Baking Exploits in Italy...

If you know me, or have read through some of the posts from last year then you know that I really like baking. I enjoy making desserts, even though I'm not a particularly precise person. I use recipes and then completely change things as I go even when baking.  It's supposed to be the science of cooking, and is, but I still like to tweak and play.
That being said, I haven't baked in ages.
I tried baking cupcakes back in December but sadly they didn't come out as well as they could have.  I had a couple of problems to contend with. The main issue was ingredients. Since Italians aren't big cake bakers (they're great with desserts and pastries but don't make fluffy cakes and cupcakes like we make in the States) I had a hard time finding the right kind of baking powder and baking soda. Vanilla comes in powder form, unless you go to specialty shops. Brown sugar here is not brown sugar but cane sugar, so it is darker in color but not finely ground. It doesn't pack well and therefore changes the texture of any cake or cookie that calls for it.
Ingredients were a slight problem, and so was measuring. I didn't own a measuring cup here because a measuring cup here doesn't measure cups but milliliters.  I didn't feel like taking the effort to convert my recipes into Italy appropriate measurements  so I just used a drinking glass to measure... Yes, so this doesn't really work.
Anyone with half a brain, probably wouldn't have tried to make it work but I'm a little insistent on doing things my way.
My chocolate chip cupcakes were edible but they weren't quite right either. They didn't rise the right way and certainly didn't get fluffy like I wanted.  No one complained, so I suppose they were good, but I wasn't happy with them.
I wanted to try again, but then th eoven broke.  Ok, not quite the oven, just the dial.
That being said, it took over a month for it to get fixed. I live in Italy after all.
So I had bought new pans, measuring cups and spoons and I couldn't bake until last night!
I finally got to bake something successfully last night.
My student gave me lemons from her garden so I decided to use them to make lemon squares for the

first time ever.  I looked up a bunch of recipes before getting the oven fixed which was quite comical. I looked up No Bake Lemon Cake and No Bake Lemon Bars and for some reason Yummly (a recipe search engine) linked me to a bunch of recipes that definitely required baking.
I was a little confounded but in the end it was fine, because I found 2 recipes that seemed great for when I got my oven back. Luckily, we got a new dial Wednesday morning so yesterday evening after work it was time to try some baking.
I'm going to have to post the recipe later on because my lemon squares came out wonderfully. Sweet, moist and gooey.
I made 2 batches and I was ridiculously pleased with both!

my beautiful lemon squares

Recipe: Grilled Pear and Gouda Sandwich

Blatantly I'm becoming obsessed with grilled cheese sandwiches.  But I can't seem to help myself. They are delicious (if one loves cheese) and pair well with countless other ingredients, including completely surprising ingredients like fruit.
This was such a light but delicious combination for a grilled cheese sandwich.  The gouda was mild in flavor and melted beautifully while the pear incredibly crisp yet not overly sweet. I think the pears would work well with other stronger cheeses as well like gorgonzola.

Ingredients:
2 slices of bread
butter
1 pear
gouda cheese
basil
salt and pepper to taste

Thinly slice your gouda and layer it on both pieces of bread. Make sure there are no gaps, you want cheesey goodness in every bite. Make the layer as thick or thin as you like. I like lots of cheese so my layer of gouda was pretty thick.

Then melt your butter in a pan over low heat and add your bread. Keep a close eye on the bread so it
doesn't burn but in the meantime thinly slice your pears and place on the gouda. I used 3/4 of a medium pear and then ate the rest of the pear as a snack.
Let the cheese melt evenly and sprinkle with basil, salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from the heat, close the sandwich and eat while warm.
The cheese will be melted and gooey while the pears will remain crisp and sweet with the bread toasted and buttery.  The salt, pepper and basil really add some nice warmth to the sandwich, so I hope you enjoy!

Loved this presentation to see the layers of delicious!

