Don't get me wrong, I really do like Calamari... occasionally. But I think I've eaten enough calamari in the last three months to last me a lifetime. Our second seafood night was complete with not only calamari... but also clams, crab, octopus, mussels and tuna. It probably wasn't my favorite night of cooking, but I guess now I can say I'm "cultured" since I at least tasted it...
Last day of cooking at school- Our Italian teacher Enzo, translates, and Nando on the right is the head chef.
mmm... tentacles. I definitely didn't taste those.
Had to take this to document two things: 1-Italians only use fresh ingredients 2-Anything similar to FDA rules are nonexistent.. obviously. haha!
This week they doubled us up with cooking classes... and even though it left me with limited time for homework, I didn't mind it at all. Monday night was "seafood" night and I had my first experience with anchovies.. and whole fish. yikes! I'm not a fan of cooking fish when it's staring at you. Kind of freaks me out. As far as the anchovies go... I highly doubt I'll be eating them with my salad ever again. ha!
Parsely pasta with zucchini, leeks and clams. I'll take this over anchovies any day.
Orata (a Mediterranean fish) with tomatoes and herbs
Don't know what to call this one... pretty much eggs, sugar and creme layered with biscuits.
Wednesday night included a lot of "firsts" for me. We first made pasta with chestnut flour and mixed it with a porcini mushroom sauce. Like I said, chestnuts are pretty popular around here.
Then we cooked lamb, which was also another first. Also, the best peas I've ever had.
And then, my favorite dish... chestnut marmalade with whipped creme and biscuits. Then with a persimmon and chocolate sauce with currants. Too bad they don't have chestnut marmalade in the states- it's to die for!
I was lucky enough to have my mom come to cooking class with me this week. We had a great time learning how to make homemade basil pasta together. Dad and Scott even sat in on part of the class!
We had quite the interesting combo of food this week for cooking: Spinach Souffle with a carrot sauce, pizza and mint panna cotta with chocolate. I wouldn't normally pair the three together, but they actually turned out really good.
Who would have thought to put corn, mushrooms and ham on a pizza? Not me, but I liked it!
I had my first cooking class last friday- and it was AMAZING! There are about 12 people in the class with me and we have a personal chef along with a translator because the chef only speaks Italian. The kitchen is great it's great because we make everything from scratch! This week we made our own spinach and ricotta ravioli. I'm definitely buying a pasta machine when I get back to the states. Also on the menu: Tuscan salad, fresh tomato sauce, pan seared steak with yellow squash and panna cotta with strawberries. And the best part- we get to eat it all when we're done with class! :)
The kitchen- with our chef in the background
Making the ravioli
All I can say is that I'm going to have some killer receipes when I come home!
I had never had clams before last night, but surprisingly, I really liked them! I think the small size of the clams makes a difference- I can handle seafood in small portions. This is an awsome recipe- another one of my host "dad's" originals. Hope you like it!
Ben’s Spaghetti with Clams
Ingredients:
About ¾-1 lb. fresh small clams. (can’t remember the Italian name, but he says they are “non-spitting”)
1 full garlic clove
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 hot red chili pepper (just the tip- about ¼, unless you want it hotter)
Spaghetti noodles
White cooking wine
Salt
Olive oil
1. Heat the clams in a large saucepan - Don’t add any liquid.
2. Put half of the garlic (whole, not chopped) in the saucepan and let it boil with the clams.
3. Heat clams until they are all open.
4. Separate all of the clam meat from the shells and put in a separate bowl. Leave a few of the shells with the meat for “garnish.”
5. Start boiling water for spaghetti noodles
6. Pour enough olive oil in a large skillet to coat the bottom. Add the other half of the garlic (not chopped) and the chopped parsley. Sauté for about 3-5 min.
7. Add the Roma tomato chunks and the tip of the red pepper to the skillet. Sauté for another 3-5 min.
8. Add about 1/4 – 1/3 cup white wine, 1-2 tbsp salt, and a few tbsp of the boiling water to the skillet-Enough liquid to just cover the ingredients.
9. When pasta is done, add to skillet and mix with ingredients
10. Don’t forget to remove the garlic cloves and red pepper tip- they are just there for flavor
For my cooking internship here in Siena, I’m required to spend three hours a week cooking with my host family- in addition to the course at school. Luckily, Benjamin, my host “dad,” if you will, really likes to cook. All of his food is delicious. Last night I got to help him cook one of his own recipes- so I thought I would share it with you. It probably takes 15-20 min. max. SO easy and way good!
I give it five stars.
Benjamin’s Gnochetti with Arugula and Shrimp
(serves about six people)
Ingredients:
Gnochetti (or any small pasta will work- mini penne… fusilli…etc)
1 shallot
200g (2 1/2 cups? I don’t know the conversion..) frozen mini shrimp
2 cups chopped arugula
½ cup white wine
1-2 tbsp parsely
Start boiling the water for the pasta
Dice the shallot and start to sauté in a skillet with olive oil- 3-5 min
Add Frozen Shrimp and let simmer for a few minutes
Add pasta to boiling water
Pour ½ white wine into skillet- simmer for 2 min
Add chopped arugula to skillet and let simmer for another 2-3 min
Add about 2 teaspoons salt while shrimp is simmering (enough salt to taste)
Add parsley to the skillet
Drain the pasta when finished-combine into the skillet and add parmesan cheese
Last day of cooking at school-
mmm... tentacles. I definitely didn't taste those.
Had to take this to document two things:
