Spello- La Cantina

Two of Lynn's friends (and, now of course, my) came to visit us for a week.  Jan and Bill from Austin are two of the sweetest and most down-to-earth people that you would ever hope to meet.  They arrived on a Saturday and so we kept it simple that night.  I made a home cooked meal of veal, potatoes with caramelized onions and roasted asparagus with Parmesan.

However, on Sunday, they were ready to go and explore.  We decided to head over to Spello.  Spello is about an hours drive to the north west.  Sadly, it was raining, but that did little to dampen our mood.  After much research (ok, it was more like 15 minutes) on Trip Advisor, I decided that lunch at La Cantina would be it for us.  So, we got there and parked.  And walked up hill.  And walked up hill some more.  After all the walking, I decided that I had burned off enough calories so that I could eat a lot.  I am glad I made that decision.

I thought La Cantina would be a large place, but it isn't.  We had to wait about 10 minutes for a table which has never happened since I have been here.  Straight off I am enamored with the place because of this...  

I was somewhat tempted to try and steal it, but I thought they might have noticed their light fixture missing.

We were finally seated and the owner came over.  We ordered two bottles of wine and some fantastic food.  We asked what he would recommend and he said everything since it all comes from either his family farm or from local sources.  Can't beat that.  Both Bill and I opted for the paparadelle with wild boar ragu to start with.  Lynn and Jan ordered the gnocchi with butter sauce and truffles.

Both were fantastic.  The pasta was homemade and the wild boar...heavenly.  The gnocchi with truffles...rich yet light at the same time (somehow).  For my main course, I opted for the Chicken Cacciatore.

The verdict...drool worthy.  Of course, when I think of chicken cacciatore, I think of something with a thicker sauce.  This was light and flavorful.  You could taste the freshness of the herbs and the tomatoes.  The chicken was fall off the bone tender.  I am making myself even more hungry than I am by thinking about it.

Of course, as I said, we had two bottles of wine.  A red and a white.  If I haven't said it before, when in Italy, get a local wine with your meal.  It won't (usually) cost an arm and a leg.  Plus, it compliments the food better, in my opinion.

In case you can't make it out, the one on the left is a Montefalco Rosso (red) wine.  The one on the right is a Sportoletti white.  Both of these went very well with our meal.  We started out with the white and then moved on the the red.  Neither of them were very heavy or overpowering.  I would recommend either of these wines in a second.  Then again, since I have been here, I would recommend any wine that I have had for the most part.

We did get a dessert- a custard with saffron in it.  Wow.  Just wow.  There was only the slightest bit of saffron in it, but it changed the dessert entirely.  The otherwise sweet dessert was cut through by the slight spice from the saffron.  Mixed with the vanilla in the custard...it was the perfect for dessert for a day that was wet and somewhat cold.

Before we left, the fantastic owner gave us some grappa.  That stuff will put hair on your chest.

The only thing that I can say about La Cantina is that I might just move to Spello so that I can eat there...everyday.

    

  

Brescia/Verona/Padua- Part 2

After breakfast in our hotel, we drove to Vicenza for the day.  Vicenza is a town that has a lot of buildings that were designed by Palladio.  It truly is a beautiful town.

However, when we got there, we found out that most of the places that we wanted to see were closed.  Thankfully, we were able to see the Olympic Theater.  The theater was built in the 1500s in the style of an ancient Greek theater.  The stage (the top picture) was built to resemble an ancient street.  It is still set that way, so that the plays performed there must be classical in origin.  It can be difficult to see "Death of a Salesman" in an ancient Greek street.  After seeing the theater, we headed to lunch.  We ate at a little wine bar called Mi e...lu.  I started with some pasta and then got the veal escallops.  It was a cute little place with a great wine selection (since it was a wine bar after all...).  The menu was hand written on a chalkboard and freshly made (save for the pasta).  After lunch, we got some gelato.  So good!  I got meringue and stracciatella- vanilla with chocolate pieces swirled in.  

Yes, you read that right.  Meringue gelato.  It tasted just like a vanilla meringue.  What I really like about gelato (other than the fantastic texture and flavors) is the fact that the garnish is included in a scoop.  For example, the meringue gelato was topped with little crushed up pieces of merinuges.  That meant that in every bite, I got a little bit of meringue.

