"Bella Baita View"

The Loss of a Giant

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:08:00 +0000

It's sad losing an old friend, even when it's a big ole tree. No it's not on the level of a human life. It is wrenching, at least to me, to see a grand majestic old tree, three of the actually, and some say over 300 years old, lying on its side, roots completely snapped off, almost like they didn't even exist. A fallen giant. One gargantuan beech tree that had given so much pleasure over the years to many. There were initials carved into the trunk professing love that perhaps still lived on and maybe not. The spread of its limbs and broad green leaves shaded a pilone or way station that housed a serene ceramic Madonna inside where many had laid flowers by long burning candles in tall red glass cylinders over the years. Many stopped by when out for a stroll in the neighborhood. It was hard not to as it had been lovingly decorated with biblical scenes depicting John the Baptist and San Antonio blessing the animals. A lovely point easily missed whizzing by in a car on the way through to the Grandubbione valley end of our paved road. However, on foot one is easily drawn in for a moment or two of contemplation, perhaps even petition or maybe a little solace on our Serre Marchetto hilltop.

Our almost 300 year old beech tree

And so it was with great sadness that we discovered this sight when we strolled to the top of our road after a day and night of ferocious winds. The neighbors were already there and beginning to remove some of its limbs as it was blocking the road. The owners of the house were very lucky that the tree didn't fall the other direction or on anyone on the road. It fell about one in the morning according to a nearby neighbor. The most amazing part of this story is that not only did the tree come down squarely on the cement house that housed the ceramic Madonna, completely and utterly destroying the structure, the ceramic Madonna's head and shoulders were still completely intact. The lower half of her body was mostly gone, but her face and head were still in one piece. Very, very surprising indeed. Someone had set her up in front of the tree and now she has been put aside to be restored for the new prayer station that the neighborhood has already begun to discuss rebuilding plans.

The surviving Madonna

There was a steady stream of people coming up to see the remains for themselves as the story of the felling of this old tree made it into two of the local papers. There was a fair amount of interest for a couple of days afterwards and even a small busload of school children yesterday came up to survey the scene. It's all mostly gone now, cleaned up, cut up and hauled away. It's a big open space now and will take some time to get use to and I must say I am looking forward to the rebuilding process, but the tree won't be able to be replaced, especially not that close to the house either, but it will be replaced and I welcome that.

Here are some photos of the tree and pilone that I took when they were both still intact. It's nice to be able to share this lovely companions in their former glory. I hope you will enjoy them as we have here.

Winter wonderland

San Giovanni Battista on San Giovanni day

John the Baptist

San Antonio Abate blessing the animals

Melanzane and Zucchini Lasagna

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:17:00 +0000

A is for aubergine, e can mean eggplant which is the more common American name for the same vegetable and m is the beginning of the Italian word for melanzane. You know, that purple skinned vegetable that is oh so versatile and oh so abundant for a good portion of the summer. Now that it's winter and some ex pats living in Italy started a group a while back, to share recipes and food ideas, tips and tricks, they have put together a little challenge to share some recipes amongst ourselves and for us to share with you. I made this dish a couple of time this summer out of necessity, but never quite got around to posting it or actually coming up with a definite recipe. It is probably more suited to late summer when your garden and the market have an explosion of these three vegetables, that in my mind, go together like a three way blind date, eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes. Whoa, I think I might be digressing.
This holy trinity of veggies turn up in a number of dishes and so I have turned it into a definitely crowd pleaser, lasagna. With a bit of grilling, which in the summer you might even have your grill up and running for some other type of meal in mind, you could maximise the use of your coals and get these ready for another dish for the next day even. I make use of a Rowenta electric grill that grills both sides of medium thick aubergine and zucchini slices and needs next to no oil to get them soft and flavorful with those great grill lines. I go the easy route in the summer using a ricotta and Parmesan cheese mixture, although you could easily make a bechamel sauce and layer them up and away you go. I made one version with some sauteed porcini mushrooms and that added another great dimension to the lasagna. Like most great lasagna, the flavors improve after sitting a day as they have time to settle in and mingle. I think you can easily get away with canned tomatos instead of fresh in the winter and one friend asked about using reconstituted dried eggplant. I think they would work just fine, although she never did get back with me and say how it worked out. I like the grilling of the veggies for the smoky flavor, but also it seems to use less oil with out compromising any flavor. If you think your veggies are too dry, them by all means drizzle a bit of extra virgin oil over your veggies as you layer them up. If this is not for you this winter then I recommend you book mark it for next summers abundance and tell me what you think after giving it a go.

Melanzane (Eggplant/Aubergine) and Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients:

2 large eggplant/aubergine/melanzane, peeled and sliced lengthwise in medium thick slices,
2-4 large zucchini
4-6 large tomatoes, fresh or a large can of crushed or diced tomatoesBasil, handful fresh, julienned

1 large or 2 medium eggs500g (2-12 oz containers) Ricotta
200g (1c ) Parmesan or other hard grating cheese, and a bit more for topping

1/4 t or less nutmeg, fresh gratedSalt and pepper

Hot red pepper

Feel free at add any tidbits of goat or other flavorful cheese you might have kicking around begging to get used up. This recipes lends it self to much variation.

Method:

Wash and prepare your vegetables, slicing them lengthwise so the are about 1/4"/1/2cm thick. Heat your grill up and begin grilling your vegetables, while you prepare the remainder of your ingredients.

Wash and pat dry the basil and cut up into thing strips, or if you prefer, tear into bite size bits

In a bowl, mix together the ricotta, egg and Parmesan cheese. Add a few good gratings of nutmeg.

Season the cheese mixture with salt, pepper and a pinch of hot pepper.

Take a 9"x13"pan, or something equivalent, and grease with olive oil or or line with baking paper, like I do for an easy clean up.

