by Maureen | Jul 11, 2010 | Featured Articles, Food!, Journal, Meals, Photo of the Day, Photos, Quips
I have caught and cooked a LOT of fish in my life and I cook it well enough that I’m a snob about eating fish at a restaurant. My friends know this about me. I’ve sent fish back to the kitchen when we’ve eaten together. If we’re at a restaurant that touts itself as a fish-cooking wonder, it’d damn-well better be.
Segue. I’ve eaten some incredibly delicious fish at restaurants here in Italy. Heaven on my plate. Divinity. But I’m still perplexed by something I’ve seen a number of times.
I have ordered, and seen ordered, succulent “pan fish”, either roasted or grilled: branzino, orata, trota, etc. After whatever masterful preparation, the tuxedoed waiter arrives at the table with the fish on a platter and presents it with a flourish to the hungry diner. He then steps aside with the fish and proceeds to mangle it in offering his services of deboning the poor beast. Ten minutes later, the fish is cold and lies in a heap looking as if it has already been masticated. It resembles little of a fish.
Fish snob that I am, it baffles me when I see this abomination of fish-delivery.
Please tell me, WHY doesn’t the man-in-the-tuxedo simply lift the tail and let the lower filet slip away from the bones? He can then flip the remaining filet over, lift the tail again, and have two entire, appetizing filets ready and waiting. The rib bones are all attached at the spine and lifted away in one piece. The whole maneuver, in experienced hands, can take just a couple flicks of the wrists and leave the fish still-hot and appealing.
My dinner tonight, granted, is of a finer-textured fish (trout) and hasn’t been cleaned of edges and fins for a beautiful presentation, but, boom-boom, it took just seconds to lift the bones away. Since the fish hasn’t been cooked ’til dry, the delicate meat lifts off the skin with a wisp.
Last October I cooked a delicious branzino meal, my first time cooking that fish. Mmm.
by Maureen | Jul 7, 2010 | Featured Articles, Food!, Franciacorta, Incredible Locations, Journal, Meals, People, Photos
The grape varieties and resulting wines here in Italy are numerous and quite different than in the U.S. What better way, then, to learn about the wine I’m drinking than to take a wine-tasting class. After attending intensive language classes last winter, I figured I was ready to enroll in the preliminary class series offered by the Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori di Vino (ONAV) – the National Organization of Wine Tasters.
Some of my Seattle friends have joked that the class was a bunch of people sitting around drinking wine. “Hey! How do you like this wine?” “It’s great. Pass me the bottle!”
No. It was a series of 18 lessons, 2 per week, from 9:00 in the evening ’til 11:00 or so. It was held across town and I usually got home on the subway after midnight. (I started the class in February.) The course content was very technical, including discussions of chemistry, cultivation and fermentation processes, wine types and their characteristics, defects and regulations.
And all of this was in Italian. Each session was taught by a person with a different expertise… and a different manner of speaking. On good nights I understood 80% of what was said. (At least I think so.) There were a few nights when I may have understood only 10 -20%. Most lessons were complete with powerpoint presentations, charts and graphs. What I couldn’t understand by listening I could understand by reading. I felt I was learning more than I knew before, even though I didn’t get it all.
Most evenings, we had 4 wines to taste, being given a small sampling of each but not even taking the first sip until about 10:30. We used a complex table to judge each wine for its visual, olfactory and in-the-mouth characteristics, tallying a score for each wine on a 100-point scale. We judged on clarity, tone, intensity, frankness, fineness, harmony, body, persistence and overall ranking.
Taking the class did change my understanding of and appreciation for wine. And it probably spoiled me for drinking “cheap wine”, though here in Italy I can get a pretty nice, very drinkable wine for 4 or 5 euro. ($5 or $6)
When the class was ending in late April, we were told to prepare for the final exam. Yes. A final exam! I considered not taking the test; after all, I had attended the course simply for my own interest, not to become an official sommelier.
Having convinced myself to take the exam, I then considered taking the test in English, an option offered. But no. I took the 10-question short essay test in Italian. I had to understand the question; know the answer and know how to say and write it in Italian! We then had 5 wines to taste and judge; our judgments of the wine were expected to fall within a few points of the ONAV judgments. (ONAV was serious! They had several versions of the test. We had to sit with an empty chair between us. And we had to remain silent.)
