Tuesday

Today I was sleepy because Jenelle left at 3:30 am in the morning.   It was really fun seeing her but it also reminded me a lot of my friends and life back in San Diego.  Its crazy how quickly a switch just turns off in your head and we just instantly started talking about sd and our friends and about everything going on with them.  Its easy to get caught up on that because that’s what we share in common.  My sorority is really busy with rush right now and on Sunday night was the Welcome back dance.  I was able to sleep until 10 until I got up and went to the grocery store.  I bought some chicken, string beans, and bananas.  My new favorite snack is nutella and banana.  At home I always eat peanut butter and apples.  My history class was boring.  My teacher has a thick Italian accent and talks in the same monotone voice.  He also sweats a lot so by the end of class he has huge sweat marks under his armpits and on his back.  GROSS!  Also it is not a good idea to sit in the front row because Italians don’t use deodorant.  I then went to my next class which is cognitive psychology.  Class today was frustrating because cognitive science is my major at school so I am much more knowledgeable than my teacher in many areas.  She is older so all of her experimental designs and theories are outdated!  For example, in class we were talking about feature detection and how certain line movements cause certain synapses in the brain.  She said this experiment has only been done with cats and monkey when in fact it is a proven experiment in humans as well.  In fact in class at ucsd over summer I participated in a few feature detection experiments and fatiguing experiments (she did not even know what fatiguing meant)  She really needs to go back to school and learn cognitive science because it is so up and coming new experimental design and theories are improved and modified everyday!  The weather was a little gloomy and I think I am going to need to invest in some rain boots soon because I heard that is rains a lot here.  This weekend I will be going to the Amafi Coast.  The first day I will be heading to Capri.  I have been told to prepare for a for a weekend of sun, beauty, and culture! We will depart from Rome on private coach bus and our first stop is Capri. The day includes a private boat tour, including entrance to the Blue Grotto and a walking tour of Capri.  Day two we will be going to the coastal town of Positano and start off with a walking tour. This cliff town is full of colorful buildings in pink, yellow and green pastels and offers a beautiful landscape. The city itself is very small with just pedestrians roaming the streets. Following our walking tour we will have free time.  After our weekend of sun and relaxation in Capri and Positano we will take our private coach bus to visit Pompeii. Located in the bay of Naples and once a thriving civilization, Pompeii was completely buried by ash during an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. I will be able to see and experience what life in ancient Rome was like 2,000 years ago.  On our way back to Rome we will stop at a farm to visit a Caseificio di Mozzarella di Bufala and see how this Italian food staple is made!  My teacher from the cooking class I took emailed us the recipes of the food that we made which I will copy and paste in at the end.  At the top is a picture at the Trevi Fountain.  My friend is Jenelle and she is in middle.  Her friend is Monica on the right.  The next picture is us looking at a map because we got a little lost!

Hello Sally, Alyssa, Maggie, Sarah, Ashley, Harriet, Whitney, Hannah, Taylor, Thomas, Malia, Amanda, Shannon, Kim, Marni & Dorothy!

Here's Chef Andrea Consoli from Le Fate Restaurant in Trastevere writing you about all the recipes we cooked on Wednesday September 15th during your cooking class at JCU Guarini campus.

I've used both measurements in cups and grams to make you all able to reproduce my food as soon as you will be back home. But remember, as soon as you will return to the States, if you are using cups the flour you may find may be more dense than we used so you will have to sift it first before measuring it.

1. Appetizer: Bruschette with tomato and basil

Ingredients (serving 4 people):

- 4 slices italian bread

- 4 tomatoes (the best kind you can get to make bruschetta this time of the year are called Pomodori a Grappolo or back in the US I suggest you to use the Roma Tomatoes type)

- 10 leaves fresh organic basil

- 1 clove garlic (remember to remove the heart of it, as it's heavy to digest when raw)

- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

- salt

- pepper

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F (or 200°C) and toast the bread until crisp and golden brown for about 5 minutes. Rub each slice of bread with half a clove of garlic, then drizzle with one table spoon of Extra Virgin olive oil (since now I'll call it E.V. olive oil) and season with salt. You can toast the bread in the toaster, but using the oven dries it out more, adding an authentic touch! Be sure to use only a good cold-pressed E.V. olive oil as the dish depends on the quality of the oil.

For your tomato and basil topping you have to chop the tomatoes in small cubes, sprinkle with salt and black pepper and garnish with fresh basil leaves. Drizzle with few table spoons of E.V. olive oil and serve.

