Bene bene bene!!!
Class wasn't scheduled until 5:00 pm today so we all decided to grab coffee and croissants together. One of the girls on the trip, Cara, had done some research on cool places to check out from a random blogger on the web. We thought it would be fun to visit some of the recommendations including breakfast ideas, morning plans at the local leather market, and fresh produce market, etc.
For breakfast, we went to La Ménagère, a very rustic yet eclectic styled cafe. There was a designated inside eating area with shelves of flowers and a grand piano in the corner, a bakery area for those who just wanted to grab their breakfast and go, an outside nook with three or four mismatched tables and chairs on a wooden platform, and then a concrete floored inside/outside seating area with five tables paired next to a separate room with a long dining room table and oversized windows. There were even seating areas with love seats and couches designed as if you were in someone's house but then immediately across the lounging/ coffee sipping area there was a glass countertop of kitchen essentials (plates, mugs, towels, etc.) displayed for purchase. To top it off, there was this cute little counter with buckets filled with flowers where some of the workers were cutting fresh flowers for the tables. It was a really cool atmosphere to say the least.
Anyways, after we finally decided where we wanted to sit, I ended up ordering a cappuccino for my breakfast pick me up. Although the flavor wasn't as strong and pungent as I had imagined, I still enjoyed it. The drink was significantly more foamy and creamy than I had anticipated. I drank all of it, so it was clearly good. Once others had their chocolate croissants and pastries, we all headed off to the leather market. Paige and I had done a lot of shopping earlier on so I wasn't particularly on the hunt for anything special; however, I was really impressed with all the goods available for sale. I didn't realize you could make so many items out of leather!
Once every got their shopping fix in for the morning, we took a look inside the local grocery store. It was such an incredible experience. It's not what I had imagined when I thought of a local market. In my mind, I thought it'd be more like a local farmer's market with different tables set up and samples galore. This was more like a Fresh Market type environment but on steroids. Obviously, it didn't really compare to a Whole Foods, but that's more of the vibe I got versus a traditional farmer's market. A few of the most memorable areas of the store included the display of fish. The fish was gorgeous and the moment you walked through the doors that's the only aroma you smelled. Walking around was definitely a treat. Another really cool component about the grocery store was the entire bottom floor; it was the eating hub. There were different stations that ranged from seafood, desserts, the more classic panini and soup kiosk, and even a vegetarian booth. It was wild!
Once we had finished roaming around the market, we headed off to grab a bite of lunch. We ended up randomly shopping at this little place called Agricola Toscana. I had a panini with fennel, salami, and pecorino cheese. The bread was probably the best bread I'd tasted there. The bread had a mild layer of cheese melted on the top layer of the bread which was actually salty but not an overpowering flavor. I don't even think salty is the right word to use to describe it, but there was this certain seasoning/ powder substance that really enhanced the flavor of the sandwich. The bread was flat like panini bread but perfectly toasted and crisp around the edges...just thinking about it makes my mouth water. I know my explaining isn't doing the panini justice but I assure you it was so yummy!
After more shopping, we would soon have to head off to our cooking class at InTavola. This was so much fun! The chefs had wonderful personalities as they were incredibly entertaining with banter and subtle teasing but also professional and informative. The main chef, Fabrizio, would always look at the food we were trying to mimic and critique us but then after he had finished, as I call, "doctoring it up", he would have a huge grin on his face and exclaim bene bene, (translation: good). It was his go-to word for sure and began to stick after a while.
After preparing the meal, we got to enjoy it!
On the menu:
- Vegetable millefogile: Eggplant with zucchini, boiled potato, fontina slices, parmesan, and oregano
- Spinach and ricotta filled ravioli
- Pollo alla cacciatora (hunter's chicken) with mushrooms, tomatoes, red onion, sage, garlic, and rosemary
- Tiramisu
I was beyond impressed by what we had cooked and the amount of time it took to make it all. The food was awesome but my favorite part of the meal was for sure the eggplant dish. The ravioli tasted different than pasta I've had before and it wasn't my favorite. I don't know if it was because we, novice cooks, did it ourselves and it wasn't handled as a professionals would have crafted it made the difference or what drew me away from the pasta. I just felt like it was too gummy and the color of the pasta wasn't the same as I was use to either. You would think making the pasta yourself would make it taste better, but I didn't experience that. Perhaps it was just a matter of a lack of experience. Making the pasta was really amusing and a fun experience though so that'll all that mattered in my book.