After seeing a bit more of Vicenza (and I mean seeing, since a lot of the things we wanted to see were closed).  We headed back to Verona, did a bit of shopping and then headed back to the hotel for some packing and relaxation.

The next morning, we ate breakfast and headed out to Padua.  Once we arrived in Padua, we checked in to our hotel and got to sightseeing.  For lunch, we desperately needed salads.  Thankfully, we found a create your own salad place (that, again was also a bar and they had other food on the menu as well).  The salad was fantastic for the fact that it was simple.  And please don't ask me to remember the name of the place.  All I know is that the server was very helpful and the salad was good and made with fresh ingredients. 

Of course we had to go and see the sights so after lunch, off we went.  We wandered all over the place and around 5, decided that we needed a drink and a place to rest our feet.  We ended up at Caffe Pedrocchi quite by accident.  Caffe Pedrocchi was founded in the late 1800s and still remains a great place to have a shot of espresso or a glass of local wine.

The drink on the left is a Spritz- Prosecco, tonic and campari.  I opted for a strawberry and prosecco drink that went down very well.  One of the things that I really do appreciate about bars here in Italy is that when you order a drink, you get snacks.  And not just peanuts that some random people have stuck their hands in time after time.  Usually, you get some potato chips that are freshly refilled after each drink you order.  We also got a snack mix and some little finger sandwiches.  And of course, after we ordered a second drink, we got more.

Just a note, the snacks are always going to be salty.  Of course there is a reason behind the constant snack pushing.  Salt makes you thirsty, so the more of the snacks you eat, the more likely you are to order another drink or two.  Smart business there.

After downing cocktails, we headed on back to our hotel and relaxed.  Sightseeing, eating and drinking is harder than you might think.  

    

Brescia/Verona/Padua- Part 1

We set off on a week long trip before our friends Bill and Jan cam for a visit.  We set off on Monday for Brescia.  Not the best place to actually go and stay the night.  It is better for a stop off visit before heading to Verona.  There are some great things to see, but not to eat.  Think of it as Waco, but much, much older.  If you have never been to Waco, just trust me on this one.  The police force harasses tourists instead of stopping the vandalism that is rampant.  It didn't help that our GPS kept taking us in the same circle over and over.  It took us an hour and a half to get to the hotel, and only then, after they sent someone to come and find us.

So, after an hour and a half of being followed by cops, we finally got checked in.  Since it was pouring, we went to a cafe and had a drink.  Drinks led to an early dinner.  A dinner that I could have gotten at McDonalds.  But which we paid 15 euros for.

However, our day seemed to get a bit better when we went into the "new church."  There, we found a priest saying daily Mass.

I didn't take pictures of the inside, but it was beautiful.  However, after walking around for a bit more and being harassed, we decided to call it a night (at 6pm).  The next morning, we headed out for a bit more sightseeing before getting on the road to Verona.  This was in the interior of the "Old Church."  It was old and beautiful.

After the Church, we wandered around town some more and came upon this...

That maybe the saddest face I have ever seen.  And the cutest.  But I think that Salty Dog might mind.

We headed out of town for Verona and made our way to the hotel, the Colomba d'Oro.  It was a very nice hotel.  However, we were hungry, and didn't want to have to trek all over the city.  Thankfully, Torcolo was there for us to dine at.  

We both opted for the beef wellington.  It was different in that the pastry was wrapped in wonton strips.  Let me just give a word of warning.  If you ask for beef medium, it will really be medium rare.  However, the beef was fantastic.  The wine was also excellent.  That being said, the meal was very expensive.  I don't think the price was justified.  After lunch, we wandered around the city

  

After getting caught in a total downpour, the weather finally cleared up enough so that we could sit in the piazza under an umbrella and have a drink.  And maybe some pizza.

So good!  Pizza and beer.  Two things that go well together and always will go well together.  After pizza and beer, we headed back to our room to relax and get some sleep.

Up next: Vicenza.

Home Cooking

After our trip to Bologna and Ravenna, we came home early enough to make dinner at home.  Now, you may be wondering why it has taken us so long to make dinner at home.  The answer is- we have been travelling and actually eat a very large lunch and just have a super light dinner.  Well, today was the exception.  We had a simple lunch and decided to make dinner at home.  We bought 2 veal chops at the grocery store and had some zucchini and tomatoes that we needed to eat.

