…and it’s a lot of publishing new pages. Apologies to any followers that got bombed with emails last night as I moved a lot of it over. Few more pages and I’m done :).
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Glad Someone Is Pointing This Out
Nothing better than when the waiter or server (on the American side of the Atlantic) tries to correct you into saying it “broo-shetta.” Though I’ll wager if you’re reading this, you probably already know how to say “gnocchi.”
Speaking of gnocchi, last night we made my interpretation of a boscaiola with some sauteed Swiss chard (garlic, olive oil, fresh cracked pepper, balsamic). If you’re looking for a recipe that kids will eat until the cows come home, this might well be the ticket for you! It’s savory and rich without being overly heavy, and those umami flavors really seem to hit the spot for our two and three year olds. The three year old is a picky, finicky eater anymore, and she actually asked for seconds. I minced in a blender three kinds of mushrooms (would have liked to have used porcini, but was late getting dinner on the table and thus was limited to what my local grocery had available, and so I used baby bellas, regular white mushrooms, and some dried portobellas) with garlic and white wine (sherry might be even better if you want even more of that sweet and savory combo). I also substituted for the parsley most boscaiola recipes call for some fresh sage, and sauteed it in some butter and olive oil to keep it from sticking.
Cooked the gnocchi, and finished them in the boscaiola, and plated with the chard and a sprinkle of grated cheese. No sale on the chard to the little ones, but that just meant more for me.
Geneology
This is neat!
If you’re of Italian descent and curious about where your family is from and your family history, you might find this link helpful. Give it a click!
Valentine’s Nebbiolo
Making the wife some penne pomodoro, and since it’s a lovely Valentine’s evening, we splurged on some Nebbiolo.
Paitin’s DOCG Nebbiolo is cherry-garnet in the glass, with an understated nose but a pleasant mouthfeel. Tarrish, tobacco flavors up front as you’d expect, not a whole lot of fruit.
Short finish but really, really nice. Try it!
Valter’s Osteria
Was in Salt Lake City for business this week, and stayed in a cute boutique hotel in downtown called the Peery Hotel. Across the street is Valter’s Osteria, run by Valter himself. Valter’s a cordial, warm, and convivial host who makes you feel like an old friend immediately, and the atmosphere he creates coupled with the food makes for just the experience a weary traveler needs. Valters’s from a town near Firenze (Monte San Sevino) and thus his cuisine is rustic Umbrian and Tuscan, but elegantly prepared and presented with fantastic service and table side delivery. Pastas are made in house fresh, a great wine list with more than decent nero d’avola and chianti by the glass, and an authentic family-run feel that I’ve not experienced anywhere west of the Mississippi.
Two glasses of wine, dessert (lovely pistachio gelato), a hot chocolate with biscotti, grappa, bread with bagna cauda, and dinner were $75–not cheap by any stretch, for but for table side service by professionals, home made pastas, and flavors hard to find anywhere this side of the Atlantic? A good deal indeed.
Dinner was fresh gnocchi boscaiola–a lovely gravy of porcini and other assorted mushrooms served as a sampler with some handmade ravioli. One version was squash with sage butter, the other spinach with ricotta and lemon zest. My server Paul also gave me a taste of a gnocchi with white truffle sauce that was rich without being oppressively creamy–light and flavorful that left you just needing to “fare alla scarpetta” (sop up the sauce with bread).
Dessert was gelato, biscotti, authentic Italian style hot chocolate, and grappa. Lovely!
If you’re in the SLC area, make the trip to see Valter. You’ll not regret it. Dinner hours only.
Sassi Italy Tours is on Twitter now…
…haven’t used it much in the past, but it probably makes sense to allow users of all sorts of social media outlets to reach out to us. Follow us @SassiItalyTours.
Italian Wine 101 Doc & Docg
Learn it, live it, love it!
It happens most of the time while I am serving a wine to the new world tourists. They always ask me what the different ? Is Docg better than Doc ?
So lets try to answer this two questions by trying to explain first what is Doc (denominazione di origine controllata) “denomination of controlled origin” that comes from french style of classification the wine Aoc that literally means the same thing. This classification was made to designate wine quality by using geographical delimitation based on winemaking zones with particular names.
Example: Rosso di Montalcino Doc, this wine is made from grapes that only and only come from Montalcino area.
In the 1960s, Italy attempted to replicate the structure and design of the French AOC. They even took it a step further. Not only did they enact the DOC but they also added another acronym to define even higher quality wine…
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Wine Review: Podheri Luigi Einaudi Dogliani Dolcetto Piedmont 2011
Dolcetto is such an underrated varietal; have known a few knowledgeable wine snobs who ignore or dislike it, and I just don’t get it–the low acidity and approachable simplicity might lack “seriousness” (whatever the hell that even means), but who cares? It’s a wine that makes food come alive.
What is a Rustic Wine?
The first word that popped into my mind when sampling this Dolcetto is “rustic”, which is a fairly common wine descriptor. What does it mean?
Many people seem to mean wine that is simple and unsophisticated. But there are lots of simple, unsophisticated wines on the bottom shelf of the supermarket that are not rustic, so “simple and unsophisticated” doesn’t really get to the heart of what
“rustic” means. The word “rustic” in any context means having qualities ascribed to country life. People growing up in the country are alleged to be sturdy, unpolished, and a little rough. These are terms that better describe “rustic wine” and they more clearly distinguish rustic wines from inexpensive supermarket wines, which lack the structure to be sturdy and are anything but rough since they are smooth and designed for easy drinking.
“Sturdy, unpolished and little rough” well describes this…
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Venice
Some lovely shots of Venice here. I hate to criticize, but the “don’ts” list includes not expecting great food in one of the greatest culinary experience cities in the world! Venice is admittedly not a pizza eating city, but it’s like being disappointed that it’s hard to find a good cricket game in a baseball town like Baltimore or Boston. The food in Venice is amazing, but it’s not found in pizza joints that cater to the casual passerby–it’s found in family run restaurants a bit off the beaten path that aren’t always immediately obvious as you stroll about. Hopefully Stephanie gets to travel to Venice again and finds some of the amazing grub waiting just around the corner.
Venice blew me away, which was surprising. I feared that a place with so much hype could never live up to its reputation. In fact, I almost didn’t go at all. But I am so glad I did!
Venice is just as beautiful and romantic as everyone says it is. It is not, however, hot and smelly and full of rats (as some people say as well). Perhaps that was just my luck as I went in April before it got too hot and crowded. Bottom line: seeing Venice is a must!
Dos
- Take a water taxi on the Grand Canal. If you can, get a seat at the front—you’ll get some amazing photos.
- Get lost. Walking around Venice is the best way to see it. There’s beauty around every corner from an unexpected statue to a windowsill garden.
- Buy a glass bead necklace. They are lovely and it’s a…
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Venetian Sunset
Perfect!
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