2. First course: Gnocchi al pomodoro fresco e basilico (Homemade gnocchi with fresh tomato and basil sauce)

Ingredients (Serving for 4 people):

- 2.2lb / 1 kg Potatoes (the one that fits this recipe are called Idaho or Russet potatoes back in the US, or for the other countries just get old potatoes and not fresh and watery ones......remember that the more water is contained in the potatoes, the more flour you need to add and the heavier the potato dumplings will be!)

- 1/2lb / 250g all purpose flour

- 1 egg

- pinch of salt

- 5 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive oil

- 1Kg / 2,2 lb fresh and organic Cherry tomatoes (the one we used in the kitchen are called Pachino)

- few leaves of fresh organic Basil

- 1 clove garlic

Instructions:

To make the gnocchi you have to cook potatoes in a large pot of salted boiling water until tender, for about 20-25 minutes (depending on the size of the potatoes). Drain and slip off the skin, then mash until smooth. Gradually stir in the egg yolk, salt, and enough of the flour to obtain a smooth dough that is just a little sticky (usually the flour I use is ¼ the weight of the potatoes). Now you can take a piece of dough and roll it on a lightly floured work surface into a rope about 2.5 cm long. Repeat with all the dough and you can give the gnocchithe shape you prefer. Usually to give them the gnocchi their special grooves, twist around the tines of a fork.

To cook the gnocchi, put a large pot of boiling water over high heat. When the water is boiling, toss in few tablespoons of salt with the gnocchi. Stir to keep the gnocchi from sticking, and when they'll rise to the surface scoop them out with a slotted spoon.

In the meantime, in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, saute garlic with extra virgin olive oil (remember to leave the skin on and do not burn the oil, just wait for garlic to get brown). Than add chopped cherry tomatoes and allow them to cook and saute. After the tomatoes have cooked down for 5 to 10 minutes, they'll look softer and release some water, add salt. You are able to add chili if you want (but not too much). If you like you can add a cheese touch adding fresh ricotta diced in with the tomatoes. The sauce will look creamy with diced tomatoes and diced ricotta, in the end add freshly chopped basil leaves.

When the gnocchi are cooked, drain it and add it to the frying pan with the tomatoes and mix. Add Parmesan cheese and garnish with basil leaves, serve hot.

3. Second course: Scaloppine di pollo con prosciutto e salvia (chicken scaloppini with prosciutto, cheese and sage)

Ingredients for 4 servings:

- 4 boneless chicken breasts, thinly sliced

- all purpose flour

- 4 slices prosciutto

- 4 slices soft, mild and easy to melt cheese (the one I bought for you is called Edamer)

- 4 leaves fresh organic sage

- 1 glass dry white wine

- 2 tbsp unsalted butter

- juice of 1 lemon

Instructions:

Place the flour on a plate and dip the chicken in the flour, ensuring that each piece is evenly coated. Shake gently to remove any excess flour. Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the prosciutto and sautè until crisp, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken in a single layer, making sure the pieces don't overlap. Sautè until brown on one side, about 3 minutes. Then switch side, add a leaf of sage, the the cheese and the crispy prosciutto on top. Squeeze the juice of a lemon, that will add the citrus taste to it and then add the wine and cook until evaporated for about 5 minutes. Add salt and simmer until the meat is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a heated serving dish. Drizzle the sauce over the chicken and serve hot.

4. Dessert: Nutella Cookies (so called in Italian as Canestrelli alla Nutella)

To make the dough you have to mix 4 cups of all purpose flour, 2 sticks of butter, 2 cups of sugar and 2 eggs, a pinch of salt. Mix everything powerfully on a slightly floured marble surface, and leave in the fridge for 10 minutes to let your butter get less soft and the dough more suitable to stretch and easy to handle. Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C for any italian oven that you have in your apartment).

Use a wax sheet paper to roll your dough. Then use round metal forms as the one I gave you and give the right shape to your cookies, (cut a smaller whole in half the cookies to be used as the tops of the cookie sandwich) bake for 10-15 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Sprinkle with icing (powder) sugar all the tops, while spreading on the bottoms a light surface of Nutella. Use a pastry bag for the toppings.  

I really hope you all enjoyed the lesson and I wish you all have fun and a great dinner!!! Hope to see you soon at my family's restaurant for the 10 euro student's menu, it was a great pleasure to get to know you all!!! 

Ciao!!!!