We sat down and the food started coming.  We found out later the meal is pretty much fixed except for pasta and main.  It started with a puree of squash, fagiolini (beans), and bruschetta. And wine – all you can drink.  Next we chose pasta: I had the carbonara (bacon, creme and eggs).  For secondi I had a chicken dish that had been simmering in a pot behind us.  It was very tender and was cooked in some kind of vinaigrette concoction.  Yummy.  Dolci consisted of chocolates and cookies followed by limoncello and grappa.  I’m not sure I would go back here but it is definitely a fun experience and its all you can drink and it only costs 25 Euro per person.  Worth a look at least.

We arrived early and went for a tour with Giovanni, the farmer.  He showed us various plants and the bugs that eat them and explained why each bug likes each plant.  Then he went on to state his theory of the creation of the universe.  I think.  He was talking really quickly and my Italian isn’t exactly perfect yet but I think I understood most of what he was saying.  The part of the farm that we saw isn’t huge but supplies most of the food to the American Academy.  There are a lot of different kinds of leafy green lettuces and vegetables growing including cardoons and fennel (okay not sooo leafy).  We stomped around and tried the bits of leaves he handed us to taste.  Afterwards he’d say things like, this thins your blood or this is medicinal.  Blind faith.  We followed him back up the hill to the road and over to his villa.

The villa is under construction but the view from the large terrace was amazing and there was a small cooking shack with an open fire and a pizza oven ready for us to use.  We set to work.  I helped prep the meat, which consisted of tearing open the packages and sprinkling with olive oil and salt, and then spent a good amount of time eating and drinking.

The meal started with fennel salad, fresh sausage and little blocks of cheese (some kind of parmesan I think).  The pasta with some kind of meat was next and so good, followed by an endless stream of delicious pizzas.  Toppings included anchovies, tomato, mozzarella, parmesan, caramelized onions, lots of olive oil, spices and the potatoes I prepared yesterday.  All the pizzas were amazing and the dough was so easy to work with (compared to Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods dough).  I made a potato, onion and mozzarella pizza with a sprinkling of rosemary.  The meat was cooked over the open fire and sliced and we ate it with our hands along with the pizza.

We had to take a stroll around the grounds after dinner to prepare for desert.  A huge cake, special for Halloween and a huge apple tart awaited our return along with espresso.

A little later we said our goodbyes, crammed into the van and headed home, singing songs inspired mostly by two of the more musical kitchen interns.  I would do this every weekend…. so if you know anyone looking for a farm hand, email me.

Next I began peeling potatoes to be sliced for pizza.  In between I took a break and learned to fry the cardoons.  I did it in a big pot of oil at around 180 degrees C.  I felt very important….  I’m pretty sure Mona gave me that job because it is close to impossible to screw up: make sure the temperature stays around 180, fry the cardoons in batches, take them out when they look done, sprinkle them with parmesan, plop them on a plate.  I had a lot of fun doing it.

Back at the potatoes, one of the young chefs, Nick, taught me how to properly bake them to be used as a pizza topping.  In the past I would just slice them in the Cuisinart, spread them out on a pan in a thick layer, cover them in olive oil and sprinkle them with salt and pepper and bake them until they were soft.  Nick’s way was much more precise and produced a much higher quality result.  Here’s what you do: peel the potatoes and soak them in water.  Slice them at a constant thickness using a mandolin.  Cover two trays with parchment paper, sprinkle one with olive oil and salt and place the potato slices in a single layer on top.  Sprinkle them with more olive oil and salt and a handful of water from where the potatoes are soaking.  Place a piece of parchment on top and then another pan on top of that.  Bake until the potatoes feel soft and taste… good, about 8 or 10 minutes.  I burned my tongue so badly doing this, imitating Nick as he tossed a potato slice in his mouth directly from the pan.  I did six batches of these and then we got to eat!

Lunch was sooooo good.  There was a Panade, which consists of very thinly sliced toasted bread, white wine caramelized onions, and a few cheeses, stacked in three layers.  I watched another one of the chefs, Brian, sliced the bread using a meat slicer and then layer everything together.  Amazing — I’m going to have try this one at home.  There was also a pasta with lentil dish that was really yummy, a delicious roasted fennel and lemon dish served with olives, the fried cardoons and salad.  And wine.

My favorite part of cooking in the kitchen was seeing how little timing things matters or is even mentioned – it’s all look, taste, smell, temp and feel; I need to get better at interpreting and understand all those things.  So much fun with so many talented young chefs!

Along the way, we were also lucky enough to hear from a professor emeritus of fine arts at Harvard, James Ackerman.  He spoke to us about some of the architecture of some of the villas and large gates we passed under on our way down the hill.  We entered into the square in front of the Vatican from the side, led by Corey Brennan, the Mellon Professor-in-charge, so that we would not be distracted by Saint Peter’s as he explained the history and significance of the square.  We marveled for a bit and then walked down the road leading up to the vatican with the suppository looking light fixtures (not my comparison, obviously).  We ended up at the St. Angel Castle.  After walking back and forth across the bridge and peering up with wonderment at the Bernini and Bernini-student sculptures that line the bridge, we headed up the river toward the Aria Paci.

We chose a place called Gusto for lunch.  It’s actually a bunch of different places, all next to each other; they own the whole block.  We went to the one that serves a killer buffet for lunch.  We piled our plates high (below) and our waitress hooked it up with the bill.  There were 10 kinds of salads, shrimp, a white fish, some kind of roast beef, pork filets, two kinds of mozzarella, all sorts of grilled veggies and more.

We went in St. Peter’s the following day and it was everything I remembered.  It’s really hard to take in just in one day.  My cousin arrived in Rome and I met him and his crazy friend out later in the evening.  Rome is a different place at night – a great place.  We had lots of fun roaming the piazzas and campos looking for trouble.

In just a few days we’ve already seen A LOT.  There are so many farmer’s markets everywhere.  Exploring Trastevere is a lot of fun.  There are so many good eats and cool little shops; however I still have not bought anything substantial on this trip.  Be proud.  Pizza Romano is different than Napolitano.  It’s thicker butt he crust is generally tastier.  I’ve sampled quite a few different kinds so far: La Renella in Trastevere – almost like focaccia, try their zucchini flower pizza, Pizza Gianni in Trastevere – great pizza senza mozzarella (if that’s your thing), obviously Il Forno Campo di Fiori – amazing pizza, this is a great piazza and has a great farmer’s market every day (I think).  If you go to Campo di Fiori make sure to check out Piazza Farnessi and the French Embassy.  If you’re a chick, you might be able to talk your way in and see the inside.  I guess I don’t possess the proper kind of charm to get in there.  Regardless, get the pizza at Il Forno and eat it in front of the embassy.

We’ve also been to numerous churches… I would say about 40.  Not bad for a couple of heebs and in 3 days.  We even weaseled our way into the church where the Italian bureaucrats and Berlusconi himself go to pray and confess their sins – which are probably numerous.

Meals have consisted of lots of homemade pasta, braised short ribs, pork, different kinds of salads, veggies and various deserts including some kind of lemon cake that was spectacolo.

Go take a look at the AAR if you’re ever in Rome. The park in back is open until 6 PM I believe and the open entrance can be found on Via Giacomo Medici or Via Pietro Roselli. The front entrance is locked but it’s worth checking out as well. It’s at 5 Via Angelo Masina.