All posts in category Food

A Trip to Bologna

Ciao Readers!

As you may recall, I spent this past Spring in Bologna studying Italian and traveling to Florence via train to apartment-hunt. While there I met a lovely couple from New York, pictured below (the husband was in my Italian class). Not only do I have them to thank for looking out for me while I was in Bologna, but for turning me on to blogging with their own blog (here). They had the good fortune of being able to travel back to Bologna recently (after a stay in France) and Steve and I went to Bologna to meet up with them (and eat, of course!).

Now, for those of you who thought the pictures of food in my “A day by the Sea” post looked good – truth be told the seafood, pictured below, from Michelemma leaves that lunch in the dust. This was a restaurant I had eaten at with one of my Italian teachers and it is fantastic! I had the appetizer of various raw/pickled seafood as well as the rissotto (photos below, though I had already eaten some of the appetizer!). Steve devoured his salmon pasta before I had the sense to take a photo. I also missed the opportunity to photograph his whole branzino before the waiter expertly de-boned it for him (pictured covered with tomatoes). All in all, it was a lovely lunch with wonderful company and delicious food.

After lunch I was STUFFED. But….everyone insisted that our day was not complete until we took a trip to our mutual favorite gelateria – La Sorbetteria! (yes, of course I was not going to pass up gelato, I just thought I’d wait a few hours as our return train didn’t leave until 9:00 p.m.). Below is a photo of my gelato – chocolate and “dolce di ‘mu'” (dolche de leche).

I also accomplished 2 more things while in Bologna (not that visiting, eating and drinking are “accomplishments”). First, I have been trying to let my hair grow out. But, as those of you who have known me for a while know, I usually give up every time I try (how is it I can change my home, my country, my language – EVERYTHING – except my hairstyle?!?). So, when we walked by a cool-looking hair salon I thought “what the heck” and got my hair cut. (Luckily, this was not a repeat of my experience in Barcelona a few years back where I ended up with a complete army-style buzz-cut, and I now look like me again.) It also dawned on me that pharmacists can prescribe medicine and instead of having to wait until Monday to see a doctor about one of my eyes (which had been red for days), we popped into a pharmacy, the pharmacist asked me a few questions, prescribed some antibiotic drops, and voila – the next day it looked much better! I finally found something easier and cheaper in Italy – dealing with minor ailments!

We ended the trip with a stroll around town to see Bologna’s (more “modern”) version of a Neptune statue as well as to admire the shops on the foodie street (pictured below). After a quick 37 minute train ride we were back…into the throngs of tourists in Florence…

A: Huevos Rancheros, Faux Pho & Chocolate Chip Cookies

Q: What are three things I made last week?

Ciao Readers! After my unsuccessful attempts to do something productive, I thought I’d get back to something I know – cooking! While we have been enjoying all of the wonderful Italian food here, I like the challenge of trying to “recreate” familiar dishes. So, I set about making huevos rancheros, pho and chocolate chip cookies (not all in one day mind you).

In all fairness, I cheated a bit on the huevos rancheros (pictured in first row) as the New Mexican-made tortillas and green chile sauce arrived in a care package from my folks (thanks!). The cheddar cheese came from Pegna, and of course potatoes and eggs are no problem. They were missing the taste of freshly roasted green chiles (as opposed to jarred sauce), but they were pretty darn close!

I also made what I am calling “faux pho” – real pho being our favorite Vietnamese dish we would get back at May Cafe in Albuquerque. I actually managed to create this dish (rows 2 into 3) entirely from ingredients sourced here (or grown on our roof terrace). I got the pho paste and noodles (though I picked the wrong kind and these absorbed ALL the soup liquid) at Vivi Market, the small hot chili (was like a cross between a serrano and a jalapeno) and the Sriracha sauce from the lady at Sant’ Ambrogio market, and (surprisingly enough) accidentally came across the bean sprouts at Conad. It definitely didn’t taste like the “real” thing, but was spicy and yummy nonetheless.

