Sasso Marconi Tartufesta (Part Three)

Here are the last few images I'd like to share from the Sasso Marconi Tartufesta. If you're in Emilia Romagna at the end on October, this is the place to be!

Go early and go hungry!

Sasso Marconi Tartufesta (Part two)

As I said earlier, there was something for everyone. There were many stalls selling things like soap, jewelry, christmas ornaments...all kinds of crafts, flea market items, and even a few antiques.

 

Wine by the glass was sold everywhere, which went great with all the food samples. Nobody walked away from this festa hungry. The aroma from all the food wafted through the lanes and hung in the air...it was intoxicating.

 

Just a few more images to share in my next post. Are you hungry yet?

Italian Comfort Food

What do you cook when you need something quick and easy, yet filling and tasty? In my home we make Gramigna con Salsiccia. It’s the perfect Italian comfort food.

 

½ lb. pasta (any kind with grooves so the sauce will stick to it)

¾ lb. Italian sausage

1/3 c. white wine (why not buy a nice bottle and drink the rest with dinner?)

2 T. butter

¼ onion, sliced thin

1/3 c. heavy cream

Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated

 

1.       Saute the onion in butter.

2.       Add ground sausage to the onion and cook for a few minutes, until almost done.

3.       Add the wine, (you can drink a little) and continue to cook until it has evaporated. This will take 3 or 4 minutes.

4.       Add the cream and heat on low for 1 minute, just until it’s warm.

5.       Finally, you can drain the pasta and mix it in with the sauce. Add the cheese and toss.

Now, just grab a nice loaf of warm Italian bread and your wine.

Buon Appetito!

Back To Bologna

     In a few weeks I'll be headed back to Bologna, one of my FAVORITE Italian cities. Bologna is the kind of place I could live...when I'm there I feel at home and I don't want to ever leave. The people are warm and friendly, the food is good, and there aren't many tourists.
     Did I mention the food? The food is fabulous! The picture on the banner of this blog is Tagliatelle Bolognese that I learned to make at CIBO in Bologna...very tasty!
     Here is a picture of a typical shop in Bologna...doesn't it look inviting?

     This trip I'll be attending an Italian language school. I've spent enough time in Italy that I think it's about time I learned the language. I know bits and pieces, but I'm hopeful that Cultura Italiana will help improve my skills.
     Maybe I'll also get to attend a truffle festival, or maybe an antique market. There is so much to see and do in and around Bologna, and it's fall...my favorite time of year.
     I'll be blogging from Italy, so please check in.
     Have you ever been to Bologna?

French Baking Class in Paris

Don't you just love croissants? I do, and now I can make them...thanks to COOK'N WITH CLASS in Paris, France! I took their hands-on Baking Class and learned how to make croissants, pain au chocolat and a few other pastries.

Croissants take about two days to complete, so we made the dough and put it in the refrigerator for the next class, and used the dough the last class made.

It was very interesting making the dough with so many layers of rich creamy butter. There were only five people in the class, so we were all involved in the entire process.

When we were finished baking, we had a feast of warm, flaky, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth goodness! 

We each went home with a bag of pastries, and by the time Marc and I returned to our apartment, our instructor, Emanuelle, had emailed us the recipes, written instructions and a video showing each step of the process.

If you like to bake, and Paris is calling your name, I encourage you to check out this school. I can't wait to take more of their classes! 

A Diet in Paris…I Don’t Think So!

One thing I was really looking forward to in Paris was pastry/bread, and I was not disappointed. It seemed like there was a boulangerie and/or patisserie on every other corner. I was in heaven!

 

Each morning I walked across the street from the apartment and purchased fresh warm croissants for breakfast. This could easily become a morning ritual.

 

 

I think I ate about five pastries/croissants a day and never gained a pound because I walked so much. I could go to Paris just for the pastries! A word of advice…INDULGE...leave the diet at home.

How About a Midnight Dessert Buffet?

     My good friend, Tracy, is preparing to go on her first Caribbean cruise. This got me to thinking about cruising. One of the things I really enjoy is the midnight dessert buffet. One day during the cruise you’ll hear the buzz all around the ship about the buffet. The only catch is you have to be able to stay awake till midnight, which sometimes is hard to do.