I passed! It was a little, personal triumph.
Last Sunday we had our diploma ceremony at the beautiful Ferghettina vineyard high on a hill in the Franciacorta region east of Milan. Our class was joined by classes from other locations of the Lombardia region of Italy for one grand celebration.
Not having a car, I could not have attended without the kindness of my classmate, Giuseppe, letting me ride along with him and Alessandro. Once there, we met up with Federica and Valentina from our class.
Rocco and Gianni were also there, as were other classmates.
Our names were called out individually and we went to the front to receive our diplomas.
Afterwards, we were treated to Ferghettina Brut, along with typical meats, cheeses and breads. On that sweltering hot day, a tour of the winery’s cool, underground “cantina” was a refreshing break, and fascinating.
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Ahh, nice and cool standing next to the 2008 Franciacorta Brut.
After celebrating with our other ONAV classmates, the 5 of us headed off in two cars to a place that Federica had heard about. It was a laughable, roundabout tour through the countryside of Brescia trying to find the agriturismo, Cá del Lupo. We enjoyed a light lunch on the terrace: Alessandro, Valentina, Giuseppe and Federica.
Alessandro.
Valentina.
Giuseppe.
Federica.
It took much hemming-and-hawing to decide whether to go walk along the shore of Lago d’Iseo. We consulted the GPS to figure out how to get there and how long it would take.
Lago d’Iseo is between Lago di Como and Lago di Garda, nestled in the ring of mountains to the north.
Alessandro and I goofed off at the cartoon characters on the lawn.
I spent my very hot Fourth of July at a winery, a farm and a lake, with 4 dear people I hardly knew. We had a wonderful time and laughed a lot. One of more of them may end up on my doorstep in Seattle some day!
by Maureen | Jul 7, 2010 | Food!, Incredible Locations, Journal, Meals, Photos, Quips, Sanremo
When it’s beastly hot outside, what could be a more perfect lunch than sublimely-ripe melon with culatello prosciutto, and some near-fist-sized, plump, fresh figs? Add artisan pasta dressed with flash-cooked summer cherry tomatoes, olive oil and basil, nibble some ciabatta and sip some rosé on the side. This is how to eat!
by Maureen | Jul 6, 2010 | Discoveries, Featured Articles, Food!, Incredible Locations, Journal, Meals, People, Photo of the Day, Photos, Sanremo
Last Friday, after my whirlwind morning in Genova, I continued on to Sanremo for what was likely my last visit with my “landlady” Sandra and her husband, Mauro, before my departure from Milano. I had visited them a couple of times in winter and at my departure then it felt as if longtime friends were bidding “arrivederci“.
It was hot even in Sanremo, which is usually milder than the inland. Sandra and I sat in the cool of the house, and later on the porch swing, covering every topic from food and family, to health, spirituality, friendship and life approach. (Not bad considering it was all in Italian.)
Mid-afternoon, it was time to start dinner: homemade Sardenara and Focaccia, carpaccio of Tuna (thin slices of raw tuna), and insalata di gamberi e rucola (salad of shrimp and arugula).
Sardenara is specific to Liguria, the part of Italy up north and west along the Riviera, approaching France. You can’t quite call Sardenara “pizza”, but rather a focaccia pan bread with very specific ingredients. Sandra made a dough of a specific semolina flour purchased especially for this recipe. A friend, Angelo, had shown her how to make this.
She rolled and formed the dough into the square baking pans, then set them aside to rise.
After the dough had risen, Sandra selected one pan for a simple focaccia with coarse salt and olive oil. The finger indentations in the dough, and more than a splash of water (!) poured on top before going into the oven, were two secrets important to the recipe.
Next came the very simple, yet specific, Sardenara preparation: a base of peeled, cooked tomatoes; taggiasche olives, local to the region; salted anchovies; garlic cloves, olive oil, oregano, coarse salt, water.
The Sardenara cooked up to a half-inch thick bread with a wisp of tomato and the pungency of olive and anchovy. It began our dinner.
Mauro, Sandra’s husband, was hungry and ready for dinner.
A perfect summer meal, begun with fresh Sardenara, and followed with a simple salad of arugula and shrimp, and tuna carpaccio. All light and delicious for a hot day.
