Day 49

I had a great lunch of a salad that I made from leftovers - it was basically Rita's salad with greens, fennel, orange and balsamic and olive oil. Also made a grilled cheese that was super tasty! What a perfect lunch...


For dinner I got to try some of Vanessa's delicious cooking. We had fresh spring rolls which are truly one of my favorite foods and which I think I literally ate about 10 of. They were filled with shrimp, lettuce, basil, mint, rice noodles, and carrot with a soy dipping sauce. There was also chicken dish of chicken simmered in a ginger soy sauce. This was incredibly flavorful, I wanted to drink the broth/sauce as a soup. It was such a nice change of pace to eat some Asian food, which I haven't had since I arrived. Thanks Vanessa!


For dessert, there was an amaretto fruit salad and a lemon cake. The fruit salad was so good, and the cake was sweet, moist and delicious!

Day 48

So today for lunch I woke up late so I just had cereal.

For dinner, I made toasted bread with garlicky sauteed mushrooms that I picked up at the market, and topped it with fried eggs and parmigiano cheese. It was actually quite good and filling.

Day 47

Sorry I've been slow at updating lately - I've been pretty busy.

Ok, so, today for lunch we went to lunch at a small southern restaurant right next to the ECCO offices, the same place that they took us as a group on the first night. It's called Trattoria delle Belle Arti (Via Belle Arti, 6/f). I ordered a pasta with a pork-tomato sauce. This was delicious - salty and meaty, with a really nice cheese on top.


For dinner, I made some chickpea-sausage croustini from leftovers from the night before, and Alessandra made a delicious pazanella salad with bread, tomatoes, onion, parsley, lettuce, radicchio, etc... It was so good and got me in the mood for summer (which isn't too far away judging by the warm weather we've been getting lately.

Day 46

This is how I start my day in Bologna. (Well, admittedly not every day, but when I have this one class near this place, this is how I start my day).


I think I may have found it. I think I may have found the best food in Bologna. I know, it sounds impossible. No such thing could exist. There is simply too much delicious food made in this city to find "the best." But still, this place, Terra del Sole (Via Giuseppe Petroni, 3), was something different. I knew from the second I walked in that this food was going to be something special. Maybe it was the fact that the place, which is probably only 20 ft x 10 ft in addition to the small kitchen behind the counter, was packed with people coming in and out, yelling orders to the young woman preparing orders behind a raised counter. Maybe it was that the menu del giorno was hand written on a small chalkboard. Perhaps it was the small glass display case in front, overflowing with golden arancini (risotto balls) of scamorza cheese, peas, tomatoes and pancetta fried into perfect egg-shaped bundles, the deep brown calzones with neatly hand-folded edges, and the thick pieces of foccacia topped with potatoes, mushrooms, and rosemary. Or maybe, it was the unpretentious decor, with garlic and dried herbs hanging from the ceiling, copper pots on the walls, and rusted bells over the door which clattered every time someone walked in our out (so constantly).Whatever it was, I knew it was going to be good.

So I yelled my order up from the board up to the woman behind the counter: "Orchiette with greens." And then I waited. This place may be small and mostly take-out (there are a few small bars on the side with tall chairs, and with only six places to sit, these are almost always occupied), but it is not fast food. After 20 minutes of waiting, fearing that the woman had forgotten my order or not understood my not-so-perfect Italian, she brought me a small brown bag with my pasta inside. I took it, along with a piece of foccocia with verdure (greens), to the ECCO offices down the street to eat.

The pasta was sublime. The orchetti themselves were chewy with a nice bite, but soft and delicate nonetheless. They were topped with flavorful olive oil and breadcrumbs for a little crunch. The combination of the olive oil, vegetables, and breadcrumbs, along with no lack of salt, was incredible. Fresh, full of flavor and hearty while still carefully composed, this pasta was fantastic.


The foccacia was some of the best I've had as well. The sides were dark brown and well cooked, the bread chewy while still soft, salty and flavorful both from the dough itself and the vegetables on top.


The food at Terra del Sole is from the region of Puglia, in the far south of Italy making the heel of the boot. Whereas the food of Bologna tends to be heavier with a focus on heavy meat sauces and cream for the pasta, this was much lighter in comparison, while still packing the full punch of flavor that a ragu which has been simmering for hours can. Is this food better than that of Bologna? No, but tasting the food of Puglia, of the south, was a nice change of pace. Is this the best restaurant in Bologna? Also no, but it is excellent food prepared simply with respect for the quality of ingredients. I tend to find my "new favorite place ever" in this city about every five days, because there are simply so many wonderful (and in this case, extremely reasonably priced) places to stumble upon. But Terra del Sole was something special, and I'm sure I will be returning often.

