ribollita in panzano in chianti

When the weather gets damp and cold like it has been in San Francisco lately, it makes me think of a winter visit to Panzano, a spot on the map smack-dab in the middle of Chianti.

Some of you have probably noticed that Panzano has changed over the years. There's a lot more English spoken now. This might be partly due to Dario, the now famous butcher, whose operatic voice echoes into the street, and draws everyone inside where the aromas of garlic, herbs and peppers seduce you. You've got to sample his incredible salumi, porcetta and sweet and hot pepper jelly along with a glass of his homemade red wine.

Years ago, I always enjoyed visiting Dulio too. He's the little guy who owned the shoe-box of a wine store. I looked for him a while back and noticed he closed up shop. Whenever I used to visit Panzano, I always loved having lunch with my favorite pal, Giovanni Capelli. Judy Francini, the best and most generous Tuscan resource in the universe, introduced me to him years ago. I remember telling Judy I thought he was the Tuscan version of James Beard. He passed away a couple years ago which was a great loss to many of us. A true Renaissance man,-- he grew, produced and cooked the most innovative as well as traditional Tuscan food and products. Giovanni made salsa di mosto, a Balsamic-like vinegar, aged for 12 years in a variety of wooden casks and called salsa di mosto because it was made in Tuscany and not in the region of Modena where balsamic comes is made. I remember one particular summer he went crazy with peppers and turned out little jars of fiery hot pepper sauce called salsa inferno. He also made lemon-infused virgin olive oil, hard-to resist rose petal vinegar, Grappa di Chianti Classico Riserva, Liqueur di Limone, and Amaro plus his gutsy Chianti wines which paired perfectly with the food from his farmhouse trattoria, Trattoria del Montagliari.

One of the last times I had lunch with him, it was a cold and rainy day, kind of like this San Francisco day. He made me a delicious and heartwarming bowl of ribollita, a peasant soup made of leftover vegetables, bread and cannellini beans, later reboiled. He drizzled the top with his fruity virgin olive oil and then asked me if I wanted a fork or a spoon, it was that thick! "Pour me a glass of your red wine, would you Giovanni?"

RIBOLLITA

If you can get some black cabbage or cavolo nero, all the better!

1 1/4 cups cannellini beans
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
8 oz. pancetta, 1/4" dice
½ stalk celery, 1/4" dice
3 carrots, peeled, ½" dice
½ head Savoy cabbage or cavolo nero, 1" dice
1 leek, ½" dice
3 potatoes, ½" dice
1 onion 1/4" dice
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups water
6 thin slices coarse-textured white bread
salt and freshly ground pepper
fruity extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Pick over the beans and discard any stones. Soak the beans in a large bowl of water for four hours. Drain the beans, place in a saucepan and cover with water by 2-inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low and simmer until tender, 45 to 60 minutes. Strain the beans and reserve the cooking liquid. Reserve half of the beans. Place the remaining beans in the blender or food processor and process until smooth, adding bean liquid as necessary. Reserve.

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pancetta is light golden, 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, cabbage, leeks, potatoes, onions, tomato paste and cover by 1" with the chicken stock and water. Simmer until the vegetables are very soft, 1 hour.

Add the beans and simmer 5 minutes. Add the bread and stir together. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let cool one hour or overnight.

To serve, bring to a boil. Serve immediately drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with cheese.

Serves 6 to 8

if you have lemons.....

LIMONCELLO

Many years ago, when I was in Sorrento along the Amalfi Coast, a friend invited me to meet Concetta. "She's the best cook in town." she said, “She’s eighty years old and has lived in this little pocket of paradise all her life.” My friend told me that Concetta's only trip away from Sorrento was to Naples ONCE! "That was enough!" Concetta said.

The day we visited Concetta, it was a very hot, humid Amalfi-kind of summer day, when only Mediterranean breezes bring relief. We sat on her terrace and she brought out miniature martini glasses, all frosty and beaded with cold. From the freezer, she also brought a bottle of lemon yellow liqueur and poured it into our ice cold glasses. One sip of limoncello led to another. I’ll never forget that afternoon.

Limoncello has gotten to be a popular digestif made along the Amalfi Coast and on the islands of Ischia and Capri. It is pronounced lee-moan-chello, the last part like the musical instrument. When I first heard the word, I thought Concetta was saying lemon jello? That’s how much I knew about it that many years ago.

Getting the recipe from her was another story. When I asked Concetta, you would have thought I was asking for her first-born child. But she liked me so I knew I had a chance. Much later in the afternoon, Concetta came from the kitchen with a small piece of white paper. She held tight to the recipe as she handed it to me and I tugged from the other side. All the time we were smiling, and thank God, I finally won the tug o’ war. I was holding the recipe!