To make this simple meal, all you will need is:

-1/2 Tbs. butter

-1/2 Tbs. olive oil

-2 veal chops (thickness is up to the buyer)

-Salt and black pepper to taste

-1 Tbs. olive oil

-1 onion, medium diced

-2 cloves of garlic, minced

-2 zucchini, sliced into rounds

-2 tomatoes, peeled and rough chopped

-Salt and black pepper to taste

-Parmesan cheese (if desired) to finish

We started the zucchini first.  Heat a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add olive oil and allow to heat up.  Add onions, season with salt and pepper and saute until translucent.  Add garlic and cook for 60 seconds or until you can smell it (do not let it burn!!).  Add zucchini and again season with salt and pepper (layers of flavor here folks!).  Cook zucchini until almost tender.  Add tomatoes and allow to heat through.  These tomatoes were really fresh and almost to the point of going bad, so they gave off a lot of juice.  This added some moisture to the pan so that the zucchini didn't burn.  If you are worried about that, then maybe add a little white wine or water to the pan.  Remember if you add wine, use something that you would drink.  Add just a little more salt and pepper.  Check seasoning and then serve.  Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

For the veal, start with a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add butter and olive oil.  I used both because I wanted the butter flavor, but I didn't want the butter to burn.  Adding the oil helps that, plus adds another flavor to the dish.  Allow to the butter and oil to heat up before adding the meat.  Right before putting the meat in the pan, season with salt and pepper.  Never season the meat and then let it sit before cooking.  The only times I do season the meat and let it rest is when making ribs and cocoa & spiced rub steaks.  If you season the meat with salt and then let it sit, a lot of the moisture comes out of the meat leading to a really dry piece of meat.  Not tasty!  So, season the meat and then get it into the pan.  These veal chops were not that thick, so they didn't take much time on each side.  I gave them about 5 minutes a side, then turned them.  After cooking, I put them to the side to rest while the tomatoes warmed through in the zucchini.

If you are so inclined, serve this up with some bread to soak up any juices that come out of the meat and the vegetables.  I didn't make a starch simply because I had my serving of carbs at lunch that day.

Just a few notes:

- The olive oil that I use here is extra virgin.  I know a lot of chefs say to not cook with it because you loose the flavor that is in the extra virgin, but since Italy makes a TON of olive oil a year, extra virgin is plentiful and cheap.  And damn tasty.

-Veal is also big here and not beef.  It is also inexpensive, whereas veal in the US can be difficult to find, expensive and oftentimes, not that good.

-A lot of the food that I make at home is really easy to make and simple foods.  I don't want to make complicated dishes when it's 8pm and my only goal is eating dinner soon so that I can go to bed.

Enjoy!

Bologna/Ravenna

Well, I am really behind.  Thankfully, it is Saturday and hence laundry day.  I am camped at Il Collaccio, eagerly awaiting lunch time.  But, more on that later.  After my delicious meal at San Domenica, we were back on the way to Bologna.  We checked into our hotel and decided to wander around.  We ended up heading toward the city center.  When we checked in, we found out that it was a national holiday.  That explains why there were tons of people out and about and why the square was INSANE.  We decided to sit and people watch.  Thankfully, we chose a random cafe and were able to sit outside right on the edge, drink and watch the world pass us by.  I opted for hot chocolate.

All it needed was a plate of churros to take me back to Spain.  It was thick.  Stand your spoon up in it thick.  It wasn't sweetened, so they provided some sugar for me to add if I wanted.  I decided against it, since the richness would have been destroyed.  It was good.  After resting (like we really needed it), we headed on our way to do sight seeing and shopping.   

That is the Fountain of Neptune and a close up of one of his nymphs.  I hate to admit it, but after sightseeing (and I use the term very loosely), we decided that we wanted a light something to eat.  And of course, after eating the delicious food at San Domenica, nothing was going to match up.  We ended up at Bistro 48 in Bologna.  I didn't get a picture of the food, but I can tell you that it was good.  Was it knock your socks off good?  No, of course not.  But I wouldn't let that stop me from going back.  I opted for the Tagliatelle al Ragu (traditional ragu alla bolognese).  Of course eating the traditional dish in the city where it came from always makes it better.  It was filling and tasty.  My aunt opted for a seafood salad that was packed with fresh seafood and from what I understand was very tasty.