Drizzle a bit of olive oil and begin you vegetable layering with grilled slices of aubergine laid singly sibe by side to cover the bottom and cover with a single layer of the zucchini, sprinkling a bit of salt and olive oil if you haven't seasoned the vegetables while grilling. Spread 1/3 to half of the

ricotta mixture over they layered vegetables. Cover the cheese, with a single layer of sliced tomatoes or part of your crushed tomatoes, sprinkle some salt over and scatter about 1/3 of the fresh basil. This is not a super tomatoey saucy version, so it doesn't have to be a solid layer of crushed tomatoes, but a solid layer of sliced tomatoes is good.

Continue layering 2 more times if you have enough ingredients ending with the tomatoes as the top layer. Try to use the last of your basil under the tomatoes for the top layer so it doesn't burn. Sprinkle a light layer of parmesan on top.

Cover loosely with another layer of paper and aluminum foil. Try to keep above the top so it doesn't stick to the top layer.

Bake in a preheated 350*/190* for 30 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and bake a few minute langer till bubbly and the top browned up.

Let the lasagna rest 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Usually even more flavorful the second day. You make it one day ahead before cooking.

Benvenuta "La Befana" with Lavender Limoncello Stars

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:36:00 +0000

Were you naughty or nice? Coal or treats that is the question come the 6th of January in Italy. You just need to see what was left in your stocking to come to some sort of conclusion. I have written a number of posts over the years about the Italian tradition of La Befana, so I thought I might put up some links to blog posts past. Befana is an interesting mixture of what to me seems like Halloween and Christmas. Befana is a kindly old woman or witch on a broomstick who flies everywhere on the night before Epiphany or 12th night as it is also called, and either fills up your stockings, that should have been hung by the chimney with care, with treats or small presents, or you get a lump of coal. Fortunately, for Italian children, the lumps of coal have been transformed into black confections that make for a more more pleasant time taking your lumps of coal in stride.

Here are a few links to previous posts I've posted over the years. some have more of the story of La Befana's origins and others are recipes for dishes designed to serve on a Befana menu.

Martha over at Go Italy has a great post on the origins of la Befana, that you might enjoy reading.

I also made some cookies this year called La Befana Stars. This version is a departure from the usual anise flavored variety and met with an appreciative round of approval. Unfortunately, I forgot to get a photo of them before they were all given away and eaten right up. Any size star cookie vutter will do. You can make a milk glaze and add sprinkles or just give them a dusting of powdered sugar. This was a great way to use some of my home made limoncello and abundance of lavender from our garden.

Head over to "The Leftover Queen" to check out Jen's version of the La Befana traditional recipe for what are usually anise flavored cut out star cookies. You'll find the recipe in it's entirety.

Turin Lights and a Bicherin to Ring in the New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 09:29:00 +0000

Today is one of those blustery kind of days, where all you want to do is burrow in a cozy spot with a good read. I find that a special coffee drink can do wonders to elevate the mood. These short days of winter can leave you longing for a bit of color and merriment and it seems like this long holiday period this time of year is in fact a time of lights and merriment and feasting on all of the wonderful foods that have been put away for this very time of the year. The harvest and hard chores are done for now and so, why not a bit of holiday cheer? One of my favorite ways to dispel the mood and bring a bit of occasion to an ordinary gray winter day is to make a Bicerin(Bee-chair-reen). What in the world is that, you are probably asking, unless you have visited this part of the world and have partaken of one of Turin's specialties.

Il Bicerin ...photo by Regione Piemonte

Turin or Torino has a long standing love affair with chocolate and coffee. They have a choclate festival for a month in late winter and if you wander around the core part of Turin, you will find many pastry shops and cafes with chocolate as a main feature. Gianduja chocolate or chocolate hazelnut milk chocolate shaped into a gianduiotto shape, dates back to 1865 and has been said that it came about due to Napoleon's blockade and the need to make the chocolate stretch a little farther and this taste sensation was born. Lavazza coffee hails from Torino as well as many other local roasters not so widely known outside of Italy. Caffe Al Bicerin was established in 1763, but it's famous coffee concoction didn't really come together for a few more years down the road after a bit of experimenting. The Bicerin as it came to be known consisted of layers of coffee, chocolate and milk and syrup. The original cafe guards it's recipe protectively, but anywhere you go in Torino you will find a myriad of variations. Oddly enough there is a bottled chocolate hazelnut liqueur call the Bicerin, which the original recipe never calls for hazelnut, but the liqueur is delicious and goes together very well in this drink. I made mine today with the bicerin liqueur in the bottom of the glass, a layer of espresso next and topped off with some slightly whipped heavy cream. Oh yes, it lifted my spirits, not only because it tasted so good, but because it looks delightful as well. It's easy enough to make at home and who cares if it is slavishly authentic to the original, experiment around with chocolate or chocolate hazelnut, espresso and whipped cream and you will find these winter afternoons aren't so desolate after all. In fact it's a great special drink to make when you have someone to share with as well. I'm giving you a recipe for two with a chocolate milk base, to vary as you like. You could very easily drop a hazelnut chocolate in the milk too for the Bicerin liqueur effect.

My home style version of Il Bicerin

Il Bicerin

Serves 2

Warm together

1/2 c (150ml) half and half or whole milk, with a bit of heavy cream for rich version
3 oz (90g) semi sweet chocolate, chopped fine, do use a high quality brand

As I don't have a double boiler, I usually put the chocolate and milk/cream together in a small metal bowl and set it over a smaller metal bowl with hot water and melt it together this way. Whisk together when hot and melted. Remove from heat and let stand over the hot water to keep it warm, but not boiling.

**I just used my Bicerin, chocolate hazelnut liqueur today instead of the chocolate mix as an easy alternative.**

Brew 2 cup pot of espresso or make two shots of espresso
Whip some heavy cream (1/2c/ 100g) to thicken but not to full peak for your top layer. You can sweeten the cream it if you like, although I didn't as the liqueur was plenty sweet.

