Alfredo Sauce

No, unfortunately, this is not a recipe.. =( It is a little shocking fact... at least for me... Alfredo Sauce..? NON-EXISTENT IN ITALY! Hahahahaha..! So, they ask me if I ever cook Italian at home... well yes, I mention a couple of things and I mention Alfredo sauce even though I've only made it twice in my life. They have a big a question mark over their heads, "what's Alfredo sauce?" Ummmm... you know... white creamy sauce for pasta, usually on fettuccine... "Creamy sauce? We don't put creamy sauce on our pasta" ...ok.... well you don't but some Italians do right?.... 'cricket, cricket'... "No" You should have seen the look on my face, apparently it was quite funny because they both broke out laughing. So I explain that it is the most popular 'Italian' sauce there is... they laugh again and assure me that it is not so in Italy. Unbelievable. Well I was in shock at this point so I had to look it up... it turns out there is such a thing as 'Pasta al Burro', I know it sounds funny but burro means butter in Italian, not donkey like in Spanish. So back in the day, like in 1917 I think, this one restaurant in Rome specialized in that pasta, chef being Alfredo, and he gave it his name. He of course made it creamy & put more butter. Well some American movie star took it back to Hollywood and reproduced it with Alfredo's name... and so it gained all the popularity in the U.S. But even now, in most of Italy, people dress their pasta, some with tomato sauce, but mostly with just olive oil, a pesto or just butter, depending on the region. But usually not a creamy sauce.. CRAZY, huh? Back with more later... hopefully recipes instead of facts ;)

HOME MADE PASTA =)

Last night Pier & Claudia made home-made pasta for me... SO Delicious!!! AND they served it with home-made pesto... mmm. The pesto was made the day before with lots of fresh basil, pine nuts, walnuts, cheese & olive oil - it was very light & delicious, again, because of the light olive oil. Then, the pasta was started with flour, eggs, a little water & salt. The dough was kneaded and put through the pasta contraption many times and then cut to make the tagliatelle (north of Italy) or fettuccine (south). The pasta is then boiled but less than 5 minutes and presto! Once it is served... cheese & a bit more of olive oil is added. It honestly was the best pasta I've had. =)

ROME

Quick short trip to to Rome. Today we drove with Pier to Rome for business matters of his, and while there we took an open-air tour bus. =)

FOOD

Today was all about food. We stayed in to do the wash, but Claudia prepared a delicious lunch and then Pier & Claudia a spectacular dinner. It turns out that out of all the families in Italy I am staying with the most healthy eaters in the country. LOL So the meals were just perfect for me, I did not feel like I had just had a thanksgiving feast after every meal. Soooo.... our lunch today was riso al bianco (a simple risotto). What keeps amazing me is the fact that the recipes are SO simple, but all include such fresh, high quality ingredients. So the riso was simply cooked risotto with added olive oil and cheese. That's it! BUT that olive oil... oh my goodness, it was so light, not like the ones I've tasted from our wonderful HEB (even the $17 ones). And the cheese was a wonderful parmegiano regiano. =) For dinner: a delicious aperitivo (appetizer), radicchio salad, and carpaccio. The aperitivo was the wonderful prosciutto (raw ham), which has become my favorite food, parmegiano regiano, pecorino cheese, olives, etc. The salad only contained the radicchio, olive oil & balsamic vinegar. And finally the carpaccio - this dish is composed of VERY thinly sliced veal, which is then marinated in lemon for a couple of hours (which cooks the veal a bit, like ceviche) and then cheese & olive oil are added to it. That's it. Yes the veal looks a tad uncooked but it tastes great. Baby, I hope you're ready to try all this.. =] Everything was HEAVENLY! And oh yes, the vino was fabulous as well. =) Oh I also included the picture of the aperitivo we had yesterday... it included gnocchi... So Good! It's pasta cooked with potatoes... oh so good.

The Beach - Mediterranean

Today we rode bikes to the beach. Riding was a tad stressful since cars & motorcycles zoomed by a bit too close for my comfort but overall it was a good ride. To get into the Mediterranean sea water was a big thing for me. =) The beach was absolutely beautiful and unbelievably PACKED. A few things different from the U.S.: men wear speedos - ALL of them. =/ … and most women tiny, tiny bikinis, including kids, grandmas, … everyone. It seems everyone is just interested in a good tan and no one pays attention to anybody else even though we are all a couple of feet away from each other. It makes you not feel self-conscious which is kind of cool. After the beach I ate a Delicious gelato…!! Coconut & strawberry..mmmm... and sorry, forgot to take picture of that but not to worry, I will eat many others. =) In the evening... I went out with the girls! Don't worry, it was very nice & classy. First we went to have an 'aperitivo' at a very nice place on the beach. There they have a buffet of hors d'oeurves and you purchase your drinks - very nice. Then we went to the classiest open-air club I've ever seen (ok, so I haven't seen many, but still).. also on the beach... I felt like I was about to run into movie stars. Claudia, Monica & I just hung out and chatted as we moved to the beat of 80s & 90s music =)

