Cucina italiano e Ελληνική αγόρια: Signora Longari

Today

Class: Sweet and Sour

Today we made less dishes than usually, but they were more multi-faceted and well-rounded.

Caponata
-A perfect combination of eggplant, sauteed onions, celery, olives, capers, pine nuts, raisins, sugar and vinegar
-One of my favorite dishes so far, I think--very easy, and so full of flavor

Caponata
Astice con Salsa di Mirtilli (Maine Lobster with Blueberry Sauce) with Zucchini a Venatglio (Fanned Braised Zucchini)
-Marcella invented this recipe during her time in Maine--to integrate Maine and Tuscan flavors
-The first time I've ever eaten lobster
-We had to kill it first, but I let Marcella go ahead and do this
-In Italy, it is illegal to kill a lobster by steaming it, so we had to stab it with a knife right in the brain, then split it in half
-I like lobster more than shrimp

Astice con Salsa di Mirtilli e Zucchini a Ventaglio
Sorbetto di Arancia e Prosecco (Sparkling Wine and Orange Sorbet)
-This is the gelato we made on Friday and let chill over the weekend
-It was perfect for cleansing the palate between the seafood and meat dishes--so icy, cool and fresh

Sorbetto di Arancia e Prosecco
Arista alla Liquirizia (Roast Pork Loin with Licorice)
-I don't really like the flavor of licorice, but this was quite delicious

Arista alla Liquirizia

Afternoon

It was unbelievably hot this afternoon so I spent most of the afternoon at home reading, writing and blogging. Andrea was doing some homework that I helped her with. I'm not really sure why, but she was sitting at her desk doing multiply over a hundred numbers and then summing them using a calculator, paper and pencil. So I showed her how to use Excel and she was completely shocked. I'm not really sure what they teach in Italian engineering programs...she uses AutoCAD daily, so I am confused...but I saved her a ton of time and she was very excited :)

Once it cooled down a bit, I biked into the city center in search of a leather belt. I didn't find one, but I did buy some postcards and sit amongst the cool (temperature-wise) statues of Piazza della Signoria.

This statue has my name carved into it.