There was a problem with this blog entry, so I had to resubmitt it.  I'm sorry to all those following along that didn't get to see this entry in the correct order.  Here is the missing day...enjoy. 

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So here’s the deal.  The trip is winding down and I want to use these last few days to enjoy myself.  That is why I am late posting Thursday’s adventure.  Since I’m typing this on Saturday, I decided to include Friday to do a super double blog!  Yippee!

So Thursday was Pasta and Pizza Day!  We spent the morning doing a pasta class.  It was a lot of fun.  It was all fresh pasta.  What’s really cool is that the school has a machine that you just throw all the ingredients into and then it mixes and kneads the dough for you.  Then, if you want, you can just tilt down the little mixing bowl and it will start automatically rolling out the dough.  Those crazy Italians!

So if you check out the pictures, you’ll see the great pasta dishes we created.  They key to making a great pasta dish is to keep it simple.  The more ingredients you add, the more you’ll complicate your dish.  That is the main lesson we learned.

Then, we were rushed off to Asti (which is 30 minutes North of Costiglione D’Asti (that’s the name of the town we’re in) to eat at Pizzaria Francese.  The owner is also a Italian journalist.  He was a great guy.  We ended up having a lesson on pizza by his pizzioli (those are the people who make pizzas at the pizzeria).  There are culinary schools here in Italy just for people who want to be pizzioli’s. 

After the lesson, we were able to walk around the streets of Asti.  What a beautiful, midevil town.  It was so much larger than Costiglione D’ Asti and the people there were so fashionable.  Everyone in Asti is put together.  The men dress impeccably and the woman are beautiful.  Everyone takes great care of themselves.  The outdoor cafes are always teaming with groups of friends having laughs over a bottle of wine.  Shopping is great too (although a little expensive).  However, they do have shops where you can get a great deal.   

We ended up going back to Pizzaria Francese for a 6 course meal.  The owner paired each course with a wine from his wine cellar.  We got a tour of it earlier and it was nice.  I am not a big connoisseur of wine, but from everyone else told me there were some really expensive bottles down there.  So anyway we ate a great meal and were treated like rock stars.  It was awesome .

Friday was Cheese Day and we had to get up at the crack of dawn to schlep onto a bus by 7 a.m.  It was awful.  The ride was 2 hours one way, so we spent it sleeping. 

The cheese factory was nice.  It was a cheese manufacturer that makes Grana Padano.  It is similar to Parmiggano Reggiano except for the fact it is made in a different region and the milk is heated to a different temperature.   I have to say it wasn’t my favorite field trip.  Actually, it really stank (literally).   If you have ever smelled sour milk, times that by 2000 and that is how bad this placed smelled.  Don’t get me wrong, it was really clean, but it stank. 

So after maybe 2 hours there, we got back on the bus, snoozed, and arrived at school to do a cheese tasting.  Honestly, there wasn’t much too it.  No big stories to tell you. 

However, once class was over, we all grabbed a taxi back to Asti to celebrate the week coming to an end.  Drinks are a little pricy and the way Italy keeps a bar tab is crazy.  They don’t make you pay for your drinks right away.  You pay at the end.  The only problem is a lot of places (especially if they are busy) don’t write down what you ordered.  So if you’ve been sitting and drinking for a while, you’ll run into the problem of not getting a correct bill (which usually works out best for you).  While sitting and drinking we ended up seeing Giacamo Bolognia’s daughter for the Braida winery.  She, her husband, and baby were out for a stroll/dinner.  Small world, eh? 

So then it was dance club time.  Too bad we couldn’t find a dance club.  We ended up going in the wrong direction and had to leave before we found it (in order not to get stuck in the city.  Taxi only run until 12).  But we had fun, even thought it was raining. 

So, tomorrow is the last official day here.  We have to prepare a lunch for some students and faculty (as our final) and then we get a big send off dinner in the town of Alba. 

I’m a little sad, but I think it’s time for me to go.  This town is way to small to stay in for more than a week.  I don’t know how the other Americans (the ones that are actually going to ICIF for 6 months) will be able to stand it.

CIAO!

Wow.  I am almost done here at Robert Morris and I have to say it feels pretty good.  One last quarter (in Italy) and that's it.  I will have survived two non-stop years!

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I have to write about this past trip I was just on.  It was amazing. I recently was able to attend the Culinary Explorations trip for the Hospitality Management Bachelor's Degree Program.  It was a week long experience in Wisconsin learning about organic and biodynamic farming.  There were thirteen of us chosen (some of us were from Orland Park, others were from the DuPage and Chicago campuses). 

The highlight of the trip for me was that I got to experience the life of a farmer.  We went to a dairy farm, a poultry farm, and a butcher shop.  It was interesting to talk to the farmers and business owners and see what kinds of problems they were facing.  You really begin to sympathize for these people and want to do all you can to help support their businesses. 

As a chef (or even as a consumer) you can sometimes get disconnected with food (meaning you forget where things actually come from and the effort that is involved in growing produce or raising livestock).  That was the real eye opening, aha, moment for me.

We also got to eat at some amazing restaurants in Milwaukee (Roots), Madison (Cafe Solei), and Lake Geneva (Geneva Inn).  The chefs at these restaurants support local farmers by buying and using locally grown produce (and oh can you taste the difference).  These chef create their menus from these ingredients usually the day they buy them.  The creativity that was involved in some of these dishes was mind boggling.  It makes me realize that there are some really talented (and socially conscious) chefs in the industry. 

This trip will be offered again next year and I really want to tell all of you thinking about doing it to go for it.  The cost of the trip is nothing compared to the benefits you will get out of it.  I highly recommend it.

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Well, I'm all packed and ready to leave for Italy.  I'll be in Florence by the end of this week. I'm really excited. This is something that I have been waiting for since the beginning of my associates degree almost two years ago.

I will be blogging at least once a week to let you all know the fun and exciting things that will be happening to me and the others on the trip.  Maybe I'll even post a recipe or two.

Ciao for now!