The Kitchen of Il Bottaccio

Filet O' Fish

The morning shift (11-3:30ish) consists mainly of making the decorations and prep for the evening service. Although lunch service still occurs, there is more time to make the preparations for the night ahead.

Today, I worked mainly with seafood; doing both the cleaning and the cooking. I began with mussels or cozze. Because they do not use the shell I only had to clean off the grit. For the clams or vongole, I put them in a bowl of water to remove the sand. To make sure they were good I dropped them on the counter to make sure they made the right sound. After all were clean we put them in pans of olive oil, garlic, and parsley. Then after they cooked for awhile we added wine and fish stock. We let them simmer, covered, until they all opened beautifully.

Fabio also showed me how to filet a fish. Taking a knife against the backbone, then down the gill, and again to cut off the organs. A bit of a disgusting process, but very interesting. Then you use tweezers to remove all of the tiny bones still in the filet. I think I may need to see this a few more times before they put me in charge!

Later in the night shift, I helped peel shrimp. I felt like I was back in Natalia's kitchen on my first day of work. During my senior year internship I was asked to peel 30 pounds of shrimp, no easy task! But the shrimp or scampi we worked on tonight were a bit different. Not only did we have to remove the heads, but we also had to clean "the vein" which is not really a vein, it's waste.

Although these might not be the most glamorous jobs in the kitchen, they are very important. One of the main reasons I think Il Bottaccio is so successful is because of all the little things that go into each dish. It is all about the process, from cleaning gross parts of the seafood to putting the delicate decorations on top, everything comes together in the final product.

Decorations

Instead of writing about the constant chaos of each day, I am going to start focusing blogs on my biggest lesson of the day. Primarily featuring anything that is unbelievably outstanding. For example, today my focus was on decoration aka garnish.

Il Bottaccio is known for amazing gourmet dishes that are perfected in each and every way, including presentation. I began my first shift of the day preparing the decoration. I spent over an hour carving out diamond shaped boats of zucchini, parallelograms of carrots, and tomatoes shaped like flowers. It takes time and lots of concentration to make each perfect. I had to be patient and practice over and over again.

Once the shapes were cut out we blanched the zucchini and carrots. Then sauteed the zucchini in olive oil and scallions and sauteed the carrots in vanilla oil and honey. Before each plating we reheated the tomatoes, zucchini, and carrots. We used the zucchini to make a flower and stacked the carrots.

In addition to these vegetables we also made vegetable cylinders, wrapped in zucchini blossoms and tied together with chives. The scalloped potato cylinders also made it to the plate again this evening. All of these items combined with the main courses proved to be an extraordinary meal.

P.S. I know I need to work on the food photography, it is so much prettier in real life!

La Mia Casa

Dinner For 40

Thursday morning I woke up at a decent hour to find Marzia preparing some breakfast. I mentioned I was not very hungry, but she provided me with an array of fruits, yogurts, and finally toast with Nutella. She's simply wonderful! There were peaches, bananas, and pears all juicy and ripe. Even the simplest of meals are wonderful here.

After breakfast we got ready to go to Il Bottaccio. Once we were there I was put to work, doing preparation for the dinner party held that night. I began by filleting the smoked salmon, placing delicate pieces of the pink flesh on crackers spread with butter. Then I filed quiche cups with the vegetable mixture we made yesterday.

Once I was done, Fabio, a sous chef, made the whole staff lunch. I thoroughly enjoyed each bite of the vegetable chicken pasta. Fabio speaks English and is quite patient with me. He is a great teacher, giving me plenty to do while also having me taste and watch what he does. Today, I tried pure pig fat, it tasted like bacon flavored butter, so good! We have also become carpool buddies since he lives in Massa too.

After lunch, I finished the shift making the tomato garnish, and pizza tomatoes. The tomato garnish involved peeling the skins off and forming them into a flower, very pretty. The pizza tomatoes are simply diced tomatoes. I also helped Marzia make caramel sauce and cut out the scalloped potatoes with a cookie cutter. Another task I had was to julienne vegetables. This means cutting them very very thinly. I got a compliment on my knife skills so I guess that's a good sign. We ended the shift with a glass of 2004 red wine, I'd say it was a good first half of the work day.

