Heavenliness - Val d'Aosta, the Alps!

 If you have never been to the Italian side of the Alps, which means taking in the fabulous Val d'Aosta, you have not lived! Culturally Aosta is loaded with ancient history from BC to the beautiful Roman Amphitheater ruins to the Alpine culture and modern day. Everywhere you gaze there are mountains framing your views, the town piazza is crowned with tall glaciers in the background and you can have it all while sipping caffe in the square. I love Val d'Aosta

 

The gastronomic pleasures of this area begin with the infamous Fontina DOP. This is the queen of the alpine meadows, a cheese made from raw milk, fragrant and alive. To be labeled or considered Fontina DOP, it must be made only from cows of the Valdostana breed that forage on local grasses and meadows. This is the cheese that gave birth, to la fonduta (fondue). It was from this awesome fonduta, that was transformed into the other versions of fondue in Switzerland. If you want to savor the original, this is where you need to be! Do not forget to try Fromadzo DOP too, another very special cheese of the area, mix of goat and cow's milk. 

This area is also ultra famous for the Lard d'Arnad DOP and the Vallée d'Aoste Jambon de Bosses DOP. The prosciuto was an ancient gift for bishops and archbishops, produced in the city of Saint Rhemy-en-Bosses since the 14th century. The frigid stream of air that would come down to the valleys bordering with Switzerland and the long winter cold coupled with the manual labor of man, helped transform these raw prosciutti into authentic one-of-a-kind pieces. They are aged 12, 18 and 24 months and if you can find this ham, you must try it. 

The lard of Arnad is truly the jewel of the mountain peasant's world. Today it is found in the area for sale where previously, it was very difficult to find because it was the source of substenance during those long harsh and cold winter months. As they say, living in the mountains is about 9 months of frigid cold and 3 months of just cold. So be sure to try ultra thin slices of this served on warm crusty pieces of bread; this is something you will come back for time and again. 

A few of the brands assuring you of quality and origin are Saveurs du Val D'Aoste as well as  Alpenzu. Alpenzu is another group of the Val d'Aosta guaranteeing the origin of the products sold. While at the hotel, we were lucky to taste chestnuts in honey as part of an appetizer and while shopping we stumbled on le tegole, famous cookies of the area, another must-try!  

While traveling make sure you do the castles of the region, they are fantastic!    

Oh WOW, Val d'Aosta - Paradise Unveiled!

Just got back from a quick trip to the Val d'Aosta, and man do I have some great information for you! How can anyone not be amazed at those Alps, the Roman history of Aosta itself and the ancient door/arch to the city built 25 BC...
So hold on to your knickers because I have lots to share.  :-)

Etruscan pasta - Simple and Honest Cooking!

This has been the month of chocolate mousse for some reason of course I am super cheating because I have found a 2 minute package from Lindt! These are amazing and come in two if not three flavors...cannot remember (brain fart again). All you add is milk and whip (no, not me even though I have been very remiss lately with my recipes and cooking).:-)

As the hot season approaches, the desire for fresh and cool is right up there with finding a way to pay off all debt in one's life ;-) and last week I tried out an old Etruscan recipe and had to wing it.  This is not a cold pasta sauce but it is SUPER simple. All you need is fresh mint, walnuts, garlic, olive oil and the real thing, parmigiano reggiano or grana padana.

For all you seasoned cooks, you just have to guess on the portions. I used quantities I would use for two people making garlic, parsley and oil pasta.

Choose a long pasta, linguini, spaghettini, pici, spaghetti, etc.


For two:
15 - 20 leaves of fresh mint approx.
2-4 cloves garlic depending on tastes
ultra finely chopped walnuts about (4 whole ones)
olive oil extra V, enough to make a sauce to cover the pasta.

Crush the garlic into the oil and begin to saute very slowly.  Finely chop the mint and add to oil mixture and saute about one minute on very low heat take off the heat.


Cook the pasta in salted water, (must use some salt in the cooking otherwise pasta is just flavorless with the sauces).  When al dente, drain and quickly toss into the pan of garlic, oil and mint that you will have deftly put back on the fire just seconds before draining the pasta. Saute high for 2 minutes or less tossing the walnuts into the sautee mix.