Sandra and Mauro’s friend, Sandro, joined us for the meal. We had all spent time together in the wintertime, (including our trip to Monaco and a meal of Sandro’s special pureéd rabbit liver sauce over freshly-made pasta). He dished up the tuna carpaccio, which had been doused with fresh-squeezed lemon juice and olive oil. It was fantastic!
The salad was dressed simply with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Dinner was a lovely time with my new “old friends”. And the making of it was as much a part of the pleasure, as was the conversation throughout it all.
by Maureen | Jun 30, 2010 | Discoveries, Featured Articles, Food!, Journal, Meals, People, Photos
Two Chinese and one American strolling together along the Naviglio Grande speaking Italian, their only common language. Now if that doesn’t make you smile, I don’t know what will.
I had gone back to the Mercatone Antiquariato – The Big Antique Market – (the last one before my departure) in search of the few, last treasures. Three things called my name and came home with me and they will be some of the many things that bring Italy to mind when I’m back in the Pacific Northwest. I bought an old book, a wooden hat form, and a medallion… and then I was hungry.
The Naviglio Grande is lined with trattorie, osterie, cafés, gelaterie and pizza joints selling by the slice. I know better than to be indecisive when I’m hungry, so I stepped right into the Vintage Café (decorated with Marilyn Monroe), because I saw their lunch buffet arrayed like the typical evening aperitivo. My hosts, Piero and Élena, seated me and brought me a crisp glass of cold, white wine. I loaded up my plate and began to calm my rumbling belly.
Two men walked in and took the table right next to me. As I’ve found here in general, space is tight and so are tables. People sitting NEXT to you might as well be eating WITH you. We started chatting and comparing our purchases. Mako and Ma Qing Sheng are son and father, here for two months from China. They had purchased and showed me a set of an elaborate, engraved serving spatula and fork, with matching appetizer forks. I showed them the old book and hat form I bought. Piero, our host, joined the conversation and pretty soon we were all one big, happy family in conversation.
Ma Qing Sheng liked the hat form and I told him I’d take him to the seller so he could buy one. We paid our bills for lunch. Piero gave me a European kiss goodbye and we started walking and talking. I was amused by the absurd unlikelihood of the situation: being in Italy and carrying on in Italian with two Chinese men. (The little bit of Chinese I know was buried too deep in the recesses for any access or assistance as we chatted.)
Ma Qing Sheng picked out one of the very sculptural forms, and the father and son playfully modeled some of the vintage hats on display (probably to the chagrin of the seller, but she had just sold another hat form, so wasn’t putting up a fuss). Mako and his father and I exchanged contact information and we may get together for dinner sometime in the next month.
These unlikely moments will make me smile and sparkle for years to come…
by Maureen | Jun 28, 2010 | Cheese, Food!, Incredible Locations, Journal, Meals, People, Photos, Varenna
How do you give a 13-year-old a whirlwind overview of Milano and other spots in Italy?
I had grown up picking rocks off of Earl’s parents’ waterfront on Three Tree Point, just down from the house I have in Seattle now. (In other words, he’s known me since I was born.) So when Earl decided to take his grandson, Matthew, on a tour of Italy, and knowing that I’m here in Milano, he got in touch with me and we started planning the whirlwind. By the time the trip was only a week away, Earl wrote to say they were “counting the hours”.
The two travelers arrived at Milano Malpensa Airport, jet-lagged but excited. We caught the train into the city, with one minute to spare.
Like Hannah and Zibby two days before, Earl and Matthew’s first stop, with mere 21-pound packs still on their backs, was the Spezia Milano Pasticceria. They needed a little something to take to their hotel room and picked out a dozen sweet treats. (The best in town.)
The guys needed a break after their long travels, and a little freshening up. We met up a couple of hours later when they came over to my apartment just 2 blocks away to “skype” family back home. Then we walked up the canal, Naviglio Pavese, to a pizza restaurant with a wood-fired oven. I don’t know what was so funny, but Matthew enjoyed his 5 cheese pizza. Much of it was packed home though, and ended up in my frigo (and made a high-fat breakfast for me the next day).