To assemble

Heat your clear glass cups or glasses with hot water to keep your drink warm and not break it when adding hot liquids.

Pour the water out.

Divide the chocolate mixture between the 2 glasses for your bottom layer.

Slowly pour half the espresso over the back of a spoon to get the layer effect into each glass.

Add your cream to the top and serve with some of those cookies you have hanging around the house for a appealing pick me up from old world Europe. Now imagine you're in a cozy cafe and the spell will be complete.

Turin Advent calendar and Nativity scene

Buon Anno and Happy New Year to you my dear readers. My wish for everyone is a brighter 2012!

Merry Christmas from Bella Baita

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 10:49:00 +0000

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Crespelle with Chicken, Mushrooms and Mixed Greens

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 08:02:00 +0000

Buckwheat crespelle tucked into an individual dish

Crespelle or pancakes, in this part of the world, means thin, light as a feather disks that can be filled with a meager amount of marmalade or Nutella and served sweet, or laden with all sorts of savory fillings and smothered in a light white sauce with a whisper of parmesan or maybe gorgonzola, that is meant to entice one to the table. You probably won't have to ask twice. This is a post I started last month and then lost a good portion of it and have finally recreated it in time for the auspicious occasion of the Christmas/ New Year holiday marathon. It's a worthy contender and a dish you will find on many Piemontese holiday menus quite regularly like an old friend giving pasta and risotto a much needed rest.

I didn't grow up with this sort of exotic treat until we went to Europe when I was a kid and then later my sister-in-law Nancy introduced me to the jam filled ones after she married into our family. She use to make them for her families birthdays. I discovered that I really enjoyed this lighter touch when it came to pancakes for an occasional treat, as it seems to be a bit of a production making the crepes themselves. A non sick pan really helps and you will soon find that the benefits of making these treats far out weigh the effort. When I arrived in Europe in 1998, to work as a representative for a British tour company in Slovenia, I was more than a little happy to discover "palačinke" were a regular fixture on Slovenian menus. My colleague Emma and I were walking guides and she had a standing arrangement as a regular surprise ending to our Italian lake walk, that "palačinke" would be the highlight with tea or coffee to be the surprise ending. It never failed to delight.

Over the years I've made crepes as I am use to calling them for home and for work when the joy of crepe making can be quickly strained from the effort of cooking for the masses. Making crespelle, as they are called by Italians, is still a treat and one that I embrace more readily now, as the numbers are much more manageable. Crespelle are usually a primo piatto, that is part of a long and grander meal, but is just as easily a grand meal in and of itself. Most crespelle I have enjoyed here have usually been filled with some sort of poultry, mushroom and greens combination. That is my mother in laws favorite combination and I love it too. I tend to vary the greens and make combinations to suit the season and mood. It's also a way to use any bits and bobs of leftovers if you like for what I like to call "encore performances". Would have come in handy for those turkey leftovers last month.

The filling is added to one quarter of the disc, folded in half and then half again, so that you have a nice triangular portion. They are lined up in rows in an oven pan and covered with a light besciamella or white sauce and lightly browned off in the oven before serving. This makes a great light lunch or dinner with a salad and a glass of our local Le Marie's Blanc de Lissart. Sounds good about now....or a glass of our Carema nebbiolo is deligtful. Naturally any of your favorite lighter wines like maybe a pinot noir or grigio would be an excellent choice. I might just have to trundle off in search of a glass of wine with all these references to the various wines...Whatever you do, consider making crespelle over the holidays for some special meal, even if it isn't your main holiday's menu. Serving crespelle will elevate your meal to a degree of delightfulness, that I think you will discover, you'll be glad you didn't miss. You might even find it becomes a new family tradition. Any extra unfilled crespelle on hand can be slathered with Nutella or jam, folded up and warmed up in a bit of melted butter, lemon juice and sugar or maybe Gran Marnier, maple syrup, or a drizzle of chocolate liqueur and anything else that strikes your fancy. I'm convinced you'll be glad you made the effort.

Crespelle with a sprinkle of paprika

Chicken, Mushroom and Spinach filled Crespelle
8 Servings

Crespelle batter Yields: 20- 8" crespelle, approximately **see cooks notes**
Filling is for 8 large crespelle
Besciamella sauce will generously cover 8 and a few more
You can either double the filling or use the extra for dessert or freeze for a later use.
One 9 x 13 pan of 8 large crespelle

Ingredients:

Crespelle/Crepe batter
4 eggs
1.7oz/3.5 T (50g) melted butter
2 c (½liter?550ml) milk
1-1/2c. / 200g flour plain (half buckwheat and half white flour is a wonderful combination)
pinch salt
I use an immersion wand to blend it all together, but a simple which will work just fine too.

Once you have it all blended together, let sit in fridge for 20 minutes.
You can also make it a day ahead and the batter will hold for a few days just fine.
This recipe makes about 8- 20 discs depending on the size of your pan and how thick or thin you make your disks.
If you find your batter too thick, thin out with a small amount of milk.
Butter for greasing the skillet.