Recipe: Grilled Chocolate and Strawberry Sandwich

I found a recipe for a grilled brie, raspberry and dark chocolate sandwich and I really want to try it.  The photo looked so amazing and I'm very curious about the combination of brie and chocolate.  I feel like the raspberries would be an amazing way too bring the flavors together.
I went to the store with intentions of getting raspberries and brie but sadly I couldn't find raspberries so I bought strawberries instead.  Less of a tang but still enough sweetness to work with the cheese and chocolate.
I wanted to try making my brie, choclate and strawberry grilled cheese but just as I was prepping it as a dessert my roommates came into the kitchen and I lost my nerve.  I chickened out and didn't make the sandwich I had originally intended to make.  I just didn't feel like explaining my logic to my roommates (AGAIN) and get the judging looks.  I love my roommates. They are amazing girls but not always the most adventurous with food.
So instead of making my grilled cheese dessert I made a grilled chocolate and strawberry sandwich with no brie that was utterly amazing.  Next time I'll make it with my brie regardless of who's around.

Ingredients:
2 slices bread
2-3 pats of butter
1 bar dark chocolate
3-5 strawberries

I had a very large bar of chocolate to make my sandwich so I used a sharp knife to make chocolate shavings.  I decided for finer shavings rather than large chunks so the chocolate would melt faster and more evenly.
I covered both slices of bread with a medium layer of chocolate. If you're a chocoholic add more!  Then I sliced the strawberries and put them to the side for later.  
Put the better in a pan and heat over a low flame.  When the butter is melted, carefully place the bread in the pan.  Try not to let the chocolate touch the pan because it will melt, burn and then stick to the pan.
Let the bread get nice and golden shifting it around the pan once in a while (to make sure it's not sitting in any hot spots). A few minutes should do.  The chocolate will start to lighten in color.
When you take the bread out of the pan, you will be able to easily spread the chocolate with a knife and it will magically look like nutella.
Add the slices of strawberry to one of the slices, close the sandwich and eat happily.

The chocolate and strawberries are delicious between the slices of warm buttery bread. I was very very pleased with my dessert sandwich.

Variation: Spicy Chicken fingers

I'm always making some kind of chicken fingers.  They're simple to make, quick and easy.
So I keep making different variations to keep myself entertained. Plain chicken fingers would be boring.
I've made Honey Turkey Fingers, Pesto Chicken Fingers and now I've added a Spicy Chicken fingers to my collection as well.

It's exactly like making the pesto chicken fingers except you use hot pepper sauce, or a chilli paste

instead of a pesto sauce.  I used a couple of tablespoons of my Calabrian spicy sauce to coat my chicken and then dredged them in my bread crumb mixture and then cooked them as per usual.  Quite simple and fast.
I served it with a light and spicy potato salad and a lovely green salad with feta, tomatoes, red onions and a mix of greens (made by my friend and kitchen assistant Endira).
They were tender and full of flavor and I absolutely love the color! The spicy sauce when cooked under the bread crumbs added a beautiful red tint to the chicken fingers.

Recipe: Almost "Italian" Grilled Cheese

My roommates periodically think I'm crazy. They see me making mac & cheese or grilled cheese or any of my various strange mixings of sweet and savory and think I'm insane.
It makes me laugh, because I may be strange, but I make really good food.  Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I know I can cook and cook well. The constant request for meals from friends leads me to believe that for as strange as my recipes can be, everything must be quite good.

In any case last night I made myself a different grilled cheese with this lovely creamy cheese called stracchino. It's another spreadable cheese that has a richer texture and taste than something like cream cheese.
It's very typically Italian so I decided to go with one of it's traditional pairings for my grilled cheese.  Often in restaurants you'll see crostini (toasted bread) with stracchino and sausage, so I decided to do a grilled cheese utilizing the combination.
And then of course I added my own twist by adding an egg cooked over easy to add to the texture and flavor of the whole sandwich and served it with a rich balsamic vinegar as a dipping sauce.

