I am, and have been on vacation, in the Quebec Eastern Townships ( Canton L’Est ) since wednesday.

Spending quality time with close friends and family, over many good meals, makes you realize that to accomplish a successfull dinner; everything matters!

We put together some recipes that we had made before and to our surprise they tasted different and we also enjoyed them in a much different way, and the fact that there was a very appreciative audience to feed our egos made the experience even better =).

Which brings us to this week's product: Truffle Carppacio; my little sheets of silk.

It is made from summer truffles, covered with sunflower oil in a jar. A traditional Umbrian recipe; pasteurized in it’s natural juices, no preservatives or artificial colorings, chilled and then sliced paper thin.

I LOVE THIS PRODUCT!

It makes it so convenient to spoil yourself or your guests any time.

As I gently pluck them out, one by one from the jar, so that they wont rip or tear, the scent and aromas simply hypnotizes me but in difference from the fresh product, it is very subtle.

The texture due to being soaked in oil, is very silky and gentle on the palate and no matter what dish or product you end up topping with the truffled carpaccio, you do end up spoiling it very generously.

In case you didn’t know, carpaccio in Italian means when something is served raw and is thinly sliced or pounded.

Stay tuned for some Tips & Tricks and pictures of how we spoiled our guests with truffle carpaccio.

Wishing you a great week!

xx

I love Truffled Dwarf Peaches with everything but mostly I love them on their own.
Here is how I had them on Sunday night after dinner: as a side dish with our cheeses. “Miss Diva” appeared elegantly in whole and sliced on top of Gorgonzola. I can tell you that at that moment, I was as happy as Gorgonzola was!

TRUFFLED DWARF PEACHES … ON A TOAST!

Another one of my recipes where I chose to top the finished dish with some thinly sliced Truffled Dwarf Peaches, sooo goooood!

How to prepare it

1. Boil eggs and chop them
2. Chop green onion
3. Slice tomatoes
4. Shred some Bottarga
5. Slice truffle dwarf peaches
6. Add Salt and pepper

After having your ingredients ready, arrange them on your whole wheat toasts and enjoy!

One of our all time favorite dishes is “Vitello Tonnato” (cold veal with tuna sauce). For the ones that have never tasted it before, this dish might not sound too appealing. Trust me though, the tuna sauce is so mild in taste and silky in texture, that it feels like applying whipped cream on top of strawberries!

This dish “Vitello Tonnato” is traditionally garnished with caper berries, Paolo changed the recipe around a bit and used Truffled Dwarf Peaches as a garnish instead and it was right up my alley =)

VITELLO TONNATO:

Ingredients for the Veal Preparation:

• 1 kg of boneless veal ( I prefer eye of round of milk feed veal)
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 onion
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 cloves
• 10 whole peppercorn
• 3 sprigs of parsley
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 500 ml of chicken stock
• 500 ml of white wine

Preparation of the Veal:

1. Add all these ingredients in a stock pot ( make sure the liquid just barely covers the veal, if not, add the necessary water to do so
2. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a slow boil and let cook for 1 hour
3. Remove from heat and put the pot in the fridge to let the veal cool in its stock (this will enhance the flavor of the otherwise bland milk feed veal).
4. If there is no room in the fridge for the pot, transfer everything in an airtight container an pour the stock on top of it.
5. Leave cool for a few hours or even better, you can prepare the meat the day before, that way all the aroma of the stock will flavor the meat. (recommended)

Ingredients for the Tuna Sauce:

• 5 large cans of tuna in olive oil ( 5×180 gr.)
• 1 can of anchovies in oil
• 4 teaspoons of capers
• the juice of one lemon

Preparation of the Tuna Sauce:

1. Make sure to drain the tuna from most of its oil
2. Add all the ingredients in the blender until you have a smooth paste. If too thick, you can add a little of the veal stock.
3. Once the tuna base is ready, fold in about one cup of mayonnaise to create a thin sauce.

Presentation:

1. Slice the veal as thin as possible and arrange it on a plate in a single layer pattern (the veal should overlap about by half of its slice).
2. Spread your tuna sauce on top of veal .
3. For garnish, take about 12 truffled dwarf peaches and mince them and spread them over your vitello tonnato dish.

You can add a few sliced truffled dwarf peaches for garnish.

Buon Appetito

Paolo

This dish is really very simple to prepare, I would definitly suggest you give it a try, and if you do, don’t forget to let me know how it went!

Truffled Dwarf Peaches

From the day that the dwarf peaches are jarred they have a two year “best before” date. There is no need to refrigerate the jar before its opened. Store it in a room or cupboard away from sunlight and higher heat than room temperature. Before opening the jar I would suggest to keep it in the refrigerator for a bit, that way, the peaches will be nice and cold before serving, it gives them more crunch.

The beautiful thing with this “peach” is that it can litteraly be used with everything! I have used it on almost everything that I prepare: as a side dish, on cold cuts and carpaccio, as a garnish, and it never lets me down. 
The versatility of this product is endless and it’s just a matter of getting creative by coming up with new ways of preparation. You can slice it, cube it, cut it in halves, and I have even tried shredding it with great success. Don’t forget that just eating them whole on their own with a “stiff” drink works wonders! The other day, I even mixed in some hot chili peppers the and it came out delicious!

