The Bean

     I feel as though I am on the verge of developing a terrible addiction....to espresso. 

     It used to be that I would rarely drink coffee, especially espresso, because of the effect that it would have on me. After a shot I would feel like grinding my teeth down to nothing and then doing back flips around the room until my heart exploded. Occasionally I would partake if it was a late night out gallivanting on the town with friends but that's about it. 

     Back home I had taken to drinking mug of green tea in the morning to wake up a bit as well as for the anti oxidant qualities and health benefits. Now I'm downing espresso like it's my mission in life.

     This all started a little over a week ago when I had a string of nights where I was getting about 3 hours of sleep. It has been very hot here lately and I have been with out a fan so sleeping has been replaced by sweating and tossing and turning.

     I needed to function in the morning so to wake me up I started using the fuel that this country runs on. At first it was the same old story for me. I would buzz around for a couple of hours gritting my teeth and talking to my self with my mind racing from one thought to the next. Soon I started to develop a tolerance and my mind has been able to focus rather then scramble.

     Now when I arrive in the morning I crank up the machine and pump out my medicine. "Who wants coffee? You want a coffee? How about you, you look like you could use a coffee. Coffee?, coffee? Any body? Coffee?". Now people are starting to call me a drug addict. It's funny because when I first arrived everyone thought that I was strange for an American who didn't drink coffee and didn't eat breakfast.

     I've got to put down the tiny  white cup and hop on the wagon before it's too late, before the claws are in too deep. If I keep this up then soon I be just another dependent, a loyal follower, another slave to the bean. I've seen what coffee can do to people, or the lack there of for that matter. One day the espresso machine had broken before everyone had gotten their fix. It got ugly. I thought that there was going to be a riot. I have never seen a repair man show up faster in my life. Apparently he knew the drill, because he didn't even bother to bring his tools. He just brought another machine and had espresso flowing freely in five minutes. It was very impressive. A mutiny narrowly evaded.  

     Luckily I have finally acquired a fan so that I can hopefully return to my normal sleeping habits. I also believe that I brought some green tea with me from home, so I'll have to try and find it in my bag. I guess I'll just have to see how easy it is to walk away. If I really miss it then I guess I'll try eating some more tiramisu. Ciao.

     

Umbria "The Green Heart" Of Italy

      Since everyone is always asking where I am in Italy and what it's like, I have decided to do a little report on this great region.(and I mean little, I could go on and on but there is just not enough time.

    Umbria     is one of the 20 regions of Italy. One of Italy's smallest regions, it is land locked, and located almost dead center in the country. Umbria is boarded by the regions of Tuscany to the west, Il Marche to the east, and Lazio to the south. The capital city is Perugia which is near where I am located, and other large and influential medieval cities include, Assisi, Spoleto, Orvieto, Terni, Gubbio, Foligno and Montefalco. The Region is split into two Provinces named Perugia and Terni.

     Lake Trasimeno is located in the region right on the border of Tuscany,and is one of the largest lakes in the country.

     Umbria is full of amazing rolling hills and mountains covered by an abundance of lush vegetation. The region has all of the charm and beauty of Tuscany but without all of the tourists. The main produce in the region consists of Olive oil(arguably the best in the world), white and black truffles, Wheat, lentils of Castelluccio, amazing local cheeses, and the famous salumi of Norcia.

     The most abundant meat in the area is pork, and it is followed by wild boar, lamb, guinea fowl, chicken, rabbit/hare, and beef. Fish can be caught of the lake or delivered from the sea.

     And of coarse there is wine. The two famous wines from the area, Sagrantino di Montefalco and Orvieto Classico. Sagrantino di Montefalco, a DOCG wine, is a red wine from the city of Montefalco and must be made of 100% of the Sagrantino grape and Ovieto Classico, a DOC wine is a white wine from the city of Orvieto made from the grape varieties of Trebbiano, Procano, Verdello, Malvesia, Grechetto, and Drupeggio. Both wines are money.