Here I am in Los Angeles this week, a long way from the Amalfi Coast, cooking for my close friend, Charlotte, as she recovers from surgery. I noticed that her lemon trees were absolutely loaded with thick-skinned lemons. I thought, “Great, Christmas gifts! Limoncello for everyone!”

The first step is to gather a bunch of lemons. OK, I’ve done that. Now what? Let me get out my recipe….

LIMONCELLO

Limoncello can be used as an aperitif mixed with sparkling wine, Champagne or mineral water, garnished with a twist of lemon peel. Or use it to flavor homemade lemon granita, sorbet or ice cream. During the summer, I like to toss limoncello with blueberries and peaches for shortcake. Or just sip it ice cold from the freezer as a digestif.

30 thick skinned lemons, Eureka, Lisbon or Citron
2 bottles 100 proof Everclear or vodka (750 ml per bottle)
4 cups sugar
4 cups water

Peel the lemons with a vegetable peeler. Remove all white pith from the back of the peel and discard. Place the lemon peel in a large jar with one bottle Everclear. Stir. Cover and place in a dark place for 7 days.

After7 days, bring the sugar and water to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool the mixture cool 10 minutes. Add the sugar syrup and the remaining 1 bottle Everclear to the jar containing the lemon peel and Everclear. Mix well, cover and place in a dark place for 7 days.

After 7 days, strain and store it one bottle at a time in freezer until ready to use.

Makes approximately 3 quarts

Heading up to Sonoma today to teach a Chef's Table class tonight at Ramekins.
"Home for the Holidays" menu should be fun! Sold out class so I thought I'd post a recipe.

• Lavash Pizza with Smoked Salmon, Caviar and Creme Fraiche
• Roasted Winter Squash Soup with Honey Pecan Butter
• Handmade Wheat Linguine with Wild Mushrooms
• Lamb Roulade Rolled with Winter Herbs and Braised Garlic Cloves
• Olive Oil-Mashed Potatoes
• Crispy Pear Tart with Soft Cream

LAVASH PIZZA WITH SMOKED SALMON, CAVIAR AND CRÈME FRAICHE

4 pieces soft lavash, cut into 8 X 12-inch rectangle
2 ounces Italian fontina, coarsely grated
2 ounces firm mozzarella, coarsely grated
¾ cup crème fraiche
1 to 3 tablespoons milk
5 ounces smoked salmon, thinly sliced
2 ounces salmon roe caviar
1 bunch chives, thinly sliced

Preheat an oven to 400̊ F.

In a bowl, combine the fontina and mozzarella. In another bowl, stir the crème fraiche and milk until it is a barely fluid paste. Season with salt and pepper.

Five to ten minutes before serving, place one sheet of the lavash on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven until it just begins to take on a light golden color, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the grated cheese onto the top distributing evenly. Place the lavash in the oven again and bake until the cheese is melted and the lavash is golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove the lavash from the oven and top with the smoked salmon. Dot the caviar over the top and garnish with chives. Slice and serve immediately.

Repeat with the remaining ingredients making 4 lavash pizzas in total.

Makes 4 lavash pizzas and serves 6

ravioli recipe

Years ago on Thanksgiving, I was so stupid! I served roasted butternut squash ravioli as a first course. Everyone loved them so much, they ate two and three servings. When it came time for the turkey, no one ate it! I never did that again however this past weekend when I found a bowl of mashed Rugosa squash in my refrigerator leftover from Thanksgiving I decided it was time to make the ravioli again.

Maybe I was really hungry... Maybe it was the OO flour that made my dough silky smooth... Could it have been the 2006 Joseph Phelps Viognier I paired the ravioli? Or was it the flavor of the Rugosa squash that made them so incredibly delicious!?

Rugosa is my new favorite ingredient this fall! I special ordered them from Julia at Mariquita Farms where I get my CSA box. I think I must have looked shocked as Julia handed me these 2 huge squash, "If you don't want 'em, chefs around the city are clamouring for them!" I quickly grabbed both and headed home.

Rugosa squash, also known as Rugosa di Fruili Zucchino, comes from the Veneto in northern Italy. When mashed, it looks like mashed sweet potatoes but the flavor is so different. Rugosa is very earthy, rich with incredible depth of flavor and a perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. If you want some seeds, I found them online.