Earl and I shared an antipasta plate of mixed cheeses and meats, then a pizza of prosciutto, mushrooms and artichoke hearts.
Still recovering from the trip, “The Boys” called it a night early without the evening stroll along the canal (to the gelato shop), and headed back to their hotel for a good, long night’s sleep.
In the morning, having missed the breakfast part of the “bed & breakfast”, they came to my apartment for made-to-order, prosciutto/grana/peperoni/cipolla omelettes with bread, jam, blood orange juice and strong coffee. Once they had been fueled for the day, we headed for the subway.
It was a day to scout for Leonardo around town; he had lived in Milano for 20 years as a young man and left his mark across the city. Our first stop was the Castello Sforzesco, an impressive moat-encircled castle in the center of town. From there we moved on to The Museum of Science and Technology and its Leonardo da Vinci exhibit.
We saw some incredible models representing the ideas in Leonardo’s Codex Atlanticus!
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We had 3:30 tickets for The Last Supper and needed to check in a half hour beforehand. Their tours are very precise in their beginnings and endings so that they can best control the atmosphere within the chamber that hosts the fragile mural. To actually SEE the original painting, the inspiration for so many reproductions and college lectures, is an experience to add to a lifetime.
Earl and Matthew were both spent after our sightseeing. We each wolfed down a panino of prosciutto, brie and “red mayonnaise” then headed back to the subway. I was heading north to buy our train tickets for the next day, and they were going to test their navigational skills and get themselves back to their hotel. (Matthew had great fun later trying to convince me that they had gotten lost and had been wandering around for hours.)
We regrouped later for evening skype sessions with the folks back home. (At 6:00 pm here, it’s 9:00 am on the U.S. West Coast.)
The big question was “where shall we go for dinner?” With so many options, I wavered in my recommendation, but kept thinking about octopus and potatoes at the Carlotta Café south along the canal. I wasn’t sure how adventurous Matthew would be, but we went anyway, and took a cab since neither the subway nor our feet would get us there easily.
Dinner was DIVINE. If you ever want a good meal in Milano, head to the Carlotta Café! Matthew ordered gnocchi with speck, (like a lightly smoked prosciutto) and rucola (arugula) in a fabulous, creamy sauce.
Apparently, Matthew really liked the sauce! (Matthew! I can’t believe you did that!)
Earl and I ordered the evening special, a 7-course, fish-based meal that kept the food coming all night. At our first urging, Matthew took a little taste of the fresh-caught anchovies and he was hooked from then on. He quickly swooped in on a half dozen of the slim, silvery filets, then scooped up a portion of the much-anticipated octopus and potatoes. I was pleased by his willingness to sample the seafood variety.
Our 29 Euro-per-person meal included:
– “Paper Music” bread, hot, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt
– Piovra tiepida con patate e olive (Octopus with potatoes, olives and olive oil)
– Alici marinate (Fresh anchovies on a bed of rucola)
– Carpaccio di spada (thin slices of raw swordfish)
– Ostriche (Raw oysters)
– Paccheri all’isolana (pasta, tomato, tuna, basil)
– Spaghetti con bottarga (spaghetti with grated, dried tuna roe)
– Branzino vernaccia (Roasted branzino fish with olives)
– Mirto (an after-dinner liqueur from myrtle leaves and berries)
– Pardule (a star-shaped, pastry desert from Sardegna)
We ordered a nice, chilled bottle of Vermentino di Sardegna vino bianco to go with our seafood.
By the end of the evening we were having quite the time chatting with Erik, our wonderful waiter. When other restaurant patrons ordered a roasted, suckling pig, Erik brought it by to show us. And when it was time to leave, we met the chef/owners and the others in the kitchen, complimenting them on our fantastic meal.
Carlotta Café
Alzaia Naviglio Pavese, 274
20142 Milano
Tel: 02-89546028
The next day we hopped the train northeast, to the town of Varenna, along the eastern shore of Lago di Como (Lake Como). Earl and Matthew were scheduled to meet with a travel group at 5:00 that evening to continue their whirlwind tour. Since I hadn’t seen Varenna before, I accompanied them on the train trip and to their steep hillside room-with-a-view. From their balcony, they looked almost due west to Bellagio (hidden by the 3 tall cypress trees), and north to the town of Varenna.