Filling for 8 crespelle

1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves , minced
2 T Olive oil
2-3 turkey or chicken breast slices, or a whole chicken breast, chopped into small pieces
The size of your whole breast or slices will vary your filling amount.
1 c (100g) mushrooms, cleaned and sliced, porcino if you have them, optional, but tasty
1# (500g) spinach, fresh, cleaned
½# (250g) borage leaves, cleaned, chopped into thin slivers across the leaves
(borage, optional you can just add more spinach or any other green that you like, swiss chard, kale, arugula, dandelion)
1 tsp fresh thyme or ½ tsp or so dry thyme and/ or your favorite Italian herb blend
Salt and Pepper
pinch hot pepper

Besciamella/ Bechamel/ White Sauce
2 T butter
3 T flour, plain
½ lt /2 cups milk, worm milk or at least room temperature
¼ tsp nutmeg, fresh grated
100g Parmigiano, fresh grated, and a bit more for sprinkling over the top
2.5 oz (75g) gorgonzola, optional or or more depending on your taste

Fixings for crespelle making

Method:

Crespelle/Crepes
I usually make my crepes first and set them aside to cool. You can make any of the three components in any order that you prefer, including making some things one day and some the next and assembling everything later.
Heat your 8' 0r 10" skillet till it is quite hot over a medium high burner. I find a non stick pan works best and uses less oil, but a regular pan can be used, but make sure it is very hot and be very generous buttering your pan before adding batter each time.
I use a 3 oz (85g) ladle to pour my batter into the pan. I don't use it completely full but it tends to make the crespelle size be more consistent. If you don't have that use a ladle use a pitcher or measuring cup with a spout to aid the even pouring of the batter.
Once your skillet is hot, run a stick or pice of butter over the pan to cover. Working quickly so your butter doesn't burn, swirl pan to evenly distribute the butter and then pour your batter in the center and swirl the pan with your other hand to distribute the bater evenly, moving the batter around to fill in any gaps, but try to pour in a steady stream to keep the batter even. You want a thin coating on the pan.
Replace on the heat. You will now know if your pan is too hot or not depending on how quickly the pancake cooks. When the edges of the batter starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and looks to be set up and picking up color then loosen the disk and turn over and cook till lightly colored and pliable.
Remove to a plate or cookie sheet to cool.
Adjust your heat up or down, but usually after the first one the pan cools off and you have to be vigilant to keep it hot. It takes a bit of adjusting to keep the temperature even and hot. If you think your batter is too thick then add a few drops of milk to the batter and stir. Heat your pan back up, butter if needed and continue on cooking your way through the batch. I may prepare some of my other ingredients, but I don't get too far away from the pan so I can keep a close eye on the crespelle. Generally even if you go a little too far with cooking them they will soften up a bit after they cool and should be pliable. If not try cooking them less. I also stack them without anything between them as they have usually cooled enough to not stick together. If I freeze them, I will put paper between each one.

Filling:
Start with sautéing the onion and garlic with a small amount of olive oil. As the onion softens, add your poultry pieces, thyme or other favored herbs. Add mushrooms, a bit more oil or a tiny knob of butter if you like. I tink the butter is always a great flavor enhancer for mushrooms. Season with some salt and pepper and a pinch of hot pepper. Cook till the chicken is about halfway done. Add spinach and borage, if you have some. Cook until the greens are wilted and cooked a little past al dente. Remove from heat, set and allow to cool. Once cool, taste and adjust your seasonings.

Filling Buckwheat crespelle

Besciamella/Bechamel/White cheese sauce
In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter. Whisk the flour into the melted butter. Allow to bubble and cook a few minutes till it starts to look golden, whisking occasionally. Whisk the warmed milk in a steady stream int to the butter flour mixture. Allow to come back to boil and cook a few minutes till it thickens. Whisk or stir occasionally to keep the sauce from sticking. Grate the nutmeg in and allow to cook for a few minutes, being careful not to let it stick to the bottom and burn. Remove from heat and add the two cheeses, stirring to melt. Taste, adjust the salt, pepper, nutmeg and amount of cheese to get it to a tasty topping.

Assembly
Lay your pancakes out flat if you have room to do several at a time. It helps getting your filling even. Don't fill the pancakes one on top of each other as the liquid may seep through the pile. Divide up your filling as evenly as you able and drain off most excess liquid. Be as generous as you like and filling allows. Place the filling in one quarter of the circle. Fold the disk over to make a half semi circle. Fold the empty half of the semi circle over the filled quarter to end up with a triangular filled crespelle. If I am using a metal pan I usually line it with baking paper for ease of serving and clean up. If I am serving them at the table, I use a more decorative baking dish and grease the pan with some olive oil. I line the filled crespelle up overlapping each other, four to a side of the pan with the points down and open curve up to keep the filling from falling out when serving. If you have a roomier pan you can lay them flatter and they will get a bit more sauce. I lay the empty layer side down with the filled side up, so they are easier to serve. If your filling is juicy they won't disintegrate so easily either. Cover your crespelle with warmed sauce. If you feel it is too thick to cover easily, thin out with more milk so it is easily poured. Sprinkle some grated parmesan over the top and pop into a preheated oven. If you make everything all at the ame time and everything is warm as you are putting it together it usually only takes about 20 -25 minutes to warm then thoroughly and brown the top. A little longer if your ingredients are very cold.
Serve while hot with a wide off set spatula to remove them easily.

**Cooks notes** The crespelle recipe is easily halved, to make the filling come out even. I like to make the full batch and either use the extra for dessert in the next few days or freeze the disks between sheets of wax paper so they don't stick together in the stack. Make sure to cover them well in the refrigerator or freezer so they don't dry out. They will last in the refrigerator unfilled for 4 days, in the freezer a few months.

Pan of crespelle

Terra Madre Day

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Today, December 10, 2011, marks the third of "Terra Madre Day", celebrating eating locally. What, you ask, is this all about? and what does it have to do with us here in the alps and for you, wherever you might be? Well, whatever you want it to be or nothing at all. Terra Madre is an off shoot organization of the "Slow Food" movement that was born in 1986, in the Langhe, which is a little over an hour away from us here in Val Chisone, in the neighboring province of Cuneo. "Slow Food is an idea, a way of living and a way of eating. It is part of a global, grassroots movement with thousands of members in over 150 countries, which links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment." Terre Madre's vision is " working to create an alternative model of food production and consumption, in line with Slow Food's philosophy of good, clean and fair: good for our palate, clean for humans, animals and the environment, and fair for producers and consumers. New to all of this? You don't need to "join" anything, just think about your food choices and try to bring them and your life in a lignment with what is not only best for you and your family, and the people who raise and process your food, but for the planet as well.