Serve in warm bowls and garnish with the parmigiano. Serve with a fabulous frizzy white summer wine from the Veneto region or even a Prosecco would do well with this. Buon appetito!

Texas Roadhouse!

I just happened upon this restaurant, Texas Roadhouse while in New England and thought I had discovered the mother lode. What a fun place, where one can eat peanuts and just toss the remnants onto the floor and listen to country kicking music and yell "ye ha" every hour! If you go, you must try the rattlesnake bites, which are out of this world; not even chili poppers, so popular in So. Cal. come close to these! The steaks were cooked to perfection, the fresh hot bread is really something else (while trying to cut down on bread) served with cinnamon butter as well as, the daily assortment of awesome fresh veggies.

So for a fanatic against chains...I have to admit, this one has got me changed along with RiRa (Irish pub and grill -FAbULOuS food and cocktails)! This is one amazing restaurant and bar serving perfect Irish fare (try the Reuben with their homemade corned beef), great hand cut fries and since I was in New England, had to try their clam chowder finding it to be just perfect (as well as their potato leek soup). Most of these pubs have taken over old historic buildings and while maintaining the decor as it was when it was either a bank (or something else), they have transformed these into working bars and restaurants while preserving a part of our past, fantastic!


One last recommendation before I have to run out the door here, is Jumping Jays Fish Cafe! This is located downtown Portsmouth, NH and was the best meal I had in the 3 week vacation. The fish was unbelievable; ultra fresh, prepared with a choice of sauces and each one done to perfection. The martinis were good, the bread superb and the caesar salad was (finally) the way it should be, just olive oil, lemon, garlic, anchovy and parmigiano (nothing saucy or over dressed)! Mind you to eat here on a Friday or Saturday, you MUST make a reservation way in advance otherwise forget it. Even during the week you should make a reservation especially during the tourist season.

Portsmouth offers wonderful coffee houses, fabulous bakery items and oodles of Italian restaurants as well as the classic pub, brewery and chowder houses. The one thing I did not do with my other half was go to a great martini bar  (I was told by an insider it has the best).  The Red Door Martini Bar and martinis are not all they serve, check out their music line up, damn wish we had found out this little tip earlier, before we had to leave (guess I have a good excuse to go back)!  ;-)

Regional Tuscan Cooking at it's best!

During one of our lightening fast trips to Tuscany for work, we stopped in at a restaurant and locanda we had passed by in the car on numerous occasions but never had the time to stop in. This is a gem, one worth planning your trip around just to immerse yourself in an atmosphere of top notch Tuscan country living.

This is a small locale hosting rooms as well as, the restaurant and being the curious one that I am, we requested to see the rooms; such a nice surprise to find them done tastefullly and with all the amenties one might wish. Granted, it is over the autostrada and very close to the exit so if you plan on staying for a while, it might be noisy but then again, while soggiorning at Hotel Rosati, I never noticed the traffic noise and this hotel is just a few steps away. Great place for an encounter, dinner downstairs and just crawl or race to the room afterwards. Sex, languid, steamy kiss, cozy.

The decor of the dinning room is ultra classic rustic Tuscan tables, with tables out side for the hotter months. This is a wonderful place for a quick meal or for something completely sumptious, slow and satisfying. The waitresses are patient and friendly and the food is cooked to order; (grilled specialties). One of my favorites was the bruschetta done with freshly grilled/roasted tuscan bread (which as you all know is salt free not to detract from the food). If you are dinning with more than two people, order different appetizers and share, the salame, cinta senese products as well as the cinghiale are out of this world and NOT to be missed. Do not expect a wine list, when asked she trotted back with three bottles of red, all Tuscan of course, a Montepulciano Rosso, and two Brunellos and all three super reasonably priced. I just picked one, the Montepulciano red and we were super satisfied with it, a perfect marriage with the meal. Two other "not-to-miss" dishes are the fagioli al fiasco and the ceci both boiled and served piping hot in their own cooking juice and dressed with a splash of fresh pressed olive oil (yes it was November time of the olive harvests). Anything chosen from the grill is fabulous as are the pasta dishes and the deserts are all homemade (did not have room for even a glance at those).