     I've included a couple pics of country side, one pic is a shot from a storm rolling in on the back yard. The one with the church is a shot of the Basilica of Saint Clare in Assisi. And the city on the top of the hill is Orvieto. 

     I hope that this helped at least a little bit. Ciao! 

How I Found My Way To Italy

     Ever since I really became serious about the idea of cooking professionally I began to dream about coming to Italy to work in a restaurant. I am of half Italian descent, and having that cultural influence in my life really had a lot to do with leading me here.

     When I was in culinary school, I was fortunate enough to have Chef Francesco Tonelli as my skills II instructor. This was a pivotal moment in my life. I was forever changed after this class, as I know many of my classmates were because we still talk about the class and how it affected us.

     Chef Tonelli was born in Fano which is in the Marche region, but he grew up in Milan. He worked in restaurants in Milan, Paris, Switzerland and Montreal and he was also a R&D chef and food stylist for La Cucina Italiano Magazine for seven years. Along the way he was made a Maestri di Cucina, or Italian Master Chef by the Federazione Italiana Cuochi. There are only 110 in the world.

     He then made his way to becoming a chef instructor at the CIA where I made his acquaintance. We were lucky to get him just in time. I think that we were his second to last class before he left the CIA for his other great love of photography.

     The passion that Chef Tonelli had and his philosophy and approach to cooking along with his natural ability as a teacher was very inspirational, and gave many of us a new view towards food. He's also like, totally cool man.

     Chef had mentioned that he was the U.S. representative for the Slow Food Master Italian Cooking School in Jesi Italy. Prior to graduating school, I was working with him to try and get a scholarship to the school, only to find out that scholarships were no longer offered to people out side of Europe. 

     I then asked if he knew of any place in Italy that I could work at for a year or so. Obligingly, he gave me the contact information of Chef Barbanera, and the rest is history. Now I'm living La Dolce Vita.

     Chef Tonelli's career is really talking off. He has done work for The New York Times and Art Culinaire, and among other things has worked with Chefs Grey Kunz and Masaharu Morimoto. He is equally as talented with the camera as he is infront of the stove and you can view or purchase his personal food photos at his web site francescotonelli.com His photos are awesome. I think I remember him saying that he made all the food in the photos, and then he and his wife ate it. Sounds like a good time.

     On another note a couple had come by the restaurant the other day with a bunch of truffles that thay had found in the forest. I think that chef paid 400 euro for half a kilo which is cheep. Truffles are cheeper now because they are not mature. They have more of a real intense nutty mushroom smell then a overwhelming sexy truffle aroma. The season for mature black truffles in the area is late autumn to early winter. These truffles still add a lot of flavor to dishes, and are sliced very thinly over the dish just before service or ground up and mixed with olive oil to be added to sauces. Deepness. 

Oh the Time We Had

     Well, that was probably the fastest week of my life. People say that time flies when you're having fun. Well, if I didn't have the pictures to prove it I would have thought that it was all just a nights dream. 

     Niki arrived Wednesday night at the train station. I picked her up in La Panda(the car) and we headed back to the restaurant to meet the crew and to enjoy a nice meal with just the two of us. 

     Thursday we headed off to Lake Trasimeno which is a large lake, about 20 minutes from the restaurant. We bombed around the lake a couple of times under stormy skies , stopping at old ruins and castle towns.   We made a quick stop at a house that sold wine and olive oil, where we met a nice old woman named Louisa and her puppy named schloopy who peed all over us. The wine was good and the olive oil was great so we bought a bottle of both to take with us. For dinner we ended up in the town of Castiglione del Lago for Pizza and Wine.

     Friday and Saturday I had to work so Niki hung out at the restaurant on Friday and then came with us catering in Montefalco on Saturday. I felt bad, but I think she still managed to have a good time.