The most spot-on thing I made was chocolate chip cookies (balance of row 3, duh!). Again, I cheated a bit with chips sent from home, though I have since seen a variety in the stores here. The rest of the baking ingredients were sourced from various places (and I apologize for the atrocious photo on the vanilla extract, but this is THE only vanilla extract I could find and it took some hunting). I wasn’t sure what kind of flour to buy and I had to play with ratios (and use walnuts as there are no pecans here, which I usually use), but they came out PERFECT. They were yummy and delicious and warm and crispy but gooey and all the things chocolate chip cookies should be. I was so proud I wanted to share, so Steve brought some downstairs to the guy who owns the Rosticceria (he’s always so nice and rounds down, so I wanted to say “thanks”). When I passed by the next day he went on and on about how delicious they were; I asked him if he had ever had them or knew what they were and he hadn’t/didn’t. Interesting to think that a regular ol’ chocolate chip cookie can be an exotic treat!

Next time we talk food….seafood and gelato in Bologna, then an Italian meal in at our neighborhood Osteria Cocotrippone (complete with photos)… Bon Appetit!

7 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on October 22, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Culture Shock, Diversions to Other Places, Food

Tagged chocolate chip cookies, green chile, huevos rancheros, Pegna, pho, Vivi Market

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on October 22, 2012

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2012/10/22/a-huevos-rancheros-faux-pho-chocolate-chip-cookies/

A Trip (back) to Fiesole

Ciao Readers!

You may recall that a few weeks ago I attempted my first organized run in Italy and promptly got semi-lost in a little town called Fiesole. As I was preoccupied at the time with finding my way back, I knew I’d need to return with Steve some other time in order to properly appreciate the town (and amazing views). That time was last weekend.

I specifically chose last weekend because it coincided with the Festa de “schiacciata con l’uva” (which literally means “crushed” with grapes, but is a grape-covered pastry). I had a slice of this cake at Cafe Serafini a couple of weeks ago (it is only made for a few weeks during grape-harvest season – i.e., now) and it was delicious! (Steve is not as fond of it as the grapes, and thus the pastry, still have seeds inside). I was looking forward to seeing the town, but especially eating cake (am I that one-dimensional?). In any case, we walked to the north part of Florence where we caught a bus out to Fiesole.

Fiesole is such an adorable town! It is very old, complete with Etruscan remains (pictured below) and a tiny town center with a few outdoor restaurants (ditto). It was so relaxed compared to the hub-bub of Florence. However, there did not seem to be grape cake anywhere! In the center of town there was a quaint little flea-market (pictured), but still no grape cake. We took a walk around the scenic outskirts for a phenomenal view (once again, it was hazy and my pictures are flat – arg!). If you look carefully in the second picture you can see the Duomo (it’s like playing “Where’s Waldo”). We were having a very nice time and could not get over the amazing view….but I was still holding out hope that I had not imagined reading about a grape cake festival (my Italian isn’t that bad!).

Finally we found the grape-cake festival part of town…it was basically a few sweet retired ladies having a grape-cake-only bake sale outside their church (pictured below). We bought 2 different slices of schiacciata – the one pictured on the left was interesting because it included walnuts and rosemary (but you could patch a wall with the crust); the one on the right was less complex, but had lighter (and more edible) pastry. To be entirely honest, the schiacciata at Serafini is much better, but we had a lovely mini-adventure none-the-less! Thanks, as always, for coming along on our trip!

1 Comment

by Newmexicotoitaly on October 17, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Food, Trips In Italy

Tagged fiesole, schiacciata con l'uva

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on October 17, 2012

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2012/10/17/a-trip-back-to-fiesole/

European Food Festival

Ciao Readers!

Today I am taking you to a festival! This past Thursday – Sunday was the “International European Market” in Piazza Santa Croce (which just happens to be right outside my Italian school). I discovered it after class on Thursday and then brought Steve back for dinner that night.