Ingredients:
2 sausages
1/4 small onion
1 tbs olive oil
1 egg
Stracchino cheese
2 slices of whole grain bread (I used white bread because it's what I had)
2 pats of butter
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes to taste

Dice a quarter of an onion finely and put to the side for the moment. Remove the casing from your sausage and cut (or tear) it into small pieces.  Pour a little olive oil into a saucepan, not a lot because the sausage should render out its own fat. Let the oil get hot slowly over a low flame and then add the

onions. As the onions begin to sweat add in the sausage and red pepper flakes to taste.  Leave on the heat stirring often until the sausage is cooked all the way through.
Put the sausage and onion into a plate but do not drain the oil from the pan.  You can use the renderings to cook your egg quickly.  Put the pan back over a low heat and crack the egg into the pan carefully. Spice with a little salt and pepper (I would suggest more pepper than salt).  If you prefer, you can keep your egg sunny side up and cook it on just the one side.  I like cooking both sides briefly, so after a few minutes I very carefully flip my egg and let it cook a little more.  I like to keep the yolk still runny, so I don't leave it in the pan for very long.
Unfortunately, I wasn't using a nonstick pan last night so I had a bit of a problem flipping my egg.  It looked a little wonky but still tasted delicious.  I put the egg on the plate with the sausage and put it to the side.
Next spread the cheese thickly on both sides of bread.

At this point you have two options, you can either grill the bread in the remaining oil in your first pan or you can get a second clean pan and use butter.  I chose to use butter because I liked the idea of the additional flavor and also because my egg had stuck in the first pan so I don't imagine the bread would've cooked evenly.  Using the first pan however would give your bread a lovely smoky, sausage taste that would work on the whole.

If you choose to use butter, place it into a new saucepan and melt slowly on a low flame. When the butter has melted, add your bread into the pan.  Let it brown for a few minutes until golden and then remove from the heat.
Add your sausage and then egg onto one piece of bread. For additional flavor, you can drizzle the egg with balsamic vinegar or a balsamic reduction or you can do what I did and use the balsamic vinegar as a dipping sauce.
The richness and bite of the vinegar should really complement the creaminess of the cheese.

Grilled Cheese Recipe: Balsamic Spinach and Strawberry, Sliced chicken, Walnut Grilled Cheese

Wow. The name and ingredient list is pretty long, but this grilled cheese was an amazing experimert that made my amazing roommates think I'm crazy.  The Italians would never put strawberries into a sandwich or a salad, let alone a grilled sandwich. Almost a week later, I'm still getting teased.  I don't really mind.  I know I'm not crazy. This combination was wonderful! So I made it twice.

This grilled cheese is absolutely beautiful with gorgeous colors.

I used a Walnut cheese that I randomly found in the supermarket.  It is a spreadable cheese with whole
chunks of walnut throughout. I decided to see how it is and I've decided it's really delicious. It is a mild tasting cheese, not overly pungent, with the lovely warm flavor of walnuts.  And the walnuts added a bonus crunch.
My grilled cheese also involved some strawberries for sweetness, some spinach dressed in a thick balsamic vinegar, and slices of chicken breast for protein. Again, AMAZING

Ingredients:
2 pieces of white bread (I would actually prefer whole grain, but I didn't find any at the store that day)
butter
Walnut cheese
2 or 3 strawberries sliced finely
Spinach
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
3 or 4 pieces of thinly sliced chicken or turkey breast

Spread your walnut cheese onto one side of each slice of bread.  If you can't find walnut cheese, I would use

Walnut cheese and Strawberry amazingness

a spreadable cheese like Laughing Cow or even Cream cheese because they are both mild in flavor. If you use one of these alternatives just add some fresh walnuts to your sandwich. Four or five broken into chunks should add just enough crunch and flavor to your sandwich.
Then on one slice of bread add a layer of strawberries.  You can add strawberries to both sides but I think it would make the grilled cheese a little difficult to eat because of the additional moisture.
In a separate bowl, mix your spinach, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  I use an Italian balsamic that is thick and creamy, but that can be hard to find in the states. You can use a regular vinegar (just don't overdo it or the sandwich will get soggy) or you can make your own balsamic reduction by cooking balsamic vinegar, and a touch of sugar in a pan over low heat, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken.  The flavor of the balsamic will intensify and sweeten and really add a nice kick to your sandwich (if you want to go to the extra effort). Place to the side.
Put a couple of pats of butter into a pan and heat over a low flame.  When the butter has heated and begins to sizzle, place your bread dry side down into the pan.  Shake your pan every now and then so it doesn't burn. The bread should grill for a couple of minutes or until it becomes golden and crisp. It will not take very long, so do not leave it unattended! You definitely don't want the bread to burn.
Remove from the heat.
At this point, you can close your sandwich and enjoy your strawberry walnut grilled cheese or you can go all out like I did.
I added a handful of the balsamic spinach, which is a nice complement to the strawberries.