For dinner, Lizzie and I put some things together. Here is some croustini with ceci (chickpeas), beet greens, and garlic.


And some pasta with pesto!

Day 45

For my first lunch today, stopped by Eataly after walking into Piazza Maggiore. The piazza is always bustling on Sundays and I love walking in to see it. This sandwich was delicious: crusty, flavorful whole wheat bread with creamy gorgonzola cheese and candied fruit! What could be better (for anyone who reads this from my Italian class last semester, remember Walter's gorgonzola sandwich?)


For my second, slightly more substantial lunch, I ate a wonderful meal that my roommate Lorenzo made for about 10 of his friends as well as my other two roommates and me. A Sunday meal eaten together is a fundamental part of Italian life. While usually eaten at home, if you're a 12 hour train ride from home, as my roommates are, why not bring the meal to wherever you are? Lorenzo made a really great meal and it was a lot of fun to get to enjoy it with his friends. We sat for almost three hours over the meal, something that rarely occurs in the U.S. but which is one of my favorite parts of Italian life. Here is a picture of the scene:


We started with papardelle with ragu. One of Lorenzo's friends asked where the recipe came from. The answer: from his mother, of course. It was delicious.


Next, breaded chicken cutlets (they make delicious breaded cutlets here, I don't know why they are so much better than back home) and a simple salad, as well as some french fries.


For dessert, there was a gorgeous chocolate cake that one of his friends brought (that I did not participate in) as well as tiramisu that Lorenzo made. This tiramisu was fantastic, made with a coffee liquor that was perfect. This was Lorenzo's first time making tiramisu, and it was one of the best I've ever had. It's like cooking is in these people's DNA.


After eating the meal with Lorenzo and his friends, which I really enjoyed a lot, I didn't need much of a dinner seeing that we didn't finish until 5pm. I had some pieces of parmigiano, digestives (this addictive cookie-cracker thing) and apple slices.

Day 44

What did I eat today, you ask? Well, started the day off with some blood oranges (yes, multiple). These are the standard orange in Italy (I haven't seen many oranges that are just orange) and are amazing. Think of a meatier, more flavorful clementine, that is red and orange and sweet and a little tart. Amazing!

For lunch, picked up a prosciutto piadina at a bar (which means cafe, not bar like we think of it).


For dinner, I had some absolutely fantastic food after Solveig's chorus concert. You see, this is what, for me, makes Italian food so that wonderful, welcoming and satisfying. After the concert, we were led to the downstairs of the church where concert took place to be greeted by a beautiful array of food that the chorus members had provided (by which I mean homemade, or in the case of the incredible salami, home-cured). There was just the most beautiful, and tasty, selection of foods to eat. And lots of it. There were about seven tables like the one pictured below filled with foods, desserts and wines. They included homemade savory tarts of spinach and cheese or mushroom and ham, amazing foccacias of red onion, pancetta or olive, salty, flavorful pieces of mortadella, home-cured salami (out of this world good), bread, seasoned nuts, pieces of parmigiano cheese, mini pizzas with sliced garlic, fried dough with raisins, pine-nut tart, chocolate tart, cookies and more. The food was beautiful and abundant.


The quality of this food was truly fantastic, as is always the case with Italian home cooking. There is a reason why food here is so much better and why the existence of high quality, delicious food is as ubiquitous in this country as a Starbucks or McDonald's is in the United States (though yes, McDonald's does exist here, and yes, there is a lot of good food in the U.S.). Good cooking and good food here begin at home. I know this is no revelation or surprise to anyone that good Italian food is made at home. But it is something that is difficult to understand coming from the United States where we do not have the same associations with food, family and home (if in part because here, everyone, and I mean everyone, knows what good food is and the importance of good food eaten together at home). Food here is so important and so consistently well-made because it is learned, understood and created in the larger context of Italian family life and community. The food at this reception was created to be enjoyed with others, it is part of what sustains relationships and of being together.

For tomorrow's post, I will post pictures of a meal my roommate made for his friends that I joined. We literally sat for three hours over the meal, eating delicious food and talking on a Sunday afternoon. In Italy, good food is important not only because it feeds the body, but because it feeds conversation, community and family as well. It's not to say that other parts of the world, including the U.S., do not often enjoy food in a similar manner. But the Italians just seem to really have it down. These people know how to cook, how to eat, and how to make enjoying a meal, whether post-concert snacks in a church basement or a full four course meal in a candle-lit dining room, the most wonderful experience in the world.

Day 43

We had a wonderful lunch at La Mela today. I got a pizza again because it is simply so good there, probably the best I have had in Bologna. The dough is slightly burnt and flavorful and salty, and the vegetables on top of this one (eggplant, zucchini, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, and bell pepper) were perfect.


