Wishing you blessings
of the Easter Season
and the joys of springtime.
©Blogginginitaly.com
Ciao,
Judy
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Roses are red
Tomatoes are too
I’ll have mine with caprese and pasta
And a bit of vino too!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Buona Festa di San Giuseppe!
19 Mar
March 19 is the feast of St. Joseph, patron saint of the family, and it is a feast day celebrated by Italians everywhere. Growing up in a neighborhood filled with many Irish and Italian families, I was always happy that the Italians also had their day in March to celebrate.
Joseph the Carpenter, 1642, Louvre, by Georges de La Tour
Of course, not quite as loud or rowdy as St. Patrick’s Day, we nonetheless celebrated the feast of St. Joseph with a food fest. And while the Irish had their green beer and accessories, the Italians, often sporting something red, had their zeppole, a cream filled fried pastry that originated in Napoli.
©Blogginginitaly.com
According to my fellow blogger, MariaGiovanna, (Sharing My Italy) the “Zeppole di SanGiuseppe” originated in Naples, Italy, “where the first recipe was put on paper, in 1837, by the famous Neapolitan gastronome Ippolito Cavalcanti, Duke of Buonvicino.”
Fortunately, you don’t have to be in Italy to enjoy a zeppole. In Chicago, they can be found in authentic Italian bakeries such as Ferrara Bakery on Taylor Street. Light, airy and filled with cream, it is fun to see the smiles they generate on those wiping the cream from their lips.
©Blogginginitaly.com
At this time of year, Ferrara’s and Italian bakeries everywhere are busy filling and selling hundreds of dozens of the cream filled gems.
©Blogginginitaly.com
So, to those looking to get beyond the grey days of winter, here’s an idea – participate in a St. Joseph’s Day custom by sharing some food with the needy and with some friends, and, of course, be sure to bring some zeppole!
Ciao,
Judy
From Grape to Glass
3 Mar
While we continue to meet Chicagoans who visit Cortona, it is less often that the Cortonese visit us. But Saturday was an exception. Meet Denis Zeni.
Denis is the “titolare” – or owner – of Leuta, a boutique winery in the Cortona area. He is visiting several cities in the States and conducting wine tastings in his hosts’ homes.
Denis in center with hosts ©Blogginginitaly.com
Denis’ story, like so many other entrepreneurs we meet in Italy, is a love story based on deep-rooted traditions. His grandfather cultivated grapes on his land in Trentino, in northern Italy, and shared his passion with his young grandson. Constantly at his grandfather’s side, Denis soon grew to love the land and over time, the possibilities.
Denis’ father, however, hoping for a different life for his son, eventually sold the family land, and encouraged Denis to seek a career in Finance. Denis obliged, but after a successful career and several finance degrees, he awoke one day and decided, “I don’t want to die as a banker!” Not that there is anything wrong with banking, he notes, it just didn’t mesh with the passion that had been ignited in his blood as a child.
With his grandfather’s land no longer available, Denis searched and found land in Tuscany to launch his dream. What began as The Tuscany Project, a small initiative with his friend and then partner Enzo, is now the Leuta Estate, approximately 62 acres at 31o meters above sea level near Cortona.
But back to the wine tasting. As we enjoyed delicious Tuscan antipasti prepared by our amazing hosts,
©Blogginginitaly.com
©Blogginginitaly.com
Denis shared some of his personal history as well as that of Leuta. He then began pouring the first of five wines we would taste.
©Blogginginitaly.com
Wine tastings are a fun and interesting way to sample various wines and learn something about each. They usually include a 5 step process: see, swirl, sniff, sip, savor. As I listened attentively to Denis, it occurred to me that this tasting was quite different from most others we have attended. And I quickly realized why.
Denis not only knew about these wines, he was personally connected to all aspects, from grape to glass. He described the vines, how they were planted, how they behaved as they grew, the choice to avoid/limit chemicals, the grape selection, the harvesting process, the aging, the bottling, the mistakes and the successes. It became clear to me that the bottles held not only his wines but also his dreams and life’s work.
Similar to the eye of the beholder, I believe that wine preference is in the senses of the taster. Expensive or not doesn’t necessarily mean great or not. But a really nice wine seems to taste even better when I know its history and understand its traditions.
Grazie, Denis, for sharing your wonderful story and wines with us! We look forward to spending time with you at Leuta.
©Blogginginitaly.com
In the meantime, as we enjoy our new purchases, we will toast to you and recall the history you shared with us. Your grandfather is surely smiling.
Ciao,
Judy
For more information:
http://www.leuta.it
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Italian Tradition – Home Cooking
26 FebOne of the very best things to enjoy in Italy is the food. But what makes it so special? In a word, local. Italians pride themselves on eating and cooking what is locally available, and in many cases, home grown. That means that menus not only change with the seasons, they are also based on long standing regional traditions passed on from one generation to the next, and, of course, dictated by the terroir or environment.
©Blogginginitaly.com
©Blogginginitaly.com
When I first began traveling to Italy, I always wished that I would be invited into the home of a local. I wanted to experience the lady of the house cooking for her family, to learn from her and then eat what was prepared. It’s hard to walk the narrow streets of small towns and villages and not get caught up in the delicious smells and banter bellowing from the windows at lunch and dinner.
Luckily for us, we now have native Italian friends who invite us into their homes and give us this opportunity.
©Blogginginitaly.com
But as we travel to other parts of Italy, is there a way to have similar experiences?