Spinach and Strawberries: This was a different day, but the colors were
too pretty not to post. I should have added even more strawberries.

Then I added the slices of chicken breast and closed my beautiful crispy grilled cheese.  The cheese was warm and melted quite nicely while the spinach added a beautiful crunch and the chicken was mild enough in
flavor that it melded nicely with everything else.  The bread got to the perfect golden color, so it was crisp and butter on the outside as a wonderful contrast to the creamy cheese and juicy strawberries.
The sandwich can get a little messy so be careful!  The walnut spread does not get sticky like some other cheeses so it won't hold the strawberries perfectly.  You may wind up with some runaways!

Valentine's Day Restaurant Review: Ketumbar

Another Valentine's Day Single. Sigh... 

No really, I don't actually mind.  This year I spent my day teaching and perpetually working which was surprisingly fun. 

I even had my little 5 year old Valentine, Georgio who is an absolute love and adorable. He surprise hugs me all the time. He and the other kids made my Valentine's day very entertaining because we made cards and flowers out of construction paper.  

A lot of effort, but a lot of fun. 

Then after dinner I went out to dinner, a nice single girl dinner.  

We went to a restaurant called Ketumbar in Testaccio. 

It was quite interesting and not very typical as far as Italian restaurants go.  It used a lot of locally grown organic products and also had some combinations of foods that I had not seen before.  

For example, I decided to try a tonnarelli (a typical Roman pasta) with a twist. This tonnarelli dish was made with shrimp and avocado.  I wasn't quite sure what to expect

because I've never seen the combination before. The result was surprisingly good. The avocado created a lovely, creamy sauce that was lighter than a traditional cream based sauce.  The shrimp was handled delicated and cooked perfectly.  That being said, there wasn't enough of it. In my entire dish there were only 3 or 5 chunks of shrimp which is certainly not enough shrimp for a €14 dish.  The head of the shrimp was part of the presentation so be warned.  I didn't mind it, but I known a few people who get antsy when they see eyes.  The pasta itself had a good flavor

but it was a bit undercooked for me. It was definitely more than a little al dente.  

If I go back again I would consider trying one of their traditional Roman dishes (which are a little less expensive) or I might even consider trying a second because Endira's Tagliata, a cut of beef was quite delicious.  As was the Cicoria. We got the organic cicoria and it was utterly fantastic. You could really tell that it was organic by the taste, it was crisp and light and bursting with flavor.  

The wine was also quite good with a full body of flavor so I would consider going back to

eat there, maybe for an aperitivo or brunch rather than a full and more expensive dinner.  My only real qualm with the restaurant was the service.  The waiters and waitresses were generally inattentive which was unfortunate because we didn’t actually require much attention.  It took a long time to order, and then even longer to get a wine menu in order to get some wine. The food did not take terribly long to come which is nice  however, it also would have been nice if the waitress had mentioned that Endira’s steak actually came with a baked potato seeing that she ordered potatoes. It could have been an intentional ordering of two helpings of potatoes but it wasn’t. It would’ve have been nice for the waitress to mention it. 

I know Italy is known for slow food, so I didn’t mind that our waitress left us to our own devices. We were not remotely rushed while eating, but it was a little excessive to sit with our empty dishes in front of us for more than a half an hour.  Then the dessert menu was brought promptly but she didn’t come back to see if we wanted anything for another twenty minutes or so. By that time, I didn’t want dessert anymore.  When I said that we were okay, the waitress looked at me and said, “What a shame, the dessert here is fantastic,” and walked away.  I really did have the urge to tell her that if she had come a bit sooner I probably would have ordered dessert. Waiting made me realize that I was actually full and didn’t need anything else. On one side this is good because I

beautiful and cozy seating for two

saved my money and waist line but honestly I would have loved to try a dessert. I was quite curious about their tiramisu since it was made with “birra artigianale” or artisanal beer which is anything but traditional.  That being said I was completely irritated with her attitude and behavior by the end of the night.

