Boomer makes Pasta!

So, Boomer and I had such a great time with our friends from JRCoE today. After class we headed out past the medieval fortress in Arezzo to make pasta! The women who demonstrated were professionals; we all watched with awe at their ease. Had they been doing this their whole life? Something new I learned: pasta has very simple ingredients. We used flour, eggs, salt, and olive oil. First, you pour out the floor on a board. Next, you spin you fingers about to create a volcano shape. Then, crack the eggs and add a little olive oil and salt. Mix the dough, pressing it out with your palms and folding it back over. Presto! You're done. Now you can roll it out or cut it to make different kinds of pasta.

We tediously, but happily, created various pastas in Pomodoro sauce, Butter and Sage, and Ragu. (I think Boomer's favorite was butter and sage because he went back for seconds!) Our guide told us that making home-made pasta is especially important for special occassions (like family  dinners). If you would like a recipe for Pomodoro sauce (the most common sauce that Boomer has noticed) then follow this link!

http://www.jamieoliver.com/bloggers/viewtopic.php?id=76203

From observation, Boomer has noticed that cooking (and eating! Yum!) is especially important to the Italian culture. It not only is fun for you taste buds, but it is best went spent will people you care about. Boomer talked to all his college buddies and loved every moment. Many of them laughed as the dough ferociously stuck to our fingers. Did I mention that Boomer and I are novices at cooking pasta?

Back at the B&B, Boomer became curious. He got his research mind ready, and browsed the web to find articles about cooking secrets from famous Italian chefs. He found a quick article about the chef ranked "Best in Italy" in 2012. He wants to find more information on cooking the Italian way. A link to the article is below!

http://www.finedininglovers.com/blog/news-trends/massimo-bottura-best-chef-in-italy/

One thing fun about this experience is that the class was located in a gym in which members of the community play Bocce ball. We watched as a couple teams threw the balls, knocking others out of place. Boomer responded to the scene saying, "This game is strange! I've never even see someone play this before!"

If you'd like to see how to play Bocce ball, follow the link below!

http://www.life123.com/sports/outdoor-games/bocce/bocce-ball-instructions.shtml

All in all, Boomer had a wonderful day eating pasta and having a joyous time with friends!