So, next trip to Tuscany or first timers, plan a journey through Chiusi (Etruscan heaven), Sarteano (wonderful tombs to visit), Montepulciano, Perugia, Orvieto and Siena and make base camp here at the Chiusi Chianciano crossroad, (Loc. Querce al Pino) you will save a few pennies as well as find some of the best Tuscan meals to be had. Oh, and do not forget to make a stop off in Pienza at the cheese and salame shops, pick up a finocchiona and salame both made from the Cinta Senese pork...your taste buds will thank you.

La Locanda della Ribollita

Cinnamon Sugar Gnocchi

For a change of pace, try these classic gnocchi from the mountain regions of Veneto. Best wine to accompany these would be a Colle Berici Sauvignon.

This takes a while to make if you plan on making them true to nature from your own potato mix. The gnocchi recipe will be given below following the cinnamon recipe.

For 6
180 g (6 oz) butter
2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar (baker’s sugar or caster sugar suggested)
Grana Padano or Parmigiano freshly grated, (not over aged you do not want the cheese to over power the condiments)
Salt

Cook the gnocchi in a large pot of salted water and when they float to the top, let them cook for a few more seconds then drain with a slotted spoon. Mix them piping hot with the softened butter sprinkling them with the premixed cinnamon, sugar and cheese. Serve in hot bowls.

Potato Gnocchi

1 kg of potatoes (boiling potatoes)
3 egg yolks
300 g flour (10.5 oz)
Nutmeg
50 g (2oz) Grana Padano or Parmigiano freshly grated
Salt and pepper

Boil the potatoes with their skins on in salted water. Peel and mash them with a masher by hand (Do not use a Cuisinart) or use a potato squeezer (schiacciapatate in Italy) while potatoes are STILL hot, let cool.

Place the cooled purée on a working surface. With your hands, work in to this the egg yolks, salt, pepper and nutmeg as well as the cheese. Work the dough until it is creamy and smooth, then add the flour all at once and quickly work it into the dough. This must happen quickly in order to prevent the potatoes from releasing more moisture into the dough. To form the gnocchi hand roll pieces of the mixture into fat bread sticks and cut them into half inch or smaller gnocchi. Always cook these in lots of boiling salted water (a large pot).

The Cradle of Civilization, Italy "La Culla"

What is it about Italy that keeps us coming back for more?

The attraction of Italy for some of us is at times, something difficult to grasp. Italy is more than just a wealth of history; Italy vibrates on a wave all it’s own. The difficulties of everyday life equate to a constant struggle, which aids in a continual daily evolution be it personal or collective. Italians tend to be slobs, there is no denying but in this sloppiness, lies their unique art for living. Italians have style, they are creative by nature, upholders of tradition and religion and beneath this lies the foundation of who they are; by genetic design Italians boast a wealth of humanity for the “other guy.”

Italy is the world leader in so many venues. Italians have “pizzazz” in fashion, not even the French can take a notch off of Italy’s belt in this area. She is a world leader in beautiful cars (Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, just to note a few), architecture is unparalleled and gastronomically, no one comes close to the variety and simplicity of her kitchen. In fact, the laws and controls posed on the food industry render Italy’s as one of the safest in the world.

Currently, Italian bubbles are consumed just in Italy to the tune of 153 million bottles and she is the number one wine exporter, exporting 10 times as much wine as Australia. Cheese is abundant in numerous varieties, not just goat cheese done twenty different ways. Unfortunately, Italy crashes when it comes to marketing their products; just look at the junk wines sold in the states such as, Fazi Battaglia (great bottle, crap inside). America associates pizza and the mandolin with Italy and this my friends is truly a crime. Italy is so profoundly rich and varied in so many products and areas of life.

Italians live well despite the insurmountable hurdles the government plops in front of each and every person, entity or free enterprise (well if free enterprise really exists in this country). The government makes life extremely difficult and to the tourist eye (a gaze lasting only 10 days for the average tourist) these difficulties are not conspicuous. Sadly politics are always tacked on to everything and this aids in the inability to market the riches of this country.