The festival is pretty much what you would picture from the title – lots of booths with foodstuffs from around Europe, as well as other handmade goods (wooden shoes, soaps, dolls, etc.). There was lots of food from Austria and Germany (think wurst) and a little bit from elsewhere in Europe. The piazza smelled like cooking meat and fried dough – Yum! Now I suppose, objectively speaking, it wasn’t the most amazing festival ever, but, in a way it was…

I love festivals (right now I am seriously missing the International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, which I wrote about with photos here). I love everything about festivals – the festive atmosphere, the eating of random fried things you would never eat at home (and overpaying for them willingly), the people watching…. Usually, in order to go to a festival, we would have to plan, get in the car, and find parking in some huge lot far from our destination (and pay for the privilege). So, what made this festival so very cool was the fact that we could just walk out the door, and viola! (well, after a bit of a walk, voila!). If it weren’t for the waiting in lines at the post and going through the immigration process (and not having a clothes dryer, and living on the 4th floor, and…..), living in Italy would be like living in a never-ending festival! I suppose this ongoing merriment is the reward for all the not-as-fun parts.

Below are some shots of the festival by day, as well as one in the evening (pretty, yes?), and of course of our respective dinners (hint, mine still has its face). Enjoy!

5 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on October 9, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Food

Tagged European food festival, Festivals in Italy, Florence Festivals, Piazza Santa Croce

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on October 9, 2012

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2012/10/09/european-food-festival/

Sundays in the Park (Revisited)

Ciao Readers!

In keeping with the “relaxing” theme, today I am taking you back to the park. (In case you didn’t go with me last time, you can visit that fabulous park, in Milan, with me here). As I mentioned in that earlier post, Sundays are the day to hang out in a park, and there are many of those throughout Italy (and Europe). While the park near our home here does not have the fancy flower gardens or tiny ponies of the one I blogged about earlier, it has one very special thing – the Arno river!

There is a park that runs along the river here – or rather there are groups of parks, trails, walkways, etc. This is where I run in the morning, and I am constantly trying to push it further to see where these river-side diversions end. I thought I had found the “end” – an old castle blocking the way – but then (after watching other runners) discovered you just have to run around it to get back to the Arno, and then you can just keep going (and going). I guess it will be my running challenge to see if I can ever find the real “end.”

At the section of the park close to home is a cool little outdoor cafe – complete with chairs and tables overlooking the Arno! People spend their entire Sunday mornings/afternoons there just having a coffee and reading the paper (okay, and honestly sometimes drinking a beer and/or smoking). It’s exactly what I pictured in the earlier post – hanging out with Steve at a park cafe on a leisurely Sunday. So, we have made it a Sunday tradition (as much as we stick to any “traditions”) to meet up at the park after my run and have a coffee…or a cornetto (yes, I understand the incongruence of my eating a pastry after my run, pictured below, but hey – it’s Italy!).

From the park cafe you have a great view of the river, the rowers going by, and the beautiful scenery across the way (one of these days I’m going to have my camera with me when it’s not hazy out, sorry). Not a bad way to spend a Sunday morning….

2 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on October 5, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Food

Tagged Arno river, cornetto, parks in Italy, Sundays in the park

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on October 5, 2012

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2012/10/05/sundays-in-the-park-revisited/

A Day by the Sea

Ciao Readers!

Whew – that last post took a lot of time (and brain cells)! So, today we’re just going on a leisurely “road trip” to the ocean. This past Saturday Steve and I decided to get out of town and go see the sea (a novelty coming from New Mexico which is nowhere near an ocean), so we took a 2-hour train ride (with a connection in Pisa) and went to Castiglioncello (just south of Livorno on your map). We had never heard of this little seaside town, but it was supposed to be beautiful (and relatively close). Since my purpose today is not educational, I will leave you to your own devices to learn more about the town if you so choose, here.

I am guessing that when this town (Florence) was relatively emptied of locals during ferie, they were all here in Castiglioncello. Fortunately for us, on a rainy overcast day in late September it was all but deserted. This is a beautiful little seaside town with a walkway that spans the coast. The actual “beach” (i.e. sand you can lay on) area is fairly small, and in “high” season you would be bumper-to-bumper with other bathers paying 20 – 40 euros for your space (complete with chairs and access to a changing room). However, for two crazy Americans who have not yet learned to follow the seasons (and persist in listening to their respective off-beat drummers), the sand was ours for the taking. It was the most peaceful we have felt in two months – not a sound other than the waves rolling in and out – ahhhhh….