We had a little wander around the town and a lunch by the lake shore.
After lunch, we walked just around the bend for a treat of pistacchio, coconut and vanilla gelati, which we ate while leaning on the railing looking out over the water. We said our goodbyes, gave each other hugs, and then went our separate ways for our own exploration.
We had two very full, delicious and beautiful days! What an introduction for Matthew – nicknamed “Mateo” – to the sights and food of Italy. I’ll be curious to know what his highlights are.
by Maureen | Jun 27, 2010 | Featured Articles, Food!, Journal, Meals, Quips
It’s hot. It’s sunny. And this weather is exactly what tomatoes love. They are deep red, full of flavor and SWEET! Some I buy directly from the farm down the road. Some come from Sicilia. It is tomato heaven and there’s no reason to eat anything else except as an accompaniment to the tomatoes: fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, olive oil, oregano, bresaola, bruschetta, etc. Ahh! You should be here!
by Maureen | Jun 22, 2010 | Canals, Cheese, Discoveries, Featured Articles, Food!, Journal, Meals, People, Photos
The excitement of a college-time trek through Europe! Hannah & Zibby started together on June 8, in Newcastle Under Lyme. They went on to Amsterdam and Berlin, took a wrong train into Switzerland, and arrived in Milano yesterday. They’ll go on to Venezia, Firenze, Roma, then Athens and Santorini. A time to discover themselves and the world.
There’s always the charge of newness when arriving at a train station in a new, as-yet-unvisited city.
Following their afternoon arrival, we took off on both subway and foot for a whirlwind tour of the city. We wasted no time and stopped at the Spezia Milano Pasticceria, suitcases still in hand, to buy a tray full of the best pastries in the city.
Trying a “BaBA” was a must for these girls and their yen for sweets. These little sponge-cake gems are SATURATED with rum, and filled with a sweet ricotta cheese with chocolate bits. The first bite sends a stream of rum down the arm and leaves a puddle of the alcoholic syrup in the little decorative paper cup. Tip the cup to sip every drop.
The girls freshened up after their overnight train trip, then we headed for the subway and back to the center of town: the Duomo. We studied the gargoyles, doors, and gory statues all over the church’s exterior. In addition to the pious saints and cherubs, there are pensive philosophers, ominous monsters, and poor unfortunates in all states of torture, beheading and disembowelment. We remarked on the many different artistic styles.
Of course we walked through the grandeur of the Galleria, a must-see for any visitor.
When out in front of the Palazzo Reale – the Royal Palace-turned-art-museum – we had a lesson in paving patterns, learning that, though attractive, the round, embedded pebbles were actually not very comfortable to walk on. That’s the reason for the inlay of broad flat stones.
Throughout Italy there are water fountains in the major cities that provide potable water from natural, underground sources (or so I’ve been told). Locals and tourists alike refill water bottles, or take sips on a hot day. One man knew the trick of blocking the water flow coming out the bottom of the spigot, which then diverted the flow out through a small upper hole, creating a drinking fountain arc of fresh water. Hannah just had to test the waters.
The tired travelers were getting hungry, so we descended into the subway maze, caught the red line, then transferred to the green line. We got off at Porta Genova to stroll through the Navigli – canal – district, the hip, energetic, trendy, scenic zone of antique fairs, flower markets and exhibiting painters. We had come for aperitivi, Milano’s traditional all-you-can-eat buffet for the price of one drink, usually 7-9 euro. We picked the restaurant on a floating green barge docked at the junction of the Naviglio Grande and the Naviglio Pavese. In addition to the usual carbs of pasta and pizza squares, they offer roasted peppers, eggplant and zucchini, balls of fresh mozzarella, and an amazing bruschetta of Italy’s summer-ripe tomatoes. A very nice Montepulciano and a strawberry mojito are what we selected for making our toast to being in Milano together.
The collective sweet tooth reigned and our meal would not have been complete without a further stroll along the canal and a stop to buy gelato. Hannah and Zibby learned a lesson about design and merchandising. This particular gelateria has very nice signage and interior display… and a line of people out the door waiting to get in. A gelateria 3 doors down is NOT visually impressive and the place was empty.
