Two years ago, my husband and I realized a long-time dream and spent a year living in Italy with our 3 daughters, ages 5, 9, and 11. We chose Reggio’Emilia, a medium-sized city in the Emilia-Romagna province just south of Milan, primarily based on the quality of food in the area and its proximity to an airport. I will go into more detail about that year in Italy in another post, but suffice it to say that our year in Italy was one of the best experiences we have ever had as a family. We all learned to speak another language (my kids attended Italian schools), we ate fantastic food, and we were fortunate to meet a great group of Italians with whom we have become lifelong friends.
The problem with living in another country is knowing what to call home. We were ready to return to the U.S. after our year was up, but once “home” we missed our other home and friends deeply. Now I feel like I have a foot in both worlds. As I have often told people, I love living in San Diego, but part of me (my heart and my stomach) is still in Italy. The only cure for this is to return to Reggio as often as we can.
We left San Diego early Saturday and arrived in Milano Sunday morning at 9 am. Given the 9-hour time difference, this meant midnight San Diego time, which explains why I wasn’t able to sleep on the plane, but could barely keep my eyes open once we landed.
First stop, the airport bar. Ahhhh. Now I knew I was back in Italy. And I was able to stay awake and greet my friends, who had come to pick us up at the airport and drive us back to Reggio.
On the way to the hotel, we stopped for lunch. As much as I hate air travel, the 14-hour plane ride to Italy was worth it, because I got to eat this:
Clockwise from left: prosciutto, coppa, parmigiano, salame.
This antipasto plate, a sampling of the region’s finest salumi, is a traditional starter course in Reggio'Emilia. What’s the big deal, you ask? We can buy prosciutto and parmigiano in the U.S., too, right? But it’s not the same. Everything on this plate is made locally and nothing compares to eating it here. The prosciutto here is incredible—soft, tender, not too salty. When I buy prosciutto in the U.S. it tends to be drier, tougher, saltier—I think it has been sitting around too long. Same thing with parmigiano. In Italy, even the parmigiano that has been aged 36+ months is still somewhat soft and moist when you bite into it. And the flavor is sweet and intense.
Next course: Spaghetti allo Scoglio. Looks good, but I was a little disappointed with this dish. The pasta was actually overcooked, which I routinely expect in the U.S. but rarely encounter in Italian restaurants. The dish was filling, but not very fresh or flavorful. I should have known better than to order seafood in Reggio, a city far from either coast. Part of it may have been the jetlag, too. I’ve noticed that on the first day upon arrival here, my palate is always little numbed and most food tastes rather muted.
No meal in Italy is complete without caffè. (Cappuccino is drunk only in the mornings, never after a meal—except by foreigners).
Caffeine-fortified once more, we headed toward the Hotel Posta in the historic center. Like many cities in Italy, Reggio has limited automobile traffic in the old part of town in order to preserve historic buildings and give the town back to the people (rather than the cars).
Approaching the city entrance on the Via Emilia (the ancient Roman road which runs across the entire province), I was excited to see a large banner announcing a food festival:
Tomorrow: Chestnut Festival
Angie - That antipasto plate looks fab, I'm pretty sure that the Prosciutto here in the US pretty much pales in comparison to what you can get there.
Posted by: Kirk | October 17, 2005 at 11:13 AM
Oooo I'm jealous, you certainly cannot look at an espresso in a US airport and say "Ahhh." Then again, what do I know? I like drinking cappuccino in the afternoon!
But I what I miss most about visiting Italy is what you alluded to: "...nothing compares to eating it here." Even if I could get really sweet and nutty parmigiano here, and even though I can make a pretty decent cappuccino, I am still unsatisfied. Somehow hearing the sing-song quality of the Italian language, knowing I can walk almost anytime to a bar for coffee and company, and even hearing the whine of a moped are all part of my food memories of Italy. It seems you cannot separate the food from its culture without impacting its flavor!
Posted by: Kristin | October 17, 2005 at 03:55 PM
I am going to have to go with what Kristin said up there..."nothing compares to eating it here." Which is probably the number one reason why my husband would hesitate to move to Hawaii. The food!! How would we ever be able to get our fill of all that fabulous cured meats, wine, and cheese? The flight between the two destinations is a killer. Ugh, just thinking about... ach!
Have a great time while you're here!
Posted by: rowena | October 18, 2005 at 01:22 AM
Kirk--
I'm sure you can find some decent prosciutto in the U.S., it's just much more expensive and hard to come by, unlike here where it's in every shop and restaurant.
Kristin--
Hey, I like cappuccino in the afternoon, too. But you are right about experiencing the food in its context. I never drink coffee after a meal except when I am in Italy, because here all my friends do it and I like sharing that part of the meal with them.
Rowena--
Oh, and I thought the flight from California was long. That extra 5-6 hours would kill me.
I can understand why an Italian would not want to move away from his mother(land)'s cooking. Although I think the food in Hawaii might be worth a trip or two...
Posted by: Angie | October 18, 2005 at 02:09 AM
ciao Angie!
bel blog, molto interessanti i vari post. ci mettero' una settimana a leggere tutto. lo passo anche a mio padre che e' un appassionato di cucina come te.
un bacio
franz
Posted by: Franz | October 18, 2005 at 06:51 AM
Jealous, jealous, oh so jealous!
Posted by: LisaSD | October 18, 2005 at 08:26 AM
I love the italian food. Here in Brazil we have many great italian restaurant.This prosciutto, coppa, parmigiano and salame looks delicious!
Posted by: Sonia | October 19, 2005 at 02:21 PM
Ciao Franz!
Thanks for coming to visit my blog. Please correct all of my mistakes in Italian! And I would love to hear from your dad.
Lisa:
I wish I could bring you (and everyone I know) here. I would love to share this food with you for real, not just the photos.
Sonia:
Hi! You're my first visitor from Brazil. I have fond memories of visiting Rio many years ago.
Posted by: Angie | October 20, 2005 at 09:49 AM
Ha! your italian is better than my english, do not worry. I'll show this blog to my dad: he pretends to be a conoisseur...
quando gli ho mandato l'URL mi ha telefonato e mi ha chiesto: what's a blog?
f
Posted by: Franz | October 21, 2005 at 01:17 AM