Following a nice lazy rest on the beach, we headed along the coastal walkway to find something to eat. Luckily not everything was closed for the season and we happened upon a lovely seafood restaurant literally right over the sea! We were the only people who chose to brave the rain (just a drizzle) and eat outside. Several times the nice waitress came out to see if we had changed our minds and wanted to move inside (we did not [still channeling those goofy drummers]). Below are a few shots of our lunch as well as the view behind Steve. After some more leisurely hanging out (digesting) in a park overlooking the sea, we headed back to Florence (direct train this time – yay!) and back into the throngs of tourists outside the train station.

Thanks for coming along to see the sea:

3 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on October 3, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Food, Trips In Italy

Tagged beach in Italy, Castiglioncello, Livorno, seaside

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on October 3, 2012

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2012/10/03/a-day-by-the-sea/

Florence “Fear Factor” Foodie Finds

Ciao Readers! (So how’s that title for alliteration!)

What, more about food, you might ask? Well, would you rather hear more about food, or another trip to the post office? I thought so…

Now that we’ve been here going on 2 months (time flies), we are “in the know” about some of the great foodie spots (in addition to all the gelaterias, of course). However, we are not quite ready to embark into some of the more “interesting” cuisines. Detailed are a few of the adventures we have yet to undertake (warning – readers with highly sensitive food sensibilities [i.e. an aversion to eyeballs] should probably avoid clicking on the photo gallery). Here is a “taste” of some interesting foodstuffs:

Tripe stands – This is definitely one place where my cultural comfort zone has gotten the best of me (even though there are many tripe-based foods in New Mexico). There are these little food carts throughout town (pictured below) – and the most delicious meat smell emanates from them (and they are always super crowded). The first few times we walked by one I was planning on trying whatever it was they were serving – until we discovered they serve tripe (and only tripe – specifically stewed with herbs and tomatoes and served with/on bread) (some raw tripe also pictured below). I just have a bad picture in my head (and gut) at the thought of eating intestines (I can remember Anthony Bourdain describing the flavor of improperly washed ones…or was that Andrew Zimmern of “Bizarre Foods”?). But they smell so good…. I am thinking that in a few months I will put aside my fear and taste away…but then again, maybe not.

Rabbit – “Coniglio” is pretty much a staple here on menus, as well as at the Rosticerria downstairs and in the grocery stores (pictured below, with face – ack!). While it may not be that fear factor-y to you, since I had a pet rabbit as a kid (“Bucky”), the thought of eating one is totally verboten to me. However, I can’t say with 100% certainty that I haven’t already accidentally eaten some – gasp! The first time I ate at a buffet I specifically pointed and asked “coniglio?” to make sure there wasn’t any rabbit. However, admittedly, I did not do this the last time we had the aperitivo buffet at Serafini and I did eat many meat stuffs that I assumed were chicken. ‘Nough said.

There are other foods some might consider “bizarre” but seem fairly normal (and delicious) to me. For example, the “crostini toscani” is toasted bread with a chicken-liver-based pâté spread – to Steve this is off-limits, but having grown up in New York where “chopped liver” was a deli staple, this is totally within my comfort zone (and yummy as well!). From traveling to Japan and having lived in Puerto Rico, octopus is another food that I find fairly commonplace (and again, delicious!), but I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea (frozen grocery store octopi pictured below). There are many other interesting things here that I am not quite up for, and which may or may not raise your own personal fear factor – like the cockscombs for sale at the COOP (I’ve gone back twice to get a photo for you and both times they’ve been sold out!), or just the fact they sell chickens with faces still attached (photo below). I suppose what is and is not within anyone’s comfort zone is extremely dependent on upbringing, culture, travel experiences, and adventurousness. We’ll see how far outside my zone I allow this adventure to take me!