Here are some sad but interesting numbers; Italians are taxed approximately 54% of their income compared to 30% in many other countries and yet, they manage to not only survive but to do it with decorum and to actually live as well. Think of it this way; from September through December they work for themselves, the rest of the time it is for “lo stato.” This could be accepted if one saw all public services in tiptop form; this obviously is not the case here. The roads suck, the postal service in the post offices is an abomination, public transportation stinks and is overrun with strikes and the taxes paid by the regions in the north, go to pay for the maintenance and mafia of the south in fact, these regions only get 8% back from what they send to Rome. Most of the funds given to the south are used for private gain of a small portion of southerners leaving the rest of the south still as filthy and behind as ever; a ball and chain on the north.

Another huge problem with the lack of progression in this country lies in the job sector; I bet you did not know one cannot be fired from their job? Once you have your position you can just kick back and get your monthly paycheck and, job performance as a measure does not exist (obviously). Sadly this propagates stagnation, crappy customer service and zero incentive within businesses; why work hard to sell when your job does not depend on it? (Duh!)

On top of this, insanely enough, Italy is a police state. Imagine this; driving around to the supermarket, you see the police or Carabinieri car on the side, waving cars down. Why? To find some reason to give you a ticket, to check your “papers.” Can you imagine that happening in the states? Do Americans realize how lucky and free we truly are? Here you are really guilty until proven innocent. Sure the police can pull you over for speeding and such but it seems they never catch the asses speeding 160mph. Nope, just surprise road blocks to see if they can find a reason to give you high blood pressure.

Here is another one to ponder; bars, cafes or restaurants must pay a tax on the music they play in the locale. A disco must file a plan of the songs to be played and then dump a mound of royalty fees into the hands of the SIAE. As you might imagine, the money never goes to the artists. For example, if they play Michael Jackson they pay for that song and that money actually may get to him as royalties but if you are a nobody, you never see the money for the songs played. In fact, this entity has a huge staff with lots of huge offices (gee go figure). Guess all those taxes pay for those twits to man that office. Blank CD’s have a portion of the sale going to this fund as well…cute eh?

Despite all the negatives of which we are reminded daily thanks to the newspapers and TV programs, Italy and her people manage to live making their motto for life that of screwing the government any chance they can and for us outsiders, this can translate into behavior we dislike or do not understand. To skirt having to pay dump fees for small household electronics, you will find these items vicariously placed at auto stops, or behind supermarkets or along the autostrada and viola now you have a dirty, unkempt Italy. Deep down they do not wish to be this way but what choice have you when 54% of your sweat goes to services poorly provided for and on top of that you get to pay another tax when you use the service? Hello!

There is no tax relief for donations either so if I wanted to give new clothes, I buy them and pay the taxes on them as well as being taxed because it was part of my income. Unfortunately for this reason, so many of the old dilapidated villas of Palladian architecture in Veneto near Vicenza are in a state of crumble. Unless someone purchases the property and submits a restoration plan for approval, historical relics will continue to crumble in this amazing cradle of civilization. There is no feasible way to have historical societies because people have to pay taxes on the donations twice over. How sad, such a screwed up system.

In such a small amount of land, Italy has stashed away millions of art objects for no one to see, she cannot manage them because there is not enough money and monies, which could be donated to help enlarge and or support museums, cannot appear due to asinine laws. So here we are attracted to this vibrant, buzzing yet peaceful world and way of life despite the mess. Italians uphold the family and many traditions where as Americans have lost all of this. This frenetic people race through their days, crowding freeways and holidays believing in their time off with the family, the wife or girlfriend; they still believe in a future and sacrifice for these beliefs and this is what gives this place life.

Imagine, in every square kilometer, which would equate to square half mile roughly, the US has 3 people to Italy's 62 people per square kilometer. No wonder I feel claustrophobic here in these apartments and condos stacked upon each other with zero privacy from one's windows. I can just imagine how our current layer of history might look 500 years from now as people excavate finding metros, masses of concrete, a concentration of life in certain areas, what might be the thoughts of these people regarding this layer of humanity…similar to ours as we uncover layers of walls from the Etruscans to Romans and così via?

But alas, I am here and despite days of complete and utter hair pulling, I cannot abandon this cradle of civilization; 3000 years of it, way before civilization came to Great Britain (with all their airs and such). So when you plan a trip to Italy, try to come and spend some time to really live it and savor the life vibrating within. This is what makes her so interesting; close your eyes to the trash, to the shouting matches, to the dirty streets. She has survived for all these years up to now and she will keep on surviving because Italy truly is the cradle of what it takes to live and endure.

