amalgamation of happenings

One of the things I looked forward to the most about coming to Italy was the food. Everyone always raved about the pasta, the pizza, the rich and creamy sauces...everything. So, when I learned about an opportunity to take a food and culture class that involved both tastings and hands on cooking, I signed myself up instantly. Up until now I've been mildly disappointed, example being the time I was conned into trying tripa [tripe] aka INTESTINE aka I almost vomited after I learned what I had just ingested. Well anyways, to make a long story short, we had a field trip this past Friday where we spent 5 hours cooking with the help of professional chefs and it was one of the best experiences I've had since I arrived in Firenze. We made, from scratch: 

Pasta dough, which we then hand cut and turned into ravioli. 

ricotta, mozzarella and spinach filling...drooling yet??

Inside of the ravioli there was a spinach and ricotta filling that we also made 

preparing the ravioli 

We also made gnocchi! Not only was it my first time making gnocchi, but it was also my first time tasting it. I'm not sure I'll ever taste gnocchi quite so good ever again...these literally melted in your mouth the second they touched your tongue! So delicious. Below is a photo of the beginning of the process - peeling and grounding the potatoes into tiny little bits!

mmm potatoes

We made crustinis topped with eggplant, peppers and tomatoes [respectively] 

crustini!

And to top it all off, we ended the meal with some delicious tiramisu [which is surprisingly easy to make!!] Sadly my camera ran out of battery after the antipasti was served, so I didn't get a chance to document the rest of the great meal. 

In other news! Mom and Dad are in Florence! We spent yesterday, their first day, walking around the city and showing them a few of the important landmarks. After a hearty dinner, I think the jet lag started to really set in and they called it an early night. I'm taking them to Tarocchi tonight, so I really hope it lives up to their expectations! 

One more exciting update. Devon and I went to The Diner this morning to satisfy our American food craving. We were sat in the back room of the restaurant, which features a big glass window that looks into the kitchen. I noticed one of the chefs was particularly cute, so I smiled at him. 

To make a long story short, towards the end of the meal he gave our waiter a flower and asked him to deliver it to me. Flattered, I thanked him in my broken Italian and continued on with my meal. After we had paid and were putting our coats on, the waiter approached me again and said that the chef wanted to say goodbye to me. A little embarrassed, I went over to the glass window and he asked me 

for my number and asked if I wanted to go out with him later. I scribbled down my number with absolutely zero intention of actually ever hearing from him but, much to my chagrin, he just called me! I answered timidly and after about 20 seconds of conversation I realized he literally speaks NO english. I have no plans to actually go out with this guy, but it is still kind of a cool story. Devon and I have a weird way of always befriending people in the food industry...C'est La Vie!

me with my flower!

CIAO FOR NOW :)