Gelato Teaser!

Tomorrow we all get to sleep in, so tonight we're on a sugar high and staying up and watching movies. I'm thinking about watching a documentary either by Stephen Hawking on the concept of Aliens or one about Alfred Hitchcock. I've always had this weird fascination with Hitchcock. My dad let me watch the movies when I was younger so we can just blame him. Joking. I feel like that morbidity has just added to my quirkiness. Thanks, Dad. (Did I mention he also bought me an abridged version of Edgar Allan Poe stories to read? Now I'm obsessed.)
So what got the three amigos on a sugar high? THE GELATO TEASER TONIGHT AT APICIUS! Starting around nine, the three of us divided up the gelati and made our own. Mine was hazelnut, Jess had strawberry gelato and "lingue de gatto" (or cat-tongue cookies), and Leyla made lemon granita.
Something went wrong with the chef's written directions and verbal directions, so he repremanded me in front of the class for adding the hazelnut at the wrong time. Poof - my face went bright red, I nodded and my list of "mi dispiace"'s went on and on. Leyla comforted me, and she told me to look at my ingredients/mixture. Sweetly, she said, "Love on your ingredients, Cat." It's a funny concept at first, but if you think about how each one of these things is going to make something wonderful and delicious, you appreciate them more and even stir them differently. Think about it next time you're stir-frying veggies or just mixing a cake.
Well, I began to keep stirring to thicken my mixture, and by the time he came around again, he congratulated me on recovering from my mistake! He was straight to the point and wanted you to learn, but he was also a goofball and wanted us to enjoy the process. I was pretending to take a picture of me squeezing the dough from the pastry bag into my mouth, and he made sure to put a pitcher over my head in the picture when he realized I was distracted from cooking. He laughed and made the process so much more relaxed. When my mixture was completely integrated, he came back around and said, "PERFETTO!" I couldn't believe it! I was so proud and happy I had laughed off my mistake rather than letting it spoil the dish.
And, in the end, it WAS perfect! The hazelnut gelato was my favorite, and we ate it with two "cat-tongues" each, and with vanilla gelato the chefs prepared for us beforehand. So yummy! But the gelato kept pouring out. Soon after, it was time to get out the liquid nitrogen and make granite! Mmmmm, and was it good! Then, we took more pictures, ate more cat-tongues, and finally enjoyed our strawberry sorbetto. Mmmmmmmmm-Mmmmmm! It was so much fun to goof off with Jess and Leyla and to simply have roommate bonding time. We do love each other.
Tomorrow, I'll spend a good amount of time in this special little library near the Duomo, then a big group is going out to dinner for an authentic Italian meal. I can't wait.
Oh! I almost forgot to share about my big purchase yesterday: a new purse! It's a gorgeous shiny-orange color that has a shoulder strap and beautiful ruffled triangular front. It's classy and fun. I took a picture; I'll upload on Facebook. I found it in a store called "Teresa Cambi," and this woman designs and makes all of the bags. It was on sale, so it was only 14 euro! I was quite proud of my first REAL Italian purchase. Whoooop! Although, I showed Ricardo the bag when I was walking into the building, and like any real Italian man, he knows fashion. He said it was bellissime, but it was for the Summer time, not Fall/Winter. My red bag will have to do until I get back to the states. But I'll just keep it in mint condition until I rock it there! Yayyyyy!
It cracks me up the differences between Italian men and American men when it comes to fashion. Fashion is JUST as important here to men as it is to women. A funny sight to see is a group of men gathered around a store window admiring the mannequins. The male mannequins, that is. Yes, they wear scarves. And they look GOOD. They normally wear dark shoes and dark jeans, smart glasses, well-styled hair, a leather belt, a dark leather jacket, and a dark-toned shirt or a nice collared-shirt underneath. It makes me swoon. I always tell the girls that I love that "professor" look. Too bad that Italian men only hang around intoxicated American women or none at all.
Well, maybe I'll go watch that documentary. Or maybe I'll just fall asleep.
Either way, I'm happy.
I hope you're enjoying your Thursday!