Parmigiana Di Melanzane, Torte Al Limone, e Pioggia Fiorentina

Parmigiana Di Melanzane
Originally uploaded by catrberry

My roommates are great. We just spent the last thirty minutes going through a medley of Grease songs, Hanson, and Billy Joel. Jess and I often sing duets together, and this time I got to be Sandy and she was Danny to "You're The One That I Want." If we're not singing, we're using foreign accents (Chinese, British, and Italian, duh!) or mimicking Peter from Family Guy's attempt at a foreign accent . Really, I can't imagine living anywhere else. We're free to be ourselves, which sometimes means we act like idiots.
Today has been eventful. But what day in Florence isn't? Or, for that matter, what day of life ANYWHERE isn't eventful? You just have to be on the lookout. Seek out the adventure, seek out the beauty in the every day.
I'll get off my soapbox now. I woke up early because I slept lightly last night, and cleaned a little, read a little, and ended up going back to sleep for a nap (hah!). I woke up again, watched "How I Met Your Mother" on my Mac (my dose of American culture), and ate lunch at eleven. Then I left for my Italian Renaissance History Class. We went to the Museum of Urban History and learned about the make-up of Florence; the layout from Medieval times and later maps of Renaissance Florence. Actually pretty cool. The class is really practical. La professoressa pointed out some good restaurants and gave us tips about using the crosswalk (it doesn't matter to the Italians. they'll still run over you), and even cussed when talking about the police. All things good to know.
After class, I had to hustle to the cooking school to pay my fee, grab my course packet, and get ready to cook. Too bad I only THOUGHT I knew where I was going...I got lost. Way lost. And had to ask a random elderly woman who was precious but knew NO English. Then I wound up at the Duomo...definitely NOT where I thought I was. I had to ask a vendor...who knew "un poco" inglese. But he did know the word "straight," so I headed in that direction. Finally I got to the classroom twenty minutes late, without my fees paid, my recipe book, or my apron...mia professoressa asked me to run down the street and change that. I got back and joined a group to cook eggplant parmesan - DELIZIOSO! One of the best things I've ever eaten, again. My group just ROCKED and we also got to eat another group's pasta. So I ate dinner at five.
Then, I left for home...but it started raining. I had no umbrella. Twenty-something-year-old men try to sell you EVERYTHING when you're walking on the street, and when it rains, they practically shove umbrellas into your face. "Bella, Umbrella?" "Non grazie." Creative, strange man. You can rhyme. I still won't buy your overpriced umbrella.
I ducked into an Italian bookstore named "Edison" in search of an easy book to read in Italian. I couldn't find one...I almost bought an old Roald Dahl book, but then found a treasure. Daddy, be proud. I found Emily Dickinson's "Angeli," a book of her poetry with english on one side and Italian on the other. This way, I can try to understand the Italian, and then really DIVE into the English translation after having to read both multiple times.
Finally, I came home, completely soaked, but in love with Florence in the rain. I stayed out there for a few more minutes just to watch the cobblestones fill up with puddles.
Side note: It's my grandfather, PaJoe's, 90th birthday. The man is so sweet and still so in love with my grandmother, Lollie. He is always willing to share memories of courting her back in his twenties. His optimism is contagious and I'm so grateful for this wonderful man's life, as he's given back to his community and family over these MANY, MANY years. What a long, happy life he continues to live and share!
Also, my wonderful grandmother, Mama, was put in the hospital this weekend. I love her so dearly, and my heart is wanting to be with her in Macon right now. She is such a strong woman and her love for her children and grandchildren is palpable. She cracks me up; she even loves to Skype! If you read this, would you please say a prayer for her? She's in her late 80's and not a great candidate for surgery that she needs. My family needs your prayers.
Before I go, I'll leave you with the recipes of the Eggplant Parmesan and Lemon Torte from last week so you can make your own authentic Italian dishes. You may need a small scale/help to convert to the metric system. Enjoy!

Torta Al Limone:
For the dough:
250 g flour
2 egg yolks
120 g sugar
150 g unsalted butter
60 ml cold water
salt
vanilla
lemon zest

For the topping and filling:
5 eggs, yolks and whites separated
zest and juice of 3 lemons
100 g sugar
1 tsp cornflower

Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C.

For the dough: work the butter with the flour; then make a well in the center and add the remaining ingredients: sugar, salt, vanilla, egg yolks and lemon zest. You only need seven minutes to produce perfect pastry. The main things is to work the pastry very quickly in order to avoid overheating it. You can help to reduce the amount of heat transferred to the dough by using pastry scrapers or the blades of two knives, rather than your fingertips, to mix the ingredients. Once you have kneaded the ingredients into a ball, the dough should be left to rest before being rolled out: the butter, which was at room temperature and diced, has to solidify and the flour, which was rendered more elastic by the addition of the liquids, needs to lose some of that elasticity. The ball of pastry should be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for about 30 minutes. After the pasta frolla has been left to rest, you should sprinkle a counter lightly with flour and roll it out using a rolling pin.

Topping and filling: beat the remaining egg yolks with 100 g of sugar until light and creamy. Add the zest and juice of lemons and then carefully stir in the cornflower, ensuring there are no lumps. Pour in a heavy-based pan and heat gently for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens - do not allow the mixture to boil or it will curdle.

Roll out the pastry and thinly and line a buttered 25 cm tart tin. Prick the base of the pastry all over with a fork. Bake blind for 15 minutes. In the meantime beat the egg whites until stiff; gently fold the egg white into the lemon cream and then pour this mixture into the pastry case. Bake in a 180 degree C (375 degree F) preheated oven for 20-30 minutes, until the surface is lightly browned all over. Serve the tart warm or cold.


Phewwwwwww... see how hard it was?

NOW for the easier stuff.
Eggplant Parmesan (Parmigiana di Melanzane):

Ingredients:
700 g eggplant, sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
extra virgin olive oil
500 g ripe tomatoes
250 g mozzarella cheese
fresh basil
100 g grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
salt & pepper

Salt the eggplant slices and leave fore 30 minutes to let the juices run out. Saute the garlic in oil until the aroma rises. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Cook over high heat until reduced to a thick sauce, then add the basil. Rinse and drain the eggplant. Deep fry them in hot oil (i.e. just lightly fry them in a pan with a bit of olive oil...this is Italy after all...), turning once, then drain on absorbent paper towels. Arrange the slices in a baking dish, cover with tomato sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Bake at 180 degrees C for about 30 minutes.

Let me know how either turns out if you make them! You won't regret it.