the week so far

Tuesday 2/24 Marin Gras

Adrian and I kicked off our personal Mardi Gras in Florence with a visit to our old, Borgasm, neighborhood. Kebab lady and even kebab man. We stopped by the enoteca to see Cristian and to make good on my promise to Tom to have a good class of wine for him. Chianti of course. I spent the rest of a red, red wine afternoon reading over some recipes. We went to the bar to meet up with Sergio. Drank a very tall white Russian. By now we were hungry again, so we went to the American joint to get dinner. Buffalo wings and bleu cheese, “Louisiana burgers” with French fries and onion rings. I had to get a Tequila Sunrise because of the infamous NOLA early-morning party. More barhopping. Jack and sprite. One place was having a “movie night” costume party, and Trine, the owner, was dressed up as Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction, nosebleed, emergency syringe and all. More barhopping. Vodka tonics, vodka redbulls, shots. Johnson showed up in a carnival mask and robe and then eventually took them off to reveal his homemade Dragonball Z costume. Yeah, he’s a fashion major. The night got a little hazy then. But it was a good one.

Ash Wednesday 2/25

Lenten sacrifice? Here we go again.

I spent the afternoon playing Texas Hold-Em with Emo. We didn’t have any coins, so we played with cotton buds. Apparently hygiene was the grand prize of the evening. The last round, we both went all in but my Full House couldn’t compare with his Four-of-a-Kind 7s. Sergio invited Adrian, Domenico, and me, his brothers, to have dinner with his new little sisters, Michaela, Nicole, Tiffany. “Dinner with the family.” Red wine, mixed crostini, duck papardelle, maybe the best beef peposo (a peppercorn stew) I’ve had, tiramisu, coffee.

Thursday 2/26 Beignet Day

Thursday was all about beignets in Dessert Class. Baked beignets, fried beignets, beignets filled with whipped cream, cocoa cream, pastry cream, etc. Small beignets. Beignet decorations. Saint-Honore. Etc.

LOST is getting so good, “like a college student who slacked a little bit in sophomore and junior year and is now trying to finish a six-year college degree with honors.”

That night was Tiffany’s birthday, so she gathered a bunch of her friends at our now-favorite trattoria. Wines both red and white, bruschettta, spaghetti alla carbonara, and filetto con pepe verde that I’ve been craving for a while. Dessert and the actual birthday party was at the bar; Sergio arranged for a sacher torte birthday cake.

February in text messages

9:31pm 2/2/09
From: Soni
Hey is miles okay?

1:41pm 2/4/09
From: Kelsey
Hey are you guys still in for tonight?

6:12pm 2/7/09
From: Cristian
Whats up tonight ? Yesterday was fantastic got so drunk

12:38am 2/11/09
From: Adrian
Cool feel Better

9:41pm 2/13/09
From: Cristiano
Im sorry!ok ill be out tom too so text me if u feel better. Ciao.

12:11pm 2/15/09
From: Miles
I locked myself out

6:18pm 2/24/09
From: Sergio
Maybe I could bring a purse and be transvenstite :-) Kidding... I am waiting... Let’s get the marin gras started :-)

the past week

Sunday 2/15/09

While I was at the bar publishing the last update, I couldn’t help but watch some girls have lunch. (That sounds creepy, but it will soon just sound gluttonous when I explain that) I then got a decidedly American craving for a bacon cheeseburger with fries. So I ordered them, and they were delicious.

When I got home, Emo and Miles were leaving to go to church – Adrian had gone to Viareggio for Carnevale. Apparently Emo is very religious. Who knew? Not I. I would’ve gone with them, but apparently it’s an about an hour away, so I passed. I spent the afternoon cleaning and napping. That worked out well for me because apparently they did a two-hour pilgrimage to sit through a 40-minute service and then walked another two hours back.

