Panicale

During our April trip to Italy, we did three things that we had never done before.  The first thing was that we took a cooking class with Sharon Oddson - my last few blogs describe all of the recipes and have some yummy looking photos to go along with them.  The second thing that we did was taking the train from Florence to visit FHFB's cousin Mario and wife Pam at their wonderful little farm right outside of the wonderful little town of Panicale, Umbria, about 90 minutes outside of the city of Florence.  I think that I'm overusing the word 'wonderful', sorry!

Isn't this just heaven???

Here's a photo of my son, Pam, Mario and FHFB on the brick patio, where we sat and ate a delicious meal and drank local wine most of the afternoon. 

I think I'll just post the photos with short explanations - the photos just bring me back to that very wondeful day!

When we arrived (Mario picked us up at the train station) Pam  had a wonderful table full of delicious Italian specialties for us to try.  You can see the one bottle of local red wine labeled 'B'.

Mario built his own outside pizza oven and stone grill - don't these little chops look delicious and so rustic?

Believe it or not, we do other things besides eating!  After we sat and ate for a few hours, Mario took FHFB and my son to his neighbor's home to fill up on their homemade wine.  Pam and I stayed behind and had some time to get to know each other - it was the first time I had met her and she is a fascinating and intelligent lady.  I loved hearing about her life.

The next three pictures show the process of getting the wine from the large oak wine barrel into what looks like a white plastic bucket.

Here's the next step, pouring the wine from the white bucket into Mario's large glass wine container using the biggest funnel I have ever seen. 

And here's the wonderful container that Mario has for the trip home in the back seat of his car...

So, after the wine delivery, Mario took us on a walk through his property.  The most amazing thing that I saw (and there were many amazing things to see!) were the artichokes growing in his garden.  When we were in Florence artichokes were all over the vegetable markets - they were in season and just delicious and beautiful to see in huge piles.  Have you ever seen them grow?

Aren't they they gorgeous??

You know, as I'm putting this blog post together I'm missing Panicale so much.  It was such a lovely day.  Here are some more photos just to enjoy and dream with:

Walking through the woods, Mario showed us where the wild boar forrage for acorns. 

Wild cyclamen also grow in the underbrush.

An olive grove on one side of Mario and Pam's property.  I think the olive trees closer to the bottom of the photo belong to Mario and Pam.

A view of the front of the farmhouse and the patio where we sat and enjoyed a delicous meal with wonderful people.

My son and I enjoying the wine - this was bottle 'A'!

It was hard to leave this very tranquil and lovely home. 

Mario and Pam are wonderful hosts and very lucky people. 

They love their home and property so much and it shows in every nook and cranny.

Thank you both so much for making such a wonderful memory for all of us!

My next post will be about the third new experience we had during our trip - a street stroll in Rome with Eleonora from aglio, alio e peperoncino. 

I'll be linking to Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper and Foodie Friday and Alphabet Thursday!!

Ciao, bella!

xxoo

Cooking in Florence

A I prepare my simple dinner of lemon chicken this evening, I am reminded of the wonderful markets in Florence and how much I wish my lifestyle included shopping for dinner in a local market or visiting a local butcher or fishmonger for something fresh and delicious.  This is something I've just got to figure out how to fit into my daily life, (my good friend Stephanie and I talk about this all of the time) even if it's a limited shopping - but fresh, organic ingredients are so important for a healthy diet and delicious food. With summer coming the markets will be more plentiful, and FHFB's garden will be providing us with delicious vegetables as well.  Cooking with seasonal ingredients is also a basic part of the Italian diet - with fish and beef and fruits and vegetables growing very close to the city of Florence and having very little transport time to the markets and restaurants.  Limiting our carbon footprints and buying local is something we all need to become more aware of - but it's not easy to do!!!

 As you already know, FHFB and I recently spent 15 days in Italy, 13 of them in Florence and 2 in Rome. 

Today's post will focus on a cooking class that we took with Sharon Oddson,

co-owner of the Garga restaurant on Via del Moro in Florence. 

Sharon explains that

the cooking school began in August 1998 in a 14th century palazzo across the street from the restaurant.  Today, she teaches from the kitchen in her apartment - with tremendous passion - the simplicity of recreating Tuscan culinary traditions into a grand culinary feast.  The school offers intimate one-day courses where all guests are encouraged to participate in preparing and enjoying a superb for course lunch served in a renaissance atmosphere.

This is Sharon's simple kitchen in her wonderful Florence apartment.

Sharon has written a great book called Once Upon a Tuscan Table:  Tales and Recipes from Trattoria Garga  about moving to Florence from Canada, marrying and living with her husband Giuliano and of course about the Garga restaurant.  This wonderful memoir and cookbook is full of absolutely hilarious and heartwarming stories as well as delicious recipes.  Some of the chapters have very interesting names:  The Girl from the Frozen North, How Giuliano Saved Our Marriage, Arm Wrestling and Going Underground. 

Sharon created a wonderful menu for us to cook during our 4 hour cooking class on our recent visit to Florence.  We received a lovely little booklet that described why and how herbs are used in Garga's kitchen, an explanation of the different types of Tuscan 'liquid gold' - otherwise known as olive oil - an indispensable part of Garga's kitchen.  The kitchen equipment need for the recipes was also listed in this little booklet - with a focus on using very little kitchen equipment in order to keep the true flavors of the food that is being cooked. 

The booklet from our cooking class - stains and all!

The menu also included the two wines we would be drinking that day, one white and one red.  The white wine was called Pomino Bianco, a Tuscan wine from the Marchesi De Frescolbaldi.   This delicious wine has an appearance called 'straw transparent', almost white, with paly grey reflexes.  The nose is elegant, fruity and flowery and the taste is fine, clean, well balanced with a lingering aftertaste - it was just lovely.  We had this white wine with our bruschetta.

The red wine served during the main course part of our class was called Nipozzano Riserva.

This wine is a Chianti Rufina DOCG Riserva, also from Frescobaldi.  The color was an incredibly concentrated bright ruby red with a bouquet that offered an enticing array of ripe fruit frangrances such as cherries and prunes, layered with nuances of currants and hints of spices. 

The delicious menu follows:

(recipe to follow in my next post)

Bruschetta con Pomodori Freschi al Forno

Bruschetta with Fresh Roasted Tomatoes

(these tomatoes were small plum shaped tomatoes straight from Sicily and so soooo sweet)

Taglierini del "Magnifico"

Thin Fettuccine with Citrus Sauce

Scallopine ai Carciofi

Veal Cutlets with Artichokes

Crema de Ricotta con Salsa Caramello all'Arancia e Madorle Tostate

Ricotta Cream with Orange Caramel Sauce and Toasted Almonds

In my next post I'll include each of the recipes for you to try.  Till then, buon appetito!!

Ciao, bella!

Voila!

What better way to spend a day than creating delicious dishes with vegetables from our garden, and with some additions from the pantry, fridge or freezer - very yummy creations are usually the result. 

FHFB's vegetable garden is in full swing right now, most especially with tomatoes.  These little yellow gems have the most exquisite flavor, and they don't seem to split as much on the vine as the smaller cherry tomatoes. 

Appetizer Menu for the Weathermen's Barbeque on the Porch at Frog Hollow Farm

On Saturday FHFB and I hosted a barbeque for FHFB's office staff - 9 meteorologists and their families.  Everything turned out wonderfully, however, it was absolutely pouring that morning - a real deluge - FHFB promised me that it would clear up by the afternoon and he was right - there wasn't a drop of rain the entire afternoon and evening.