The next morning, we were up and headed to Ravenna.  Ravenna is known as the City of Mosaics.  They have the largest collection of mosaics that are still in their original condition and they are beautiful.

By the time we arrived in Ravenna, it was time for lunch.  Our option for lunch was the Bella Venezia.  Something I learned- if you ask for roast beef, it will be served thinly sliced, cold and covered with a sauce.  Mine came with a balsamic sauce on top that was actually very good.  However, what I really wanted was a piece of meat, not lunch meat on a plate.  We also started with gnocchi and tomato sauce.  It wasn't that great.  The sauce tasted like it was from a can.  Not a great start to Ravenna.  My aunt accidentally ordered liver.  Not a fan and never have been.  Thankfully, we were able to recover with a trip through some of the beautiful churches that were decorated with the mosaics.  

After wandering around for several hours on a stomach that wasn't happy with our lunch choice, we ended up at Ca' de Ven.

Much better than lunch is all I can say.  The tables are set up so that you end up eating with people you don't even know.  We were some of the first people in there, but by the time we left, it was packed.  The food was very good.  I opted for the pasta with a cream sauce, sausage and peas.  So darn good.  I also got a mixed salad since I wanted to balance out the richness with something at least somewhat healthy.

Overall, it was a mixed side trip.  While Bologna is a place for foodies to head to just to check out, I feel like Ravenna is the better option to stay for a while.  Thankfully, in my next blog, I'll show you the first meal that I got to make at our house.  Finally, some home cooking!

San Domenica

After much debate and deliberation (just kidding), we decided to head for Bologna and Ravenna for a few days.  On the way, we stopped off in Imola.  Why Imola you may ask?  Why, to eat of course.  But what's in Imola that makes it so special?  Isn't it just 30 minutes away from Bologna?  Were you so hungry that you just HAD to eat?  To answer your questions- true Imola is only 30 minutes away from Bologna, I was hungry but not starving and in Imola is...

...San Domenica.  This is said to be the best restaurant in Italy.  And I believe them.  They also leave out that it is probably one of the most expensive, but I digress.

We started with an amuse bouche (to amuse the mouth- thanks Papa Brunelli) which was berlotti bean soup with a fried shrimp ball on the top.  One of my new goals in life?  To make berlotti bean soup.  With a fried shrimp ball on top.  The shrimp was essentially shrimp scampi fried in croutons.  If I had known this was coming, I may not have ordered one of my dishes, but then I would have been deprived.  We can't have that can we?

It was smooth, creamy and full of flavor without being overwhelming.  And the shrimp scampi?  Light, crunchy, perfectly fried and to die for.  The whole dish was perfectly seasoned.  After this came the uovo in raviolo.  It was a large raviolo filled with ricotta, spinach and an egg.  It was in a brown butter sauce with truffles.  When you cut into the raviolo, the egg yolk came out.  The whole profile was salty, sweet, rich, flavorful, earthy and oh so good.  The picture does not do it justice.

The main course came and Lynn and I both chose the veal checks.  I haven't had veal checks since David made them for our final in Art Culinare. David did a very good job then, but I haven't had them since and I had never had them before.  These were amazing.  Flavorful and tender.  So good.  The beef cheeks were served with a polenta mixed with cheese.  The polenta was then fried up and was crispy on the bottom.  It was fantastic.

Finally, for dessert, I chose the "chocolate flan," which is really chocolate molten cake.  It was served with a chocolate and hazelnut sorbet and some caramelized bananas.  This pushed me over the edge with the food.  I was so full and so happy with the food that we had.  It was amazing.  We also had some little treats from the kitchen before that.

Would I go back?  Hell yes.  Was it worth the side trip from Bologna?  Yes.  It was perfect (and pricey).

Italia!

I am going to do several days in one since I need to get all caught up with being here and travelling, and of course eating and drinking.

