Snow- White Carnival- Bologna

So, any of you from Chicago, or other parts with snowy winters may see this as a normal picture of a snowy airport.  This however is the Bologna, Italy airport on Feb 11, 2012.  I was on my way from Soverato , Calabria to Venice for some Carnival fun when the Rome airport closed and I opted to take a flight to Bologna and take the train the rest of the way to Venice.  This is what I arrived into in Bologna. Snow! Like over a foot.  De-icing of planes was taking place.  At this and many if not most of the airports Ive been flying to deplane down the stairs and then you are taken by bus to the terminal.. This sight was surreal, standing on the tarmac next to these large planes in the snow with bull dozers all around trying to keep up with the snow and ice.  I felt like I was in Chicago only without the benefit of inside gates.

 Bologna countryside on the way home a few days later.  Still white.

First Menu Execution- Northern Italy

Here is a copy of the first menu we did for the school.  It was our first menu execution.  We were split into 2 groups north and south.  I was voted head chef and we created menu to present to the judges and our peers based on a few rules.  Things we had seen made at school and related to the section of italy.  It was pretty fun.  We will have several more of these before the end.  Kind of reminded me of my production days, all about project and time management.

Italia Nord

Quail Galantine stuffed with truffles on a saffron Potato Crisp topped with a Grappa and Balsamico Traditional pickled Onion 

Baccala Montecato con Pane Di Sepia Toast

Squash Ravioli in a Sage butter Sauce con Parmigiano Regiano and Fried Sage Leaf

Risotto  al Porcini con Balsamico Tradizionale

Persico alla Livornese con Polenta

Focaccia Genovese

Tiramisu

Italia Nord

Leek Roulade with Truffles and Toasted Hazelnuts topped with a Mele Balsamico Tradizionale

Cauliflower Montecato con Pane Di Sepia

Ricotta and Parmesan Ravioli con Burro Salvia e Parmigiano Regiano and a crispy sage Leaf

Risotto Porcini con Parmigiano Regiano e Balsamico Tradizionale

Eggplant Livornese con Polenta

Focaccia Genovese

Tiramisu

Beautiful Calabria and its bounty Blue Fin Tuna

Calabria is at the southern tip of Italy.  It is surrounded by seas.  There are 3 seas in this area of Italy.  About 200 meters off the coast the sea drops to an abyss of 3000 meters.  Just north, in the Bay of Taranto, Blue Fin Tuna Spawn.  Down by Calabria the young swim by and here there is a proliferation of small tuna.  As they round the tip of Italy and enter the Mer Tyrrhenian and are in the the area of Sicily they grow larger and are readily available there and across to Sardinia. Italy map This is the only area that has Tuna.

Conserves Week

This week we are making conserves in class.  We are conserving Tuna as well as other fishes , vegetables and fruits.

Blue Fin Tuna

 Guts of Blue Fin Tuna

Cooking The Tuna 

Tuna has been cooked

Separating the sections to prepare for conserving or jarring.

This is as far as we got on this particular project today.  We do multiple things at a time throughout the day and keep quite busy.  much of what we are learning is artisan or old world.  We are learning what has worked for centuries and why and then making wonderful traditional dishes with the ingredients as we go along.  Some of the curing times for what we produce are days others months and over a year for others.  Guess I'll have to come back next year to taste what we made.  We are now tasting what the class of last year made.  So far they did a great job.  The process may not look glamourous but the results we are getting are so entirely worth the effort we put in.