Ciambella

I am happy to say that I have graduated from speaking Italian at the infant-level to at least toddler-level by now. I can get my basic thoughts and ideas across but if pressed for more I just get kind of cranky and want to take a nap. This is mostly thanks to my amazing roommate, Acerina who is unfailingly patient and kind. But, gradually, piano piano, things are coming together.

Erich and the wonderful Acerina dancing in the streets for the Wine Festival in Marino

In front of the "wine fountain" in Marino, why the cowboy hat? No clue. After many glasses of wine it seemed like a good idea

My favorite word in Italian so far is Ciambella. It floats off the tongue in 3 expressive syllables ciam ("Cham" sounds like how Elizabeth Taylor would pronounce "charming") and then the typical Italian word for beautiful bel-la (said often and to everyone ciao bella! che bella! grazie bello!). What does it mean? Well, donut of course! It figures that my favorite word would be a pastry. After sampling many ciambelle I've found that they are all different from region to region. Usually a pastry or cake with a hole in the middle but some are as dense as a bagel, some are crispy and flaky. In Rome they have the more traditional style but always really fresh, and I hear that in the north they make a fancier cake-like pastry (I want to go to there). There is even a neat little saying to go with it. Of course there is! Italian is famous for it's food-related sayings; "Non tutte le ciambelle riescono col buco," not all ciambelle have a hole. In a nutshell, nothing's perfect! So, there you have it beautiful, diverse and forgiving.

Ciambelle aren't the only thing in which I've been indulging. I've continued my long-standing relationship with the cannoli while I've been here. I actually went so far as to poll my students for the best cannoli place in town and it came down to two. There was actually a debate, nay, an argument that erupted in one of my 10 classes about which was the best. So, after having my students give me detailed directions through an intricately arranged homework assignment, I honed in on the two cannoli candidates and commenced CANNOLI WARS 2010. It came down to Mizzica, near Piazza Bologna and Dagnino, near Piazza Repubblica. Both are Sicilian, one from Catania and the other from Palermo. My favorite was Mizzica, creamy and sweet--but not too sweet--with the subtle flavor of ricotta coming through and finished off on each end with a sprinkling of crushed pistacchio nuts.

The results were split as Acerina and I went with Mizzica, and Erich and our other roommate, Nauzet, liked Dagnino. It was a draw, no winner, but we may need more testers for the results to be truly fair. I've been looking for a good saying involving cannoli and no such luck. But there is another one I can't get enough of; the equivalent of the English "you can't have your cake and eat it too" is "Non si puo avere la botte piena è la moglie ubriaca": You can’t have a full bottle and a drunken wife. 

Another suggestion from my students: Best tiramisu in the city at Bar Pompi near Re di Roma metro stop
Have your cake and eat it too! And when your finished go get your wife drunk at the Wine Festival.