Colorno nearly Flooded...again.

 This is what Colorno is meant to look like:

 This is what Colorno looks like after a weekend full of rain:

and when I say, again, I mean it's not the first time...

 Crossing over the bridge, I thought the stones would surely disintegrate below me and I would be washed away into the murky current of the Parma River. As the rain adamantly continued for the rest of the night, I thought the river would completely overflow and we would have no way of getting to class in the morning. 

Class actually was canceled the next morning, but because the professor called out sick at the last minute, not because of the flooding river. 

The bridge is still standing strong and the walls of the Reggia, although missing a little more paint, have not succumbed to the submerging pressure of the temperamental river. 

calma! 

let's hope it stays this way for the rest of the winter.

never trust a skinny chef - james beard

The benefits of going to a university in the same building as a prestigious culinary school is not only getting to meet these up and coming chefs but to have class with their professors. And we were oh-so lucky to have a lecture one day with Chef Tiziano Rossetti (also the head chef of the ALMA gala dinner...) ps - he is skinny. not fat at all. but i trust him. he was fantastic.

he made for us: 

shrimp with caw-we-flahwer poached in water

risotto with sweet pumpkin, aromatic rosemary and acitdic balsamic in chicken stock 

steamed fished with chopped herbs

fried fish 

-> demonstrations of heat transfers through different mediums. 

Sweet n' Sour Sauce: 500mL, white vinegar, 200g white sugar - whisk together. easy-peasy. add ginger, radish, hotness...whatever. whatever your heart desires.

just a little bit. piccolo. 

just don't show Jules how to add salt to a dish...at least not in our apt....

it's like a rain shower.

Tortelli d'Italia: a Colorno event not to be Missed

Whenever there's a town event in Colorno, it has proved to be a day not to be missed. For being a small town, and for being an Italian town, the events are extremely well organized and put together with impressive turn outs. Colorno comes alive and I can never understand where all the people who fill the cobblestoned Piazza Garibaldi come from. This past Saturday, 10 October, was no such exception with Terzo Gran Gala del Tortel Dols, the Third Grand Gala of Tortel Dols. We learned about it the previous week from pamphlets when we returned from Spain and despite ambitious plans to visit Sienna for the weekend, timing-wise I knew the trip wouldn't work out, but I also knew I didn't want to miss this all-day dedication to sweet tortelli's. Even the students that live in Parma came for it. 

chestnut, creme, ricotta filled pastries

Market stalls selling Parma area-typical cured meats, cheeses, preserved foods in jars, pastries and knick-knack home goods lined the streets leading to the piazza in the center of town which was bombarded with more stalls and giant tents covering lectured conferences led by food-industry chefs and critics, pasta-making demonstrations, and tables to sit and eat the area's specialty foods being prepared by resident volunteers. 

il famoso chef Massimo Bottura dell’Osteria Francescana e il giornalista e critico Enzo Vizzari, delle Guide de L’Espresso

busy Piazza Garibaldi in Colorno

The event was not only sponsored by neighborhood businesses but by the Brotherhood of Tortel Dols - the pasta has it's own fraternity! As we sat down under the tent to encounter the over-priced pasta so apparently typical of the region it has its own festival and brotherhood, yet having never tasted in the last eight months of living here (I guess that's the whole point of it's rediscovery and promotion) we sat at a round table next to one reserved for one of the Brotherhood "sects." Decked out in velvet robes, medallions, badges, and even tortelli-shaped hats, these men and women must have an incredibly strong affinity for this traditional pasta, rich in quirky history and cultural curiosities. 

As these costumes became more frequent within the crowd, we were able to divert our attention back to the guest of honour: tortel dols. A pile of just under a dozen ragged-edged stuffed pasta sat on a flimsy plastic plate, in a light tomato based sauce and sprinkled with Parmigiano Reggiano, some melted into the sauce while thicker clumps contrasted white like freshly powdered snow.  Biting into it was unexpectedly sweet, despite the name Tortel Dols, sweet tortelli, the prune and fig fruit flavors we distinguished are not typical pasta fillings one is accustomed to. The light tomato-based sauce doused in butter and parmesan was a savory and complimentary contrast to the firm pasta (the Italians know al dente to a tee) which enveloped the jammy filling.

culinary kudos.