I mean what more is there to say, besides from:
“Every man want’s her and every woman want’s to be like her” the irresistible and fabulous Truffled Dwarf Peach!

The new “Diva” is in town and she is here to stay and rock every plate and party!

Have you ever heard of “Truffled Dwarf Peaches”?

Neither had I, until five years ago when I met with the person that is now supplying Macchi Inc. with this unique and one of a kind product.

All these years that I've been in this business, I have never come across them anywhere else.

This product is based on the same idea as green tomatoes and any other vegetable that is normally pickled.

In the fall, before winter arrives the farmers pick the unripe peaches, so they would not go to waste. Then, they pickle them in vinegar to conserve the peaches and consume them like any other pickle.

Our supplier that is based in Frosolone, Molise in Italy, added his twist to the product by soaking these peaches in sunflower oil and infusing the oil with truffle essence. This last step has created a very different flavor profile.

What does this “gem” taste and look like?
…like something you’ve never tasted before!

Very subtle in its taste, just enough truffle essence to know that this is a truffled product, but not to over power the dish that you are using it on and it adds a pleasant crunch and acidity to any salad or carpaccio.

They look like large green olives but since they are picked before maturity, the pit is not yet developed which makes them a breeze to work with in comparison to olives and since they are so firm in texture it makes them so versatile in presentaton in comparison to caper berries.

Right now we don’t have any stores selling this product to the public since there is not enough knowledge about it out there to create a demand. We are in the process of planning a marketing campaign to launch this product in Montreal and to help our retail clients inform the end consumers about Truffled Dwarf Peaches.

Presently you can have this “Diva” present herself on some of the creations served at Restaurant Toqué!, Restaurant BIS, Restaurant PARK as well as many more restaurants in Montreal.

Go and meet her, and make sure you all let me know how you got along.

xx

Spinach salad with parmigiano Grana Padano – Picture taken by Montreal photographer Vadim Daniel

Previously today I showed you how you can really enjoy having parmigiano on it's own without hardly any preparation! I will now show you one of my favorite recipes, with my favorite parmigiano cheese, The Grana Padano. I really love this cheese, it is similar to the reggiano but creamier. This cheese is off course a cheese that we supply our clients with here at Macchi Inc. It is important for me to let you all know that we do not import our cheeses ourselves since we  do not have any cheese quotas. What we import here at Macchi Inc. is the Citterio brand, bottarga and truffles and in the future hopefully we will import more.

Baby spinach salad with strawberries and Grana Padano

This is a perfect light salad with lots of flavour, assemble in a bowl: Baby spinach leaves, sliced strawberry’s and some Grana padano shavings. For this, all you need to add is a little  cracked black pepper, evoo and some balsamic vinegar. There  is no need to add any salt because the parmiggiano brings all the salt you need to the dish. Buon Appetitio! As usual, let me know how you liked it or if you made your own recipe, don't hesitate to share it with me.

All you need to know about Grana Padano and the difference from Parmigiano Reggiano…

While Parmigiano Reggiano proudly carries the title of the King of Cheeses, I would like to tell you a bit about my absolute favorite in hard cheeses, the Grana Padano or as I like to call it, The Emperor of Cheeses.

Many of us often believe that the Grana Padano is a lesser quality Parmigiano Reggiano and some even believe that it is called Parmigiano Padano, that is not the case, at least not if we are referring to the authentic product, imported from the specific Provinces and regions of the Grana Padano D.O.P.

While the Grana Padano does have many similarities to the Parmigiano Reggiano, the differences are essential to the flavor and texture, the first one being the place of production. The Grana Padano is produced in a much wider area than the Parmigiano Reggiano in the regions of: Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Piedmont, Trentino and Veneto (keep in mind that the Regions are much larger than the provinces, therefore a larger area of production).

In the flavor you can detect the difference in the Grana Padano being creamier and sligtly less saltier that the Parmigiano Reggiano, otherwise they are both just as firm and nutty in flavor.

Here are some more differences between both cheeses:

• Grana Padano is made from both skim and whole milk while the Parmigiano Reggiano is made only from skim milk.
• The Cows have different diets – the Grana Padano cows are less restricted in their diet and are allowed to eat silage in their feed while the Parmigiano Reggiano cows must be fed fresh or dried vegetable matter.
• And as already mentioned above the Grana Padano comes from a larger area of production.

Since the restrictions are less for making the Grana Padano, the price is slightly lower but as we all know that does not mean that it is not as good.

Grana Padano can be found in three different ripening stages and the more mature the cheese is the nuttier and more pungent the flavor.

• Grana Padano | 9-16 months
• Grana Padano Oltre 16 mesi | Over 16 months
• Grana Padano Riserva | Reserve over 20 months

Tips & Tricks

The reason why these hard cheeses are used so often in cooking is because they are so versatile, the Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano can be sliced with a cheese slicer (see picture above), it can be grated (most often this is how it's used in cooking or by finishing a pasta plate) it can also be broken off in pieces (see Parmigiano Reggiano post) and personally I have shredded the cheese when wanting larger amounts in cooking.

