Holy Cannoli! The Adventures of the Sweet Couple

Calabaria is a region located at the "foot" of the boot, as if it was kicking Sicily. This region was part of the Magna Grecia, meaning the Greeks settled on this land and while they were there, it thrived. The Greeks came from Greece not to get away, but to expand and create something more. They brought with them intelligence, artists, food, culture, etc. Down the center of Calabria, there are high mountains and along the coast, it is pretty steep. This is a perfect place for terrace farming because of the steepness of the land. There are very few flat lands in this region, but they depend on their production of wine, liquirizia , peperoncino, cipolla di Tropea, potatoes,   and citrus. Let's dive deeper into each of these products because the land of Calabria is poor and their economy relies heavily on these products. Liquirizia (or Liquorice)  Liquorice is used in three different forms: stick form, cube form, and candy form. The stick form has a lot of antioxidants t...

Sardegna is an island off of the west coast of Italy, north of Sicily. It is obviously surrounded by water, but land is very far from the island. They have some high mountains in the east, while also having some hilly lands where grapes are grown in the west. The land of Sardegna was inhabited by the Nuraghe people, over 4,000 years ago. There are buildings shaped like cones, that archeologists have looked into to find out more about this interesting population. It is at times difficult because this population of people is extremely different from some of the other populations that lived in Italy. The Nuraghe people were good mariners, which made sense being an island in the middle of the sea. The Greeks, Phoenicians, Croatians, and Spanish all influenced Sardegnian culture through trade. There was also trade with the Etruscans as well, which inhabited Tuscany. This Sardegnian people traded wine with the Etruscans because were not growing grapes yet. This population was very s...

South Italy is made up of many regions including Puglia, where we are staying. I am looking forward to making the cuisines of these regions as I believe they will be more fish based than the regions of Northern Italy. My father's side of the family is Italian and I remember how much fish we used to eat when I was younger. My grandfather loves to fish and he tells stories of making it before I was born. I believe there will be a lot of influence from Greece in these regions because when they first came to Italy, the inhabited Puglia and Sicily. I am intrested to see how cured meats are different here than in Northen Italy because it is a lot more humid in the south. There is also a huge influence from both the Ionian, Adriatic, and Mediterrean sea that there is not in North Italy. Here is to a great next 3 weeks learning about Southern Italian cuisine! We are now moving into the cuisine of Southern Italy, beginning with Sicily! This region is the largest in Italy with a lot of peo...

I have compiled a list of the things I believe are either taken for granted in the US or the things that are different between the US and Italy. Here they are, in no specific order: 1. A lot of Italian cities take a siesta  from around 1 pm until about 4 or 5 pm, which means shops, restaurants, etc. are closed during these times! 2. The medicine here is very different. If you are traveling for any amount of time, I suggest bringing medicine for almost any situation. There have been a few times I needed things that I could not get. 3. Breakfast here does not include eggs, toast, and bacon. An Italian breakfast is a pastry with a coffee. The pastry is usually a cornetto  (or croissant) filled with chocolate, cream, or is just plain. The coffee or un cafe', is what you would order as a espresso in the US. To order a coffee like the regular ones in the US, it is a cafe' Americano , but it is usually just a watered down espresso. 4. The international travel size of your car...

We had a very busy weekend because not only did we go to FICO, we also went to Pisa and Florence!  Pisa is a very beautiful city, but there is not much to do in it. If I was to suggest the way to see Pisa to someone, it would be to stay in Florence and take a train for 1 hour to Pisa. It is definitely a place that you want to see, mainly because of the Leaning Tower, but it would not be a place that I would want to spend too much time in.  We also went to Florence, which is absolutely breathtaking. The Duomo is the largest that we have seen and it is so detailed and colorful. Pictures do not do it justice!  Also in Florence, there are a lot of pastry shops! I was definitely in my glory because every time we turned a corner, there was another one. It was hard to resist the temptation, but I did it! From torrone to chocolates to cupcakes and everything in between, there is something for everyone's sweet tooth. We went to one bakery and it was so...