Of course no meal highlighting the gastronomic specialities of Parma would be complete without some cured meat and the infamously crusty, potentially lethal Parma bread roll. Maybe not the best accompanying dish to sweet tortelli, but with bottles of Ceci lambrusco and Malvasia popping around us, some good friends who bought enough cheese and epicurean delights for the night's dinner together, along with a sunny early-fall Sunday to enjoy with no class the next morning, it was all together the perfect combination. 

Once again, Colorno out did itself, by bringing people together and reinforcing its pride in its local culture, history, and traditions seamlessly entwined in gastronomy.

According to legendary folklore, Maria Luiga, Napolean's wife who lived in the regal palace which is our University, would make tortel dols for Po River boatmen and the sweet filling represented it being made from the heart, for her sweet hearts. I think. At least this is my won interpretation. Google Translate sucks. and my Italian is embarrassingly bad.

According the website's recipe, the reason why we couldn't pinpoint the flavours or ingredients makes complete sense:

The original recipe Tortel DOLS FILED WITH THE FELLOWSHIP 
INGREDIENTS FOR 100 TORTELLI 

MUSTARD (Home-made): 
1.50 kg perry noble (a type of pear...)
1.50 kg pumpkin mustard (white cucumber) (how are these related)
1 kg of quinces 
2 lemons sliced 
3 cups of sugar for every kilo of fresh fruit 

Clean and slice the fruit. 
Allow to marinate overnight with the sugar. 
The next day, pour the sauce that has formed and boil for 
a few minutes to discover the pot and then pour it over the whole fruit. 
Continue with this for three days. 
On the fourth day boil the whole pot in discovery for two hours. 
Allow to cool and add 1 g of mustard (you buy in 
pharmacy) per kg of fruit. 
Pot. (just pot.)
The chutney will be ready after two months. (woah)

FILLING: 

6 hg mustard 
1.5 gr of breadcrumbs. 
1 liter of boiled wine (made by boiling grape juice fermented 24 hours, so it remains one of three parts) as needed 
if you prefer less sweet filling add two tablespoons of plum jam. 
Good mulled wine to warm (not boiling), and scorching the bread. 
When it is cool add the mustard, finely chopped (Including the slices of lemon). 
Mix all handmade. 
It must be a mixture too dry but rather soft, so, if necessary, add more mustard. 
Let stand a couple of days. 
To make the pastry as usual.

SLOW FOOD.

i love this photo. 

it's the perfect shot of the slow food logo in front of our university. bravo, limor, bravo. carlo petrini would be proud.

unfortunately, as we walked back to save this little snail from the middle of the street, a guy on a bike rode by, stopped his bike, stomped on the snail, and rode off.

first day of facoltà

The anticipation has been subsided. We have met our class of 25 students and had our first day of classes today. "Team Zinzani" walked over to the Reggia together (there are 6 of us in our building: Samara from Vancouver, Kalliopi from Greece, David from Taiwan and Jules from Belguim. We also met Lauren from Chicago, Katherine from Boston and Diana from Italy last night who came over for some wine and cheese so we knew some familiar faces today). We had a presentation from the directors and tutors and then a quick tour around the sensory analysis lab, the main classroom, main hall and library of over 10,000 food related books (the ones in english were only in one corner though). Of course, but of course, we all had to stand up and go around saying our names, where we were from, why we were here etc. I wasn't too nervous, surprisingly for my shy self as I guess I assumed in a few days we'd all know each other and completely forget this first introduction, however, I think I blacked out while talking rapidly and sat down and thought to myself, that's not at all what i had planned out to say in my head. oh well. awkward and typical. Some people seem to have more experience working on WOOF, small farms or delivering food, some had education or law backgrounds, some had desk jobs they weren't passionate about and everyone was very international - a couple americans, france, germany, japan, israel, canada, mexico, australia - a good mix of relatively young people who we all seem to have the same interest and passion in food, whether or not we know what we'll do with the degree at the end of the year or not. there are only 5 boys in the program which will be interesting since the majority of the people i hung out with in portsmouth were boys (xoxo kyle, marie, beka). everyone seems nice though, and most of them seem to live in parma. it's kinda annoying, but at least we'll have couches to crash on over the weekends. arina and i also seem to have lucked out on the amount of stuff we had already in our apartment - some people didn't have cleaning equipment or kitchen utensils left for them.