Normally I do not get annoyed in restaurants. I very much appreciate how difficult the job of waitressing must be, however, this waitress was quite rude to us and then didn’t bring us the bill for another half hour.  We spent more time waiting around than eating which I am usually fine with. But again this was excessive.

I don’t know that I’d go back for dinner. There was live music and the atmosphere was very calm so I would consider going back for an aperitivo or buffet style dinner where being left to our own devices would be welcome. 

All in all I had a great night because I was in great company and then we also made friends with the table next to us; two ladies visiting from Milan. One was originally from Rome and the other from Sicily, but they live in Milan now (they are not thrilled with this turn of events) so they were really happy to talk to us about food in Rome and I now have an excellent list of restaurants to try in the area.

I’ll post up the list soon and then update as I try the various locales. I’m super excited about it actually!!

gorgeous decoration in the restaurant

Recipe: Homemade "Italian" Style Mac & Cheese

Let me start by saying that Italians don't eat Mac & Cheese. It does not exist in their vocabularies. They definitely don't have cheddar here, so making a traditional mac & cheese is pretty much out of the question. I think the closest they have is a 4 formaggi sauce but it's very different than mac & cheese. It's heavier with stronger flavors since it usually involves gorgonzola (which is a kind of blue cheese I think).
I looked up Mac & cheese recipes yesterday because I was having a craving during work.  I found a wonderfully simply recipe Revolutionary Macaroni and cheese on Cate's  World Kitchen and decided to adapt it since I lacked certain ingredients (like cheddar).

Since I did not have access to cheddar cheese I used this wonderful creamy walnut cheese. It helped the consistency of the mac and cheese and also added a lovely crunch because of the pieces of whole walnut. Then to supplement that cheese I also used some parmesan cheese to round out the flavor.
I loved that the original recipe only required dirtying one bowl... That being said, because I'm me, I wound up dirtying 2 pots because I started cooking making my pasta in one that was too small.... Yeahhh. I made a large mess. Use the appropriate pots and pans!

Ingredients:
2 cups dried pasta (I used rigatoni)
2 cups milk (I used whole milk, but you can absolutely use 2% or skim)
1/2 cup creamy walnut cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
2 tsps pepper
1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional

Combine the pasta and milk in a pot (make sure it is big enough for 2 cups of cooked pasta!!) and bring to a simmer.  Add in salt, pepper and red pepper flakes at this point.  The flavors will really seep into the pasta.  Cook and continually stir on low heat until the pasta is cooked through.  It should take about 15 to 20 minutes but make sure the milk doesn't boil! If it boils (like mine did for a moment) it will go right over the edge of the pot and make a disaster for you to clean up!
When the pasta is just about done and the milk is almost all gone stir in the walnut cheese and parmesan.
Cover and let stand for about 5 minutes. Stir well to serve.

This was super simple to make and absolutely delicious. Cooking the pasta with milk definitely lended to the taste and really helped the overall creaminess of the dish.  I'll definitely be trying it again with different cheeses.

Grilled Cheese...

I keep seeing these amazing posts, lists of grilled cheese. I don't know why but there are so many people talking about grilled cheese right now. It's a little crazy.
I love grilled cheese.
I have always loved grilled cheese especially non traditional grilled cheese.  Grilled cheese with American or cheddar cheese is great. But I also love grilled cheese with Brie and Raspberries (the same way that I love weird combinations on non grilled sandwiches as well) so I was extremely excited to see these various lists.

1. 40 Amazing Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
2. 31 Grilled Cheeses that are Better than a Boyfriend
3. The Grilled Cheese Academy (Beware! the website will talk at you!) 

The first two are lists with beautiful pictures of amazing grilled cheese. The first has links that bring you to the actual recipes while the second does not.  The third is actually a site dedicated to grilled cheese specifically made with Wisconsin cheeses.  

I really liked the idea of some of the grilled cheeses so I saved pictures and names on to my computer and in the next month or so I'm going to try to make some of them, well, my versions of them anyway. Then I'll post up the recipes here.
I'm challenging myself to try some new grilled cheeses. I'm also challenging myself to keep track of them!  We'll see how well I do!  

One of my grilled cheeses: French Toast Grilled Cheese

Cooking with what you have

Sometimes (okay, pretty often) I forget to go to the grocery store.  Sometimes I don't get around to restocking my fridge and cabinet and I'm left with a sad assortment of odds and ends that don't necessarily go together when you look at them all together.

