I sauteed the favas in oil, butter, salt, and pepper and added it to the drained pasta. Undercook the pasta slightly so that it can finish it's cooking in the fava bean sauce.

It was delicious!

Side note: I sincerely apologize for my picture-taking (or lack there of) abilities. I promise this food tastes good even though it doesn't look good. Now not only do I have no photo skills, but I eat off of paper plates in a very un-photogenic room.

Anyways, I made this toast after being inspired by this post on Smitten Kitchen.

I've always wanted to make a soft-boiled egg, and these directions were just simple enough. I boiled some water, dropped on egg in it for 6 minutes, and then pulled it out, pealed it, and smashed it over some toasted Pugliese bread. I topped the whole thing with a drizzle of olive oil, excellent aceto balsamico, grated Grana Padana cheese, salt, and pepper.

Heavenly!

-Meri