After many lovely meals in the name of research, I decided it was time for something a little lighter.  Tonight, I would have a simple meat and cheese plate and a little bowl of soup...........and wine, because..........well, it's Italy.

What can I say?  I tried.  I was in Spello at a lively little osteria and when we ordered a little meat and cheese platter, this is what came.  The various wedges of delicious cheese were thick and plentiful.  The flatbread was warm; fresh out of the oven and the variety of meats were really delicious.

We were quite stuffed to the gills after the meat and cheeses, but since we had already ordered the minestrone soup...... The bowl was gigantic and had at least a cup of chickpeas and various beans at the bottom, and the broth was divine.  


There were three women at the table next to us and they were obviously friends of the owner.  As we had been nibbling our meats and cheeses, the the three women had been the recipient of plate after plate of  treats and frequent chats with the owner.  They were laughing and groaning and saying they simply couldn't eat any more.  We said we too were so full, at which point, I heard the owner whisper to one of her friends, "They're full on minestrone?" and shrugging her shoulders as if to say, "How can that be?"

Oh, and the wine.  It was another of those "house" wines that because it was a local Umbrian red, was just out of this world. 

There's always tomorrow.

Montefalco has it all.....food, wine, art, history.  But actually, I think the same could be said for all the hill towns of Umbria.  This bit of fresco is in the underground church below the current museum in town.  Once, I waited out a terrific thunderstorm while visiting the church.  Imagine....crashing thunder, and flashes of lightning illuminating scenes like this.  It kind of made my hair stand on end.

This time I am visiting in February, and though Italy has had a brutal winter, I think I must have brought the sunshine.  You can still see the snow in the hills and mountains, but the days have been pretty glorious since my arrival. This photo was taken on the outskirts of Montefalco showing the surrounding olive groves.

Two Words:  Wild Boar. 
Need I say more?  I love it in every way.  It makes the most delicious stew.  It's my favorite kind of salami.  And here, you see it as a ragu sauce served over gnocchi.  It is simply, oh, soooo delicious.  Umbria is wild boar country.  It's very often on the menu, and if you see it there, you should order it.  Please.

Okay, this one was a little different, even for me. This is salt cod (which I have claimed my love for in a previous blog) served on a bed of lentils with chestnuts, and cooked in a vacuum.  What was "different" about it was the nouveau way in which it was prepared.  In the end, it was still salt cod with lentils.  It was a wee bit odd to eat out of a jar, but it was very tasty.  I absolutely love chestnuts, and there were bits of them scattered throughout the lentils.  Umbria is also very famous for its grains; lentils, farro, orzo....all delicious and having the added benefit of being good for you.

How should every good meal end?  I know.....we were both thinking, "with dessert!".  But, alas, no.  I simply can't taste test every dessert in Umbria for you or I wouldn't fit in my airplane seat back to the U.S.  On the other hand, every meal should definitely end with a good coffee.  In this bar in Montefalco, I had the best cafe machiatto of the trip yet.  It was so good in fact, that as soon as I finished it, I ordered another one.  The coffee was deliciously dark and full of crema, and there was the perfect amount of milk "stain".  sigh.  Looking at it now makes me want to drive back there and get another one.

Well, I've moved on from Rome, out into Umbria to work on the second phase of the upcoming October 2012 Pacific Northwest Wine Club Tour.  I'm in Spello at the moment, sitting on my couch barely able to move anything but my fingers across the keyboard. I've had the most delicious dinner and didn't even have room for
dessert.....shame on me.  For our antipasti we had a lovely piece of grilled bread topped with pecorino cheese and served with a sweet red onion "jam".  Very Nice.  Crunch of the bread with the softness of the pecorino.  Sweet jam against salty cheese.  And guess what?  The bread was grilled over an open fire by the man in the picture.

Guess what else was grilled over the open fire?  Meat.  Yes....lots of meat.  There are many country restaurants in Italy that have wood burning fireplaces in the middle of the restaurant.  What better way to serve up cuts of various meats; tender, juicy and hot off the grill?

We also ordered a primi pasta dish.  This was an updated twist on an old classic.  I know it doesn't look like it, but it's a vegetarian lasagne.  It's like a gift of made-in-house tender lasagne noodles.  And when you dig into the gift, hidden inside is winter squash, broccoli, ricotta cheese and gorgonzola.  What a nice surprise, don't you think?