I was proud of Hannah for ordering her gelato IN ITALIAN! “Vorrei stracciatella.” “I would like stracciatella” (A vanilla gelato with little bits of chocolate chip throughout).
By 11 o’clock on a lovely, warm evening, we were walking along the smaller of the two canals amidst umbrellas, street musicians and candle light. We took a detour for a late night showing of some of Milano’s best graffiti, then headed home for a skype session with folks back home.
Hannah and Zibby were gracious, curious and great company during their personal tour of my Milanese haunts. They enjoyed seeing and hearing about some of the particular details of a “local”.
by Maureen | Jun 13, 2010 | Featured Articles, Food!, Incredible Locations, Journal, Meals, People, Photos, Venezia - Venice
Last September, with just a few clues in hand, I wandered around Venice in search of Trattoria da Ignazio. Having heard about the exquisite meals freshly prepared by Signora Ada, I was disappointed to find the restaurant closed for the day, but vowed to return. With wide eyes, my wonderful Italian teacher in Bellevue, Josefina, had raved about the trattoria.
At the top of the list for my visit to Venice last week with my friend, Sally, was a dinner at Signora Ada’s. I was able to navigate right to the trattoria (an amazing feat in Venice) and was surprised by it’s large size. I had expected a much smaller restaurant with one woman in the kitchen. I was puzzled and thought that maybe someone else had taken over the restaurant.
We entered and were greeted by a waiter in a white tux. I asked if Signora Ada was still there. The waiter immediately went to the kitchen and I heard him say (of course in Italian), “Signora Ada, someone’s out here asking for you.”
This pixie-like, spry woman with a bright yellow scarf tied around her neck came out to say hello. I relayed what I had been told of her, and that I had been “commanded” to eat there. We talked for a few minutes, two short women, eye-to-eye. Her sparkling warmth was a delight. We were told she’s been cooking for 70 years (?!)
The restaurant has a large internal dining room, and an even larger outer courtyard, with a vine-covered trellis ceiling. (Choosing to avoid cigarette smoke while we were eating, Sally and I chose the inner dining room.)
I began my meal with Cape Sante au gratin, delicious scallops baked in their shells.
We were well-tended by our waiter, Fausto, who recommended the whole, baked branzino. He even brought it to us on a tray before cooking; it looked like it had been caught just 5 minutes earlier! We ate our appetizers, drank some of the house wine, and then were presented with the fish when simply cooked to perfection with just a little olive oil.
Here’s Fausto, ready to debone the fish for us.
The fish was moist and succulent. Not overdone one minute! Delicate and so freshly flavored.
During the meal, I had to get up and take a peak in the kitchen. Signora Ada was hard at work putting her expert touch into each dish for every fortunate restaurant patron.
After our long and wonderful meal, Sally and I went back to the kitchen door to say goodbye. Signora Ada and I chatted a few minutes more, gave each other kisses on both cheeks, and shared twinkles in our eyes. Her Trattoria da Ignazio is a must for any visit to Venezia!
TRATTORIA DA IGNAZIO
2749, S. Polo – VENEZIA (VE)
Tel: 041.5234852
Web: www.trattoriadaignazio.com
by Maureen | Jun 13, 2010 | Bologna, Food!, Incredible Locations, Journal, Meals
“I don’t have to eat anything the entire rest of my life. Nothing could be better than this meal”, said Sally.
It’s worth a trip to Bologna just to eat at Trattoria La Montanara. This small restaurant serves food that will make you swoon. (Be sure to reserve a table ahead of time so you’re not disappointed.)
Sally and I took the train from Milano to Bologna, just a little over an hour. After sightseeing, our day’s highlight was the delicious dinner, seated next to the open doors at the sidewalk’s edge.
The antipasti plate included a prosciutto mousse, quiche of zucchini and smoked scamorza cheese, eggplant pudding with olive tapenade, and a spinach/sausage combo (already devoured by the time I shot this photo.)
Creamy, cheesy, risotto of asparagus and zucchini flowers. Oh my!!! Divine.
Tortelloni of potato and pancetta with a butter and sage sauce.
If you’re a meat eater, what could be better than a perfectly cooked filet with a thick, balsamic vinegar sauce?
Trattoria La Montanara
Via Augusto Righi, 15
40126 Bologna, Italia
Tel: 051 221583