SQUASH RAVIOLI WITH HAZELNUT BUTTER AND PARMESAN

2 pounds winter squash, Rugosa, hubbard, butternut, turban
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary
1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped sage
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
2 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced, cut into 1/4" strips
1 teaspoon walnut or hazelnut oil
1/3 cup hazelnuts, chopped
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 pound egg pasta dough

Preheat an oven to 350o F. Cut squash in half, place on an oiled baking sheet and bake until easily skewered, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove the seeds and skin and discard. Mash the pulp with a potato masher or by pulsing a few times in a food processor. Place the squash, bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, thyme, rosemary, sage and orange zest in a bowl. Mix well and season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a small frying pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Cook the prosciutto until light golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and reserve. Add the nut oil and hazelnuts, and cook, stirring occasionally until light golden, 3 minutes. Remove from the pan. In a saucepan over medium high heat, melt the butter and cook it until it turns brown and just begins to smoke, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove immediately from the heat and add nutmeg.

Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Using a pasta machine, roll the pasta until you can almost see your hand through the dough. Place the sheet of pasta on a well floured work surface. Spoon a heaping teaspoon of squash filling at one end of the dough, just below the center of the dough. Continue to place mounds of filling all the way down the dough leaving approximately 1 1/2" between each mound. With a spray bottle filled with water, spray the edges with a very light mist of water. Fold the top half of the dough over the squash filling to encase the filling and seal around the edges. With a zig-zag roller, trim the long side close to the edge and discard. Cut in between each ravioli.

Bring a large pot of boiling salted water to a boil. Add the ravioli and cook until tender 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and place in a large serving bowl. Toss carefully with the brown butter. Garnish with prosciutto, hazelnuts and Parmesan. Serve immediately

Serves 6 to 8

EGG PASTA DOUGH

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 whole eggs
1 tablespoon water

In the bowl to the food processor, pulse together the flour and salt. Add the eggs and water and process until the dough forms a soft ball but is not sticky. If so, add more flour a tablespoon at a time until it isn't sticky. Remove the dough from the food processor bowl and knead on a very lightly floured board until soft and smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Let the dough rest wrapped in plastic wrap for at least 30 minutes.

Makes approximately 1 lb. pasta

joe's birthday dinner

What do get for someone that has everything? That was my dilemma this past weekend. It was Joe's birthday and I couldn't figure out what to give him. I guess I could give him some cuff links made by my favorite jeweler Massimo Melis in Rome. That might work! Or he loves the moisturizer from Villa D'Este on Lake Como where we got engaged. I could have a couple bottles sent from Italy. OK, those two things will work but what about cooking a wonderful dinner just for him!

So that's what I did! I called a few good friends and his daughters. Before I knew it, I had a party!

As we stood in the kitchen and toasted, we ate the most delicious pizza topped with sweet butternut squash, smoked bacon and scamorza with a glass of Louis Roderer champagne. The pizza had a pronounced smokiness that paired well with the toasty champagne. And my dough had just the right balance between crunch and chewiness!

To the table! For a first course, I made a roasted carrot and parsnip soup with spiced creme fraiche. The wine couldn't have been better, - a 2008 Navarro Gewurztraminer. I don't want to sound like a wine snob but the sweet spiciness of the wine matched the soup perfectly! Navarro makes great Gewurztraminer and the price is so reasonable! Remind me to get a case!

Get ready, the next course is Joe's absolute favorite... homemade fettuccine with wild mushrooms. OMG! I made this dish with my students in the Piedmont when I first met Joe and he was traveling with me in Italy. He might say this pasta hooked him! Savary Chablis 2005 had just the right of acidity to cut through the richness of the sauce. If you can, try to pick up a bottle at Kermit Lynch.

And now for the main course! I reverted to my days of studying cooking with Madeleine Kamman in France. I made a roulade of grass-fed beef tenderloin rolled with wilted greens and an essence of beef. I served it with a gratin of potatoes, caramelized leeks and fennel, inspired by my alma mater, Chez Panisse. Our friend Keith brought 3 bottles of Gaja 2001 Barbaresco as a birthday gift for Joe! (I guess he knew what to get Joe!) The wine had such finesse with red cherry, plum and licorice notes, very full bodied and the silkiest tannins and stood up well to the beef.

And finally for dessert, I made a rich almond cake with the creamiest homemade salted caramel ice cream and Moscato-poached Concorde pears. Alongside, we had a little sip of 2008 Oddero Moscato d'Asti.

By the end, we were all doing dishes a la Big Chill and dancing in the kitchen!

Happy birthday Joe!

PIZZA WITH WINTER SQUASH, BACON AND SMOKED MOZZARELLA

3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 ounces smoked mozzarella
3 ounces fresh mozzarella
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 small butternut squash
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
salt and freshly ground pepper
4 ounces smoked bacon, diced
4 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped

Preheat an oven to 500 F. Place a pizza brick or unglazed quarry tiles on the bottom shelf of the oven.

