I Want A Pizza Named After Me- Blog #18

I firmly believe pizza should be its own food group. So living in a country where you can find pizza anywhere you go had lead to a food fulfilled life and many Eat. Pray. Love. moments. You know that scene, the one where she has eaten so much pizza she needs to buy new jeans so she and her friend go out shopping and the hilarity of trying to button the jeans ensues. 

The pizza that caused this scene? Pizza Margherita in Napoli.

Pizza Margherita has to be one of the better-known types of pizza and the supposed history of its name is quite the story. According to the reading, Queen Margherita and King Umberto I were visiting Naples and the Queen was bored with the French cuisine being served to them and desired something local. A local pizza maker was called to prepare a variety of pizzas for the Queen, one of which consisted of tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. This was the Queen's favorite and thus the pizza maker changed the name of the pizza from pizza alla mozzarella to pizza Margherita. Although, as the author points out, there are many flaws and issues with this story it's a celebrated story to this day!

One of my favorite things about Italy is that they will put ANYTHING on pizza, and I do mean anything. From sweet Nutella pizza to savory artichoke and tomato; from normal Margherita to the wild french fry and hot dog....every taste can be satisfied. I also love the difference between street pizza, which tends to be almost focaccia-like, compared to the pizza you get when you order in a sit-down restaurant, which is our typical circular thin crust. My favorite pizza I've had here was a little unusual by our standards. It was the focaccia-like street pizza that was topped with a tomato sauce, artichokes, green olives, and sausage and....it had no cheese (cue the gasps). It was simple, fresh, and delicious. Pizza is practically a religion here, so it's no wonder there's such a diverse sample to pick and choose from; everyone can have what they want...and if you're lucky, someone might just name a pizza after you.

Ciao for now!

Veni. Vidi. Mangia. 

An American in Rome- Blog #17

Post WWII Italy saw many changes. There was huge economic and industrial growth, especially in the north, which caused a large number of southerners to move to the north. This no doubt had an impact on the food culture in more ways than one. Emigrants from the south had two choices once they moved to the north, as mentioned in the reading, they could forget their food traditions and fully immerse themselves in the culture of the north or they could bring their food traditions with them and share them with those in the north eventually. There was also a modernization of society in general; cars, trains, tv and radio all saw further advancements that made it easier to get around and helped introduce the 'consumer culture.' Companies were able to combine advertisement with the television to spread the image of their products into homes across the country.

In the post-WWII era, Americans became heroes, the people to emulate. Americans had freed Italians from the Nazis and Fascists and then their aid had helped rebuild Italy. Many Italians, especially the younger generation wanted to become American, and if they couldn't do that they wanted to bring America to Italy. American culture became a fascination for many, from the celebrities to cinema and music to what they ate. In them move An American in Rome, this is clearly seen in the character of Nando Moriconi. Although the movie is a comedic satire of the way some Italians acted, it gets at the truth. I love how the reading points out that although there was a lot Italians wanted to emulate about American culture, it was hard to argue that food was better in the US than in Italy.

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Regional differences in food can still be seen, each area has specialties that they are known for. Recently my parents came to visit me and we took a driving trip through Tuscany. We stopped at so many adorable towns and had some amazing food! There were lots of porchetta sandwiches.

I'm officially one of those people who takes pictures of their food and the gorgeous sites in the distance, but I just couldn't help myself. This is quite literally a roll and some sliced up porchetta. 

Then while we were in Sienna I had an amazing dish! It was called up Ravioli dello chef, it had arugula, walnuts, and cream in the filling and was covered in a parsley, arugula, and cream sauce.

It was super simple but it was like I was eating comfort food. It was a specialty at the restaurant which always draws my eyes if they call it their specialty you are pretty much guaranteed some delicious food! Tuscany was probably one of my favorite food places that I've been to overall, everywhere we went to the food was amazing and, being in wine country and all, the wine was exellent!

Ciao for now!
Veni. Vidi. Mangia.

I'm Glad I'm Not A Fascist Or A Futurist- Blog #16

Tactile Pajama Parties.

I feel like that should clue you into the insanity that is the Futurist movement. I don't think I'll every quite understand the Futurist movement, I don't think it's meant to be understood, it's just that wild. Futurism was a movement that had a focus on speed, violence (especially the glorification of war), and modernity. The 1800s were the perfect time for this kind of movement, there were all sorts of technological advances (the train, preservation, and steam power to name a few) that help modernize the world and made it more efficient and quicker to get around in the world.