Monday 2/16/09

I got lunch from the Chinese takeout place near my first apartment. Roast duck and curry fried rice. Just as good as I remember if not better. I hung out at school with Francesca and Cristiano for a while. They want to know when we’re having another Borgasm-style sangria party. Bought groceries. We had another good dinner. Adrian cooked spicy tomato rotini, I made Diedre’s Jamaican curry chicken with fresh tomato (apparently the most important ingredient) and white rice, and Miles baked some sage and thyme biscuits. Had we only had potatoes, we could have had an even more carbalicious meal. We hung out at the bar for a little bit and came home hungry again so had some of the egg rolls (tandoori chicken, cabbage, pineapple, green onion) Miles and Adrian made and froze last week in case of such emergencies.

Tuesday 2/17/09

Professional cooking was all about stocks. Fish, chicken, and beef. It was the best smelling kitchen no actual food ever came out. Andrea also gave me a blind taste scent test. Fresh herbs one a time. Rosemary, sage, thyme, and fennel. I got them all correct, which elicited a “grande!”

Miles had forgotten his lunch (an egg salad sandwich with tomato and olives) at home, so he told me to eat it for him. I gladly obliged. It was delicious and something I would probably never have made, which made it even more delicious.

That night was sushi night at the bar, and pretty much every girl I’d met in Florence up to that point was there. Sadly the not-too-plentiful sushi servings only led to a craving for a realistic serving size of sushi. So Miles and Jacky and I went to a nearby Japanese restaurant and got dinner, which included my first (personal!) boat and pork tonkatsu. Afterwards, as Jacky went on a walk across the river, Miles and I hit up some gelato. Affogato. (This means a scoop of gelato in a cup of hot chocolate.) I opted for hazelnut gelato in dark chocolate... which tastes like a really good Nutella but simmering hot and freezing cold simultaneously. Amazing.

Wednesday 2/18/09

As far as Viticulture and Enology II (aka wine class) goes, I’m in so over my head. Massimo, my former teacher, and his dog Sophie made an appearance and I was just waiting for them to both burst out laughing at how little I know. At any rate, Caterina, my new teacher, has planned lots of wine events for us for the semester, so it should be lots of fun. The actual class was all about grapes and acids and enzymes and structures. Now I wish I remembered more from high school chemistry.

I’ve decided that Tradition of Italian II with Marcella is the antithesis of my last class with her (Italian Vegetarian Cooking). The first two lessons were a mixed-meat stew and veal rolls. Wednesday’s was pork loin wrapped in lard. It’s much more delicious than it sounds and involves a lot of balsamic vinegar. Marcella actually had us do a tasting first of a 25-year-old 80-Euro bottle of it. (This bottle 100 milliliters… or 3.38 fluid ounces, or less than half a cup!)
Anyway, I should remember to bring my camera. I ended up partner-less and cooking by myself, which I enjoy. Marcella noted at the end that despite working alone I was cooking “for two” (America-sized portions, hell yeah) and that my plating was very “Tuscan.” Whatever. Despite being the last one done, my generously-composed plate was one of the first ones finished. (We all go around and sample each others food.) I think that speaks for itself.

That night, Adrian and I had some good brotherly bonding time. I love Sergio and Miles of course, but it was nice to just have some time for The Super Marin Bros. We tried out an affordable but not too substantial aperitivo near our house and then ended up going to another one. We spent the night trying to figure out what “polar depression” means (in terms of weather, I feel it’s something that Italians lost in translation) and drinking with British Tom and Michaela at yet another bar and then the Irish pub. On the way home I stopped at the vending machine and got a dark chocolate kit kat bar. Which was very good for the drunk craving I had at the time. Under the same vending machine, I found a blank membership card for a nearby cultural association. I’m having moral qualms about whether to fill it out or just return it.

Thursday 2/19/09

Thursday I had both my dessert classes. In Dessert Styling it was all about cheesecakes. Regular ones, lemon ones, pear and cinnamon ones, unbaked ones involving yogurt and gelatin, and strawberries, chocolate, and mint as garnishes. Good times. Italian Cakes (which should really be called Italian Pastries) was all about apples. Apple fritters, apple (and other fruit) strudel, apple filled doughtnut-like things, and apple jam.