<-- the Reggia di Colorno aka the Ducal Palace was once a fortress and then turned into home of Maria Louise, the wife of Napoleon. This is a shot taken from the bridge, walking over from our apartment. The University of Gastronomic Sciences is on the top floor.

our first class was molecular science. yikes. it makes sense though since we can't study gastronomy without chemistry as food is basically a make up of molecular compositions and it is important to understand the reason why we eat is to introduce energy-producing compounds into our bodies that we can't produce ourselves (do i sound like i just literally reiterated that or what?). our teacher doesn't believe in molecular gastronomy, a popular trend chefs are following these days, but thinks its just food science rather than anything fancy that deserves a different name. minus all the complex chemistry formulas and words like solvents and solutes, dissolve vs melt, polar and non-polar, positive and negative and neutral, fatty acids and lipids, osmosis and semipermeable, fermentation and oxidation, autotrophs and endotrophs, catabolism and anabolism, ATP and ADP, pH and pOH, polymers and monomers......it was actually pretty interesting (thank goodness because that's why i'm here studying gastronomy). Did you know that:

• We actually eat polymers (a link of monomers joined by removing water) but in order to digest them we need to add water through a process of hydrolysis which is why when you eat a lot, you feel thirsty because your body is unable to digest the polymers without the presence of water?
• Mold grows only where air is available which is why you see mold only on the top of a jar of food, not at the bottom?
• Protein is one of the most important foods because it is the only source of nitrogen that we can introduce into our bodies, not like plants who absorb it naturally from the soil?
• When we eat food we are actually eating cells which are still alive? aka biting into an apple. heeeyyyy vegetarians.
• Why we don't eat hay? i don't know scientifically why...but i think we might find out tomorrow.

At least that's what i have in my notes.

Italy, here I come!

So, it's official. I'm moving to Italy in March!!

Here's my story:

After living in Portsmouth for now a year and 6 days, which is 9 months and 6 days longer than I intended, I finally am a step closer in putting my life in some sort of direction. I love Portsmouth and everyone here, but i need to get out. after 4 years of college and 2 years living in NYC it's nice to move home with your parents and save money on rent and groceries, but it's difficult to lose that sense of freedom and independence - especially in a social sense. It's difficult too, for my parents, to have someone else move into their condo and invade their life.

I've tried to be respectful and was always the first one to go home instead of go to the after parties, but the majority of the people i know here are in the restaurant industry and we have late hours. It's an incredibly fun industry to be a part of and experience, but my job as an expediter and getting paid hourly was not providing the mon

ey i needed or wanted. So, after the summer (yes, after - there was no way I was sacrificing beach time) and no luck finding a job, or even a second job, I decided to look into going back to school because i really have no idea what i want to do with my life. I love the NYU Food Studies program, but wasn't ready to go back to NYC. So when I found the L'Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche (aka University of Gastronomic Sciences) in Italy, i fell in love. where else to study food, but in italy?

The application process was free, but intense. First, a English speaking test and a motivational test. I spent hours on the 25 questions, trying to fit each answer perfectly into 400 characters or less. Once approved then had to send in an application form, another motivational letter, transcript, resume, passport picture, passport copy, letters of recommendation, and i'm still working on getting an accedemic accreditation from the italian embassy in pennsylvania which is proving to be impossible. $42 later, that was mailed off. Then came the list of approved candidates. I was waitlisted #11. Alright, I tried. Then came the email saying that positions opened up. Squealing, I called my parents in ireland immediately and somehow my sister knew I was calling to say I was accepted. I was so excited. However, because there were so many "qualified" applicants, the school decided to break up the program into two sections - march or may, each with 25 students. I had been planning on going to Spain in March with the restaurant I work in if this didn't work out so I wanted to start school in May. And i'm not sure i'm ready to leave portsmouth in 2 months. My parents weren't too sure though, thinking it'd be better to save my Spain money to spend in italy. Financially, that would've been the smart move, but Spain would have been awesome...and educational! but as of this morning, it has been decided. i was put into the March program - which is still fantastic!! Makes that decision easier!

thrilled, terrified, nervous, sad to leave portsmouth, ecstatic. Italy for a year?! yes, please.

now, just to figure out how to pay for this....I can barely afford to buy $2 PBR's at the press room, let alone a program that costs 21,000 euros with no spending money included. wtf was i thinking?! i remember graduating from bucknell and thinking about going back to grad school b/c i had no idea what to do with my life and dad saying that he'd always pay for our education...i'm pretty sure that's a fact and i'm pretty sure he has forgotten that. but trying to be responsible and figure out my life, i'll figure it out.

yo cospico un po italiano. mum got out italian audio discs from the library. going to have to put those to use now!!

ciao! x