Combine the garlic and 2 tablespoons olive oil and let stand 30 minutes. Grate the mozzarella and smoked mozzarella and combine.

Peel the butternut squash and cut in half. Remove the seeds and discard. Slice the squash into 1/4" slices. Blanch in salted water for 3 minutes. Remove and pat dry. Melt the butter and warm 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the squash and cook until just golden on the edges and cooked through. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cool.

Cook the bacon over medium high heat until they just turns golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

PIZZA DOUGH

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons lukewarm water (110°F/43°C)
2 cups unbleached bread flour (preferably Kind Arthur)
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a bowl, combine the yeast, 1/4 cup warm water, and 1/4 cup flour. Let it stand for 30 minutes. Add the remaining 13/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water, and salt. Mix the dough thoroughly and turn out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth, elastic, and a bit tacky to the touch, 7 to 8 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl and turn to cover with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (about 75°f/24°c) until it doubles in volume, 1 to 11/2 hours. Or, let the dough rise in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, let it come to room temperature and proceed with the recipe.

Punch down the dough and form into two round balls. Place on a well-floured work surface and let rest 5 minutes. Roll one piece of the dough into a 9-inch circle, 1/4" thick. Transfer to a heavily floured pizza peel. Brush the dough to within 1/2-inch of the edge with the garlic oil. Sprinkle half of the combined cheese evenly over the top and then half of the sliced onions. Place slices of the squash on top of the onions, leaving space in between each slice. Sprinkle the bacon and sage on top. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle ½ tablespoon olive oil. Transfer the pizza onto a stone and bake until golden and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough and topping ingredients.

Makes 2 pizzas, 9" each

FETTUCCINE WITH WILD MUSHROOMS

1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 ½ cups boiling water
1 ¼ cups heavy cream
3 cups homemade chicken stock
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ½ pound button or cultivated mushrooms, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 recipe handmade fettuccine

Place the dried porcini mushrooms in a bowl. Pour the boiling water over the mushrooms and let them stand until the water is cool, 30 minutes.

In the meantime, place the heavy cream in a saucepan and simmer until reduced by half. Reserve. Place the chicken stock in another saucepan and simmer until reduced to ½ cup. Reserve.

When the mushrooms are cool, strain the mushrooms and reserve. Place the mushroom soaking liquid in a saucepan and simmer until reduced to ¼ cups. Reserve.

In a large frying pan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the sliced fresh mushroom and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms give off any liquid and the liquid evaporated 8 to 12 minutes. Add the revived dried wild mushroom and stir together. Add the reduced cream, chicken stock and reduced mushroom soaking liquid. Stir until mixed.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, 2 to 4 minutes. In the meantime, warm the mushroom sauce over medium high heat. Drain the pasta and add the mushroom sauce and half of the Parmigiano Reggiano. Toss together and serve garnished with the remaining Parmigiano Reggiano. Serve immediately.

Serves 6

ALMOND CAKE

1 1/4 cup sugar
8 ounces almond paste
1 1/4 cup softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 eggs, room temperature
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Confectioner's sugar

Beat sugar with the almond paste until the almond paste is in fine pieces. Or better, pulverize it in a food processor. Beat in the butter and the vanilla, then cream the mixture until it is light and fluffy. Beat in the whole eggs, one at a time - the eggs should be at room temperature - beating well after each addition so the eggs are thoroughly mixed in. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt and beat in just until thoroughly blended.

Preheat an oven to 325F. Butter and flour a 9" springform pan and turn the batter into it, smoothing the top evenly. Bake the torte until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the center feels springy when you push it gently, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Cool on a rack for 20 minutes. Remove from the pan.

Slice the cake and serve with the Creamiest Salted Caramel Ice Cream.

Serves 8 to 10

CREAMIEST SALTED CARAMEL ICE CREAM

1 1/3 cups sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 vanilla bean split and scraped
½ teaspoon kosher salt
8 egg yolks

In a large heavy stainless steel frying pan over medium heat, melt the sugar by swirling the pan to melt the sugar uniformly. Cook until the sugar starts to turn golden brown or caramel color. Immediately remove from the heat and carefully add the heavy cream and milk. The caramel will seize and get hard. Place the pan over the heat and stirring constantly, heat the cream to melt the caramel.

When the caramel is melted, add the vanilla bean and salt over medium heat, heat the mixture until there are bubbles around the edges and a skin that forms on the top.