Why is all of this important to me? I have been intimately involved in the myriad of faces of food for most of my life, which included a college degree in horticulture and teaching and free lancing my way through said college catering with vegetarian d and natural foods with a collective of like minded women. Cooking and baking my way through most stages of my life, food has and remains to me a fundamental passion not only what I eat and where I source it, but also how it is produced, it's impact on the environment and availability to everyone. Food, is an intimate and daily experience that can gather us round the table to share our daily bread, banter about the latest trivia, recent world events or the more profound subjects of our lives or it can be a solitary ritual to keep the body going. Food has so many faces and roles that it plays in our daily life and in the economics of our world. It is truly amazing how one whiff of a particular aroma can bring memories crashing forward that were seemingly languishing in the quiet recesses of our minds.
So today, why not celebrate your local food and it's producers in whatever way you think best. Most market days you'll find us celebrating what our local growers have raised and brought from their fields that will eventually make it to our table.

We had to the good fortune to listen to Carlo Petrini speak last week in Torino at an intimate gathering at Torino's IED, school of design. Carlo is one of the founders of Slow Food and has become the most recognizable face and voice of the organization. I find him to be quite personable and entertaining as a speaker, as I have heard him speak on various occasions in the area. This time he challenged the young people and the rest of us to be innovative and use all the resources that are available to us to in new ways to bring change and to connect us to one another through our food and food systems. He spoke about how Slow Food is a continually evolving organization as more people bring more issues to the able as well as more resources. He spoke about the Pollenzo school of Gastronomical Sciences , whom we have been involved with, changing their focus to begin add actual food skills as part of the degrees, like cheese making and baking to preserve traditions from being lost. These are two programs close to my heart and very happy to hear this indeed. The other program he introduced was their project to bring "A Thousand Gardens in Africa" to 25 countries in Africa. A practical hands on experience starting in the schools giving critically insufficient acces to land and developing skills and experience to help grow food that is so vital in developing countries especially. It was a great talk and an interesting evening out in Turin.
So when you sit down to your next meal, why not think about where your food arrived from and who benefits from your choice of food. It might bring about some interesting dining room conversations and push you to think globally and act locally. Shop local and support the small businesses. They little businesses will really feel the difference and I think you will too.

Potatoes and Celery Root Gratin to die for....

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:53:00 +0000

Ok, I promise there is no dying involved. I had another recipe and post on turkey filled crespelle or crepes, as they are more widely known to most of us recently and due to a computer glitch I ended up with the equivalent of "the dog ate my homework". That post and recipe has now been shelved temporarily until I can recreate it to satisfaction, harumph!

However, I stumbled across this variation of what we called scalloped potatoes when I was growing up and knew it was destined to be a hit. Made it last night and it was. The recipe is a hardy amount so we have plenty for a few encore performances, and luckily they are that good, that you won't hear any complaining from either of us. I think they would make a great addition to a holiday meal as the recipe is an ample amount. I would call these exactly Italian, but a couple of adjustments I made like the addition of rosemary to the dish gave it an Italian flavor. Here in the northern realms of Italy we cook a lot of dishes in milk, butter and cream, so it is not that much of a stretch to add it to your repertoire. The original recipe came from Whole Foods, and you can find it here, but naturally I made a few adjustments based on our tastes and necessary substitutions. I suggest you do the same if you like. For me most recipes are a starting point that I may follow slavishly and maybe only be inspired by. I imagine some of you are quite the same. Any way you like it, make this dish and enjoy the comfort of potatoes done proud.

Homely shot of my version of Celery root and potato gratin

CELERY ROOT AND POTATO GRATIN

adapted from a Whole Foods recipe

Serves 8-12

Ingredients

1/2 T butter (15g)

2 pounds celery root, peeled and thinly sliced
1 3/4 pounds potatoes, floury variety, unpeeled, if they are organic and thinly sliced

2 c milk, low fat (1/2 L)
2 T flour (6g), optional if your potatoes are floury

2 tsp garlic, chopped

2 c yogurt, plain, full fat,(200-250g) my preference, as I make it at home

3/4 c grated cheese, (100g) I used a rich young Toma, you can use a swiss type

1 1/2 c crushed crackers, saltine type or panko-style bread crumbs

1-2 T fresh rosemary, chopped fine, less if dry

Salt and pepper to taste

1 T flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Butter a 13-x9-inch casserole dish with your 1/2 T butter and set aside. If you ave extra, add it to the mix when assembling.

Whisk together milk, flour, garlic, and season with some salt and pepper in a large pot over medium heat. I used my large tall sided saute pan.

Gently stir in celery root and potatoes, if you are using waxy potatoes and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, stirring frequently and gently, until thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.

Add the yogurt at this time and gently stir to mix it all together. Taste and adjust your salt and pepper.

Transfer the potato mixture to your prepared dish and spread out evenly.

Scatter the grated swiss cheese over the top.

Mix your bread crumbs, rosemary and grated parmesan together and scatter over the top to cover.

Bake until tender, bubbly and golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes.

Set aside to let rest for a few minutes minutes.

Garnish with your chopped parsley and serve.

**Cooks notes and suggestions**

There are quite a few recipes on the internet with a variety of suggestions to try.

I like the idea of adding bacon or pancetta for a complete one pan meal with a salad or green vegetable to go with it.

I don't think I will bother with adding the flour next time as our garden variety of potatoes break down and thicken up the dish quite nicely. If you are using waxy potatoes you probably will need the flour.

Since I used the yogurt in place of the cream, I didn't cook it with the vegetables on top of the stove and I didn't have enough liquid to cover the potatoes. I think next time I might just cook the celeriac in the milk and then mix it all up and add the potatoes and yogurt just before adding it all to the baking pan. If you have a larger pan than the one I used, I think you will have more servings and less time in the oven.