Well despite that you think one would be full from a day full of sweets, you’d be surprised how much that leaves you craving savory food. Adrian and I hit up a bar for Mexican aperitivo and then went to a Hispanic restaurant for even more food. (Yes, I know I live in Italy but when you’ve been here over a year you really just can’t eat solely Italian food anymore.) We ended up going out that night too. A lot.

Friday 2/20/09

This means I was a bit sleepy on Friday morning. I went on a field trip for my wine class to the Consorzio Vino Chanti Classico, which is basically the consortium that decides which wines can be labeled DOCG and thus Chianti Classico. (The European Union has laws protecting the names of certain food products, and Italy has many of the oldest, most important ones.) We got to do a tasting and hear a brief presentation by the Technical Director/Inspector. I learned a lot of about wine. Obviously.

I stayed in Friday night after getting home because I had an even earlier trip to make on Saturday and didn’t want to be as miserable as Friday morning.

Saturday 2/21/09

Saturday we met before dawn to go to Parma to see the entire process of making Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (minus the aging of course). It’s also one of Italy’s protected products, and I agree that the yellow sand in the green shaker should NOT be called Parmesan (the French name for P-R). But yeah, we also got a tasting of 1 and 2 year old cheeses with sparkling wine. And for brunch, I got a Prosciutto di Parma sandwich. (Another delicious and protected product. Forgive me for all the random foodie information.)

This may have been a mistake, because we were then giving free time for a walk and lunch in Parma. Miles, Miki (who is also Alaskan and was here last semester), her friend Amanda, and I got lunch together and had some Risotto “Giuseppe Verdi” – the composer, Parma’s his hometown – and squash tortelli, a local specialty. They had a great Absolut vodka and mint sorbet on the menu. And there was a chocolate festival going on, so we got some mint tea and 4-spice chocolates after.

That afternoon we went to Modena to a balsamic vinegar vineyard. (Okay, last random foodie information I swear. REAL Balsamic vinegar is aged a minimum of 12 years and is made in Modena ONLY from grapes from Modena. That stuff you find at the supermarket is as inauthentic as the Parmesan cheese shakers. Obviously it’s also a protected Italian product.) We got to do a tasting of 5-year old white balsamic, 12-year-old balsamic, and a 25-year-old balsamic. We got some free balsamic candies too. I wanted to pay for a tasting of a 50 or 100 year old balsamic, but of course they don’t just have open bottles of that around. The stuff is obviously expensive. A cask of the stuff (just the cask, not even including the liquid inside) is worth over 20,000 euro. No duh, it’s delicious too.

Sunday 2/22/09

I woke up ridiculously early, went to church, came home, fell asleep, and woke up really late. Miles made “breakfast” for us. Sandwiches comprised of chicken fried steak, fried eggs, and sautéed onions. We were still hungry after, so we made breakfast #2. Potato pancakes. Sadly we didn’t have any applesauce, so ketchup and curry sauce had to suffice.

I believe we didn’t do anything the rest of the day but sit around and eat. (Sunday is a day of rest.) Since MTV is the only TV network that lets you watch shows online outside the country, Adrian and I had an America’s Best Dance Crew marathon.

I went out to get some ramen to flavor with the last of the curry sauce, and Adrian asked me to get him “the weirdest flavor available,” So I got him “miso.” (I know “Roast beef” flavor is available back home and I wasn’t sure about “seafood” since I think instant “shrimp” ramen kind of tastes like seawater.) This miso confirmed our desire for some sushi, so he, Miles, and I went to what we thought was a restaurant but was actually a carryout.

So we ended up at the Chinese restaurant down the block, which was surprisingly good: Warm, thick duck and tofu soup; “Chinese beans,” which turned out to be warm edamame; fried fish with sweet corn, which Adrian ordered and then described as “flavor fail” (the fish and the corn were both good, just terrible together); spicy fried rice on a sizzling place; Cantonese roast duck; pineapple fried rice with raisins in a hollowed out pineapple (Miles was surprised by the pineapple but I was more surprised by the raisins); sizzling duck with bamboo shoots on a hot plate; ho fun (spelling); spicy tofu; and some of the best Chinese roast pork I’ve ever had. You must remember the serving sizes here in Italy are smaller, but yes it was a huge meal.

