Making Limoncello

Limoncello is a delicious aperitif, but it is not for everyone. When I first tried it in Naples, I was surpised by how alcoholic it tasted and how refreshing it was in spite of that. I was more than willing to shell out ten euros for the bottle you see below in Herculaneum, but I was blown away when I found out how easy it is to make. I took the bottle home filled it with my own batch, which I’m now enjoying.

I celebrated the fact that I can now legally purchase a bottle of Everclear (you need a really high proof vodka) with Dr. Fankhauser’s awesome limoncello recipe. This recipe is really straightforward and easy and all you need is vodka, sugar, lemons, and water. Drink limoncello in freezer-frosted shot or aperitif glasses and savor the Vesuviana flavor.

Chump-less Checklist to Doing Rome: The Nitty Gritty

And now the Nitty Gritty, continuing from the Generalities:

One of my favorite places in the city is the Jewish Ghetto, which I already wrote a bit about in my post about the synagogue. But this little four block quadrant has a lot of genuine charm. For one, it has restaurants that serve the excellent “carciofi alla guidea” or Jewish style artichokes. There are also small delis to bop into for lunch, and because pork is not so kosher, they have cured beef similar to prosciutto that is amazing. Also, it has a lot of really awesome stenciled street art by c215 (above).

By all means, go see the Trevi Fountain; it’s beautiful. But listen, even in the non-tourist season, seeing it can be uncomfortable because of the mobs that gather around it. If you follow one piece of my advice about seeing Rome, take this one to heart: Go to it late at night. After midnight, there are only a few people around and it is beautifully lit. Throw in your coin over your shoulder and guarantee your eventual return to Rome. More golden nuggets of advice after the jump.

McDonald’s at the Spanish Steps

In Italy, there isn’t a lot of fast food, but McDonald’s is fairly common in Rome. However, one McDonald’s in particular is tied to something much larger. Just about every article about Slow Food mentions that the organization got its start after unsuccessfully campaigning to prevent McDonald’s from moving into Piazza di Spagna, where the Spanish Steps are. Supposedly, founder Carlo Petrini goes into the campaign in great detail in a book of his. Anyways, I couldn’t help but wonder why Petrini and his friends were so embroiled against this single McDonald’s franchise that it inspired them to found what would turn into an international movement with over 80,000 in 122 countries.

So yeah, I did it. I went to McDonald’s. I got a McCrispy or something, and it was gross. I don’t eat McDonald’s at home, mainly because of the way I have come to think about food (which is in term informed by Slow Foods), but I imagine the food was actually similar. The reason I disliked the experience so much was that it was so un-Italian: bad-tasting food, made with bad ingredients, sold in a hostile environment as quickly as possible. And the customers were mostly Italians! One of the defining characteristics of Italian dining is that it is leisurely. I’ve never had an Italian waiter bring me the check without me asking. Here, that would be rudeness on par with throwing a customer out. In that McDonald’s, I felt like I was still out on street, being mobbed by crowds of tourists. And there, that atmosphere is becoming part of Italian culture. I didn’t like, and I can see why Petrini didn’t either.

photo courtesy of flickr user phototram

Florence: Art, Beans, Leather

Check that out. Pretty beautiful? Yeah. I went to Florence for two days. It was really beautiful and there was a lot of amazing art. Luckily, it was early enough that it wasn’t all tourists either. I went alone, which was pretty nice. It’s a little unusual to go anywhere you want on a whim, or just sit and take your time, because after all, it is your own. I’m not going to write a ton about Florence because so many people have been there and I’ve already done a lot of writing in the captions of my pictures.

I did pretty much everything I wanted to do, and got to eat a lot of really delicious Tuscan food, including crostini on polenta, minestrone soup with beans, and good steak. There was a lot of leather too, which at one time I would have been rather opposed to, but believe me, this stuff puts the “art” in “artisanal.” I had a little difficultly with my reservation at the Uffizi galleries, mainly because they it sent me seven hours after I needed it, but I ended up only waiting 20 minutes and they apologized in an email I received this morning:

On saturday there were some problems with internet due to some squake (is it correct?) of earthquake near Florence and we had no line for some hours, sorry again kind regards (on today we’ll do th erefund on your credit card)

I’m not sure about an earthquake, but whatever. It’s wonderful out here, and I hope it is where you live too.

Fried Eggplant Slices

Like eggplant? Honestly, I don’t most of the time. I usually can’t get over the texture. However, last weekend, our friends had a guest currently enrolled in culinary school down in Calabria (the toe of the boot) and he made dinner. My favorite thing that he made were these fried eggplant slices, and David and I made them as part of lunch today. It’s an incredibly easy recipe, but I thought I’d photograph the process anyway. How we did it after the jump.

Bologna and Venice for Carnivale

Friday morning, we took a train from Rome to Bologna, which was about four hours. There was some confusion about tickets and reservations for hostels, hotels, and trains, but finally, we dropped off our one bag, and went out to eat and explore. There are several things you should know about Bologna. It is at the heart of some of the best food in the whole country. Also, it’s home to one of the oldest—if not the oldest—university in the world (opened in 1088). Porticoes line 38 km of its city streets. There was not an incredible amount to do and see, but we enjoyed all of it. And the food, oh my. I’ll share this: for dinner we stumbled into a little trattoria that was on the same street as our hotel and also recommended in Dan’s guidebook. I had tortellini di zucca (pumpkin) alla ragù. Both tortellini and ragù, the meat sauce otherwise known as Bolognese sauce, are staples of Bologna’s cuisine, and it was truly amazing. Best meal so far. Check out my pictures from Bologna here. There’s too much to write about.

On Saturday morning we took a shorter, two hour train to Venice. The main intention of this trip was to participate in the Venetian Carnival. We did no research or preparation and instead just hit the streets and canals, with no place to stay and only a vague idea of what we wanted to do. It was wet and cold, but it was still Venice. We walked around all day, enjoying the revelry with our fellow masqueraders. We took a leisurely meal in the Italian fashion and later met up with some friends from our program in Rome. Waiting for our midnight train back, we encountered one of the outdoor DJ tents—a soggy collaboration of alcohol, glitter, and 80s American pop hits. It was an interesting time, but I have every intention of coming back (when its warmer) and doing Venice right. To cap it off, David and I and had quite lively conversation with two Spaniards on the train (entirely in Italian). Mainly, David learned new Italian words with which to adequately describe our outgoing president. Here are my disparate pictures from Venice.