High Quality Food Culture

I have so many things to write but these last two months have been busy trying to organize living quarters and now we are under the push of the holidays adding more to the plate. The other day talking to Golden Piglet we began to discuss the culture in Italy of high quality food, the fact there are so many strict rules regarding food production and the food industry. Recently there was a problem with pork from Ireland and all and any shipments to Italy were stopped, the issue is this, rarely do any of these problems originate in Italy. You never hear of bad beef or pork or lamb originating from Italy. Yes this country does have its problems with pollution getting into the water veins and affecting grazing land for buffalo milk but it is something that never leaves the country for later recall.

The United States does not have a strong FDA for the protection of human consumption regarding food production and thus every two or three months there is a ground meat recall, a spinach recall, etc.

Gang, the fact is this, one eats well and healthy here in bureaucracy-land Italy and the fact remains, simple cooking, simple food for honest, healthy meals. There are no coulis of this or that, or vellutato of this or that unless you are trying hard to make some fancy thing. Some say Italian cooking is boring or predictable, others try to jazz it up with fancy sauces and interpretations on a theme but in the end, the culture for the best using the least still wins the prize and when people pull their heads out of that dark place and see the light, they will realize all the most sophisticated kitchen equipment or kitchen for that matter does not make a better meal.

I have heard some say how boring eating in Italy is, every region having their specialties and traditions and the fact that it is hard to find things a little out of the ordinary. I ask those creatures, how is it then that Italians tend to be more appreciative of what they have than what they do not? They are happy to cook a good capon, or to make another fabulous broth from scratch...simple cooking, simple food, honest flavors. With that, I leave you all to your Christmas meal planning, searching for the ultimate meal for the holidays, looking for something new and missing the whole point of the kitchen.

Cheers and happy bubbles over the holidays to all.

Su questo blog...About this Blog

English translation below

In questo blog, abbiamo l’intenzione di parlare di piacere; mangiare e bere sono per noi due atti che non devono essere semplicemente l’ingestione di sostanze alimentari. Mangiare e bere del buon vino, è e deve essere una faccenda culturale completa, a 360 gradi. Oltre al gusto, deve essere un’esperienza che deve dare piacere per mezzo anche degli altri sensi; un'esperienza completa dove anche l’ambiente ed il contesto, devono fare parte di ciò che stiamo facendo.

Non vogliamo però prenderci troppo sul serio, altrimenti che piacere sarebbe? Parleremo quindi anche di piccole avventure legate alla tavola ed ai nostri giri enogastronomici in Italia, in Europa ed anche al di fuori del vecchio continente. Solo un’altra piccola nota: per quanto riguarda i Ristoranti, citeremo solo quelli che ci sentiamo di consigliare senza riserve a chi avrà la pazienza di leggerci. I prezzi medi dei singoli locali, saranno citati, ma non avranno influenza per quanto riguarda il giudizio finale. Fare un'esperienza gastronomica di un certo rilievo, ci sembra valga qualche piccolo sforzo nell’usare il portafoglio, no? GP

The intention of this blog is to talk about pleasurable things, which for us, is about eating and imbibing well; two conscious acts not just the ingestion of food. Eating well and drinking good wine brings us full circle culturally. Besides flavor, this must be an experience giving pleasure to all the other senses; where the senses participate in what we are doing thus creating the total environment. We do not wish to take ourselves too seriously either otherwise, what kind of pleasure would that be?

We will also present small adventures tied to our gastronomic and enological escapades in Italy, Europe as well as, away from the Old World. As a side note, we will only cite restaurants we feel compelled to discuss limitlessly for those who have the patience to read about them. Prices will be listed but in no way will the price influence our final judgment of the locale. After all, a little extra effort from the pocket-book for a gastronomic experience is usually worth the effort, right? SW
There will also be some naughty stories, sex jokes, sensual recipes, sensual cooking, romantic and romance, Italy, history, passionate, travel, languid days, languid kitchens, soft lights, sexy settings, romantic settings, hot, steamy ideas.