     At midnight, everyone is allowed to view and take pictures of the food. There are tables full of every kind dessert you can imagine and they are like tasty pieces of art. After the viewing, everyone gets to eat.

Don’t they look AMAZING?

 

    

The Big Green Egg

     Have you ever heard of a Big Green Egg? It’s a ceramic cooker that can grill, smoke and bake. High temperature grilling is quick and easy, and slow smoking can be achieved even at a low 200 degrees. The Big Green Egg bakes bread, casseroles, cobbler and pies…even pizza! The air-tight ceramic cooking chamber retains heat and keeps food moist. What a great idea!

     Marc has been drooling over the Big Green Egg for over a year, so I bought him one for his 50^th birthday.  His birthday isn’t until August, but I gave it to him early so he can have the whole grilling season to use it. I’m excited to taste his creations.

     Happy grilling, Marc!

Italian Days Food Experience – Part 3

     Our third stop on the Italian Days Food Experience was at Villa San Donnino in Modena, where we learned the secrets of the famous Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP. This is not the kind of “balsamic” you buy in the grocery store. This is a single family producing small amounts, using the ancient technique of aging local wine in oak barrels, as their family has done for generations.

 

     This product is protected by The Consortium of Producers of the Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, and can only be bottled after passing a series of tests by a board of expert tasters, in 100 cc bottles, the only legally approved bottle to be used by all producers. Each individual bottle is numbered and sealed. The Consortium also keeps a sample from each batch of bottles as a guaranty of the quality of the corresponding bottle lot. To be certified Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP, it has to be a minimum of twelve years old.
     We had the opportunity to taste 5-year balsamico and compared it with 15 and 45-year balsamico. It was so good we ate it on homemade gelato…YUM! We also brought home several bottles for our pantry.

     To cap off the day, Alessandro took us to a countryside trattoria, where we were served a “light lunch”, which consisted of more fabulous food and wine than I could eat in three days! When we were finished eating, we were delivered back to our hotel in a food coma, to take a long nap. It was a wonderful day!

Italian Days Food Experience - Part 2

     The second part of our foodie adventure with Italian Days Food Experiences took us to one of the best prosciutto producers in the region. This family owned business has been committed to the production of Prosciutto di Modena DOP for over three generations. This particular prosciutto is equal to the more famous Prosciutto di Parma, but without the same name recognition, since it’s produced within the city limits of Modena and not Parma. To carry the DOP designation it is subject to the same food regulations.

     We learned about the entire process of creating one of the most delicious pork products in the world.

Here is our guide, Alessandro, teaching us about the strict quality testing requirements.

 

This is just a small portion of the hanging Prosciutto…I wish it was legal to bring THIS home!

 

     At the end of our visit we enjoyed fresh slices of prosciutto.  They kept bringing it, and we kept eating it. It was so good!

     Tomorrow I’d like to share the next part of our “Foodie Tour” to a traditional “Acetaia” to experience the secrets of balsamic vinegar.

Italian Days Food Experience – Part 1

     The Emilia Romagna region of Italy is well known for Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, prosciutto and balsamic vinegar. On a trip to this region we enlisted the help of Alessandro from Italian Days Food Experiences, so we could get a better understanding of these amazing products. This post is about Parmigiano Reggiano DOP cheese.

     Our day required an early wake-up call, so we could be at the small organic family factory in the Emilia Romagna countryside right after the morning milking.

     We witnessed the entire process, from the crafting of the curds by the master cheesemaker…

 

to the salt bath…

 

and the final aging process.

 

     The morning was capped off with a breakfast of freshly made warm ricotta, along with some sweet Lambrusco and plenty of Parmigiano Reggiano. It was so good I bought five pounds of cheese to bring home!

Stay tuned... tomorrow I'd like to tell you about the prosciutto factory.

Food Network Magazine

     Today I received my new copy of Food Network Magazine. 

      I look forward to each edition, because it's always jammed packed with tasty new recipes, as well as handy tips and all the latest gadgets. The recipes range from very quick and easy to sophisticated recipes that should be tackled only when there is extra time on the weekend.
     What caught my attention this month were the six different ways to make French Toast. I can't wait to try the Baked Croissant French Toast with Orange Syrup. Doesn't it sound yummy?

     All the recipes in this issue as well as magazine subscription information can be found on www.FoodNetwork.com .

 Images from Food Network Magazine