This weekend, we flew to Bologna and were lucky enough to visit FICO Eataly World! This food amusement park opened just a few months ago in November. From one end to the other, it is about a mile of restaurants, attractions, animals, and of course, a lot of food samples. This was every foodie's dream - surrounded by food for a day! We stayed for about eight hours, yes eight, and made sure to see everything from the attractions to dining at the restaurants and everything in between! This is a must-see for anyone traveling to Bologna!    When you get to the entrance, you are immediately taken back by the size of this place! It is enormous, with the entrance on one end and the exit on the other. From the moment we stepped in, I knew it was going to be a long, but exciting time. One of my favorite parts was all of the information areas that explained things like why FICO world or about the different regions and where the food is coming from. This is definitely a s...

At the end of the block, we had to prepare a lunch for outside guests to enjoy at the Castello. This was an excellent opportunity to show what we have learned since being in Italy. Some dishes were influenced by dishes we prepared in class, while others were inspired by dishes enjoyed at restaurants in the area.  For this lunch, we had to prepare a four-course meal for 12 guests that we, as a class, invited. My group chose dessert (which I was very excited about), while other groups prepared an appetizer, pasta, and entree course. We also had to come up with a theme and we chose " Cibo da Favola Al Castello,"   which was basically a meal inspired by folktales. This means that each course had a folktale/fairytale to go along with it. From wine pairings to table decoration, this was a great lunch that as a class, we executed pretty well. First Course (Appetizer)  Camberi al rosmarino con fagioli e arancia  Bean puree with shrimp & orange Second...

Lombardia is located in northern Italy, between Venice and Piemonte. This region has high mountains in the North, but it also has a huge part of the Po Valley running through it, meaning there are a lot of flat lands as well. Excellent wines are produced in the Pavia area, located in the southwest area of the region, in the hills. The most important population of this region is the Camuni people, which is an ancient population located in Cal Camonica during the Iron Age. I decided to dig a little deeper into the population and here is what I found: This population was referred to as the ancient Camuni to distinguish them from the people who were already living in the area. This population was some of the greatest rock art producers in all of Europe, so much so that their name is linked to the famous rock engravings of Valcamonica. The area of Cal Camonica in which they inhabited was already being populated since the Neolithic period. This population of people was dominated by the Ro...

A lot of people are familar with this region because of the famous wine that they produce. We will talk about wine a little later, but I think it is important to understand the history behind each region and the reasons they eat the things that they do. Piemonte is made up of very high mountains, but also very low lands where the Po Valley begins. There are very few hills except for in the Langhe region, where they produce a lot of excellent wine. The Liguri people went to Piemonte from Ligiuria and they stated autonomous for many centuries, even after being dominated by the Romans. After the barbarians cam though, they began to be divided into smaller counties, seperating the region. It was not until the Savoia family, who started to unify Piemonte, which took many years due to wars and other factors. Eventually, the Savoia family were the ones who began speaking about unitying all of Italy with the aristocracy, which happened in 1861. The Savoia family is as important to Italy as...

First, let's figure out where this region even is! I am not going to lie, before this lecture I had no idea that this was even a region here in Italy. This region is located in North East Italy, the furthest east region. It is also the fifth smallest region of Italy but is extremely important. During the Roman empire, this made the region very important because of the location in relation to the sea and the geographical closeness to other nations. Traces of the Romans are still visible in this region today, especially in the Roman-founded city of Aquileia, along the Natiso River. The area served as a strategic frontier fortress and was put in place to protect the Veneti. There are many fish scenery mosaics showing the importance of fishing in this area. The name Friuli Venezia Giulia  comes from the encompassing historical areas of Fruili and a small portion of Venezia Giulia. Until 2001, the name was written as Friuli-Venezia Giulia, until a modification in the It...

This weekend we were able to travel around Puglia and I wanted to share with you the places that we went! I split this blog post from the Michelin star one, but everything was done in the same weekend. That experience was one that stood alone, therefore that is why it is not included in this, but once you read this one, move to that one!! For each post, I will tell you a fun fact about the history of the city. Ostuni  This city is known as "the white city" because a lot of the city is made out of limestone. It is absolutely gorgeous, built on hills, standing high above the water.  Ostuni has been inhabited since the Stone Age, originally established by the Messapii, but was then destroyed in the Punic Wars.   We dined at a restaurant that looked like it was built into a cave. The food was a prefix menu with a taste of Ostuni in each course. This restaurant focused on locality, something I absolutely love. I got both fish options because we were ri...