Browsing: Italy

Layer Cake

June2

No its not what you are thinking.  I was recently gifted with a bottle of Italian Zinfandel called Layer Cake.  The giver indicated that he thought it was a perfect wine gift for a “foodie” like me.  Now of course I want to surround his offering with the perfect food pairings because for me it is not the wine that stands alone but the way the drink complements the food. 

 The fruit for Layer Cake Primitivo aka Zinfandel comes from head-trained old vines and is harvested in early September.  This is truly remarkable plant material in very old vineyards; some dating to Roman times. The soils in Manduria are red iron-rich clays with large calcareous rocks, shells and coral from ancient sea beds.  We’re talking ancient, gnarled baskets hugging the ground and rocks around them, ancient chariots buried underneath, lost civilization stuff.
 

DNA analysis shows Primitivo is genetically identical to Zinfandel.

The wine tastes of a balance of elegance and power; inky black fruit, spice and white pepper, jammy black cherries, plums, blackberry fruit, truffles, tar, and espresso. Warm and rich in the mouth with a creamy texture; the ripe fruit is well supported by the deep structure of the wine. Sit back and travel through time…Relax on a hot summer evening, the fountain in the background, church-bells in the distance.
 
100% Pure Old Vine Primitivo from Salento, the “Heel of the Boot” of Italy; specifically the area of Manduria.

Kath’s quote: ” He told me the soil in which the vines lived were a layer cake. He said, the wine, if properly made, was like a great layer cake, fruit, mocha, chocolate, and hints of spice — and rich, always rich.  ‘Never pass up a good Layer Cake,’ he would say.- A TRIBUTE TO JAYSON WOODBRIDGE

“Everyday in Tuscany”

May19

When I read Frances Mayes first story of Tuscany entitled Under the Tuscan Sun-I had to go.  Not to Tuscany per se but to the city of her weekend rendezvous-Positano.  And Positano was as perfect as she described it.  Shimmering light, fresh ocean breezes and amazing food!  And so it was that the Amalfi coast was the second stop of our Italian adventure this past fall.IMG_2779

Life has mellowed for Frances, she is a Grandma now and she and her husband are well-entrenched in Italian life.  With the exception of one long chapter where she travels the trail of her favourite Renaissance painter (I was bored and I even studied art history) -I loved every other word of the recounting of a  year in Frances’ rich life.

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The descriptions of six hour dinner parties at an outside table set for two dozen are enthralling.  She not only details the courses and menus but also provides the recipes!

In two paragraphs near the end of this book, she describes what I could never put my finger on about the essence of Italy: ” How do Italian friends naturally keep the jouissance they were born with?  I’ve noticed they don’t talk about priorities.  They work but don’t become slaves.  Always they have time to visit.  Early on I learned that in Italian, there is no word for stress; it’s a recent import: lo stress.  Just wasn’t a concept.  Now lo stress exists, but in rural Tuscany work and play are happily still balanced, giving the chance not to just enjoy but to revel in everyday life.  Especially the rituals of the table and the piazza.  …They are doing what they need to do by being.  People who own so much historical time must feel more comfortable inside time. I see: Time can be a river for floating.  Our friends drop in.  They call and propose spontaneous excursions.  They stay out late having dinner on Wednesday nights.  Italians relish the day. Carpe diem, they repeated for centuries that they don’t have to say it anymore.”IMG_2753

Kath’s quote: “And that is … how they are. So terribly physically all over one another. They pour themselves one over the other like so much melted butter over parsnips. They catch each other under the chin, with a tender caress of the hand, and they smile with sunny melting tenderness into each other’s face.” -D.H. Lawrence

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Tradition, tradition! (Part 3)

April7

Thank you to my patient readers, this is the last entry about our traditional Easter celebrations.  We have a group of friends that have been getting together for an Easter Feast for over a decade.  It started when Connie (our  transplanted Sicilian friend) remarked that she was missing her families’ celebration that year and so we decided to create an traditional Italian Easter celebration of our own. Connie and Roger are visiting from Castellammare del Golfo right now and so the timing was perfect.

Connie and I in her home town

Connie and I in her home town

Connie assembled the antipasto.  Three Italian meats, provolone cheese, olives, marinated veggies and spicy eggplant.  She picked everything up at Sobey’s and was very pleased with their selection and quality.