However, there's always something to be made.  

The other night I got home late from work around 9pm and suddenly realized that I had nothing in the fridge. I had completely forgotten my kilo of fresh spinach at school and there were limited options in my fridge.  I threw away the sauce I had made the week before. 

All I had at home were 2 slices of ham, 2 small tomatoes, pasta, onion, this creamy cheese meant to be put on crackers, garlic, whole dried red peppers and an egg borrowed from my roommate. Looking at my options I was pretty despairing. What do you make with such a random assortment?

Honestly, I almost went and got a cheap pizza from the place next door.  The dough is amazing and it's only €4... I almost did that and then decided I should just use what I had.  

Simple and Quick Pasta that you can make with the bare essentials

I started boiling some water for pasta figuring at the very least I would have pasta aglio olio (pasta with oil, red pepper flakes, cheese and garlic).  It's quick and easy and doesn't really require any effort.  Boil the water, cook your pasta. Then in a saucepan, lightly saute some diced garlic and red pepper (to taste) in a little olive oil. Toss your pasta in the heated oil and serve with parmesan cheese.  

However, I wanted to use the ham. I didn't want to let it go to waste since another day or so in the refrigerator would make it inedible, so I decided to crisp it up in a frying pan. I didn't really have a plan of action at that

point.  I had thought about adding the ham to my pasta, which could have been a nice addition. In retrospect I could have used the ham, tomatoes and onion to make a sort of faux carbonara sauce. At the time, it just didn't occur to me. 

Instead I decided to use it in a mini frittata (a fancy word for omelette) with the tomatoes, onion and an egg (quickly and stealthily borrowed from my roommates side of the fridge). I chopped my tomatoes roughly and finely diced about a quarter of an onion and added them to my sizzling ham.  

While everything was sizzling, I beat my egg with a little salt, pepper and basil and decided to add in a small wedge of my creamy cheese.  Cream cheese would work equally well.  It adds a lot of moisture

before flipping my frittata/omelette

without sticking to the pan. 

As soon as the onions were tender, I poured my egg batter over the mixture.  I let it cook for a few minutes with the lid on and when the egg was set a little, I tried to flip my frittata.  

Make sure the pan you are using is really non stick because the pan I chose was not!  I wound up making a bit of a mess because everything wound up sticking, which made it quite challenging to flip my frittata.  It sort of flipped, but some of the center decided to stick to the pan.  

I eventually got it back in the pan to cook the other side through.  

It stuck a little in the pan and didn't stay as together as I would have liked but I probably needed to borrow another egg from my roommate. Next time, I'll either use less ham or add another egg and maybe some more creamy cheese to the mix. 

As it stands the frittata didn't photograph well, but it was utterly delicious and went really well with the pasta since the pasta didn't utilize any overly strong flavors.  I didn't have high hopes and it was amazing which just goes to show you can take a few basic ingredients and make a feast.  If you do it carefully, you can even make a beautiful feast (unlike me... I did not think through anything I was doing since I was so tired and just wanted some food in my belly).  

my messy yet delicious frittata... 

Train Strikes and Early Morning Breakfast

So it's 10:30 now and I'm sitting at work. I've been here since 9am.  I don't teach until 1:30.
This is not me being compulsively early. I did not randomly decide to come in early and prepare for lessons. No, Rome train transportation simply threatened to strike, which means the last morning train leaves at 8:30am...  Now they cancelled the strike yesterday... However, given that the last time they "cancelled" a strike, it wasn't actually cancelled and we all wound up being late for work, this time we (two other teachers and myself) decided to take the train to work before 8:30am...
I've been awake since 7am... well, ok, half awake lying in bed trying to convince myself to keep my eyes open.  Nonetheless I was out the door by 8am and very luckily caught the 8:20 train. Oh, and just to be clear, I got to the station and realized that the strike has ACTUALLY been cancelled and today trains are running normally, but it was too late to turn back around.  I was not going to walk the 20 minutes to my house for a nap only to have to walk back later on.
So I got to Acilia before 9 and then walked to the grocery store.  I decided that if I'm going to be here literally ALL day long, I was at least going to have amazing food to carry me through.
At the grocery store, I had way too much fun.  I got kiwis, strawberries, mozzarella, milk, chocolate cereal, a giant bottle of coca cola zero, and bread for just about €9.  Essentially breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next 2 days.
I got to work by 9:20 and made myself an amazing bowl of cereal. It was even more chocolatey than I had
imagined from the packaging and turned my milk into chocolate milk.  It was delicious especially since it's the first time I've had cereal in ages.  Oh and I decided to cut my strawberries into it as well! Chocolate cereal and milk with freshly sliced strawberries. YES!  Breakfast of champions...
The chocolate cereal was crisp and super chocolate (actually more than I had actually anticipated... good thing I like chocolate) and the strawberries were very ripe and sweet.