We drove from Lindau, Germany to Preci, Italy on April 21.  We made it in 8 hours.  I drove for part of the way there.  Go me!  The Mercedes is probably the most expensive car that I will ever drive.  Although, never say never.  The Villino was nice enough to pack us some sandwiches and fruit.  We pulled over to get the car filled up and ate in the parking lot.  We drove through some beautiful scenery on our way to central Umbria, where Preci is located.  We were met by Veronica, who showed us the way to our home away from home for the next six weeks.  We hauled all of our baggage up the hills to our house, and only had enough left in us to go to the local alimentare and buy some necessities for the next day or two.

All I can say is, there is nothing better than fresh baked bread from the local baker.  So good!  I wasn't feeling so well when we got in, so I didn't eat anything for dinner.  There were a few kinks that had to be worked out at the house though.  The owners forgot the password for the internet, which meant going into town the next day and up to Il Collaccio.  This was alright by us for the most part, except before we left, we decided to do a few loads of laundry.  Now, if you have never traveled abroad and tried to do laundry over here in someone's house, a word of caution.  First off, the washers are a lot smaller.  In the U.S., you can fit 10 towels in the washer and dryer.  Here, you are lucky if you can get 5 in and ever luckier if there is a dryer.  Which brings me to my second point- there are no dryers unless you are in a hotel and are paying them.  Or, like we later found out, willing to pay someone or in our case, Il Collaccio to use their washers AND dryer.  Although, the ones at Il Collaccio are like the ones we used in college dorms- large and very nice.

Back to Il Collaccio and the 22nd.  We came up here to use the internet and decided that since there wasn't that much to eat back home, that we would eat here.  The restaurant is called Il Porcello Felice (The Happy Pig) and now I know why.  The food was very good.  I decided to have pizza and a farro salad.  Farro is a traditional type of grain in Italy.  Think of it as rice.  My salad was cold, but it was drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  It was mixed with tomatoes and arugula.  The pizza was stone fired and amazing!  The crust was so thin and flavorful, the sauce was homemade and not from a jar and the mozzarella, wow.  Buttery and just so darn good.

Monday, the 23rd, we were up and out to explore what the region had to offer.  We decided to go to Torgiano.  It was a short trip, however it was made longer by the fact that we stopped off in Visso to get Chiavettas.  Chiavettas are thumb drives with SIM cards in them.  They plug into your computer and you can get WiFi through the cell phone signals.  It makes everything better while traveling.  After Visso, we drove to Torgiano and ate lunch at Il Spiro.  I decided on trying to be Italian and ate pasta carbonara with guanciale (pig cheek bacon) and the grilled chicken.  The carbonara was good, but what made the dish was the guanciale.  It was so fatty, but never chewy.

The grilled chicken was placed on top of a lot of arugula and was topped with Parmesan and balsamic vinegar.  The chicken was chicken- it wasn't dry, which was a blessing.  However, I have to say this.  Arugula- not that big of a fan.  The arugula here is SUPER peppery.  It overwhelms everything that you put it with.  And it is in EVERY salad.  Ugh.  With the meal, we tried a bit of the wine grown and produced locally by the Lungarotti family.  It was very nice- it was a white and was crisp and refreshing.

After lunch, we headed over to the Olive Oil Museum and the Wine Museum.  It walked you through the history of production and the many different uses that olive oil and wine have had through history- medical, religious, trade, etc.  I wanted to buy a book about the two, but they weren't in English.  Sad day.

On the 25th, we took another drive, this time to Norcia.  We decided to eat lunch at Ristorante Granaro del Monte.  Norcia, food-wise, is famous for their truffles.  Lots and lots of truffles dominate their dishes.  You can buy honey with truffles in it, pasta with truffles mixed in, risotto with truffles, etc.  And that is just in the shops.  Forget about the number of dishes with truffles in them at the restaurants.

I opted for the sausages stuffed with truffles and cheese.  The verdict- way to much salt.  The truffles were in paste form.  The cheese was salty and so was the sausage.  I also imagine that the truffle paste had salt in it as well.  However, the restaurant itself was lovely.  The picture above is their grill.  I was sitting next to said grill.  Almost all of the meats that were cooked in that restaurant were grilled.  The cook running the grill was skilled in knowing when to add more wood, where and how often.

Finally, I'll leave you with a picture from our balcony in Preci.  Sorry for all the text and the lack of pictures.  I was bad at taking pictures of all the food and wine.  But the next post...well, let's just say that if it were my last meal, I could die happy.