Jacky was there at another table with one of her friends, so when they left, she gave me her kettle of jasmine tea, which was really soothing and a nice way to end the meal.

So after, the three of us had a craving for dessert. The only cash we had was a 50 euro bill, so we decided to not completely piss off the gelateria people and instead got a kilo of fior di latte “cream” gelato. (This prompted a call to Tanjila, or Tangelato.) We got home, and I deemed the gelato a worthy ingredient to pair the balsamic vinegar I bought in Modena with. Awesome but I can’t take any credit since it was two ridiculously-delicious things put together.

Monday/Yesterday 2/23/09

I spent the morning at the bookstore, unable to find a single book I wanted to read in neither English nor Italian. (Save for the Michelin Guide 2009, which I didn’t buy but probably will.) I looked at literally every English fiction book, and rescue came in the nonficition section. I bought two new books because our apartment came without any books and even without a bookshelf. Since I read really efficiently if it’s not for school, I finished the 300-page book in the afternoon. So I’ll need to take my time with the second one. After reading, I fell asleep and woke up to Michaela over for dinner and the smell of the dinner Miles and Adrian prepared: Chicken tenders and cottage potatoes with a generous amount of parlsey. Mmm, deep fried foods. They enlisted me to make a barbeque sauce, and it got finished, so I guess it went rather well despite not having vinegar or molasses. We had some more of the gelato for dessert and then Emo came out of his room, so a lengthy game of [Presdidents and] Asshole[s] ensued.

Ben: Happy BirthGras!

Everyone: Okay, I’m really sorry. I need to learn to just do updates everyday if possible and not let things pile up like this.

Happy Working Song (Flooded Apartment Remix)

All right everyone, time to tidy things up

Come my little friends
As we all sing a happy little working song
Merry little voices clear and strong
Come and roll your pants up
So that we can pitch in
Cleaning flood up near the kitchen
As we sing along

And you’ll think someone emptied a bathroom tub
And we hope it doesn’t stain
Watch the geiser from the shower drain
To the indoor rain
Of a happy working song

We’ll keep singing without fail
Otherwise we’d spoil it
Carting out the water pail
Just glad it’s not the toilet
Ooh!

How we all enjoy letting loose with a little
La-da-da-dum-dum
Wish we had a water vacu-um
It’s such fun to hum
A happy working song
A happy working song

Oh, how strange this flood is whack
Till Nina calls us back
My roommates are sighing
Still, as long as we are here
I guess a new problem
Could be worth trying
Hey! Keep drying!

You could do a lot when you got
Such a happy little tune to hum
While you’re mopping up the mystr’y scum
We abhor each filthy chore
That we determine
So hey as long as there’s no vermin
We’re a happy working song

Singing as we dirty our kitchen Crocs
Mopping water that smells like stinky socks
Sing along
If you cannot sing then swear along
As we’re finishing our happy working song!

Ah...wasn’t this fun?

Sunday again...

Tuesday 2/10/09

Professional cooking was all about knives and knife skills. Andrea had a representative from a knife specialty shop come in and do a presentation on all the different styles of knives, both Western and Japanese. From steel to Teflon to ceramic to titanium. We also had to practice sharpening on steels and then stones with both with water and oil. The dish of the day was minestrone, aka a soup of made of over a dozen vegetables requiring several different cuts.

That night, I made Trippa alla fiorentina with the recipe Gianni, a trattoria owner, had given me a few nights back. It came out really well, and even Adrian enjoyed it. So that’s a good sign, seeing as how he’s not a big fan of tripe.

Speaking of Adrian, he played an acoustic set at the bar, which seemed pretty well-received. Even if the second half was a bit lot drunken. As soon as it ended around midnight, I left though. Wasn’t feeling that well.

Wednesday/Thursday 2/11/12/09

I did nothing on these days except lie in bed sick, miss classes, and hate life.

Friday 2/13/09

More daytime recovery. Adrian made dinner: Veal scallopine and tomato jararquias ("nests") stuffed with eggs, cream, and cheese. Miles and I went out briefly. We saw Sergio and Miko, another Italian friend from my first semester, who’s back in town.

