Friday, January 4, 2008

My Only Consistency is Inconsistency

or, Things Recently Learned

Firstly, I would like to say that I think I have figured something out. The easiest, and most effective, way to learn about other people, cultures, and countries is through the kitchen. Need to find a way to break the ice with a French woman? Tell her you don't know what bechamel is. She will already assume you don't know a fresh head of salad from a whisk, and in no time will she take pity upon your poor, uncultured soul and you'll end the night off making crepes. While French cooking is all fine and good (or easy- see: raw oysters), I would have to say that my heart will always and forever belong to Italy. Don't get me wrong, I love ratatouille as much as the next person, but after having tried Nonna Luigi's Pesto....well, let's just say there is no going back. That was even before I had the risotto. Then, came the marscapone sauce with warmed, slightly toasted panetonne.

Girl, you don't even know.

Did I mention that breakfast in Italy means coffee, cookies, and sometimes cake? There is just no beating it. I have hated coffee (the smell, the taste, the effect of caffeine, the way it stains my teeth, usw) forever, but after 5 days? I'm ready to invest in my own stove-top contraption. That said, I would like to disclaim that I've only really had northern Italian, in the Milan area, so I can't really draw any conclusions about the other regions of Italy. However, one thing is for certain. I'm going back, and I'll be writing much, much more down.

1 comment:

Jason L. Maier said...

And SHE'S BACCCKKKKKKK!!!!!

I will have to confess something Hill...I WAS hoping that this would become the "How I survived Europe" Blog with lots of pictures and more stories like the one you just told.

Please write more often (and put up lots of pictures from the OLD COUNTRY).

Thank you for the XMas postcard, it was lovely.