The strawberries were so delicious

Yes, I am now hyper.  I also had 2 oranges leftover from last week, so I've been picking through those as well.
 The kiwis aren't quite ripe yet, so those will be for tomorrow.
Lunch is going to be a sandwich using the bread and mozzarella from the store. No worries, it won't just be mozzarella! I also brought some stuff from home.  I have lettuce, tomatoes and prosciutto from a couple of days ago and the fresh spinach I bought at the market yesterday. Plus I still have leftover fried eggplant from yesterday as well.  It is going to be an epic sandwich.
Tonight when I go home I'm going to cook.  I think I'll make a lentil soup for the next couple of days and I'll also make myself a spinach and cream sauce for some pasta. I want to cook up about half the kilo of spinach I bought yesterday while it's fresh. I'll steam it with some garlic, salt and oil and it will be incredible.  The rest of the spinach I'll eat in salads even though my Italian roommate looks at me like I'm crazy whenever I do.  She didn't know that raw spinach is healthy and delicious for consumption.  -.- I was a little shocked but slowly I'm introducing her to some entertaining foodie facts!!

Tomino Cheese; a most wonderful cheese

Tomino does not really exist in the states but it is an absolutely wonderful Italian cheese that everyone should try.  It comes from the Piemonte region.  

It is a mixed goat cheese made with a combination of goat and cow's milk, rennet (an enzyme) and salt. It has a thin outer shell and a creamy delicious interior. If the tomino is fresh, the rind is barely there and chalk white, while if it is a seasoned tomino then the rind is thin and hard with a reddish color.  A fresh tomino has a delicate and slightly lactic taste and the aged forms are more intense in their goat cheese flavor.  

What I like about tomino is that you don't eat it cold. Because of the outer shell, it can (and should be heated through so the interior is warm and creamy when you eat it.  It practically melts in your mouth and the flavor explodes as its warmth hits your tongue.  The contrast between the outer rind and the creamy interior is amazing.  

I had Tomino a couple of weeks ago with some prosciutto crudo on the side. It was amazing.  It's definitely becoming one of my favorite cheeses even though it's not as typical in Rome. My friend Endira introduced me to it a couple of years ago because she is obsessed with it.  And I can't blame her.  It is yummy.  

How to Make the Best Ham and Cheese Sandwich

I used to work at Subway many, many years ago so I know my sandwiches.  It's a lot of fun trying to get the perfect blend of ingredients to take a plain ham and cheese sandwich into a true winner.  So last week I made myself this amazing combination.  It really hit the spot and I took pictures of each step too!

What you need:
1 Italian Bread Roll (you can use multi grain or wheat, but go for a thick cut of bread)
spicy mustard
mayonnaise
cranberries
fresh spinach (go for organic or locally grown because there's more flavor)
several slices of ham
thinly sliced gouda cheese
thinly sliced plum tomatoes (2 or 3)
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Cut your roll on a slight angle and open it up.  On one side spread a generous helping of spicy mustard. On the other side a light layer of mayo. You can skip the condiments if you really want to, but I think that they really bring the sandwich together. They add some additional moisture and flavor.
 Toss some cranberries onto the mayo side.  I didn't put many because I was saving my cranberries. They're hard to find in Italy so I didn't want to waste them (which is silly because I'll eat them all anyway).  What would be even more ideal would be a cranberry sauce or relish to thinly spread over the mayo.

