Home For The Hoildays

Well I got really lucky. My stage started late and I went home for Thanksgiving. This is my all time favorite holiday. The food, the people, and no rushing for gifts, just great fellowship with the people you love. I am in the airport in New York waiting for my flight and decided to blog. I am sorry it has been awhile but my internet went down then I got to go home. The week before I finished school my mother and my sister came to see me. It was GREAT. I was alittle homesick and it was perfect. We did not do much but the quality visit was so worth it to me. Then I found out I could come home. I saw my girls and celebrated their birthdays. That was worth the expense and travel time. They were very happy to see me. As a parent you wonder if you will ever get to a stage with your children that they will be happy to have you around. I guess I hit the jackpot with mine because they dropped everything and spent the time with me. My Steve was also very happy to have me for a short time. I felt like a very important person. I was so ready for turkey and dressing. In Italy they eat only Italian Food. We tried to get our Chef to let us do turkey and dressing, their idea is different then ours. First he deboned the turkey, Second the dressing was chicken, sausage, bread, dried fruits and seasonings. It tasted like potted meat. The gravy was, I AM NOT SURE. Not any gravy I ever had before. Then when no one ate much they said it was not Italian. It was not American either. The turkey was good, I don't think you can screw up a turkey. So when I was home I had, fish, steak sandwich, french fries, hamburger on the grill, fried chicken, and GOOD OLD ICE TEA. There is something about home cooking, comfort foods at their best. Well my time is up on the computer, people are waiting to use the computers. When I get my internet set up at my stage I will blog again with pictures.
Bye from the New York Admerials Club, ( such a nice place to wait for a plane.)
Yvonne

Pictures That would not post

This is the chestnut bread. It is really dark brown but very pretty looking
This is scorfano ( red scorpion fish) this was done as a demo. There were two fish cooked whole with the insides and gills removed. The inside seasoned with salt and pepper and herbs some sea water, This was very good. This fish is about 30 years old. They grow slow and cannot reproduce until they are about 25-30 years.

This is another demo. It is a very ugly Polpo ( octopus). We were told they are supposed to be tough because people like to chew on this type thing sometimes. When in the mood. I WILL NEVER BE IN THE MOOD.
This is the polpo when finished. It does not look bad BUT..... Oh WOW I am glad that is over.
Read the next blog. these are just the pictures.
Yvonne

Looking for Mushrooms and Chestnuts

This week in our demo the Chef made Chestnut Bread. It was easy and very tasty. If this bread had salt on the top it would taste like a pretzel. The outside is dark and crusty and the inside very soft and dense. For those of you who want to try your hand at a simple bread recipe, here it goes.
Chestnut Bread

1. 700g semolina flour
2. 300g chestnut flour
3. 20g brewers yeast
4. 20g salt
5. 100g pork fat, lard
6. 450g luke warm water
7. Mix everything together ( do not knead much)
8. Put in a oiled bowl, rub top with a little evoo, cover with plastic wrap let it rise for about 2 hours in a warm place
9. After 2 hours shape in 2 loaves and let rise 25 mor minuyes
10. Bake at 500 degrees for 10 minutes ( because of the chestnut flour it will be a dark brown)
11. Turn oven to 375 degrees and bake another 20 minutes

I think you will enjoy. For all of us small town people you may have to order your flour and yeast. It will be worth it.

On sunday we went in search of mushrooms and chestnuts. My Italian teacher took us to her family land about 1 1/2 hours from Colorno. We started our adventure by trying to rent a car. Automatics are hard to come by here. Well we got a minivan and was surprised when 8 people actually got up to go, 6 in the van two in the teacher's car. Our first stop was caffe' and something to eat. Nothing is done in Italy without a Caffe'. Then on to the food shop for a picnic lunch. We were prepared and ready to go. Next stop the mountain, a pretty scary ride. Irene,( who was driving) told us later it was even scarier for her, narrow roads, cars passing on hairpin turns, and a minivan. Well we were alive and ready to climb the mountain in search of mushrooms and chestnuts. No more than 40 yards and the bottom fell out. Again another weather forecast that was WRONG. We decided to continue with our adventure wet or dry. All along our walk straight up the mountain we picked up chestnuts, chestnuts and more chestnuts. No mushrooms to be found but trumpet mushrooms. We were told they were not very good. We reached the point to turn around and meet up with Irene and Kathleen for lunch. Still raining puddles in the path. I am sure glad Steve water proofed my hiking boots before I left. The ground being so wet we stood in the rain and ate our very good lunch. We checked this lower area for mushrooms but still none, lots more chestnuts. Back to the car and tea at Guilia's house. Her mother made apple strudel, crazy bread with fruit,( good but not sure how to describe it), fresh bread with homemade plum jam, nougat candy, shortbread cookies, and rose tea. What a nice way to finish our adventure. Now nice and dry, we continue back to Colorno discussing what we should do with all those chestnuts.

I have been trying to publish pictures to this blog but again the internet does not have a strong enough signal. I will try them alone like I have done before.

Having a wet time in Italy, Yvonne

Trapped in Tuscany

Here I am on the beginning of a long weekend. We started our field trip on friday morning at 6:00am. Our journey took us to a pig farm in Tuscany. It was beautiful except for the pigs. I am sure some people might call them beautiful but not me. This picture is taken in front of an old fountain in the side of the hill. It was so rustic and Under The Tuscan Sun looking. The baby pigs were very cute but again not beautiful. The next leg of our trip we went to lunch and ate some of those pigs. The meal was set up by the pig farm, very tasty pig. One of the sausage we had was seasoned with fennel. It was softer than most sausage and cured not cooked. You could almost spread it, It was GREAT. Then on to drink wine, not that we did not have enough at lunch. This is a great picture of the wine barrels the room went on forever. I was not sure if the picture would take but like I said a great picture. I have Steve to thank for a really nice camera.
The rooms were dark and moldy. The place was really cool looking. Our guide was the best sommelier in Italy in 2009 and will be representing Italy again this year. The wines were super tuscans and some say made for the US. This wine producer says they make a superior product in a different way. Thus coming up with a wine that is Italian and appeals to Other countries as well.
Our next journey on saturday took us to a goat farm and pecorino cheese. The family of this business was set on organic and quality products. They sell to most of the top restrauants in Italy and France. This picture is of the main course at lunch. The whole meal was cheese and it was very good but no more cheese for me after that for awhile. Be careful what you say. Off we went to a chianti wine and olive oil producer. This was the coolest place. Old world castle, rows of grapevines, olive trees everywhere, and the wine was great. They set up a room with meats, cheeses, and really good bread. The room was heated with a stove and felt sooooooooooo good. It was cold outside and we were not prepared for it. The weather said 65 and sunny, NOT. The glasses were very big and delicate. They sure knew how to do a tasting.
These are the grapes they use to make Mascato. They will dry for months, on bambo racks until they turn to raisins then they will be made into wine. Mascato is dessert in a glass.

Well this is the part about getting stuck. We went to Florance from there and had a great time looking around in the rain. It was still nice to be there. So on Monday when we got up to go back to Colorno, NO TICKETS FOR THE TRAIN. NO CARS TO RENT. NO BUSES AVAIABLE. We got a room and stayed. It was still wet and rainy and it was a cheap room near the station. It was not so much fun. Today was uneventful and the trip went smooth. I was very happy to be back. Went out and got the stuff for chicken noodle soup. Just what I wanted. Yvonne