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Saturday, September 17, 2011

Dolce Italia: Gelato & Panacotta

Fig Gelato (Done at school)

Buongiorno Sabato!

It's a lazy Saturday... after I woke up around 10:30 am. Just finished having my pesto spaghetti for lunch and strawberry milk shake. Well it's been two weeks since I came to Italy and a lot of things are happening aside from school activities which are more important things than anything else. I have met a few Italians so far from a coach surfing meet-up party and then I visited a design agency in Firenze which considerably the biggest in town. I must say I met good Italian people so far and I am looking forward to meet more.

The past weeks I also familiarized myself on walking around the city from my house to different point areas like the city center where all the historical places are situated like the Duomo, Stazione Santa Maria Novella, Santa Croce and Punta Vecchio. I attempted to go to Boboli garden but I failed. Before reaching the area I got tired because there are pandemonium of tourist everywhere and it's friggin' hot. But there was this day that I succeeded to reach the Piazzale Michaleangelo which is on the hill overlooking the entire Florence. And I plan to go back again there today with my friend.

Last week I also met up my friend from Milano to have a whole day of fun in Bologna. I had two gelatos that day plus one giant pizza that we shared. We toured the center of the city where all the universities are situated and then we climbed Torre Asinelli and had a view of Bologna as a red city because of its terracotta color. As much as I wanted to avoid shopping, when there is a sale it's hard to resist---and so I did! Bologna was a fun day indeed :)


Panacotta topped with Peaches (Done at home)

Everything is incredible in Italy. The people, the language, the places and of course the food! I just love going to supermarket and market with my trolley bag to buy some good meat, fruits and vegetables. Everything is fresh and of good quality even the dairies. I just love every single moment I spent purchasing food that I often can't find in Asia. My now favorite market is Mercato Ambrogio which is not far from where I live and it's highly recommended by my chef teacher.

I've been learning a lot from my school. Food encyclopedia of Italy and the whole world is massive information that one person cannot learn in one day or in an instant. That's why I am here for few months to learn as much as I could. And I am proud to say that I have made my first fresh gelato with figs which I made at our school with the help of our chef teacher. Then as I try to exercise my expertise mastering the panacotta, I made one at home. The cream and milk were so good! I topped it with my preserved peaches (which I made in our school last week) to compliment or balance the good taste. I am looking forward to post more stories, arts & design, food photos, exciting information & trivia about Italy and of course recipes!

Ciao for now Bello & Bella!

big hug,
joanie xxx

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Wonderful to hear your news and how you are making the most of every minute!

Joanie said...

Thanx mama Joy, i'll try to post more :) I've been cooking almost everyday!

RJ said...

What an exciting life in Italia! I am also following your adventures closely on Twitter.

Your pannacotta looks perfect! I'm not really a fan of ice cream but I honestly wanted to try Jonannie's Fig Gelato. Seriously, can you make it 98% less fat?

Joanie said...

Hi RJ, thanks for following me. I love reading your blog as well. I miss the enormous amount of wordings... FAT-FREE, uhmmm could be :P

Zharmagne said...

Joan! Are u going to share the recipes from school too?