Saturday 2/14/09

Got up feeling a little better. Baked an almond and orange coffee cake. Adrian made risotto. Spent the afternoon doing I-don’t-know-what. Our apartment not only came with no bookcase. There’s not even a single book. So maybe I’ll have to get some non-culinary ones.

I went to the church of Sant'Egidio in the early evening. (No, I don’t know who he is in English.) Hit up aperitivo at the bar and hung out Mateo, the bartender, and Laura the aussie cocktail waitress. Mateo knows my knew pastry chef/instructor. We celebrated our bachelorhood with a combination of sighs, drinks, and laughs. Didn’t stay out late again. I don’t want a relapse.

Sunday 2/15/09

I’m feeling well I think. I’m at a bar drinking espresso and getting online.

an update!

Wow, now I remember why it’s so hard to keep up with updates here. It’s been an eventful week.

Saturday 1/31/09

Saturday night we made dinner for the Signoria girls, Sergio, and Domenico. (I believe this invitation or self-invitation – can’t remember which – was made in drunkenness a previous night.) It went pretty well. Orrechiette con pesto, pasta puttanesca, and risotto di asparagi. Since we wanted to introduce the ladies to some Italian flavors, I was in charge of the meal. I decided to honor Kelsey’s vegetarianism, but next time we know better. Everything tasted good, and Domenico, who’s from the south, approved of the orrechiette, so that was a good sign. Hmmm, what else? The guys brought lots of wine, which we drank. And the girls brought strawberry tarts, which were bite-size and nicely sweet. A certain blonde also exclaimed in the middle of dinner “Oh, I just got that!” … “that” being the reason we call Miles “Kilometers.”

Sunday 2/1/09

Despite a long night of barhopping the night before, Sunday was all about the Superbowl. Sergio threw a Superbowl (aka Steelers Fans Only) party at the bar. I suggested the not-so-bright idea of one-shot-per-touchdown, which was extended into take-a-sip-for-every-good-play. The Signoria girls and Ghibellina’s girl were both there. As was Tina! Good times. Naturally, The Steelers’ win turned the bar upside down that night. I knew things were done and finished with when Antonio asked ME to make him a drink. We closed out the bar, proceeded to stay there all night, and left around sunrise.

Monday 2/2/09

Unfortunately, Monday did not start off so well. When Adrian and I got back to the apartment, we found a very disoriented Miles in the lobby. Apparently he had been mugged when he walked home alone. He was also bleeding from the head. So we brought him to the hospital. I called his parents, cancelled his cell phone, and tried to cancel his debit card to no avail. Don’t worry. He had to get stitches and a CAT scan, but he’s fine. So I spent pretty much all of Monday in the waiting room and in Miles’ room. I unfortunately am well acquainted with this hospital. But sitting in a waiting room where people are being told their loved ones have passed away or that they have terminal cancer, you can’t help feeling grateful for your health and that your past hospital visits have been relatively minor. Also props to the patient doctors, nurses, and receptionists who deal with this sort of the thing every day. I found it exhausting just being there watching everything go on. Anyway, by the early evening, Miles was conscious and talking again. He was complaining about having to stay overnight despite feeling fine, so I knew he was okay.

I just want to say that I’m shocked as everyone else is that this happened. And Firenze is a very safe and walking city. That being said, in my year of being here, I’ve only heard of incidents like this happening twice. And both times it involved someone who was walking home, (1) very very late at night, (2) by himself, and (3) visibly intoxicated. So don’t do those things in combination and ideally don’t do them at all.

Tuesday 2/3/09

At this point, between the jet lag, Superbowl party, the 24 hours of not sleeping, Miles and the hospital, and etc… I had a very messed up sleep schedule. This was probably in honor of Tom’s birthday. (Last semester, he usually slept from dawn to dusk.) Happy birthday, Tom, by the way. I woke up early enough to greet him at midnight his time.

So Emo must think his new roommates never sleep because we’re up till four, up again at eight, and then he’s gone in the afternoon when we’re asleep again. Miles and I are convinced there’s some mystery noise that wakes us up at eight in the morning like an alarm. But we’ve always either never been awake before eight or home to find out exactly what it is.