     Sunday we took La Panda to the nearby historic city of Assisi. The car was a bit stinky due to the fact that a large amount of herb seasoned, rendered pig fat had spilled all over the back(yummy)The weather was still stormy, but we had so much fun. The city is so old and beautiful. There is so much history and religion. It was amazing. After we had visited a food shop, when the rain started to come down, we ducked into a covered stairway leading from the street up to peoples homes. We sat and talked and had a snack of local red wine and dark chocolate infused with black truffle. It was very romantic. 

     Monday, we rented a car and headed off to Tuscany. We went to the Val d'Orcia region and hung out in the beautiful city of Pienza. We stopped in some shops to grab some cherries, crackers, goat cheese, and blueberry jam.We snacked around for awhile enjoying the beautiful sights and the wonderful weather and then we made our way to Montalcino for some more wine(i think i'm seeing a pattern develop here) Wine country was awesome. That's kind of silly to say because the whole country is wine country but what ever. We stopped at a cantina out side of the city to buy a couple of bottles and then we headed into town. We drank some fine wine, snacked around some more and then hopped back in the car to drive north to the Chianti region. More wine, more food, more good times and than back home.

     Tuesday we decided to keep it simple and just hang out in one city. We chose to go back to Tuscany and visit Montepulciano famous for, you guessed it.....wine. This day was very relaxing and very fun. We stopped at a giant field full of wild flowers and red poppies for some pics, then went into the center for a little more of the old food, wine, wine, food deal. If I had to pick a favorite day it would probably be this day. 

     We made it home safe and had kind of an emotional evening because we knew that we had to be separated again in the morning. I had an incredible time and I can't wait to do it again in October.

     Well it's back to work for me. It was good to have the break but it is also good to be back in the kitcken. Although I think that speaking mostly in english for a week has caused my italian to suffer. I'll just have to hit the books. Ciao.

Let the Countdown Begin

     So it's less than 24 hours till my special lady friend enters the country and I can hardly wait. I was able to get more time off than I was expecting to, so we should have a lot free time to travel around the area and see the sights. I'm crazy excited!!!! Hopefully the weather agrees with us. There is a really cool thunder storm going on right now, but I think that it is supposed be nice over the next couple of days.

     Last night I was a server instead of a cook. There was a reservation for a 14 top of Americans so they put me out on the floor in my chef whites to wait on them. Of course I was completely nervous at first because I'm so shy, but by the end I was a total blabber mouth. 

     The group was really cool. They were all friends from Durum, North Carolina, but they were originally from all over. There were people From Rochester, and the Finger Lakes area, and from Ohio, Georgia, Mississippi, and the Carolinas. Small world. I had a blast with them and they really enjoyed themselves a well. They even invited Niki and I to come hang out at the villa that they are staying at which is about 10 minutes from the restaurant. I think that we might take them up on the offer because I have the day off.

     This week is a bit slower than last. I'm just watching the season change. The orange blossoms have been replaced by Jasmine flowers which smell equally as brilliant, and I was mistaken on seeing little grapes and olives forming. Those were flower buds that are now blossoming. I guess that they are late bloomers. I am also surrounded by the wheat fields in the area which are spotted with the red corn poppy flowers that are synonymous with this part of the country. Beautiful stuff.

    This will probably be my last post for awhile since my free time will be spent with my girl. Ciao! 

Learning To Burp On The Inside

     I am starting to feel like I am a poor representative for our country. For starters, as anyone that knows me can attest, I have a terrible gas problem. Weather it's clearing out a room, deafening someone with a earth shaking burp, or torturing people in a car, you can count on me to be uncouth. It's not intentional mind you(most of the time) I've just been like this for as long as I can remember.

     When I first arrived I was doing a great job at covering it up. I was very self contious when I first got here so I learned to "burp on the inside" as Niki would say. But I think that now that I have become more comfortable with my surroundings I have let my inhibitions go a little. 