Things I've learned

Today we actually took the day off. We just went to an outlet strip, which looks almost exactly like the ones in the U.S. – same stores too it seems, except of course, it is surrounded by beautiful mountains. So, since that wasn’t anything to write home about… I will give you guys a list of little things I have learned are a tad different than in the U.S.:

· BIKES, MOPEDS AND MOTORCYCLES: These are absolutely Everywhere! And everyone rides them, persons of every age and not exactly in sportswear or shorts. In fact, most look quite elegant of course, and many women are wearing skirts or dresses (long OR short) – no one cares it seems. Many of the bikes have baskets, so people go shopping in bikes too.

· DRIVING – because there are some many bikes and streets are so narrow, drivers and riders are both used to whizzing right past each other – it’s a little scary.

· BATHROOM – Videt. That’s all I am going to say about that – look it up.

AND NOW A LESSON IN COFFEE:

· First of all, their normal coffee; that is, if you go to a restaurant and order a regular coffee, or the coffee they have every day (il caffé) is what we know as espresso. It is just a few ounces of very strong coffee in a tiny, tiny cup or a shot glass, this is what they drink every day. Soo….

o Caffé – espresso (a few ounces)

o Macchiato – espresso with a dash of milk

o Mochaccino – espresso with dash of milk and dash of chocolate

o Cappuccino – half espresso and half milk

o Latte macchiato – milk with a dash of espresso (full cup, this is the only one that’s not a few ounces)

o Caffé Corretto – espresso with dash of grappa (alcoholic bev.)

o Caffé shakeratto – espresso w/sugar, w/dash of amaretto, & crushed ice

· And so… even though Starbucks got the name Venti from Italian (twenty – as in twenty ounces), in Italy no one is carrying around a huge cup of coffee in the morning, or at any other time of day for that matter. BUT almost everyone has coffee several times a day sitting down, enjoying the great coffee, the view, and life. …. I like, I like!

La Spezia Gulf

Friday... I hope you're ready for this. I think here, the pictures will definitely speak louder than words... please remember this is right off of Claudia's hometown backyard, where her parents still live. I knew there would be a point in this trip when I would be so overwhelmed with beauty that I would just feel like crying (I'm not a cryer). This was it.

Everyday life in Italy...

Thursday was a very interesting day... I got to hang out with my friend and just do what she does. Right before, however, we went by the beach, there in her town Viareggio, to eat. I had the 'insalata di mare' (sea salad, but it was just seafood) which had shrimp and other mollusks. It was the freshest seafood I'd ever had.. right out of the mediterranean sea... mmmmm. We then went to Claudia's hometown.. where she grew up & lived a lot of her adult life... La Spezia. OH MY GOSH... is all I had to say. Well, also, 'why did you ever move from here?!' It is the most amazing city ever. No tourists there, but they are missing out. I could go on but I'll give you pictures instead. First she took me to see the World Cup Italian soccer match with her dad & some of his friends.. LOL ... so fun & passionate =). I then accompanied her to a graduate class that she goes to. I got to chat with the professor, very interesting guy, and learned a little something about communications & personalities. There were few students so he kept using Mexico, Texas, U.S. & me for examples. jijiji He's actually the one that informed me that Obama had just fired McChristal (ugh!!). We then went to my friend's hometown: La Spezia Tango class!! (perfect!) Two of my favorite things to do meshed together... Italian & Tango! That was very fun. Also, while in La Spezia, we went to great eatery where we had a traditional bread, which I forgot the name of (will give later) but it's like a flat bagel, with cheese and cold meats which include prosciutto, Delicious! (Afterward, we also had it with Nutella) Overall - awesome day.

Pietrasanta & Lerici

On Wednesday we went to Pietrasanta (holy stone) where they also work a lot of marble. It is of course beautiful... many tourists there to see this small town which is also surrounded by a fortress (?). I really enjoyed taking black & white pictures and really liked the narrow streets with the 2 & 3-storied buildings lining them. Lots of people on bikes, but that's everywhere in Italy. We also got a chance to go to a 'marketino' where I got a couple of good deals ;)

Today we went to Forti Dei Marmi, where the best marble sculptors sculpt not only their marble but marble from all over the world. Some sidewalks are marble... Some benches are marble... And some marble blocks are just simply stands for other beautiful blown glass sculptures. There were also beautiful houses there... And finally, here I am in my friends' Smart =D Overall... amazing day! The best though, was having wonderful chats with my new friends. Thank you Lord, again.