I rested during my break, which didn't last long. Once returning to Il Bottaccio it seemed like a whirlwind. They had a party of 40 from the Lion's Club, similar to our Rotary Club. The dinner was a multitude of courses, beginning with passed hors d'oeuvres. This included rolled prosciutto, crackers with cheese, salami, mini hamburgers, salmon crackers and more. The second course was a tortellini, then the fish course, and finally a chocolate mousse dessert. All simply irresistible. I helped where I was needed, bringing ingredients, cleaning as we cooked, and plating each course.

Tonight really felt like a team in the kitchen, all of us coming together to make an incredible meal. We ended the night with a glass of sgroppino and lots of laughs. I'd say it was a success.

These are a few of my favorite things

Now that I seem to be slightly settled in Italy, I have started to completely immerse myself in their culture. I’ve learned several new words, picked up some mannerisms, and found things I don’t think I will ever be able to live without. So, I have decided to have an ongoing list of all the things I know I’ll want when I return.

· Cappucino Spoons

o These tiny little stirrers are perfect for almost any occasion. Whether it be in the morning caffe, the after dinner cocktail, or for decoration, they are simply delightful.

· Nutella

o I know this is cliché, but honestly the stuff is addicting. I had it on my bread while Marzia had peanut butter on hers. I guess the pasture is just always greener on the other side. But, today I added bananas to the nutella toast, no way I can go back now.

· Sgroppino

o This refreshing cocktail is perfect anytime, but they prefer after dinner. It is a simple concoction

1 scoop lemon gelato, ½ cup Prosecco, ¼ cup vodka

Combine, Stir, Enjoy!

And so it begins...

On my second day in Italy...

I woke up at a decent hour 9:30 (still working on that body clock) and began a very adventurous and long day. My day began with Roberto, the father of the family I am staying with. He speaks the least English of the family, but has a great sense of humor through the language barrier.

We began our day with a traditional Italian breakfast at the nearby caffe. Honestly, the best cappuccino and pastry I have ever had. He was kind enough to even buy my breakfast, such a sweet man. After we finished eating and drinking at the bar we headed on to the market.

The market was similar to our Kroger, but Italian style of course. The produce was a rainbow of colors, I especially enjoyed taking in the purple artichokes and bright red tomatoes. Interestingly, they weigh the produce and get a price sticker in the produce section as opposed to our entering the PLU code once we are in the check out line. We went through the family's grocery list, helping one another find a variety of items. The cheese section was amazing as well as the bakery where smells took over your ability to resist impulse purchases. It was all quite amusing though as I stood in the Italian grocery listening to Aerosmith's "I don't want to close my eyes". All in all it was a great experience seeing how they function on day to day basis, and it is just like us, but in a different language and with better food.

Living with the family has definitely giving me more of an opportunity to discover Italian culture. Once we arrived home and unloaded the groceries. Marzia began to prepare (never cook) something to eat. I stood watching in the kitchen and then handed over what seemed to be her liquid gold, peanut butter. She rejoiced and completely changed the menu to bread and fruit with peanut butter. Apparently I should have brought a case, not just one jar.

Nino and Irina came to pick me up for my first day of work. Terrie, the other intern was kind enough to show me around and give me several pointers. It was a lot to take in the first day. Then we began prep. We made dough for small quiches that were filled with a spinach and ricotta mixture. Then we prepped vegetables that would later be used in other quiches. We cut peppers, onions, carrots, zucchini, and eggplant into small cubes that Nino sauteed. Then I helped Marzia with the pasta. She said that in Italy you make it thin enough so you can read a newspaper through it. We helped set out things and clean up as Nino needed. I also helped with the caramel sauce and scalloped potatoes. Although the restaurant is not really busy, there is a lot f prep work that goes into each dish. They are also preparing for a 40 person party in 2 days.

I know I have a ways to go in feeling comfortable in the kitchen, but I think I am off to a pretty good start. Let's just hope I survive day #2.