The best way to store it is cold, in a refrigerator or even in the freezer if not used to frequently. I would suggest to always keep it air tight and low in humidity, if you know you haven't used it for a while and if not vacuum packed when stored, take the cheese out once in a while, pad it dry and change the saran wrap or the plastic bag that it has been stored in.

Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano, which one is your favorite? Maybe you like both just as much but for different purposes. Let me know!

Here is one way of how we enjoy having this cheese at the Macchi residence.

Paolo's Parmigiano reggiano plate

This is so simple but yet so good, a perfect snack on a evening when you just want a reason to open up a good bottle of wine.

All you need is to break up a few pieces of parmigiano reggiano and drizzle some balsamic vinegar on top, in this case we used an aged one which I personally would suggest, the sweet vinegar is a nice contrast to the saltiness of the cheese.

Buon Appetito!

'King of cheeses' – The Parmigiano Reggiano -.

Parmigiano Reggiano

Just like all of the other products I have mentioned so far, the secret always lies within the local vegetation and climat,

in this case for the Parmigiano Reggiano it is the:

• natural feed
• high quality milk ( partially whole and partially skimmed )
• no additives except for salt
• the long process of aging
• natural fermenting agents in the milk

The Parmigiano Reggiano has for at least eight centuries been made in the exactly same way, in the same places, with the same appearance. Even the production has remained the same using: milk, rennet, fire and heart.

How it's made…

Parmigiano Reggiano is made from raw cow's milk, milk is pumped into copper-lined vats (copper heats and cools quickly), calf rennet is added to allow cheese to curdle. Temperature is raised and curd is left to settle. Curd is then placed in molds that will produce wheels that are 45 kilos (100 lbs) each. Cheese is placed into stainless steel round forms to retain it's classical shape. After a couple of days cheese gets imprinted several times with the Parmigiano Reggiano name, the number of the plant and the year of production. The 'wheels' are then placed in a brine bath to absorb salt for 20-25 days. Cheeses are then placed on wooden shelves, cleaned and turned once/week for 12 months. At 12 months the consorzio of Parmigiano Reggiano inspects each cheese to make sure it fulfills all of it's requirements. After this procedure each plant can then choose how much longer they would like to age the cheese. The aging process is anywhere from 18, 22 to 30 months.

For more about the production I found this beautifully made video that I would recommend you all to see by clicking here!

In the next post I will speak about the Grana Padano, the differences between the Parmigiano Reggiano and the Grana Padano and some tips and tricks.

Later!

Last years flyer from the Fair

It was a dream come true and also a necessity, we had to make sure that the quality that we were paying for ( Extras ) was really what we were getting and that the price was a fair market price and not one that was given to “North Americans that don’t know better”. I would like to quickly add that, that really wasn’t the case and that the prices are protected even within Alba and that the locals enjoy their product seasonally and it is usually traded amongst the locals with other produce rather than payment in money, but it does indeed get consumed and is just as appreciated there as in the rest of the world.

On our way to Piazza della Maddalena, Alba, Italy

As we walked the street shown on the picture above, I was thinking as I was pushing my then 2-year old in the stroller, on a 1.5′ wide sidewalk, am I ever going to be able to plow myself through these masses of people!

The excitement was unbearable and it had even rubbed off on our kids, my then 4-year old and his little brother kept on going “Are we there yet! Where is the Truffle?” thinking it was going to be a mountain of, most probably, candy for them, but it wasn’t for them, this time it was for us and as we walked in, there it was, no room for disappointment, large and fragrant winter white alba truffles.

Winter White Alba Truffles

Within 5 minutes of being there, the four of us, had a plate of buttered tagliatelle each, covered with a generos ammount of shaved winter white alba truffle, accompanied with a fantastic glass of  Barbaresco wine.

• Testun del Fen – a mix of 70% goat and 30% cow milk.

Testun del Fen - Cheese

After we somewhat silenced our truffle craving we were exposed to all the lovely local cheeses, they didn’t only taste good but they were also beautiful!

Blu di Capra | Cheese

• Blu di Capra – Goat cheese with mold growth from within pennicillum roqueforti, pronounced flavor, aged in a cave for more than 70 days. Cylindrical shape and weight, around 600-700 g. Best before two months from the sale.

Blu di Capra | Cheese

Because of all of the excitement surrounding the fair in Alba, I didn’t manage to get us decent lodging in the actual town so I had to find us a hotel in a neighboring city of Alba called Neive.

Villa Lauri | Neive, Italy

With a population of 3000 people this city is just the prettiest of sights and it also had the best restaurant I had eaten at during my 4 past trips to Italy!

La Bottega dei Vini | Neive, Italy

Just look at the wonderful simplicity of the plates…

I would like to end this post by saying that the french language is proclaimed to be the language of love but Italy is the country where you fall in love, with the history, the fashion, the beautiful landscape, the pride of each region and province and last but not least with the food, over and over again…