Anyway, I woke up to a note from Tanjila asking me, in honor of The Borgasm, please NOT to call my new apartment The Pergasm. So I’ve decided on calling it Pergotory or Il Pergotorio. (Dante, anyone?) Because it’s not quite the Heaven or Paradiso that was the Borgasm, but it’s certainly not the Hell or Inferno of real life.

I’ve had my first classes, but I’ll write about them later this week to save time and spice. (I’ll make one exception for Thursday.) Congrats to Andrea. He wasn’t in class on Tuesday because he was at the hospital becoming a father.

Miles was released from the hospital and came home safe and sound.

Wednesday 2/4/09

Miles was up and running. He made curried eggs and espresso for breakfast.

I had class all day and then we went over to The Signore Della Signoria’s apartment for dinner. (They insisted on cooking for us as a thank-you for Saturday.) So they made salad, pasta, and chicken. Delicious. One of them almost drank a glass of balsamic vinegar, mistaking the bottle for one of wine. They've also decided when they leave Italy, they're going to form "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Furry Vodka Bottle." So I would start calling them that, but it's a bit too long.

We had an excessive amount of wine, so we taught Sergio pretty much every drinking game there is that involves cards: Fuck the dealer; Up the river, down the river; Fuck you; Fuck you, pyramid; Horserace; Kings, etc

“Now I know why Americans are always drunk,” he said. “And why your apartment [i.e. The Borgasm] always comes to the bar at 1am.”

Miles and I actually went home “early” (after midnight), a bit tired from classes and the mayhem of earlier in the week. It sounds like the only thing we missed out on was a bunch of drunken drama, so it was probably a wise decision on our part.

Thursday 2/5/09

Have you noticed how well we’re eating this semester? Chalk it up to living with an actual culinary student who actually wants to be a chef. Breakfast was pain perdue (or “French toast”) with candied pears, wine reduction, and toasted almonds.

So I had two classes on Thursday, but one of them only meets every other week. So I’ll write about it now. The subject is “Italian Cakes.” I’m taking it because my pastry skills are severely lacking. Last semester was The Dream Schedule and this semester is All The Things Andrew Should Actually Learn. The chef who teaches it is named Mario, and he’s really cool. He’s young, humble, friendly. There are only two other students in the class, both girls. So he told me early on that I need to step it up and represent. That day was all Tuscan baked goods, and we divided up the work; we made schiacciata (sponge cake), ricciarelli (soft almond cookies that I was in charge of), and the famous cantuccini from Prato (the ones you dip in Vin Santo).

Anyway, the girls and I agreed this would probably be our favorite class. Partly because of the pastries, partly because of Mario. I actually made a huge mistake and folded egg yolks instead of egg whites into some dough, but he found a way to salvage it. “I’m not making this face because I want to kill you. I’m making this face because I’m trying to figure out how to fix this. That’s what we do in a kitchen when we have a problem... We don’t get angry or give up, we find a way to solve it.” Oh, and did I mention that he works at a certain, amazing one-star Michelin restaurant here in Florence that I may or may not have been to with Alex, Molly, and Val last semester and love? I might actually learn something about pastry.

That night was the Welcome Party at the bar. Paola, the chef who replaced me, rolled out quite an impressive feast: Chicken curry rice, chick pea and tuna salad, mussel and clam pasta, sautéed spinach, rigatoni and penne pastas, a fresh vegetable platter, a mixed bean salad. The list goes on and on.

Friday 2/6/09

Adrian and I watched LOST. (It’s so good. Okay. Enough.) And we made a nice Filipino breakfast. Ligo sardines in tomato and hot pepper sauce, fried eggs, and Aeri’s remaining sushi rice.

I had to go to school and take an exam from Andrea (which unfortunately was written and not practical) in order to get into a higher-level Italian Food class. It was all about risotto, and extra virgin olive oil, and Parmigiano-Reggiano, and bluefish, and cod, and lard, and prosciutto. I passed!

