Day 6

5 – Decembre - 2008
Day 6
I can count on work today, for the first time. Not just prep, but work. A party of 20, well, they dropped down to 10, off premise, at a hotel in Lower Orvieto. 4 courses; rigatoni con salsa funghi e salsiccia, gnocchi e ragú tagliate, capocollo spinaci, patate puree e salsa magia, and torte cioccolato con pera. First, there’s a touch of prep to be done. Pork tenderloin stuffed with peaches and herbs. We butterfly the tenderloins, which come in cryovac in half. An herb mixture of prezzemolo, rosmarino, salvia, e aglio is spread over the meat, then 3 or 4 slices of pesche (peaches) before they’re rolled, then trussed with the salumi net. Roasted over mirepoix for an hour, more or less the same process as the Capocollo. Then it was time for the catering event, which went exactly as any other catering job I’d done before, except we had the use of a beautiful, new, large kitchen. Plates, glass and silverware all provided, so no lugging of heavy boxes, just the food. So far, I’m satisfied, and that would maintain throughout the morning. Lunch was served, without a hitch, we cleaned up and were out the door before 2 o’clock, just over an hour and a half. Va bene, I can get used to this. Back at the restaurant, there are only a few small chores before siesta, quick clean up and I’m on my own.

With the whole computer debacle last night, I spent a fair amount of time typing the blog (which I’ve typically been accomplishing at night, after work), but the machine was certainly out of commission, and is still in recovery. So, an hour or so later, I’ve caught up on my work, and my due diligence to you, my loyal family, friends and instructors. At this point, it’s on to the “social life” if you will. E-mail correspondence and the like. I find out that the items which I had to leave behind in New Hampshire will likely stay right where they are because it is simply too expensive to ship. That includes, but is not limited to, some clothes, all of my cds, all of my books and cooking tools. I am frustrated, but have to grin and bare, as this is truly an exceptional situation. Economics aren’t worth quarrelling over, nor are they matters to be taken frivolously. I take a deep breath, inhaling anxiety, exhaling the expiring patience and temperance which I’m relying heavily on. It’s raining again, 5 out of 6 days, for those of you who believe in karma, omens or superstition of any kind, your concerns would reflect my depreciating excitement. The rain is impeding on my desire to explore, wearing me down, slowly like an old-age river pass over a jagged stone, gradually polishing it into a harmless rendering of its former self. In order to evade the inevitable alone time at the end of the night, I tried to download some video entertainment, but am encountering technical difficulties, all which require money that I don’t have to resolve. So it goes, as Vonnegut would have said. And here, I feel somewhat like Billy Pilgrim, in his cage on Tralfamador, slowly learning where his boundaries are and how to confront his newly impinged freedoms.

I did not encounter any specific words to inquire about today, so it’s time for a review of some of the important basics: Days of the week and numerals.

Monday Lunedi
Tuesday Martedi
Wednesday Mercoledi
Thursday Giovedi
Friday Venerdi
Saturday Sabato
Sunday Domenica
1 Uno
2 Due
3 Tre
4 Quattro
5 Cinque
6 Sei
7 Sette
8 Otto
9 November
10 Dieci
11 Undici
12 Dodici
13 Tredici
14 Quattordici
15 Quindici
16 Sedici
17 Diciasette
18 Diciaotto
19 Dicianove
20 Venti
30 Trenta
40 Quaranta
50 Cinquanta
60 Sessanta
70 Settanta
80 Ottanta
90 Novanta
100 Cento

E tutto sta sera. Avete un buon giorno oggi, amici. Ci parliamo a piu tarde.

Go Slow. Stay Local.
Va Piano. Rimane Locale.