I couldn't sign off without showing you the finished carne mista, mixed meat platter I got from the grill man.  There was lamb, veal, beef and a most delicious pork sausage.  For our wine tonight, we ordered the house wine, and asked for half a liter.  The most gracious waiter brought us a bottle of rosso from Umbria, opened it, left it on the table and allowed us to simply drink half the bottle.   The wine was inexpensive and delicious.

 Can you see the slice of lemon hidden under the meat at the top of the plate?  This was something I never experienced before living in Italy.  Here, they always serve lovely cuts of steak with fresh lemon.  The first time I received it, I was honestly a little skeptical.  Lemon on steak?  Really?  But now, if no lemon comes, I ask for it.  It's magical...honest.  

It may be unassuming from the outside, but wait until you step inside.  You won't know which way to turn as there are so many booths to visit.  Come take a virtual stroll with me through the Trionfale Market in the Prati neighborhood; a place where lucky locals shop for the freshest everyday groceries.

Imagine being able to buy jugs of Sangiovese for your personal everyday "house wine".  sigh.  At 1.50 euros per liter........fill 'er up!

Porchetta is a beautiful thing.  It's a whole deboned pig, stuffed with fresh herbs that is baked in the oven for endless hours.  It can be purchased by the kilo, or sliced into a sandwich.  I happened to arrive not long after it had been pulled out of the oven.  So lucky me, I just got a free taste.  Tender, juicy and delicious.  What a lovely way to start the morning.

Salami lover?  Me too!  This booth was like a Salami Christmas with garlands of dried sausages hanging everywhere.  Oh, and if you needed a pig's head or pig ears, those were available for purchase as well.

Cheese lover?  Me too!  Hard cheeses are perfectly legal to bring back into the U.S.  I bought an entire wheel of pecorino here, had it cut into four wedges, and had each wedge vacuum sealed.  They were happy to do it for me.  When I get home, I can open one wedge at a time, leaving the others safely sealed in the fridge.  Whether cut into cubes to consume with wine, or freshly grated on a variety of pasta dishes, pecorino is always delicious.  And never toss out the rind when you get to the end.  Throw it into your soup pot for added flavor.

Need one egg, or two dozen?  It doesn't matter when you buy them by the each!  .25 euro cents per egg.

Of course fresh produce is available around every corner.  It's artichoke season, thank goodness, as I love them so.  I've had one a day since I've been here.  You can either buy them whole, or pre-trimmed and ready to cook.  They're about one U.S. dollar each.  A bargain!

And of course there is a seafood section of the market where you can find the most interesting looking things.  You can ask them to clean anything for you, and they are happy to do it.

There are great dry goods as well.  Italian cuisine is filled with all kinds of beans, grains and lentils.  These are all locally grown, and sure to be delicious.

Thanks for virtually strolling through the market with me.  I could have used your real help though, carrying all my purchases home.

Isn't it wonderful when you happen upon the unexpected....especially when the unexpected is a good thing?  I arrived in Rome yesterday completely forgetting that it's Carnevale time here!  We've all heard of famous Carnavale celebrations in Venice, New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro.  But Rome also has Carnavale festivities and the government has decided to place special emphasis on them this year, so I'll  get to see special parades, light shows, etc.  But the best part is the pastry shops (and there are a lot of them in Rome) are filled with special pastries prepared just for this occasion.  What you see are something similar to deep fried doughnut holes, and they are my favorite.  The ones on the left are filled with custard cream and the ones on the right are filled with ricotta.  Yes.  I bought both kinds. But it's okay.  I went for a run today.

And, I'm ever so grateful for that run because I discovered a new restaurant in my old neighborhood.  For starters we had Polpo agrumato con cavolo viola; Octopus with orange juice and dark caulilfower.  Who thinks of these amazing flavor combinations?!  Chef Lucio Sforza, that's who.  And it was delicious.

For our primi, we ordered Lombrichelli con tartufo nero, acciughe e mandorle; a pasta with black truffles, anchovies and garnished with sliced almonds.  Once again, this was an incredible combination of flavors that melded perfectly together.  The tartufo is so earthy, the anchovies give you a little salt hit, and the almonds, a little crunch.  Heavenly.

I know I told you in a previous blog post that I never order a primi AND a secondi.  But I was with friends, and I was sharing, and thank goodness for that.  This was baccala in umido con l'uvetta su passata di ceci;  Saltcod with raisins and tomato sauce on a bed of chickpea puree.  I really hate to sound redundant, but it was so incredibly delicious, smooth and melt-in-your-mouth.  Prior to living in Italy, I'd never had saltcod.  It's highly unattractive when you buy it at the store, but with a fair amount of prep work, it can be made into some really delicious dishes.  I'm a huge fan now.