Adrian and I celebrated with lunch at this sandwich place that I love and he’s always wanted to go to. Best meatball subs ever. Afterwards, he, Miles, and I went to run errands. Miles and I bought new wallets at the market because we’re both prone to theft. (I to pickpocket-ry and he to mugging. See Monday.) Adrian bought a guitar! So the sound of music has been echoing in our apartment since. Miles and I get along really well because all we do is talk about food all day. While Adrian went guitar shopping, he and I just walked around a grocery. Not buying. Just talking.

We met up with Sergio for dinner because Miles wanted to give bistecca Fiorentina a try, and I’m pretty sure he approved. We spent the rest of the night at the wine bar by The Borgasm and barhopping with Cary and her friends, who live nearby. The Porcellan Dolls.

Saturday 2+7=09

Saturday was pretty chilled out because I don’t remember much of it. I’m pretty sure we all slept in.

Adrian, Miles and I went out for lunch – sushi and tempura. Now anyone who reads this probably knows I don’t like fish that much but love sushi because it’s light and subtly flavored and I can eat a lot of it. And I really enjoy it for lunch after a heavy night of drinking, which is a habit I picked up at Tulane. And I don't eat tempura as often but I love it even more because it reminds me how much my parents love me. [When I was really young, I used to love tempura like crazy. My parents, being fresh out of college, didn't have all that much money so they'd bring me to Union Station to gorge on it at a reasonably-priced place there. And only when I'd finish, they'd eat the leftovers.]

So jumping ahead to the next meal before get teary-eyed, Sergio took Adrian and I out to dinner to a nice restaurant he used to work for. I got some smoked goose breast for an appetizer, a grilled young rooster alla diavolo, and for dessert some sacher torte (which I theoretically know how to make because of chocolate class last semester).
Adrian wasn’t feeling well and went home, but Sergio and I went out with some other girls. I don’t know if we’ll see them again and I don’t know where they live. So they don’t get a nickname.

Sunday 2/8/09

Adrian and I went to Sunday mass and then afterwards picked up Miles to go last-minute grocery shopping. (Practically everywhere here is closed on Sunday afternoon/evening.)

We picked up some merenda in the form of kebabs from a place near our house. Our friend Mustafa actually owns it.

The roommates of Pergotory (including Emo!) all had a nice dinner that night – beef/pork meatballs with balsamic reduction and risotto alla Parmigiana. We spent the rest of the evening playing card games. We taught Miles and Emo [Presidents &]Asshole[s] and more importantly RUMMY500. Anyone from The Borgasm knows this game took up approximately 75% of our sober time and probably at least 25% of our drunk time. We use the whiteboard in our kitchen to keep score. If Kyle were still our roommate, it would have been great for Pictionary.

Monday 2/9/09

Miles and I went to school this morning to reserve some spots on a few trips for the semester, but neither of us did because the lady in charge trips was out sick. So we went to the market instead to buy groceries. But we were distracted by our hunger, so first I introduced Miles to Our Lady of Lampredotto. And he now shares in my passion for those meaty, spicy sandwiches.

I spent the afternoon just chilling out because I wasn’t feeling that well. We had a merenda of dried kiwis and raw cashews that we’d bought earlier. We played rummy with the roommates again. And Miles made a great dinner tonight too. Red-wine braised rabbit and roasted squash and figs with truffled honey. Miles and I have decided we want to learn to make a main course from every protein possible before the end of the semester. Dessert was a yellow melon mostly because Miles and I saw them at the market and couldn’t remember ever trying one.

I went to our neighborhood Irish pub to hang out with my friend Michele, who bartenders there. A few pints later Miles and his friend Jacky showed up, so we taught her how to bomb a car. When Sergio and Adrian showed up, all six of us did a few shots. We went barhopping again. Saw Antonio, Joe, Marc, and Ciccio. We ran into Gianni, the owner of a trattoria we frequent. He gave Miles and me their recipe for trippa alla Fiorentina, so that’s probably going to be on our dinner menu in the near future. When the bars closed, we hit up a late-night kebab place and then called it a night.

In closing
If you’ve made it this far, thank you. I’ll try to write both more often and more briefly in the future.