Luglio in Italia

Already july.....
Can't believe how fast this is going by. It has been about a month since my last post so i thought i should update. The last month has been nothing short of amazing. Each week we have two to three days in the kitchen and the other two days we usually have guest chefs coming from all over the country to tell us about their region and cuisine. It is so refreshing to see different chefs each week and watch and learn from them. Each one has their own style and take on food. All have been good but definitely a few have stood out above the others. We have gone through about half of the regions in Italy so far and as much as i love the mountains of the north i am being drawn towards the cooking of southern Italy. The use of fresh ingredients, spices, pastas, meats, and fish.....they are used so simply but in an elegant way and you can taste each ingredient and when you put all of them together.....well its amazing. As far as my own cooking skills those continue to improve each day as well. I countinue to learn numerous things from our head chef Bruno who is an unbelievable chef with so much knowledge. So, for everyone back home, when i return you will have a good meal made for you.
Outside of the kitchen i have been trying to see as much of this beautiful country as possible. I guess about three weeks ago i went to Cinque Terre with three of my friends. Cinque Terre is in the Italian Riviera and is composed of 5 little towns on the sea with dramatic cliffs, mountains and pristine beaches. If you get a chance to come to Italy in the summertime you must make it a point to visit this beautiful place.
The week after we had a class fieldtrip to see where parmigiano regiano is made and also proscuito di parma. On the next day we drove to regio-emilia to see where balsamic vinegar is made. Seeing barrel upon barrel of balsamic, some that was aged for over 30 years! We also had a tasting with cheese, bread, little cakes and chocolates....again it was amazing. This was just the start of a great day to come. After we left for a little town that was near the Adriatic coast. Here we met a man and his wife who cooked us one of the best meals i have ever had. The man is a master cheese maker and showed us where he ages and makes his most delectable creations. There house sits on top of a hill where you can see San Marino to the north, the adriatic to the east and the mountains of central italy to the south and west. It is one of the best days i have had here in Italy.
Last weekend the same four of us who went to Cinque Terre went to Bologna for the weekend. The home of Bolognese cuisine, mortadella, and one of the oldest universities in the world. The city was a little smaller than i thought it was going to be but made it easy to walk all around and see all the sights. Unfortunately we watched the U.S. lose to Ghana but otherwise had a great weekend.
As for this week it has been pretty good. The only real mishap was on monday when i sliced my finger open when i was deboning some guinea hen. So, i will probably have a nice scar on my middle finger on my left hand but all is well and that is just apart of being a chef. Besides my finger the cooking was very good this week and i got great remarks on all my dishes. We also had to fill out a form about our expectations for where we want to do our internship this week. I am leaning towards Rome but we do not get to choose exactly where we want to go so either way i will be very excited for wherever i end up. This makes me a little nervous but I am sure wherever i end up it will be a great experience. The other part i am worried about is my Italian which is coming along but is still not very good. I practice everyday but more is needed.
Thats is for now. I wish everyone back in the states a happy fourth of July, i hope it is safe and fun! For those of you in Colorado going to the white trash bash i will be there in spirit.