Florence, Italy

Piazza della Repubblica

Orientation meeting after orientation meeting after orientation meeting…I feel as though these informational meetings will never end! From neighborhood tours, academic informational meetings, advisor lectures, program director discussions, and local Italian rules and topics review we were all excited to have a free afternoon. We walked around near the leather markets and browsed through the numerous vendor tents selling colorful scarves and various leather products. Although it was a bit windy, the sun was out and made for a perfect walking day.

Cooking Class

Zucchini Florentine

Tiramisu

            On a more exciting note, Saturday morning marked the day we took part in a cooking class! This 3 hour long cooking class took place at “In Tavola”. In Tavola aims to spread Italian food and wine-rich regional culinary traditions through their cooking courses. A group of us took part in a unique experience in the culinary arts. In a professional kitchen, guided by a skilled chef, we were taught how to prepare two typical Tuscan dishes and a dessert. First, we prepared the dessert dish: tiramisu! After folding together stiff egg whites, egg yokes, sugar and mascarpone cheese we layered individual tins with savoiardi cookies soaked in coffee and brandy and the cream mixture. This dish was completed first because it required time to set in the refrigerator. The next dish we prepared was zucchini Florentine (zucchini alla fiorentina). This consisted of hollowed out zucchini rounds stuffed with beef, mortadella, bread pieces, cheese, and various spices. Before popping them in the oven, we topped these zucchini halves off with breadcrumbs and a tomato mixture. The second dish involved crespelle (crepes) stuffed with spinach and ricotta cheese along with other spices. To finish off the plate we drizzled on a béchamel sauce (salsa di besciamella), which is a typical white sauce. A tasting of the prepared dishes in the wine cellar seating area then followed the cooking process. This experience was amazing and really made me excited to start making traditional Italian meals on my own, in my apartment!