I covered mine for the first 20-30 minutes as I have a convection oven that dries everything quickly. I removed it towards the end to brown up the top.

Could easily be assembled a day ahead and baked off the next day.

Thankfulness

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 10:48:00 +0000

Fabrizio and I are grateful for our readers here and guests who have visited and are yet to come. For those of you celebrating Thanksgiving we wish you a bountiful time together with the ones you love and a round of Genepy to aid in your post turkey dinner digestion.

Customize your own ecard

Click on the arrow for a mini tour of life at Bella Baita. Make sure to turn up your speakers to hear the music.

To Frankfurt, Germany and Back

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:45:00 +0000

The view from the pedestrian bridge, Eiserner Steg.

There are times our work takes us abroad and for a few days last week we were in Frankfurt, Germany to present our friend Enrico Bernards's digestivi to local Germans merchants interested in discovering some new Piemontese specialties as possible additions to their enterprises.

Fabrizio and Enrico ready to taste away

It was another interesting experience in a lovely setting, meeting a variety of interesting people. As it was a small intimate affair I didn't snap many photos of the meeting, but found myself snapping away as we made our way around town. I thought I would share some of the photos of our time in the city instead.

I'm sure you won't mind.

Emma Metzler House where we showed our wares

Old town Frankfurt and the Eiserner Steg foot bridge

We had lovely autumn weather to stroll about town and take in a bit of the flavor of Frankfurt.

Fabrizio and Marla

The lovers locks on the Eiserner Steg

If you are not familiar with this tradition, as I wasn't either until recently, it is quite popular throughout Europe these days. Lovers put their names and special date on te padlock and attached to a special bridge to symbolize their enduring love. You can read more about Love Padlocks here.

Romerberg Square, Old Franfurt town center

Getting ready for the Christmas market

German meat selection

What's Germany without a sausage stand? or many

European Central Bank, museum and Occupy Frankfurt

Frankfurt downtown has many high rise buildings blended in with the old historical center and is known for being Germany's financial district and a main part of the hub of European banking. there was a small encampment of protestors that didn't seem to be making too much of a loud fuss, more of a constant reminder, that all is not well for everyone these days, in the current gloomy economic climate.

Extraordinary modern architecture (Italian)

The skyline at night is special. We enjoyed it from a look out point atop another shopping mall just a few doors down from this ultra flashy one.

Frankfurt skyline by night

We stayed in a friendly modest hotel a few blocks from the downtown and just across from the main train station. It was quite convenient. I found Frankfurt to feel friendly and safe.

Opera House

Multi colored red light district

Even this area was quite low key.

Lunch at Vinesso

We had lunch at a charming neighborhood bar and restaurant, on the other side of downtown, Vinesso. We had met the owner the previous night and had time to stop in for a quick visit. They are carrying some of our local digestivi, Genepy and Serpoul, to name a couple, to serve as a tasty finish to an authentic Italian meal in the heart of Frankfurt. The cozy restaurant filled up with hungry patrons while we were there and seemed to be a favorite where many people knew each other or stopped by to introduce themselves and say hello, as was the case for us. We always meet interesting people when we travel.

Wine from home here in Piedmont

Home again, home again, jiggety jig.....

Cavours own Caterina Bruno's Watercolors at Tutto Mele

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 15:46:00 +0000

Last Saturday we made our way over to Cavour for the 2011 inaugural day of "Tutto Mele",
in spite of the rain that threatened to ruin the day and force streams and rivers to flow out their banks wreaking all kinds of havoc. Instead, it was just mildly annoying that the steady rain put quite the damper on the event, so that some of the vendors didn't even open their booths while others struggled to maintain a happy face. Not an easy life working seasonal fairs or the open air markets. We had stopped on our way to do our weekly shop at the Pinerolo market and what is usually the biggest selection of vendors, was but a mere ghost of the normally thrumming Saturday market. The market border still had a fair amount of food and produce vendors as the show must go on as produce doesn't last well till next market day, but the entire inner market of clothes, nick knacks and sundry had stayed away due to the torrential pounding of rain we were receiving. I don't blame them at all.

One of my favorite local varieties

I must say that I was surprised at how many people did turn up to "Tutto Mele" in spite of the weather, but it was a rather meager offering if you are trying to sell some food or products that you have lugged from far away and are now standing outside trying to stay warm and dry. Fat chance!
There was one group that seemed to be unfazed by the weather, and that was the racers in the Apple Run. I kept noticing all these sporty, hardy types strolling around in bike shorts, sporting tanned and appropriately bulging legs like it was mid September. Following along with the tanned legs, I found myself at the starting line where all manner of warm up activities were taking place in the steady down pour. I must say more power to them as there were literally a couple hundred runners ready to do a mini marathon.

Soggy Apple runners

My marathon consisted of wandering around the town taking in the sights and trying to stay dry. There was the outdoor vendors selling salami and cheeses, ravioli featuring apple filling, vendors with the new olive oil and pesto, cases of Sicilian oranges and stacks of Sardinian pecorino rounds, and Caresu flatbread. Local vendors with polenta, and snails; indoor vendors with artisan beer, chocolate and all manner of hot tubs, kitchen remodelling options, ski clothes and lo and behold, a Tupperware dealer. They were frantically setting up as I stopped by to see all the new colors that Tupperware is currently offering and all the gizmos and new stuff that can be tempting when one is feeling flush with money. I ended up with a catalogue to peruse and contemplate of what I can't live without. I must say I am a Tupperware fan having grown up with it and still have some of my mom's from the 60's. It does work well and certainly will most likely outlive me.