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Next course was Judy’s Caprese salad, topped with a light shake of olive oil from C&R’s own olive trees back home.  This was accompanied by Connie’s stuffed sun dried tomatoes-a recipe that she taught me when we visited them in Sicily. In addition, delicious and authentic breads purchased at De Luca’s (that were contributed by another attendee) were served. 

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The meat course was Italian sausages that I brown and then roasted with tri-coloured peppers and a roasted herb chicken that we have called “Ruth’s” Chicken since she shared the recipe with me 20 years ago.  Roasted potatoes and yams with a drizzle of truffle oil and yellow and green beans sauteed with toasted pine nuts, accompanied the meats.

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The person who was to have brought the salad course, which was to have been served next, couldn’t make it and so “uncleansed”, we ate on.  Gina contributed a decadent tiramisu that she purchased at La Grotta and Connie had brought a special cake from Sicily –Il Panettone Grandorato.  Jamie brought a platter of fruit to accompany the sweets and Doug put on the tea and espresso.

Kath’s quote: “Food is not about impressing people. It’s about making them feel comfortable.”-Ina Garten

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Anchovies in Positano, Italy

March30

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Can you remember ever having a menu ordering accident?  That is to say,  you ordered a dish but realised when it arrived that you had misinterpreted what was stated on the menu and had to eat it anyway?  Exactly this happened to me when my husband and I were dining in Positano Italy this past fall. 

Near the Norman Cathedral of Monreale (Palermo)

Near the Norman Cathedral of Monreale (Palermo)

We started our Italian adventure in Sicily and one evening our host ordered a sumptuous dish in Palermo.  We had just toured Monreale and were in the vicinity of  the Palermo train station when we happened upon Antico Bar and Ristorante in the Piazza Giulio Cesare.  Concetta had ordered anchovy and fennel pasta and the forkful that I tasted was divine-an unusual blending of salty and savoury. 

The Antipasto that night-missed taking a pic of the entrees

The Antipasto that night-missed taking a pic of the entrees

Days later and on our own on the Amalfi Coast we asked Luigi, the wonderful owner of Hotel Le Fioriere in Praiano where his favourite restaurant in Positano was.  With his advice we headed out for Da Vincenzo’s.  

Under the Canopy

Under the Canopy

We did not have reservations but considered ourselves lucky to get a table outside but under a canopy as it had just started to rain.  We began with a calzone and this basil, mozzarella  and tomato salad.   

The Salad Plate

The Salad Plate

Remebering that single taste in Palermo, I ordered the Anchovies and I got just what I ordered but not what I was dreaming of.  

Just Anchovies?

Just Anchovies?

Kath’s quote: “The peasants of Sicily, who have kept their own wheat and make their own natural brown bread, ah, it is amazing how fresh and sweet and clean their loaf seems, so perfumed, as home-made bread used all to be before the war.”-D.H. Lawrencewine heart

Arancini in Calatafimi, Sicily

March22

compressed IMG_2446Last evening on my husband’s favourite food show-Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives was the demonstration and recipe for Arancinis.  The literal tanslation from Italian is “little orange” as that is what they resemble in appearance.  These delectable food balls are said to have originated in Sicily in the 10th century (if its not broke-don’t fix it). The version we saw demonstrated last night, was from Di Pasquale’s in Baltimore (you can find the recipe on this link to their site) and were stuffed with cheese, ragu and meat along with the mandatory peas.  Of the two versions we tasted-one was filled with a ragu meat sauce and the other with ham and mozarella. 

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We were in Calatafimi, Sicily the morning we purchased them for a later meal.  They would make the perfect “to go” lunch, but I understand that they are commonly eaten as a snack.  We enjoyed them later in the day with a a taditional Sicilan soup of Pasta Fagioli.

In Calatafimi the roads are steep and the view of the surrounding mountains, exquisite.  We climbed to the highest point near the main church and found the ruins of another ancient church. 

If Jesus had not been born in Bethlehem, I think that it would have been here

If Jesus had not been born in Bethlehem, I think that it would have been here

We had gone to the village not far from where we were staying in Castellammare del Golfo, to “market” shop.  The outdoor market travels the area so that if you miss market day in one village, you can catch up to it in another. 

By happy accident, on the way out of town,  we came upon the Guido Brothers who ran the community grape press and the mule who actually still “motorizes” the job.

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If you are ever considering a visit to Italy-go to Sicily:  full of ancient history, fascinating modern history, beautiful vistas and hard-working people who love their land and celebrate living with food. 

Kath’s quote: “The trouble with eating Italian food is that 5 or 6 days later you’re hungry again.”-George Miller

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