SaturDate Cooking Spaghetti Bolognese

I'm turning cooking into the coolest weekend gimmick.

In an attempt to limit eating out, ToT decided to make SaturDate a Cooking In Date.

Since Mr. S is undoubtedly a Bolognese snob, I had to consult three different cookbooks to get familiar with cooking the Ragu sauce. One of them is the official Cookbook of Ristorante Za Za in Florence, given to me by a friend who had also studied in Florence.

I was too confused on which recipe to follow, so I decided to wing it and make my own ToT version of the classic Italian dish. Let me share with you how to make a delicious meal of Fettucine Bolognese, Mozzarella Bruschetta and Garlic & Rosemary Roasted Baby Potatoes, as well as how easy it is to make when you have someone else helping you.

Eurotrip: Rushing Around Roma

If it seems like I'm rushing through Rome in this post, it's coz I did.

After spending a fantastic day walking around Florence, Bro & I woke up bright and early, took some breakfast at the Stendhal hotel, and met up with the rest of our Eurotrip posse.

Fawning Over Firenze For a Day

You gotta love the streets of Firenze...

I love it so much, after over 24 hours of being on planes and in transit to get to Europe, the first thing we did after unloading our bags at our hotel was to purchase a Trenitalia ticket from Roma to Firenze that very same day. 

Here is ToT's bro getting all excited just thinking of going back to his motherland for a very memorable summer.

Quaintest Cappucino at Caffe Liberta a Firenze

It was a beautiful day in Firenze, and after after a very heavy Tuscan lunch of Bistecca Fiorentina ToT & Bro needed to have a pick-me-upper to keep us from falling asleep, especially since we just came off a long plane ride from the other side of the world

We searched for: The Infamous Cappuccino Heart of Caffe Liberta

The same cappuccino heart that kept my blood nice and perky when I was a temporary Firenze native back in 2005. Note the attempt to smile amidst the braces.

ZaZa is for Steak (Bistecca Fiorentina, that is!)

 Let's retrace the steps...

 

Back in the day, 2003 to be exact, when my brother still had long locks, he took a few months off to live in Firenze for summer school. He learned a lot, did a lot, and the next year when I was off to fly myself to Florence for the same program, he imparted one very wise piece of advice:

 

Eat at Trattoria Za Za's and get sloshed and noshed with their Bistecca Fiorentina.

Stay at the Hotel Stendhal in Roma

Ahh Roma...

 

You know you're in Italy when you see a Biglietteria (ticketing) machine with several language selections for the Trenitalia line. If ever you're in Italy, you know the way to go is via train.

Upon arrival from our very long flight and exiting the Roma Fiumicino airport, ToT's travelbuddy, aka Jerico, and I decided to relive our studiare days in Italy. Because we're traveling a day ahead from our very big travel group, we thought that it would be the perfect day trip to take. We felt compelled to scrimp on the small things so we can blow out on the more important aspects of traveling, like lugging 4 pcs of luggage to a train station, then to a cab

Next Attraction: ToT Eurotrip

Where has ToT been lately?