Place the egg yolks in a bowl. Temper the egg yolks by slowly adding the warm caramel cream mixture to the egg yolks, whisking constantly. When all of the warm caramel cream mixture has been added, pout the contents into a heavy saucepan. Using a rubber spatula or a flat bottom wooden spoon, stir the mixture constantly over medium heat until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon or spatula, about 2 to 4 minutes.

Immediately remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl. Immediately whisk the caramel mixture to cool it slightly. Cover the bowl with plastic and place in the refrigerator until cold.
Freeze the ice cream according to the directions with your particular ice cream machine.

Makes almost 1 quart

felicita's pesto recipe

I'm home in San Francisco and in the middle of a fall harvest cooking class in my kitchen and still I can't get the Cinque Terre out of my head. I'm supposed to be thinking clove zabaglione, roasted fall vegetables, braised beef in Cabernet and poached pears but I keep flashing back to basil, pine nuts and fruity Ligurian olive oil.

I remember hearing years ago that in Liguria, where pesto reigns supreme, they never pick basil over 6-inches tall. After being there, I now know that to be true but there's a whole lot more to the story.

The first class I had with my students in the Cinque Terre, I invited Felicita, the owner of the albergo, to come and show us how she makes pesto. After all her family has been in the Cinque Terre for generations, she'd have to be pretty good at it.

We all think we know how to make pesto. Throw all the ingredients into the food processor and pulse until you have a bright green puree. Nope, not here, think again!

You can't start with just any basil. It has to be Genovese basil and it's true, it can't be taller than 6-inches. The leaves have to be small and really tender. Pick the leaves from the stem meticulously making sure you don't get any stem whatsoever. Wash the basil and place it on towels to dry. There can't be any water on the basil at all.

Now you need a mortar and pestle. Felicita's mortar was passed to her from her mother who got it from her mother. She thinks it's about 100 years old.

What about the pestle? It has to be made of beech wood, she told us. (The next day after our lesson, I got so excited when I saw a man selling beech wood pestles in the market. I bought one but had to draw the line when it came to the 25 pound mortar! I've carried a lot of things home in my suitcase but not this time.)

You place the basil (two big handfuls for two people or about 80 leaves) in the mortar and with the pestle you grind the basil until there's shinny green liquid at the bottom mortar and the basil is pulverized. Next you add a clove of garlic and continue with the pestle until the garlic is also pulverized. Add about 2 tablespoons of Italian pine nuts (Felicita picks them herself from her trees) and mash them until the mixture is a paste.

She said some people like to add a combination of Pecorino and Parmigiano but it's all personal preference. She prefers a good handful of Parmigiano and again she grinds the mixture to make a paste. And finally don't forget a good splash of Liguriuan olive oil and mash until you have a creamy consistency.

I slathered as much as I could on a tiny wedge of bread. How was it? It had to be the sweetest, most delicate, bright emerald green pesto I've ever tasted. I thought about the pesto we make with strong, bitter, tough basil... How did I feel after that lesson with Felicita? Like I couldn't make pesto again anywhere outside Liguria.

How often does Felicita eat pesto? "At least 3 to 4 times a week!" she said.

I can see why!

cinque terre

I've been to the Cinque Terre twice before. I've hiked the trails from one fishing village to another, eaten pesto, fritto misto and tasted the white wine made here in Liguria. The other times I visited I remember thinking that I just didn't get what all the hype was about. It was supposed to be so romantic,- 5 fishing villages along the Mediterranean connected by a train, the Via d'Amore or ferry. But what I recall during those two visits was bumping into people on the trails, visiting tourist-ridden fishing villages, experiencing sweltering heat and suffering mediocre food. I knew there had to be more because every time someone talked about their trip to the Cinque Terre, they had a twinkle in their eye.

Why was it different for me this time? Why did the pesto taste so sweet? Why didn't I know about the Albarola, Bosco and Vermentino grapes and how good they tasted with the crispy, tender fritto misto? The hotel was far from luxurious so it couldn't be that. Was it the warmth that Felicita and Angelo Pasini, the owners of Albergo Pasquale, extended making me feel like their hotel was my home? Were the villages more quaint? Had the Cinque Terre changed or had I?

I arrived at the Albergo in the heart of Monterosso just two weeks ago, the first day of my weeklong cooking class. As soon as I walked in the door, I knew I'd made the right decision. I immediately revisited the kitchen I'd seen a year ago on a scouting trip and yes, it was well equipped and had enough space for my 12 students. I then went upstairs to my room and it was very basic at best, but when I opened the shutters, the Mediterranean Sea was right there before me.

In the first few minutes I knew that for me it was a magical place I couldn't wait to explore. And I had a whole week to do it! But would my students get it? I just had to hope. And I'd be finding out soon because I had just minutes until they'd arrive.