Caterina Bruno and some of her watercolors

Anyway, my favorite part of the festival for the past few years is my friend Caterina Bruno's watercolor exposition. We met in 2005 while we were both having our hair cut by a local favorite hairdresser, Nicola, just before the Olympics came to us. Fabrizio and Caterina chatted it up and before you know it Caterina and Renato were at our house a few days later sharing with us her watercolors and getting to know one another. We feature some of her watercolors here at the B&B and it has been delightful to watch her style evolve over the past few years. Tutto Mele is a great opportunity to catch up with her, enjoy her latest flight of creativity and imagination while staying warm and dry. A few years back she was in a couple of small deconsecrated churches and although lovely settings they were chilly, where as now Caterina's work is displayed in the town hall. A much better setting to really show off her work. This years work featured what she mentioned as her flying houses inspired by some children's stories. I mentioned that they reminded me of the Pugliese "Trulli" houses as well as African type huts.

Flying houses

Caterina found that interesting and then pointed me to her calendars that she is selling for Domus-Onlus, an organization that raises money to support vulnerable women and children, both in Italy and Africa. Her exhibit in Cavour is located next to the ladies who are selling hand made dolls to raise money for Unicef. Caterina and another artist paint the faces on these dolls that come with certificates and names. I was given Claudia last year, who is a Waldensen girl in traditional costume. Her lovely face was painted by Caterina. They still have some dolls on offer if you get on over there. The calendars are priced at €5 and are a steal, as you not only have her colorful and whimsical paintings to enjoy each month of the year, you can frame the small prints afterwards to enjoy even longer and help others while doing so. There is still time today and tomorrow to get over to Cavour and pick one up or maybe even one of her original watercolors. If you miss that one Caterina will be in Torino from the 13 November through the 14 December, 2011 showing and selling her artwork and calendars as well. She will be located on Via Po 45, at the Chiostro della Parrocchia della SS. Anunziata. Torino is always a nice day out and Caterina will be happy to meet you. In the meantime you might want to stop at Cavour and pick up a few fritelle di Mele, or apple fritters, as they are always delicious fresh out of the fryer and no mess to clean up at home.

Catarina's 2012 calender and Waldensen hand made doll

For the love of Fennel

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 10:21:00 +0000

We are well on our way to the long period of winter vegetable in the market. Thank goodness there are plenty of varieties of vegetables to enjoy all winter long. I must say that by February I am starting to long for asparagus, green beans, zucchini and all of the other veggies that disappear from the market during the winter and just a tad tired of cabbage and cauliflower. Having said that, oddly enough, the winter vegetables are just starting to get underway and I am more than happy to see them and taste their fresh full flavors that seem to really sing when they first begin to appear. The carrots are sweeter, artichokes, so tender that you don't even need to scrape out the choke, and fennel, fat, firm and flavorful. One of the advantages of eating locally, seasonally and simply prepared, is that food flavors seem to really come forward and shout out their tastiness. I think that your taste buds become more attuned to subtler flavors and nuances that can be lost in more complex dishes. Sure, more complex dishes are delightful and intriguing, but is a joy to indulge the simplicity of freshness and flavor-fulness as themselves.

I offer you a couple of suggestions today for preparing one of my favorite almost year round favorites, fennel. I didn't grow up eating it, as I think southern Illinois was perhaps just a hair too warm and muggy for it to completely thrive or that it just wasn't one of my family's staples in the world of simple farm food. When I did come across it I found it wonderfully delicious, although not as common and plentiful as I found when I landed in Piedmont Italy. I make it often in a variety of ways, braised with a splash or two of vermouth and then put in a shallow baking dishm sprinkled with a bread crumb parmesan cheese mixture and drizzled with olive oil on top and baked till crispy. I also like to shred it super thin, toss with a changing variety of fruits and vegetables, like, lemons, oranges, apples, and cooked beets and dressed olive oil and various vinegars to a make a refreshing winter salad that is a welcome change for my taste buds.

Grilled fennel

My suggestion today for preparing fennel is a couple of, oh so easy, ways. First, if you have never grilled sliced fennel, I suggest you do so as soon as possible. I find roasting and grilling vegetables with just a kiss of olive oil and maybe, or maybe not, a squeeze of citrus or vinegar, sharpens and intensifies the flavor of the fennel and worth trying pronto!

My other revelation came this past Saturday when we went to nearby Cavour for their annual apple festival, "Tutto Mele", which you can see one of my previous posts about it here. I will put up some picture of this years festival soon. Anyway, Fabrizio and I decided to have a light lunch at a lovely little cafe on the town square and once again, the simplest of food can often be some of the best, at least that has been my experience in Italy. We both selected a perfectly cooked medium rare, thinly sliced roast beef with sides of vegetables. Fabrizio had the green beans and carrots and I had the fennel. Wow, what a simple but impressively tasty side dish. So tasty that I attempted to make it that night when I got home with good results. This isn't really much of a recipe, but try it cause I think you'll love the ease of preparation and satisfying results.

Fennel gratin with roast beef

Shaved Fennel side dish/ Finnocchio al gratin

for 2

1 large bulb fennel

parmesan or pecorino cheese

olive oil and butter

Either slice your fennel bulb as thin as possible or shave it even thinner with a mandolin, which is the preferred way.

Place your shaved fennel into a steaming basket and stem a few minutes till soft. I put a bit of salt in the water to season the fennel as it cooks.

Once cooked, layer the cooked fennel with a touch of oil, a bit of butter and shredded parmesan or pecorino cheese and repeat.

Serve immediately. It reheats easily enough either in the oven or on top of the stove in a pan with a bit of water.

The remains of my take on fennel gratin

Are fennel bulbs part of your standard winter "go to" vegetables?

No rest for the....

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:51:00 +0000

wicked?