We also ordered some potato croquettes. Crispy and lightly fried with basically a creamy mashed-potato inside. What could be better?


For dinner, we made pasta all'arrabbiata (spicy tomato sauce). This was great, topped with parmigiano and basil. The spicyness comes from pepper flakes. Pasta here is just always so delicious!!!


Also made Rita's salad from the second lesson, which includes greens, blood orange slices, pecorino cheese and fennel. We used balsamic vinegar and olive oil as a dressing. This salad is actually addicting. I could eat it at every single meal of my life and be happy.

Day 42

For lunch I just had cereal, sorry no pictures of that.

For dinner, went to Forni with Leah and Solveig. Leah made some delicious french toast with a sauce of apples. I topped mine with some of my favorite plum jam as well. Also had some crispy pancetta. This was so good - sweet and salty (and breakfast for dinner!).


For dessert, we went to this fantastic gelato place on Via San Vitale. I don't remember the name but I will find out, because this is some of the best I have had. I flavor I got was zabayon with pinenuts. Yummy!

Day 41

For lunch I had some bread with mushrooms sauteed with garlic and onions.


Later, we had the third (and possibly final) cooking lesson with Rita. Again, we made some of the best food I've had in Italy. Cooking in someone's home, preparing food with the freshest ingredients, and having Rita there to show us how it is all done is fantastic and makes for the absolutely most delicious, to-die-for food ever.

We started with some fried vegetables, which were wonderful and which I couldn't stop snacking on. Fried vegetables in Italy, fritti misti, are light and almost delicate. Thoroughly salted and crispy, these are the perfect pre dinner snack. We made three types: fried sage leaves, fried artichokes, and fried broccoli. These were all so good! I loved the flavor and texture of the fried sage, seems like it would be a fun thing to top a dish with, or even a soup.


Next, we had a soup with beans, leeks, and farro (an Italian cereal product much like barley). This was filling and delicious. The soup itself wasn't salted, which was interesting, but instead just got the salt from grated pecorino which we put on top. The flavors were subtle and worked great together.


For secondi, we had sea bass, cooked in the oven whole. I helped scale and clean them...fun. Here is a before picture, a picture of what we ate, and an after picture.


These were served with some potatoes and onions which were simply roasted. The onions they often use here are these mild, fresh, little spring onions. I've started using them all the time when I cook since they have great flavor that isn't overpowering.


For dessert, we had tiramisu. We made some without chocolate for me, which was wonderful since usually I never get to try tiramisu since I don't like chocolate. Thought it isn't the real thing without chocolate, it was creamy and rich and so, so good. It's topped with crushed hazelnuts here, instead of dark chocolate.

Day 40

For lunch today, went to Osteria dell'Orsa. I had a soup with potato, red onion and white beans. It was creamy and delicious, just what I needed.


For dinner, made a little tomato salad with olive oil, salt and pepper. The tomatoes here are always so wonderful and make me think of the summer. Always nice to have a taste of the summer in the middle of winter.


Also had some pasta with leftover bolognese sauce from Rita's last week. Yum.

Day 39

Needed to have a quick break from Italian food (well, I never NEED a break from Italian food, but occasionally they do come up). Went to a kebab place where I had a pretty good chicken kebab with lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber, spicy sauce and yogurt. Not the best picture, but this was tasty.


For dinner, went to Cafe Zamboni (Via Zamboni, 6) for Bradley's birthday. They have a great appertivi buffet. Here is a sample of what I had. It includes some foccocia, couscous, a fennel, cucumber and celery salad. Later I had some tomato and mozzarella and pieces of piadina (Italian flatbread sandwich).


Then, Lizzie and I made Bradley a cake that we ate at Cafe Zamboni. And instead of traditional icing, we used Nutella. Oh yeah!

Day 38

Today we went to Cento, a nearby town, for a Carnival celebration. There were floats taller than the buildings that somehow fit in the narrow city streets as part of a huge parade with music, confetti and more that went around the city. The children dress up (and lots of the adults too, some families even pick a theme and dress up as such) and it really is a fun holiday.


A celebration in Italy isn't a celebration without food, of course. We picked up some amazing street food alongside the parade. I had a panino with salsicca (sausage), onions, mushrooms and peppers with mayo. This was so good! The bread was better than typical Italian bread, really chewy on the inside and crusty on the outside, and the meat was spectacular.


We also had some delicious fries with mayo and ketchup. If you're thinking to yourself, "Wow, those look like some of the most appetizing things ever," then you would be correct. They were.


For dinner, had some spinach and ricotta tortelloni with sage and butter. These were filled to the max with super fresh ingredients and I loved them! Also with some little croustini with mint and parmigiano.