     Pretty much everything but water gives me gas. Unfortunatly when I'm not paying close attention, I will let an incredibly loud burp slip out and reverberate through the kitchen and of course everyone is appalled by this. I hear shouts of "Che schifo!!" (what a disgust) or "Disgraziato!!!" (a disgrace) from all through out the restaurant.

     We all went bowling after work the other night, and I had had a couple of beers. While I was reading something I let one rip. It was bad. No exaggeration, the whole place stopped and looked at me. Chef just waived his hands and assured everyone that it was alright because I was an American. Everyone just laughed and shook their heads. I vaguely remember some applause.......I shouldn't be allowed out of the house.

     Fortunately, I have yet to introduce anyone to the other end of the gas factory. I don't know what it is. It must be the change in diet. Less dairy maybe? What ever the cause, flatulence production is at an all time low. It's a good thing, because I think that burping is one thing that I can work on. It is something that can be over looked, or treated as Homer Simpsonish or comedic. I think that I would be viewed very differently if I were to make their eyes water or their skin melt off with the volatile gas that my body is capable of producing. 

     My other attribute that I am starting to believe is perceived as offish is my sweating. With the onset of summer, my body is not prepared for the climate change. My blood has been thickened by the harsh Western New York winter, and the heat is starting to get to me. At work today everyone seemed cool and collected, while I was sweating like a beast of burden. I can only hope that my body will become acclimated soon. It's not even that hot yet. I think that  everyone was concerned for my health or something. They just kept encouraging me to drink more water, and asking if I was alright. 

     All in all it's not that bad. I'll have to work harder on realizing that I am not the only person in the room and make an effort to improve my manners. I did my best to convey the fact that not all Americans are sweaty, gas producing, mindless cretins and I think they bought it.

     Unfortunately, I have yet to develop any cool super powers from the spider bite, but on the up side there is no necrotic flesh sloughing off leaving an oozing infected hole in my hand. I'll keep you posted on both accounts.

          Ciao tutti!! It's been almost a week since my last post due to the fact that we were crazy busy this week and I really didn't have many breaks.

     There were three parties going on Saturday. Two off premises and one on. I awoke at 6:45 to be at the restaurant at 7:30 to load up the truck and head off to the first party(a wedding at the Abby San Pietro in Valle)

     The day started off on a low point when my biggest fear became a reality....I was bitten by a spider!!!!!! I had grabbed a side towel to clean up some egg yolk when I noticed something fly out of it into the sink. I looked in the sink and found a large brown spider. As I was focusing on the spider in the sink I felt a burning sensation in the palm of my hand that was still holding the towel. I took the towel away and there was another large brown spider biting me!! I don't really remember much after that because I think that I blacked out, but I am sure that it involved screaming like a four year old girl, flailing my limbs like a freak and then there was possibly some dry heaving. 

     Chef asked if I was attacked by a scorpion. I just mumbled something incomprehensible in half english and half italian and pointed at the spiders which he then killed. I think that I definitely lost some manly points on this one. Also, now I'm sure that everyone thinks that I'm a little crazy because every time I grab a side towel I act as though I'm about to be attacked again.

     Luckily I was able to put the incident behind me and get on with the day. 

     The event was a wedding at the Abby San Pietro in Valle located between the Marmone Waterfalls and Spoleto. At the event I was told that it was built in the 16th century, but when I looked it up on line I read that it was built in the 8th century. The web sight is sanpietroinvalle.com   The place is amazing and the web sight is cool too. The views were incredible. 

     There was no kitchen so we had to build our own, and considering the circumstances everything went really well. This kind of situation can often times be a suicide mission because Murphy's law is in full swing. There is a list of a hundred things that can go wrong, but this time fortunately we were in the clear. Lots of happy people, including the staff because it was a pleasure to work outside with the scenery.

     I also included a pic of the cheese board. Lots of great cheeses. My favorite was the one on the bottom left. It's called Caciotta alle Vinacce, and is made with a mix of milk from cows,sheep,goats, or buffalo and is aged with crushed red grapes. Money!