Never Underestimate A Florentine In The Kitchen
"Live with no regrets" is a hard thing to do when you've studied abroad. My one regret about this experience: coming home. One of the major problems I've faced is being able to re-accustom myself to Italian-American cooking. Coming from a long line of Italians, (many of which are terrific cooks) I can't stop longing for authentic Italian cuisine.
As a part of my time abroad, I chose to register for a cooking and wine-pairing course. What better place to learn to cook than in the motherland? My professor, Giancarlo Russo, was Roman and had moved to Florence in his twenties. He spent much of his youth traveling, learning, teaching, but most of all, cooking. He'd taken culinary courses in Paris, Rome, Boston and several other places. Needless to say, he was the best chef I've ever met.
Despite being a traveled individual, we were in Italy and Italian cooking was his forte. He taught us how to prepare a plethora of different meals. From appetizers like pappa al pomodoro (potato tomato soup), entres like spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clam sauce), or torta di cioccolata (chocolate cake), he knew it all. Learning to cook with an abundance of Italian olive oil, however, was a much harder pill to swallow. If there was one take away from our time together it was that olive oil is healthy oil; besides of course that life is too short to drink cheap wine.
Still having doubts, I decided to investigate further in case he was just a crazy, old, Italian man pouring poison down our throats. According to an article on the Global Healing Center website, titled, "The Benefits of Olive Oil" he wasn't crazy at all. He may have been old and Italian, but he was most definitely not crazy! (At least not in the strictest terms.) Dr. Group addresses many of the benefits of consuming and using Italian olive oil. I found more information still on the Unaprol website, which is an Italian producer of olive oil. Their product contains an abundance of antioxidants and Vitamin E.
I'll never forget the look everyone in class, including myself, gave Giancarlo when he walked around pouring a generous amount of oil into our pappa al pomodoro. He would always say, "trust Tio Giancarlo, trust!" And trust you should.
As a part of my time abroad, I chose to register for a cooking and wine-pairing course. What better place to learn to cook than in the motherland? My professor, Giancarlo Russo, was Roman and had moved to Florence in his twenties. He spent much of his youth traveling, learning, teaching, but most of all, cooking. He'd taken culinary courses in Paris, Rome, Boston and several other places. Needless to say, he was the best chef I've ever met.
Despite being a traveled individual, we were in Italy and Italian cooking was his forte. He taught us how to prepare a plethora of different meals. From appetizers like pappa al pomodoro (potato tomato soup), entres like spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clam sauce), or torta di cioccolata (chocolate cake), he knew it all. Learning to cook with an abundance of Italian olive oil, however, was a much harder pill to swallow. If there was one take away from our time together it was that olive oil is healthy oil; besides of course that life is too short to drink cheap wine.
Still having doubts, I decided to investigate further in case he was just a crazy, old, Italian man pouring poison down our throats. According to an article on the Global Healing Center website, titled, "The Benefits of Olive Oil" he wasn't crazy at all. He may have been old and Italian, but he was most definitely not crazy! (At least not in the strictest terms.) Dr. Group addresses many of the benefits of consuming and using Italian olive oil. I found more information still on the Unaprol website, which is an Italian producer of olive oil. Their product contains an abundance of antioxidants and Vitamin E.
I'll never forget the look everyone in class, including myself, gave Giancarlo when he walked around pouring a generous amount of oil into our pappa al pomodoro. He would always say, "trust Tio Giancarlo, trust!" And trust you should.
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For more information about olive oil, for Italian cooking or what have you, please consult Unaprol.. Unique version for reprint here: Never Underestimate A Florentine In The Kitchen.