2.  Next, layer your thinly sliced tomatoes onto your mustard.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper to taste.  On the other side, put a very generous heaping of fresh lettuce. Seriously, put as much on as you can fit.  The spinach adds a wonderful freshness and kick to the sandwich.

3.  Next layer your ham onto the tomatoes.  I used 3 slices of ham.  They were not thinly sliced, otherwise I probably would've doubled the amount.  This cut of ham was from the shoulder so it was quite thick and a little more fatty.

4.  Then layer the sliced gouda onto the ham.  My slices weren't super thin because I cut them myself from a wedge of cheese.  That being said, I kind of liked the texture supplied by the thickness of the cut.  It gave a little more bite to the sandwich and really showed off the flavor and softness of the gouda.  Add some more cranberries on top of the cheese and then very carefully close your sandwich.  I always use the knife to make sure my ingredients stay where they belong.


And that's that.
The sandwich is really quite simple to make and utterly delicious in its combination of flavors and different textures.  Enjoy and take a big bite!!

 

Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

Let's face it, I could have titled this blog numerous different ways.

• How to Start your Morning Right
• How to Waste a Lot of Time and Make a Giant Mess
• How to Make Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice the Hard Way
• How to Make Orange Juice with the Bare Essentials: Oranges and a mug
• I Hope you Like Pulp
• How to Spend your Morning Laughing

Yes... soo that's my morning in a nutshell.  

I got to work at around 8:15am this lovely Saturday morning... Note when I say lovely, I don't actually mean lovely... I mean Gray... This gray, drizzling, sad kind of Saturday morning... It has been raining non stop in Rome for the last week, so this Saturday morning is no different. 

In any case I got to work and decided I needed a pick me up. 

I wasn't in the mood for coffee but orange juice, now that seemed like a good idea.  

The crate of oranges I bought

Now, normally I would go downstairs to the bar and order myself a nice spremuta, or freshly squeezed orange juice.  However, earlier in the week I bought a case of oranges for €3 for the office. It was a lot of oranges.  I have no idea how much the crate weighed but it was A LOT. Luckily I only had a block to walk with them and the price was SOOO worth it. 

I bought a lot of oranges and even though we've been snacking on them all week, there are still a lot left.  So between having extra oranges, and getting the idea from one of my coworkers yesterday, I decided to make myself a freshly squeezed orange juice in my tea mug.  Laure had started squeezing the juice out of an orange yesterday since she's been sick.  I didn't see how much juice came out of her orange, but it seemed like a good idea.  

So his morning half awake I decided to make myself orange juice.  

I grabbed a bunch of oranges, some napkins, a coffee mug and a knife and I started making myself some orange juice.  

Let me tell you, I made a GIANT mess because I squeezed the oranges by hand.  I cut them in half and slowly and with an attempt at being careful attempted to squeeze each half into my mug that I regularly use for tea.  I struggled to aim. I squirted myself in the eye.  The orange skins split.  It was kind of hilarious.

The yield of one orange lol

It is not easy to squeeze oranges into a mug by hand. I would highly recommend either using a bigger bowl to squeeze your juice into or getting an actual kitchen aid, to help you squeeze out the juice. Either would have prevented the majority of the mess I created. I got juice and pulp all over the table and made a sticky disaster that I had to mop up later on.
Plus, in case you didn't know, the yield of one orange is relatively pitiful.  So I wound up needing five oranges to make a decent glass of orange juice.  

That being said, it was totally worth it.  The oranges were very fresh, so the juice was absolutely delicious.  A little pulpy but amazing.  If you like pulp, try it my way.  I also have to say that it is an utter pain to squeeze five oranges by hand.  It takes a long, long time.  I think I wasted about a half hour. Again, it was a half hour really worth it but it would have gone quicker with actual kitchen aids.  

But that's ok.  

I definitely spent the morning laughing. I was super entertained by the time my lesson started and therefore in a good mood.  Vitamin C and a little exertion make mornings go well!

My Mug of orange juice and the cookie that would've been breakfast:
Lucky for me, my student brought me a pastry instead :)

  

What you need:
5- 6 oranges
a mug... but let's face it, something bigger would be preferable
LOTS of Patience and the ability to laugh at yourself

Bonus if you actually have a kitchen aid for making orange juice!!