Meet Le Cesarine, a group of “landlords chosen through a careful selection by Home Food in order to preserve and promote the heritage of wisdom, tradition and culture hidden in the thousands of recipes of our regional cuisine.” According to their website,
Home Food has built a network of “Cesarine” all over the peninsula in order to offer the possibility to find in many places in Italy a cosy table, rich of food prepared and maintained for the members only. For the reason that the “Cesarine” do not manage a restaurant in their houses, but invite you to their tables as a guest of the family who shares the passion for the tradition, the land and its tastes, values, which constitute the mission of Home Food.
Home Foods, founded in 2004, is a collaborative effort among several groups in Italy whose goal is to “spread the culture of traditional food interwoven with the culture of the typical products and the particular area.”
If you think about it, Italy has thousands of informally trained household cooks who, without recipes, create incredible meals from starter through dessert. Home Food has tapped into this resource and created a network of cesarine – grandmothers, mothers, aunts and daughters, who are knowledgeable of their local area, passionate about cooking, and willing to share their traditions as they host events in their homes.
Through Home Food, registered members have the opportunity to learn traditional culinary methods, eat traditional meals, and truly experience regional Italian culture in the home of a cesarine.
I learned of this organization through an article by Irene Levine in the Chicago Tribune, dated February 1, 2015. She and her husband had the opportunity to experience a cooking lesson in the home of a cesarine from Bologna. Although I have not yet participated, Irene’s story presented a way for travelers to experience the flavors and culinary traditions throughout Italy as guests in a local home. If your Italy TO DO list includes a mini cooking class, or eating in the home of a local, this might well be your opportunity.
Their calendar includes event dates, locations, recipes, a bit of history, and pricing. And if you partake, I’d love to hear your feedback.
Buon Appetito!
Ciao,
Judy
An Italian Lesson for Valentine’s Day
14 FebRoses are red
Le rose sono rosse
©Blogginginitaly.com
Tomatoes are too
I pomodori sono anche
©Blogginginitaly.com
I’ll have mine with caprese and pasta
Avrò la mia con caprese e pasta
©Blogginginitaly.com
©Blogginginitaly.com
And a bit of vino too!
E un po ‘di vino anche!
©Blogginginitaly.com
In whichever language sings to you,
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Buon San Valentino!
Ciao,
Judy
Homemade Ravioli with Friends
6 FebKnowing that we love to make homemade pizza and bread, (well, Len makes it and I eat it), my niece surprised us with this beautiful ravioli rolling pin. Truth be told, neither Len nor I had ever made homemade pasta, nor had we ever thought to do so.
©Blogginginitaly.com
So there it sat, since Christmas, staring back at us and egging us on…”come try me” it seemed to call out each time we passed by. So we gathered the usual suspects for a day of cooking/baking and added ravioli to the menu. After all, how hard could it be?
Giovanni, Len’s cooking buddy, made incredible dough for baguettes while Len whipped up some delicious Sicilian pizza for us to eat while contemplating the ravioli roller. With vino in hand, we watched the YouTube from Repast, the maker of the rolling pin.
©Blogginginitaly.com
Confident in our skills, Susanna took to the stove to create a porcini tomato sauce as I made the ricotta pecorino filling.
Since this was my very first pasta making experience, I decided to forego the mixer and do it all by hand. And Giovanni promised to help with the kneading and rolling, so why not.
Did it work? Click on the video produced by Giovanni to find out. And special thanks and musical credit to Andrea Bocelli for serenading us with Romanza and Rapsodia.
Ciao,
Judy
Italian Commercials
2 FebLast night, while watching the Super Bowl, this town showed up in one of the commercials:
©Blogginginitaly.com
Perhaps unlike most of the millions watching, I recognized it immediately as Pitigliano, Italy. Truly a sight to behold, and once I saw it, a sight I’ll never forget.
The commercial that followed was so very typical of Italian commercials, creatively presenting a product in a subtle, or not so, sensual/sexual way. This is usually the case, whether the commercial is for gelato, a cleaning product, or a car.
I did a little research on the commercial, and not surprisingly, found that it had been panned by Adweek and other so called advertising experts. Perhaps these critics need to spend a bit more time in Italy, where the commercials are often as fun to watch as the shows.
In case you missed it, here’s the commercial.
Bigger, more powerful, and ready for action!
And if you are interested, here’s more on Pitigliano:
https://blogginginitaly.com/2013/07/29/pitigliano/
Ciao,
Judy
“Italy the Extraordinary Commonplace”
25 JanWe often read of the demise of Italy as a major producer and exporter, so the following video was made to counter some of these less than favorable descriptions.
Per Matteo Renzi, Prime Minister of Italy,
The video “Italy the extraordinary commonplace” is designed to show Italy beyond stereotypes, a major producer of technological goods and the second European exporter in mechanical engineering and automation.
Since I love visiting Italy, I found this information to be great news. As for the format, well, leave it to the ever creative Italians. Thanks, Anna, for sharing.
Ciao,
Judy
The Flâneur
19 Jan
Great posts are worth sharing, so I’d like to share this one with you. Although I had studied French for many years, I had never heard of the term The Flâneur. According to the post’s author,
“A Flâneur is a term for a person who goes about daily life really seeing what is going on around him. He doesn’t so much interact with the world, but instead quietly observes and notices what many other people may miss.”
For me, this is an especially relevant reminder in the Chicago winters when the sky’s favorite “color of choice” is grey and the temperatures bounce around freezing. As an amateur photographer, my eyes are usually on the lookout for interesting things, especially in the phases of sunlight/sunset or when I travel. But in these winter months, as I bundle up against the elements and focus on staying warm, I must remember to still observe so many interesting things that I might otherwise miss.
Click on the link below for Benita’s article, and like me, don’t be surprised if you find some inspiration to become a bit of a Flâneur yourself.
Ciao,
Judy
http://benitanoelle.blogspot.com/2015/01/a-belated-new-years-resolution-become.html
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