On Cuisine and Cravings

It happens inevitably. I arrive in Italy, to the land of gorgeous cuisine...to the freshest, most delicious food I've ever eaten. I spend a month indulging in the homemade pastas, rich tomato sauces, brick oven pizza, fresh mozzerella, creamy risotto, and salads sprinkled with olive oil and the most amazing balsamic vinegar in the world...and then I hear it. The neglected American side of my appetite, pushed away into some dark corner of my subconscious, not daring to show itself in such a place as Italy, can be silent no more. Our inner dialouge goes something like this:

American Appetite: Knock knock! Remember me? How about a cheeseburger and fries?

Me: Shhhhhhhhhhh. Quiet now.

AA: If I see another tomato, I'll lose it. Remember buffalo chicken? You used to feed me Subway tukey sandwiches three times a week. What gives?

Me: Sliced deli meat costs a fortune in Italy. Bowl of spaghetti?

AA: Hmm...Kraft Macaroni & Cheese?

Me: I offer you the best pasta in the world...and you want processed noodles and powdered orange cheese from a cardboard box.

AA: Correct.

Me:  Ugh...You win.

And so it ends that I scour the supermarkets for some semblance of my old American favorites. Because, even though it is silly, eating food that tastes like home every now and then brings a little comfort. Even if the food is crap and I feel slightly guilty afterwards. Nothing you can buy here is actually remotely similar, but I've taken to doing my best to recreate some favorites from scratch. A longing for barbecue sauce had me simmering a mixture of tomato sauce, sugar and balsamic vinegar with some spices...It was the right color, smelled similar, and if I closed my eyes and pretended really hard, I almost fooled myself into thinking I had it right. But it did the trick. I had more luck, however, after a craving for bread and butter pickles hit me. For those of you reading who are not American, pickles = gherkins. Bread and butter pickles are a mixture of sweet and salty, and I eat tons of them at home in the States. I found a recipe for them and managed to hunt down most of the ingredients, which is never simple here as many staples such as spices and types of sugar, etc, are different in Italy. (An example of such: In a deli, I was on the hunt for cheddar cheese, which I have yet to be able to find here. We asked the man behind the counter for cheddar, describing it when he looked uncertain as an "English cheese," and he looked at us with total disgust, giving us the Italian hand gesture equivalent to saying "You idiots!" and exclaimed loudly in Italian for all to hear "You are in Italy! We have Italian cheese!") Right...lesson learned.

Proudly displaying my first jar of homemade pickles...which turned out great!

Another comfort food that I find myself missing often is macaroni and cheese. It is a childhood favorite, which I allow myself to indulge in now and then in the States. There is no such thing here in Italy, but I came up with a doppelganger that did the trick. It wasn't yellow, but as I mentioned, yellow cheese does not exist here.

Close enough!

I have a few other favorites on my radar to try and create...baked beans is one, and buffalo sauce is another. I might even get crazy and have a go at ranch salad dressing. After all, the more I can pacify that pesky American appetite, the better. Wish me luck!