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The Futurists had already made their way through almost every other art form with little to no success and so they took a last chance gamble with the culinary arts, and failed spectacularly yet again. The Futurists were simply too outrageous for the Italians. The whole idea of the futurist culinary experience was to be multi-sensory, eating with your hands, touching a pad that had various textures, having perfume sprayed at you, and the visual stimulation of their restaurant (Taverna del Santopalato) itself with its modern, metal look. The nail in the coffin however was when Marinetti, the leader of the movement abolished pasta because it was 'too weighty and bulky for the speed and dynamism of modern life.' If there is one thing you don't mess with in Italy, it would be pasta. The amount of pasta I have consumed here is bordering on gluttony. Pasta is so important to the Italians they've even made it fast food like! On a recent trip to Venice our first stop was lunch at Dal Moro's-Fresh Pasta To Go. We went to a shoebox of a restaurant that had no tables and was tucked into the maze that is Venice. You can see them making fresh pasta in the window, all shapes and sizes. You get to customize what shape of pasta you want, what sauce and any add ons! Its quick, fresh and they use natural ingredients.

I got the pesto with chicken sausage. I told them to give me whatever pasta shape they thought was best and they gave me rotini. It was absolutely delicious! 

Although Marinetti's reasoning behind abolishing pasta seems to fit within the Futurist mindset, the real reason he did it was to try and gain Mussolini's favor. Mussolini was a politician who liked to have every aspect of society under his control, and food was no different. To Mussolini food was yet another political tool that he could use to reach his goals. Mussolini wanted Italy to be self-sufficient and not rely on other countries for food imports, one of these imports was grain. Mussolini's "Battle for Grain" is probably one of his most well-known feats, the government pushed farmers to grow grain so that Italy wouldn't have to import it anymore and even drained swamps and destroyed vineyards to make more land to grow this grain on. They also promoted the eating and growing of rice as a substitute Marinetti abolishing pasta and promoting the eating of rice went right along with what Mussolini wanted, Marinetti did so with the false hope that Mussolini supporting the Futurist movement.

At the end of the day all I can say is that I'm glad I didn't have to experience the culinary trials of the Fascist or the Futurists, imagine a world without pasta!

Ciao for now!
Veni. Vidi. Mangia. 

A Unified Country and Cookbook -Blog #15

Italy is a fairly young country, it was only fully unified in 1870. The unification process is one with a long story, it is a story filled with violence and struggle. Italy was a deeply divided country, and many would argue that it is still heavily divided today. Italians were divided in many ways; economy, social structures, language, and food. However, there is a Risorgimento food hero, Pellegrino Artusi. 

Unification was a slow process

Artusi's life story honestly sounds like a movie. Originally from the Emilia-Romagna region, he and his family fled to Florence after being robbed and terrorized by brigands. Artusi eventually amassed a wealth that allowed him to live a comfortable life, one where he could turn his focus to food. Artusi wrote a cookbook (Science in the Kitchen) that included recipes from all over the country, helping bridge the divide. He asked his readers to send in their own recipes and with each edition of his cookbook, more and more recipes were added. Artusi also helped with the language barrier many Italians faced by defining Florentine words in a way that would be understandable to other Italians, something that as a non-native Florentine speaker he well understood. 

I mean, just look at that facial hair!

Although regional food difference may be a sign that Italy was never fully unified, I think these differences are also incredibly important. They add diversity and innovation to the culinary experience of Italy as a whole, just like the differences between food in the North-East and South add diversity in the US. I have loved exploring all the different food every region of Italy I've visited has to offer me. When I was in Venice I was able to get incredibly fresh and local seafood that I wouldn't have been able to get in Umbria and in Umbria, I was able to have incredibly fresh and local truffles that I wouldn't have been able to get in Venice. The differences between the regions are fascinating and tell stories about the area and the people who live there, every region has different 'classic' dishes that they are known for and I think thats amazing. 

You Say You Want A Revolution- Blog #14

We had chocolate in class. I say this and it may seem kinda silly to mention, 'So what?' Anyone who knows me knows what a sweet tooth I have, especially when it comes to chocolate. Now why did I mention that we had chocolate in class? Because it was the best chocolate I've had in my life. I'm talking fly to Italy just to get this chocolate, good. Our professor picked the chocolate up from a place called Confetteria Moriondo e Gariglio and let me tell you, this place has an amazing history.

Look at how cute it is!

 It was founded in 1850 in Turin but then moved to Rome after the unification of Italy. We got to try a chocolate (mine was a dark chocolate) and a fruit jelly (I had an apricot one) and both were amazing, the chocolate was just sweet enough and the fruit jelly, which was made using real fruit juice, by the way, didn't taste artificial in any way. Seriously, if you're ever in Rome you should check this place out, it is definitely worth your time. 