And since I was with friends, we couldn't pass up dessert.  This was the deepest, darkest chocolate with just a hint of mint.  It too was melt-in-your-mouth and had an utterly amazing texture.

Honestly.  The things I do in the name of research.

Saltimbocca, literally translates to "jump in mouth", and encompasses what I love about Italian cuisine; it has very few ingredients, cooks up very quickly, and is simply delicious.  Served in many Italian restaurants, its ease of preparation makes it a cinch to prepare in the home kitchen.  

It starts with beautiful slices of veal, tasty slices of prosciutto and fresh sage leaves.  Get some toothpicks out ahead of time as once your hands have gotten into the meat, you don't want to be digging in the box for them.

Simply lay a single slice of prosciutto on top of each thin slice of veal.  Top with a fresh sage leaf or two and use the toothpicks to hold everything in place.  Really, it only takes a few moments to put these together.

See how simple this is?  Be sure to use fresh sage; it makes all the difference in the world.  My good friend, Wendy Holloway taught me how to make these in Rome.  Aren't they beautiful?!

Next, you just need to dredge the pieces lightly in some flour that's been seasoned with salt and pepper.  Be sure to kind of toss it back and forth from hand to hand to really shake off the excess flour.  You really want these to have a sheer coating of flour, so they don't get all gummy in the frying pan.

If you were making these for company, you could make them ahead to this point.  When people are ready to eat, you just fry them up in a flash.

In Italy, butter isn't used all that often as olive oil is preferred.  This recipe uses a little of both.  Put a glug of olive oil in a large saute pan and add a pat of butter as well.  When the butter melts and begins to foam, swirl the pan to mix the butter and oil.

Have a little more butter and a good glug of white wine sitting next to the stove at the ready for finishing the dish.

Place the cutlets sage side down into the hot butter/oil.  This picture shows the veal cutlet after I have already cooked the first side, and I've just flipped them over.   These fry up very quickly as the veal should be a very thin slice.  People need to be ready to eat once you start cooking!

Remove the finished pieces of veal to a platter.  Now you will see there are lovely brown bits left behind in the pan.  Pour in a glug of white wine and prepare for the beautiful sizzle.  The steam and moisture will loosen up those crispy brown bits.  Also throw in another pat of butter.  Use a rubber spatula to scrape everything up and mix it all together into a delicious finishing sauce.  Don't worry that there's not much of it. 

Just make sure every piece gets a little drizzle of sauce.  Believe me, there is so much flavor there already; the salty prosciutto, the earthy sage, the tender veal.  Each piece of meat needs a mere spoonful of sauce.

And it's finished....that fast!  It begs to be eaten NOW, so as I said, be sure everyone is ready to eat.  One of my pet peeves is when I say, "Let's eat!" and people don't come running.  I only tell you this in case you're ever over for dinner :)

I served this with roasted sweet potatoes and fresh collard greens that had been sauteed with pine nuts and raisins.  But, I'll save that recipe for another day.  Buon Appetito!

Eating out in Italy is just so different than eating out in the U.S.  To me, the first and foremost main difference is that in Italy, they are happy if you take your time and enjoy their food.  For heaven’s sake, that’s why you came!  There have been too many times in the States, where I’ve barely put my fork down, and my plate is whisked away….the dessert menu shows up, and if you decline, the bill comes before you can take a breath.  “But I wanted an espresso, please!”  “Oh, okay, I’ll just take your bill back and adjust it.”  I may have sat down at 7:30, but they’re hoping I’ll be leaving soon so someone else can take over my table.  Not so in Italy!  When you book that table, it’s yours for the night.  You’ve got a lot of eating, enjoying and socializing to do.  That’s why you came; so do it.

When you are seated, you will usually get a basket of bread and the first questions you will need to answer are:  Water; still or sparkling?  Wine; house or from the wine list?  Okay, this is my second favorite thing about Italian restaurants:  house wine.  It’s almost always good, incredibly inexpensive and can usually be ordered by the quarter, half or full liter.  How convenient is that?

The menu may at first seem quite long, but when you figure out it is simply divided into courses, it becomes less daunting.  I have watched many an Italian work their way through all the courses…..an amazing feat to me.  I usually order a primi or a secondi, but not both.  Sometimes my husband will order the primi and I’ll order the secondi and we’ll share.  But, we were living there, trying not to gain too much weight eating pasta nearly every day.  You, on the other hand will be on vacation. So EAT!

