Road Trip, Italian Style

On Monday Dr. C. and I arrived in the Piedmont area of Northern Italy; having long been enamored with Barolo, Barbaresco and Barbera wines, we wanted to see where they came from and we weren't disappointed.
Our family in Spello arranged for us to have their cousin Lucia DeMaria as a tour guide.  Lucia was a professor of art and history at the university here, and so her knowledge is unparalleled, plus she is a lot of fun!  We were staying at the Arborina Relais near La Morra, where her daughter is the managing director.  The hotel is beautiful with large bedroom, sitting room and bathroom with either a private garden for sitting outside, or a balcony to sit and watch the grapes grow, because you are surrounded by them!

A garden in our back yard

Nebbiolo enjoying the sun

   

 We met Lucia in the city of Alba, home of the Ferrero family (the richest in Italy) and Nutella, that amazing concoction of milk chocolate, and ground hazelnuts.  After World War II, chocolate was expensive, and Papa Ferrero started experimenting with a little chocolate, milk ,and ground hazelnuts which grow well here in Alba.  The rest is history.  Famous for white truffles (the season started 2 days ago) porcini, and chocolate, as well as the wines, this is an area many travelers miss when they come to Italy, but the foods, wine and people are amazing.

 Alba is almost totally a pedestrian city, and on Mondays it's a bit quieter than the weekend.  They were getting ready for the Palio that is staged on donkeys, so there were banners for each neighborhood.

We made our way into a church, that looked kind of sad from the outside, but once inside we were stunned.

Lucia kept telling us that the people in the Piedmont believe that less is more; they don't show off their wealth, you have to look inside to see what's there.  This was so true everywhere we went; opening gates to beautiful palazzos, and strikingly beautiful churches.

Back in the car, we headed up the hill to a beautiful castle, that is still used today as a museum for wine production.  The views from the hill were amazing.

Once back at our hotel, we rested for a while and then headed out to Trattoria della Posta for dinner.  A beautiful old house, we were treated to a lovely dinner, and toddled on back to Arborina to rest up for our next day tasting Barolos.

Typical salad of the region, called insalata Russa or Russian salad, potatoes, may, peas, carrots and sometimes hardboiled egg

Onion stuffed with cheese and sausage

Minestrone

Veal with porcini mushrooms

Braised lamb with vegetables

lemon tart with fresh fruits

And we end our night on our patio, looking down on Barolo country.  Tomorrow we meet the Marquese di Barolo and watch grissini being made.  Ciao for now.

Cooking Without a Net

Although pork is king here in Umbria, when I was at the market the other day, I picked up a veal roast, with no idea how I would fix it. I've stated before that the kitchen here is limited, but I'm making do with what we've got; thus cooking without a net (or backup)
 This morning, I decided to stuff the veal with some roasted artichokes preserved in oil that I had bought when we first arrived, and then braise it in the oven.

 First up the stuffing, garlic, rosemary (because I forgot to poach some sage from the garden at the enoteca) lemon zest and the artichokes.

Sauteed the garlic, lemon zest and rosemary in a bit of oil.  Then added the chopped artichokes.

Seasoned with salt and pepper, then let them cool.

My not so great plan ran into a snafu when I realized I had no butchers' twine to tie this baby up, and no silicone bands either---but this is an adventure, so I plodded on.  I cut the veal so that I could stuff and roll it up, next time I will just cut it in half (if I have no twine) and stuff it that way.

Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper before stuffing and rolling it up.

Not bad, but I so wished I had some twine--- I knew that I would get some pork in here, so I took some leftover pancetta and the leftover seasoned olive oil from the artichokes and sauteed the pancetta.

When the pancetta was crispy, I added the veal to brown on all sides --- without butcher's twine this was a trip.

At this point I added the juice of 1 lemon and some chicken broth for the braise, and it's now in the oven for 1 hour at 325.  This would be a great slow cooker meal, too!  I surrounded the veal with some of the potatoes that I bought at Hypercoop on Monday, and when it comes out of the oven, we'll have a salad with it.  I will bet that it would be good cold, too.

Finished product

 A lovely pan sauce flavored with lemon, artichoke and pancetta tops it off.  No need to do anything else except dig in.   Wishing you a buona notte from Spello.

Italian Weddings

I've been to my share of Italian weddings in the US but I've never experienced one here in Italy.  My cousins' weddings in the US were a mixture of theater, fun and lots of noise.  One cousin had almost 500 people at her wedding; while we were loading up on the hors d'oeuvres, we never realized that there was a 10 course banquet to follow.

This same cousin had what seemed at the time to be a 10 tier wedding cake, with a box in the middle of it.  When the bride and groom pulled on ribbons from either side of the cake, love birds flew out of the box in the cake.  Yeah, theater!

The ride to the venue was off the beaten track to say the least, a series of switch-backs to challenge even the best Formula 1 driver, I felt fortunate to get there!  The views from this estate were amazing.

On the estate is a small chapel and the priest who performed the ceremony was a friend of the bride and groom.

the chapel

When we arrived, we were treated to champagne, and toured the property for a while.  As my friends here say, "Italians are always late."  While we were told to be there at 5 p.m. the wedding itself didn't start till 6:30.  This tiny Roman chapel was amazing.