It was amazing to learn about the European Food Revolution, and how it impacted Italy. Although France became the center of Nouvelle cuisine, the impact of the changes nouvelle cuisine brought could be felt in Italy. Whereas eating food out of season had been a popular trend, it now became popular to only eat fresh and as local as possible. There also started to be a distinction between sweet and savory, with sweets now being eaten at the end of the meal. One of the largest changes in my mind was the fact that spices became less important and prominent in cuisine and trade, though tea, chocolate, and coffee seemingly replaced them.

Hot chocolate is very different here in Italy than it is at home in the US. Here in Italy is much thicker and always made with milk, it's practically chocolate pudding. On a trip to Verona, my friends and I stopped in a small cafe for something warm to drink and for a light lunch. This cafe had a huge list of different flavors of hot chocolate that you could order, I decided to get the chocolate, hazelnut one and it tasted like Nutella pudding! I don't know how they get it so thick but I need to learn because I absolutely love hot chocolate here!

Ciao for now!
Veni. Vidi. Mangia.

Reflection of the Cured Meats Presentation- Blog #13

Cured meats are nothing new to me, in fact back at home my family has what we call 'cold night.' 'Cold night' consists of good, crusty bread, a bunch of cured meats, cheeses, and usually some sort of cold salad. This summer I had the chance to go to the Mother Earth News Fair (Mother Earth News is an awesome magazine and you should definately check it out, here's the link for the fair), which is all about independence and self-reliance know how and how to. One of the lectures/demonstrations I went to was by Meredith Leigh who has to be one of the most fascinating humans I've ever encountered in my life. 

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She is a writer (her book The Ethical Meat Handbook has a bunch of yummy recipes and lots of advice) a butcher, a farmer, and a cook....in other words she's pretty badass. Not only does she know how to raise the animals but she also knows how to properly butcher them and how to turn them into all sorts of 'small, delicious, morsels' as she calls them, and now she's sharing her knowledge. She gave a talk and demonstration on an 'Introduction to Charcuterie' she gave basic tips and tricks and some awesome recipes for various cured meats. Needless to say when the group said they were talking about cured meats I was a happy camper.

It was interesting to learn that salumi was an important part of the Italian diet, but only happened out of the needed to preserve meat for a longer period of time. I also didn't realize how regional cured meats were, though from all we've discussed this year it really shouldn't have been a surprise. It makes sense that cured meats in the south tend to be spicery because food in general is spicier in the south.  The group covered three different cured meats from three different regions; speck from the northeast, prosciutto from the central, and 'nduja from the south. Although I had heard of speck and prosciutto before, I had never hear of 'nduja. 'Nduja is a spicy cured meat made with leftover bits of pig. It is spiced with the calabrian chile pepper, which is known to be quite spicy. As someone who loves spicy food and pushing my 'spice limit' I'm excited to try this cured meat at some point in the future!

Ciao for now!
Veni. Vidi. Mangia. 

Reflection on the Truffle Presentation- Blog #12

I love truffles.Now I know what you're thinking, who doesn't love chocolate?! Chocolate truffles used to be the only kind of truffle I appreciated, but my time in Italy has shown me the beauty of the other kind of truffles. 

The group that presented on truffles did such a wonderful job, I learned so much about them! Truffles are a fungus and come in all shapes and sizes and in a few different colors, though black and white are the most common. Truffles are incredibly expensive and hard to find (both in stores and while actually scavenging for them). To find them dogs (and sometimes pigs) are used because of their superior sense of smell. Although they are underground, usually found in the roots of oak and beech trees, these dogs and pigs are able to smell them and point their owners in the right direction. Although the truffles can be hard to find in stores, in Italy there are markets that make them easier to find. I found it fascinating that some vendors will try and join truffles together to make one large truffle because larger truffles have a better flavor profile. I also had no idea that truffles are best when eaten fresh, I didn't think it made a difference!

The group mentioned that Umbria is an area that is known for truffles, something that brought me back to our orientation trip to Umbria. The Umbria trip was where I discovered my love of the non-chocolate truffle. Since it was a regional specialty, I decided that I wanted to try it in as many ways as I could. Thankfully the Osteria my friends and I went to for dinner had a set 'truffle' menu that included an antipasti and a primi that had truffles in them. I had a bruschetta with a truffle tapenade and prosciutto. I loved how the saltiness of the prosciutto paired well with the earthiness of the truffle tapenade. 

 For my primi I was served a pasta tossed in garlic olive oil and truffle shavings. It was incredibly simple and basic, only three ingredients, but it was one of the most delicious meals that I have had here in Italy. 

It was great learning more about what has become a new food obsession and being able to reflect on one of my first food experiences in Italy!

Ciao for now!

Veni. Vidi. Mangia.