Ghiottoni a Firenze

Class

Fish, Day 2 and Finger Foods!

-Lesson: Preserved Cod Fish

• Baccala'--dehydrated with salt, method used in the summer due to high temperatures and need for immediate preservation
• Stoccafisso--left out to dry, method used in the winter due to cold, dry temperatures

-Dishes

• Acciughe Indorate e Fritte (Golden Fried Anchovies)
  • Making this was really fun! We started with whole anchovies and had to rip off their heads, gut them, then tear out their spines and dorsal fin!
    
    
    
    Fried Anchovies
• Baccala' alla Vicentina (Dried Codfish Vicenza Style)
  • Very tasty. We served it with polenta which contrasted the salty baccala' nicely.
  • For those who don't know, polenta is essentially a corn patty, made from corn flour. You boil water, add the corn flour and stir consistently, then put it in a mold (loaf pan or bowl of sorts), and let it set. Then you take it out, let it cool for a bit and slice it. The slices can be eaten as is or grilled, fried or baked. For this recipe, we cut out heart shapes and baked them.
  • This was my favorite dish today.
    
    
    
    Polenta hearts
    
    Baccala' Matecato alla Veneziana
• Baccala' Matecato alla Veneziana (Salted Codfish Mantecato Venetian Style)
  • Even though this has "baccala'" in the title, it is actually made with stoccafisso.
  • Cooked like a sandwich in milk and cheese with parsley, garlic and sauteed onions inside. The fish itself was more bland than the baccala' in the first recipe, but the onions and herbs were delicious.
  • Also served with polenta, this time just sliced in triangles and served without baking/cooking further.
    

preparing the stoccafisso and onions

Baccala' alla Vicentina

• Zupetta di Molluschi (Shellfish Soup)
  • Mussels and clams with a tomato sauce served over bread.
  • This was my first mussel and clam experience and I don't think I really like them. The texture throws me off, and they taste like the sea.
  • They tasted very similar to the shrimp, calamari and swordfish, which is interesting because those are all the non-kosher sea creatures I've tried so far. I'm not quite sure if that's the reason they all taste the same to me.
  • I would be curious to try them all side by side and see how truly similar they take; I am also excited to try lobster and compare that flavor.
    
    
    
    Zupetta di Molluschi
• Vitello Tonnato-Vitel Tonne' (Veal in Tuna Sauce)
• Yum. The veal was really nice.
• We made mayonnaise (which sounds so much nicer when you say it with an Italian accent)--just eggs, olive oil, lemon and a bit of salt, then added tuna and capers.
• Served with olives on top, it was a nice combination of salty and sweet
• This was my second favorite dish today
  

Vitello Tonnato - Vitel Tonne'

Afternoon

-I wore a Michigan shirt today and looked super American but loved hearing "Go Blue!"

• Palazzo Vecchio
• It was open!
• Former palace of the Medici family, currently is a museum as well as office space for the mayor of Florence, among others
• The ceilings of every room were the most impressive--from murals to gold designs, they were all very detailed and ornate
  
  
  
  
  Ceilings, Palazzo Vecchio
  
  
  
• My favorite part of the museum was actually unrelated to The Medici (as far as I know). Damien Hirst, an english artist, studded a human skull with diamonds. The skull is lit in a glass case in the middle of a pitch-black room...pretty incredible. For more information about the skull visit http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/allthingstuscany/tuscanyarts/damien-hirst-diamond-skull-palazzo-vecchio/ Unfortunately, no photos were allowed.
• Compared to the Bargello yesterday, I definitely liked the Bargello more. This museum was more about the place itself, versus yesterday it was about the place and the art; I enjoyed the diversity.
• Bought a ticket for the Uffizi Gallery on Friday!
• Ponte Santa Trinita
• The bridge just past the Ponte Vecchio.
• I hopped over the edge and read on a landing overlooking the Arno.
• So sunny, relaxing and pleasant :)

Bridges, views, sunshine and shoes!

Lesson of the day: The most entertaining English word to listen non-English speakers say? "Massachusetts"

Photo of the day

Anchovies

The Count

Glasses of wine drinken: 26

Palaces visited: 2

"Go Blue!!"s heard: 3

Photos taken: 1221

Tomorrow: More pasta? Oy!

A day without pasta?!

I don't like having class in the evening.
It was nice to go to the city center first thing and not be exhausted from cooking, but it meant that by the time I went to class, I was pretty exhausted.

This morning I went to the Museo di Bargello. The Bargello was previously a jail, but now houses numerous sculptures and works of art. My favorite was the ivory collection and the various sculptures by Donatello, Cellini and Michelangelo. Having visited so many museums lately, I have truly started to appreciate the art of the museum itself--how everything is arranged, displayed, etc. is crucial. Overall, this museum was very well done.

After a few hours I grabbed lunch and gelato (cinnamon and rosa), and then walked to Piazza della Signoria to visit Palazzo Vecchio. I arrived at around 2:00 and just my luck...the museum was closed today from 2-7pm because of a European Union Conference taking place in Florence this week. I did get to walk around the main floor (and gift shop!) and I am excited to go back tomorrow.

courtyard of Palazzo Vecchio

So I ventured to the next stop on my list and walked through the Orsanmichele--a gothic church with a huge tabernacle in the middle. The church is still used as a place of prayer so no photographs were allowed.

I didn't have enough time before class to do any more stops, so I had a leisurely walk back to the kitchen. I recently found the Florence Bottanical Gardens, which I added to my list of places to visit. Had I known that Palazzo Vecchio was closed in the afternoon and how close I was to the gardens, I would've done that instead, but alas...good things I'm here all month!

Both Marcella and I were tired during class today which was unfortunate. The lesson was vegetables.

1. We made two soups: Minestra di Lenticchie Delicata (Delicate lentil soup) and Minestrone

-both easy, hearty and yummy :)

Lentil soup

Minestrone

2. Timballo di Parmigiana di Melanzane (eggplant parmesan timbale)

-This was a nice presentation of eggplant parmesan, using ramekins and blanched eggplant skin as a casing

ramekins lined with eggplant skin

out of the oven

the final product

3. Bomba di cioccolato alla mousse di melanzana, quenelle di ricotta alla menta (eggplant mousse in chocolate bomb, quenelles of ricotta and mint)

-Interesting: you couldn't tell it was eggplant at all--both the flavor and texture were lost in the cream and sugar.

-it was also very rich--yummy, but I just wasn't read for it

Eggplant Mousse in Chocolate Bomb

Photo of the day

the original Playmobil, Museo di Bargello

Lesson(s) of the Day

1. Don't sleep with the window open--you will wake up with a mosquito bite on your cheek...and ankle...and arms
2. Visit The Duomo at lunch time--there is no line! I was on my way to Palazzo Vecchio so I didn't stop to go in, and by the time I had come back that way after realizing Palazza Vecchio was closed, the lines were enormous again.

The Count

Glasses of wine drinken: 24

Gelatos eaten: 5

-->Flavors tried: 15

Churches toured: 4 + 1 synagogue

Photos taken: 1087