Mangia!!

By far, one of the best parts of getting to know another culture is getting to know its food - what people eat both day to day and for celebrations, how they prepare their special dishes and how they share meals together, are all such vital (and wonderful!) elements of a place.


The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind tour of these experiences.

The highlight for me has been sharing all of these meals with Javier, who arrived on Sunday the 16th! For our first meal together, we picked up my favorite boulangerie's specialty bread, "Pain Paillasse" on our way back from the airport, and enjoyed it with French crepes that we made at home. :-) Dabbling in French cuisine was a theme for the rest of the week, with potato-leek soup, wine and cheese tastings and omlettes with salad all on the menu.

We took a break from the French theme on Wednesday, however, to participate in our school's International Food Night. While Philippe, Javier and I picked up some "American" fixin's (brownies, chips, coca cola, etc), Andy was responsible for the star dish - true Southern bbq pork sandwiches. We served these goodies to crowds of students who also sampled treats from Mexico, Morocco, Scotland, Brasil, Germany, and a whole host of other countries.

This past weekend, though, was back to Italy for the best eating there is! Javier's aunt, uncle, and godson live in Milan, and we were lucky enough to spend Easter with them.


Strolling around Milan, visiting the Leaning Tower of Pisa and attending Easter Mass, where Javier's godson was the altar boy were all great moments during our trip.







The main events, however, were definitely the meals. Massive, wood-oven pizzas the first night, followed by dark choclate gelato that was like a truffle that litterally melts in your mouth. Then a Tuscan feast for lunch in Pisa, followed by charcuterie, cheeses and a smorgasboard of five different pastas with meat, pancetta, cream, pesto and spicy tomato sauces all homemade by Javier's aunt that night. And then, Easter, which included a five-course feast prepared by Javier's uncle's Italian mother and a final tasting of risotto and sausages that night. Amazing.

This week, we're re-discovering, with more pleasure than ever, what treat it can be to eat light for a change! Soups and salads are definitely in order to recover from the decadance of Milan!