Day 19
Busy day here! Class this morning took us back to basics – the periodic table and the structure of the atom, bonding in detail, then kitchen basics including utensils, pots, and pans! First things first – we capped off our discussion of milk, cheese (proteins in general) by making butter. We successfully made 7 batches, the students drained off the buttermilk, washed the butter, then spread it on bread with jam for breakfast – what a great, tasty time. Brian, Greg, and I had lunch at Le Fonticine – guys had tortelloni stuffed with ricotta and spinach with truffle and cream sauce while I had the best rigatoni and Bolognese sauce I’ve had thus far. On our walk back home we passed Enoteca Alessi (another wine bar owned by friends of our guides Sandro and Ludavica from yesterday) – phenomenal. Very cute barstools with seats full of wine corks (in Lucite), a ridiculously huge selection of all kinds of liquors (in the gin section Brian is pointing to one that comes in a can – reminding me of how we used buy turpentine! This afternoon I had my second activity with students – an olive oil lecture and tasting with Professoressa Cecilia Ricci. We tasted oil from northern Italy (Lombardo region), southern Italy (Sicily), and one from Tuscany (a single varietal – monocultural) – all were delicious. More guests arriving tomorrow – yay!