Now that the waiter has gone off to get your drinks, you have time to peruse the menu.  First, what would you like for aperitivi or antipasti (appetizers)?  Bruschetta (broo-ske-tah) is always a good choice, and very common; a lovely grilled slice of bread that can have a variety of toppings on it depending on the season, or simply drizzled with good olive oil and salt.  It’s nice to get a mixed assortment to try.  Just dive in and pick a couple of different things. 

The primi list is “first course”, which is usually a list of pastas.  The secondi list is “second course”, which is usually a list of meat dishes, and often there is a second list of seafood second courses.  You don’t have to order pasta and a meat/seafood, but you certainly can if you’d like.  They are certainly hoping you will.  But know they will not arrive together.  First you will get your pasta, and when you are done, out will come your meat dish. The exception is, if one of you orders pasta, and the other meat, then they will realize you both want to eat at the same time, and bring them out to the two of you together.

The primi and secondi do not come with side dishes such as potatoes and vegetables as they do in the U.S.  These items fall under the list of “contorni” or side dishes and will need to be ordered separately.  This is the third great thing about Italian restaurants.  If you are someone like me, who never really grew up and would still like to eat your food on a child’s divided plate so everything doesn’t touch each other, Italy is for you!  Your side dish is going to arrive on a separate plate.  Yay!  Now, here is the fourth great thing about Italian restaurants:  They serve what’s in season.  So, even though the contorni menu may offer artichokes or asparagus don’t be surprised when you ask for them in the off-season, and are told they are unavailable today. (Why would they serve them to you when they’re not that great right now?)  Here’s the fifth great thing about Italian restaurants:  Ask them what they do have fresh today, and they may have a bunch of stuff to talk about that’s not even on the menu!  “Wait, what?!  You have agretti today?  That’s not on the menu!”  (If anyone ever says they have agretti today, just order it.  Trust me.)

So now, you’ve worked your way through appetizers, your first and second course and your side dishes.  Maybe you even ordered a zuppa (soup) or an insalata (salad).  Maybe by now, you had to move on to your second liter of house wine.  Whatever.  Finally it’s time for the dolci (sweets-dessert).  Do you have room for dessert?  Of course you do because here’s the sixth great thing about Italian restaurants: You’ve already been there for 2 hours at least, and things have had time to settle while you laughed and chit-chatted about your day.  Besides, who could pass up tiramisu, or panna cotta or gelato? Or maybe you went to a Sicilian restaurant, and they have cassata or cannoli (yum).  So order dessert.

But wait!  It’s not over yet.  The seventh great thing about Italian restaurants is good things still happen after dessert!  Now you get to have a lovely espresso to cut through all that sweetness you just experienced.  And nowadays, most restaurants offer decaf.  That certainly didn’t used to be the case.  AND, you can have a tiny portion of dessert wine too!  Many restaurants offer their made-in-house limoncello or a grappa to help you digest your meal.

Don’t be offended if they don’t bring you the check and it’s hard for you to get their attention.  Because this all goes back to the first great thing about Italian restaurants.  They are not ignoring you.  They are just assuming you’re still sitting around yakking about your day, enjoying each other’s company and having a good old time.  Most restaurants will simply not bring you the bill until you manage to flag them down and ask for it, which is the eighth great thing about Italian restaurants.

And to make this an even ten; let’s just say the ninth and tenth great things are the food itself, because though I have no idea what you’re going to order, I’m pretty sure it’s going to be fabulous and you’re going to love it.  Buon Appetito!

Hidden among the hills of Umbria are a multitude of various accommodations.  This one is called San Pietro Sopra Le Acque and it used to be a convent.  It has since been beautifully renovated into an exclusive hotel and resort.  Unfortunately, the nuns never had it so good.

One of my favorite drinks is Campari with orange juice.  Campari is a redder than red liqueur that pairs beautifully, both taste-wise and visually with orange juice, and is the joy of many Italians around 5pm.  It's often consumed on the rocks or in a cocktail called a Negroni, which having a few more ingredients, is a little over the top for me.  I like to stick to Campari con spremuta di arancia.  If you order it while in Italy, be sure to ask for spremuta and don't settle for succo di arancia.  What's the difference, you ask?  Spremuta is fresh squeezed orange juice vs. succo which is pre-bottled, and it makes all the difference in the world!  So, what is Campari exactly?  No one really knows; well, almost no one.  It was invented back in 1867 in Milan by Gaspare Campari and is still made by employees sworn to secrecy.

So, what do convents have to do with Campari?  Not much, except that now that this one has a lovely bar, I had my all time best campari with orange juice EVER here.....on the lawn.....on a beautiful day.   sigh.