There were photographers everywhere (including me!) a team from Korea was there to photograph a "traditional Italian wedding."
Once the ceremony was over, the appetizers were served buffet style, and they kept on coming.  If I hadn't seen the tent with dinner set up, I'd probably have eaten my weight in the fried zucchini flowers.  Giulietta was the master of the zucchini flowers, and I'm in awe!

When it was time for dinner, we all headed for the beautifully decorated tent.

Dinner, was a tour de force, with 5 courses and wines paired with the courses.  Amazing just doesn't cover it.

As the sun was setting the glow in the tent was something I'd never seen before---so special.  Of course, there was the requisite dancing, and the band that played all the Italian songs that guests sang along with, and there was more wine, and champagne and cake.

 I turn into a pumpkin at midnight and this party was still going strong.  Our family didn't get back to Spello till 3 a.m. and the 'kids' didn't get back till after 5 a.m.  We were so honored to be invited, and also loved just being part of this celebration of love, and family and community.  Congratulations Irene and Andrea.

Cooking with Aleandra

Mondays are shopping days for Dr. C. and I.  There is a huge super market near Perugia, about 15 minutes away where I can get anything from Lindt cocoa to my very own leg of Prosciutto di Parma.
The store is called Hyper-Coop, as opposed to the smaller Coop's that are located in towns like Spello and Trevi.  Dr. C. is not a shopper, so I take the cart and maneuver it as fast as I can through the aisles (picture supermarket sweep but Italian style) so we can get in, get out and get on the road.  We fill in with other things here in town, but for big shopping we head to Perugia.

True confessions time, I am not a fan of chicken, at least the chicken we get in the U.S.  Dry and tasteless (yes, even the organic birds) I have a hard time cooking it at home, since I really don't like the results.  Yesterday I bought this adorable chicken, thinking that maybe I could make my grandmother's chicken cacciatore for dinner.  First of all look at how they truss this chicken, putting a slit into the skin, and pushing the legs through.  I hated to mess this up, but for grandma's chicken you need to cut it up into pieces.

This is my Nonna, Aleandra Ciuffoli Pasquini on a trip to Canada.  Nonna was born in Gubbio, a small hill town here in Umbria, about 30 to 45 minutes from Spello.  She and my grandfather were married when she was barely 18.  My Nonno emigrated to Old Forge, PA in the early 1900's and worked in the coal mines for 2 years, before Nonna and two sons sailed to Boston to eventually meet him in Old Forge.  I really can not even imagine how they did it, not knowing the language, and customs, and not being able to find the foods that were familiar to them.  When my grandfather saw that his sons would have to work in the coal mines, they moved to Northern New Jersey raising 5 children, and surrounding themselves with extended family who had emigrated from Gubbio and towns nearby.  And there were always picnics, huge steaks on the grill, potatoes roasted in the embers, and salads dressed with green olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Left to right, Aleandra, my Mom  probably pregnant with me, and my Nonno Giuseppe Pasquini

My Nonna was probably the best cook I've ever met; not a chef, but an incredible cook, knowing instinctively what a dish needed, and serving some of the best food I've ever eaten.  Eating in her kitchen constituted some of the best memories of my childhood, and later adulthood.  I loved being around her, with her unconditional love, and the aromas from the kitchen.  Like most Italian mamas she didn't let me help, maybe once or twice I could crimp the edges of the ravioli, or snip the tips off the beans, or peel potatoes, but there was no cooking allowed, so I watched and learned.  This dish is one she made often, and although my cousins and I have tried to replicate it in our own kitchens, it's never quite like hers----we get close, but it's not exactly hers.  I think the reason is the chicken, as I proved yesterday.  Here is the recipe, and I hope you'll try it, buy an organic chicken, preferably vegetarian fed, you'll pay more, but the results will have more flavor.

Nonna's Chicken Cacciatore

Serves 4 to 6

One 2 1/2 to 3 pound whole organic chicken cut into pieces 

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup diced pancetta

3 garlic cloves, sliced

1 tablespoon chopped  fresh rosemary

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Wash the chicken in cold water, and cut the breasts in half, so there are 4 pieces.

Pat the chicken dry, season liberally with salt and pepper (like a dry brine)

Cover with paper towels and put into the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, and up to 8 hours.  

In a large skillet, heat the oil, and saute the pancetta until it is crispy.  

Add the chicken to the pan, and brown on all sides, turning frequently.  While the chicken is browning, add the garlic and rosemary to the pan.  

When the chicken is browned on all sides turn up the heat and add the vinegar.  Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and cook another 10 to 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. 

 Serve the chicken with rosemary roasted potatoes, and your choice of green vegetable or salad.  

Olive oil, rosemary, sliced garlic, and potatoes, roasted at 400 for about 40 minutes turning occasionally till crispy

So I ate my entire piece of chicken, and loved it; it was juicy, tender, and most of all close to the real deal.

 I have asked Umbrian friends if this is a typical dish from the region and they say yes, but the qualifier is that it's usually made with rabbit instead of chicken---hence the name cacciatore, or hunter's style. The hunter would be in the woods, shoot his game, then cook it over an open fire with what he had, pancetta (cured meat) rosemary found on the forest floor, and some wine or vinegar.  I'm grateful that the generations in my family know how to make it and will carry on Nonna Aleandra's tradition.