A taste of Venice, the art of cicchetti-ing.

Typical bacaro appetizer.

Hey guys, how are you doing?
Recently, some friends of mine came over to visit me, and stayed at my place for a couple of days.
As they live abroad and had never visited Venice before, I decided to take them for a tour so that they could explore some of the most interesting sites this marvellous city offers.

I have to say I hadn't really planned a specific route to follow, as I didn't think I could ever lose myself in Venice (when I was a kid I used to go there almost every day to visit my Granny), but things eventually turned out differently: not only couldn't I locate myself (may god bless those who have invented GPS), but my friends had apparently disappeared too.
We were going across a bridge when I literally lost sight of them. And guess what, Venice is definitely the best place to get lost, especially if you're a tourist and are not familiar with the "calli" (the narrow alleys of the city). Sometimes, getting lost is perhaps a good manner tmo get to discover enchanting locations but, believe me, this was not the case at all.

Anyway, after my friends had been wandering around the city for some time, we finally managed to get back together. Apart from that slight hitch, we were really satisfied with both the visit and the "lunch break" we had. We made a stop in a small "bacaro" I usually go to and had some "cicchetti" food. Wait, what?
I bet you have no idea what these two words stand for, so let me tell you more about them. 

Crostini with seafood and vegetables.

If you're walking around Venice, and decide to have some rest from the fatigue and excitement of your journey, you may decide to have a sit in one of the many bars you can easily find all over the city and enjoy the breathtaking views of Venice. 
Here, possibly, you could come across a local inhabitant asking the waiter what kind of "cicchetti" they do have. This word, which comes from the dialect and is pronounced “chee-KET-eeh”, is commonly used to indicate small plates of food or snacks, mainly served in traditional "bacari" (cicchetti bars or local taverns). These dishes may include a wide variety of appetizers, such as tiny sandwiches, plates of olives, crostini (slices of toasted bread with seafood, meat or other vegetables), and many others. 
Along with the food, drinks are usually served too: wines (both red and white and sparkling and still), spritz (a particular combo that mix together prosecco wine, Aperol and soda water - with some variations according to the city Spritz is made), soft drinks, cocktails, etc.

Typical interior bar furnishing: demijohns of wine.

In this post's title I refer to this habit as "the art of cicchetti-ing", so you might be wondering why this has to be considered as something important or interesting, especially if we compare that to the splendour of Venice itself.
Well, basically because "cicchetti" are part of everyday life, and their importance lies not just in the food itself, but also in how, when and where they are eaten: with fingers and toothpicks, usually standing, surrounded by that cozy atmosphere that makes you feel comfortable and at ease. 
No matter what time it is, you will always find these places packed; and it's easy to see why, with good food and wine at a very competitive and attractive price. 
Indeed, it is not a chance that, in recent years, that of "cicchetti-ing" has become a sort of well-established tradition, with real "bacaro tour" routes including the most important and famous bacari and taverns of the city. On the internet, you can even find detailed maps (like the one below), with both short descriptions of the places and online users recommendations. 

Map with the main bacari of Venice.

Bacaro, thus, is seen more and more as a way through which people can mix together both the city excursion and the pleasure of fine cuisine: a sort of innovative and alternative form of tourism.

Personally, I would recommend it to anyone, but just make sure you don't go too far, and convert what is meant to be a simple appetizer, combining tasty food and wine, into a boozy one. 

Stefano.

Xmas is in the air

Hey guys, what's up?

Have been quite busy lately, but here I am writing my 2nd post. As the title suggests, today I'm going to talk about one of my favorite times of the year, Christmas. By this time next month most people across the world will already have celebrated this holiday, which generally occurs on December 25 according to the Gregorian calendar – though some variations can be found depending on the church or section one belongs to.

Personally, what I love the most about this period is that families and friends gather together to celebrate, while outside Christmas decorations and lights transform the streets and towns into a sort of Santa’s village, with kids writing their letters to Babbo Natale (the Italian version for Santa Claus), and adults enjoying the Xmas atmosphere as well.

As I was saying before, this is definitely one of the most popular festivities all over the world, being celebrated in many of the world’s nations, and in a really wide variety of ways. However, despite the differences characterizing each country or region, there’s something that binds the vast majority of people together, that is, the Christmas family meal.

Also in Italy this meal represents an important part of the holiday’s celebration, with an endless number of typical dishes served throughout these days. It is interesting to see how the very old recipes our ancestors left us still stand in today’s culinary tradition and, at the same time, continue to be handed down from generation to generation so to preserve this priceless heritage.

As for my Xmas day, I’m celebrating it with my family and relatives. Finally, I’ll be able to see my sister Laura, who’s living away and cannot join us as much as she actually would. Laura and I get on very well, and I just love whenever she comes around. Usually, it’s us who prepare the Xmas meal for the entire family, with mom and dad helping us out.

We still haven’t decided the entire menu for the day, but I’m pretty sure we will be able to impress all of the guests with our appetizers and cakes. We are definitely preparing a multi-layer cake (similar to the one in the picture on the side, which was last year’s homemade Xmas cake) along with the ever-present Italian Pandoro, stuffed with lemony mascarpone cream and chocolate chips.

Ok, perhaps I might stop talking about food at this hour; just the idea of such good dishes is making my mouth water.

And what are you guys going to do this Christmas?

Have you already booked or planned your holidays?

Stefano.

"Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first".

I want to start off this blog with a famous quote I came across a long time ago while reading a newspaper article on food: "Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first". 

Ernestine Ulmer, the American author this quote is mainly associated with, was perhaps alluding to something else -  the uncertainty of life, its unpredictability - when she first mentioned those words. Well, possibly. But if you love desserts - and good food in general -, you will probably agree with Ernestine's statement. After all, isn't eating itself one of the greatest pleasures in life?

Now, before going on discussing about the topic, and before the blog-project I'm running really "takes off", I would like to tell you a bit more about myself since I'm new on here.
Hello everyone, I'm Stefano, a 21-year-old student of foreign languages at Scuola Superiore per Mediatori Linguistici of Padua. I was born and raised in a small town in the Veneto region, halfway between the marvellous city famous all over the world for its canals, Venice, and Padua, an important centre of culture and learning.

Alongside being a student, I do also work as steward in the touristic port of Venice, and in my free time I usually give private lessons to children in primary school too. 
Ever since I was a child, I've always had a strong interest in both learning new languages and the ancient art of cooking, with particular regard to sweets. This blog aims thus at combining both of the passions - on the one hand that of the English language, and on the other hand that of desserts and food. 

I would like people who share my common interests to comment my future posts, giving me advise and tips on what I should do or write about next.

I'll leave you for now. Stay tuned for more posts.

Stefano.