A woman's work is never done. A stitch in time saves nine. A penny saved is a penny earned. Ok, ok, what is the point I am trying to make?
When you own your own home, business or both, ones work is never done. I am sure many of you out there are all too familiar with that fact of life. If you are renovating an old building, then your job will always be open ended, of that, I am sure. Here at Bella Baita, my hard working Piemontese man cannot seem to ever find an end point to his labors, nor can his father or mother. These are hard working people that don't really seem to enjoy the idle life. I say it keeps them going and it also makes it difficult to get away to enjoy other parts of life, but the fruits of their labor makes for nice improvements and finished dangling projects recede to the background.

New patio in the making from Grandfathers' house roof tiles

After many years of sitting empty and somewhat forgotten, my in laws have taken on the renovation of Fabrizio's mother's childhood home and her father's and grandfathers nearby childhood home. Fabrizio has then, in turn, taken some of the stones and beams from the old roofs and building and given them a new life in a new garden patio and various other "do it yourself", "fixer upper" projects, around our place.
Aside from the hard work, when all is said and done, Fabrizio actually thrives on working non stop, about which I was warned about from a fellow Piemontese friend. It is a wonderful feeling of salvaging materials that have survived scores of years and repurpose them to a new life.

Nonno Guistetto's childhood home

It is a part of our view point of using what you have to make ones resources be less wasteful in our very disposable world. We try to live and promote an ecological and sustainable lifestyle that spills over into a travel ethos as well. It's just who we are, probably largely formed by parents who were the thriftiest of people from sheer need. It seems that lifestyle is coming back into fashion. Anyway, I am sharing a few of our projects that are going on in our family at the moment keeping us busy and racing against the winter or rainy season lurking around the corner.

Fabrizio's mother's childhood home

What kind of projects do you have going on in your life?

Our renewable heat supply

Sausages in a Savoy Cabbage Blanket

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:13:00 +0000

As the temperatures cool and our namesake Savoy cabbage begins to be found in the markets, I find that I enjoy making this simple hearty dish frequently. Piedmont Italy is what used to be the kingdom of or House of Savoy. The Haute Savoie or upper Savoie is just over the alps behind us in France and as I always like to say, the borders in Europe have been very fluid over they years, changing with the next conqueror. I'm not sure how exactly this cabbage came to get it's name, but I feel pretty confident that because it flourishes here, that is one of the reasons why it is called as such. I read that cabbage

Back to the dish of the day, Salsicia in Camicia, which literally translates as "sausage in a shirt" and rhymes in Italian, but I couldn't resist calling it Sausage in a Savoy Cabbage Blanket for the play on the pigs in a blanket reference. Anyway, our cousin Paolo came over for lunch the other day and I made Salsicia in Camicia. He declared my lunch to be better than any of the trattorias that he frequents. Since he's a single guy and does eat out a lot, I took it for high praise. Mille grazie Paolo. He also liked my savoy cabbage simple slaw as an antipasto, never mind that it is really an American style slaw that I grew up on and still love to this day. (Don't call it cole slaw! My mom made more of a sweet and vinegary style that mine is a take off on and although I might put a couple of tablespoons of mayo in, but it definitely is not cole slaw. That kind of slaw makes me have an involuntary reflex that isn't all that pleasant).

Mountain Savoy cabbage from our garden They normally are quite a bit larger

Yes, back to savoy cabbage, which here it is called cavolo verza. I really love this cabbage as it is milder and somewhat lighter in body. I love red and regular cabbage or what is called cappuccio cavolo as well, but find my heart quickens when we're having Savoy cabbage. It's particularly loved here in the mountains as it is a cold loving plant and we generally have them in the garden all winter long snugged under the blanket of snow. My in laws keep them to have the outer greens for the chickens to peck at in the winter and for the rest of us to have a good peck at as well. Apparently everyone loves a bit of greens now and then. I think you'll find this a satisfying dish to add to your rotation of cabbage dishes as we move into full cabbage season. You can find another local Savoy cabbage soup here that I have shared before.

Salsicia in Camicia with smashed potatoes

Salsicia in Camicia

Sausages or Cotechino in a Savoy Cabbage Blanket

Serves 6

6 sausages, cotechino or spicy, garlicky Italian type or whatever ones you like

6 large whole Savoy cabbage leaves, you can use regular ones, but Savoy are our native favorite

1 medium onion diced
2 carrots, diced
1-2 ribs celery, diced

1-2 T fennel seeds, less if you prefer a more subtle fennel flavor
2 bay leaves
1 T thyme, fresh or a few sprigs, less if using dry thyme as it is more concentrated

2 garlic cloves
white wine, hefty splash
8 tomatoes, San Marzano or Roma style diced or a can of diced tomatoes

olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste, a little red pepper if you like

Lay your cabbage leaves flat and make a 1/2 inch/ 2 cm slice up the middle of the cabbage main rib from the base on each the leaves. This will help when you roll them up.
Lay one sausage on each of the leaves at the base.
Starting from the thick end of the cabbage leaf, roll the sausage up, folding the two outer edges of the leaf in towards the middle as you roll it up to the wide end of the cabbage. This is just like rolling egg rolls or burritos.
Secure the loose end with a toothpick or short wooden skewer and set aside.
Place a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a deep sided saute pan.
Add your diced onion, carrots, and celery and saute till the vegetables start to soften.
Add the thyme, bay leaves and fennel seeds.
Cook a few minutes more then add garlic.
Add the the sausage rolls and sauté till the cabbage has softened, turn and continue until the rolls begin to pick up some color on all sides.
Add a good glug of white wine, picking up any bits that might be sticking to the bottom of the pan and continue to cook until the wine has almost disappeared.
Add the diced tomatoes and a half cup of water or stock if you have it to make a soupy mix.
Cover and let simmer about 20 minutes, or until you think your sausages are done, as the timing will vary due to the size of your sausages.
Taste and adjust your seasonings.

We serve them with mashed potatoes. I like to simply mash the potatoes with a hand smasher, some roasted garlic if I have it, olive oil and chicken stock, which I usually don't have, so I merely use the potato water to thin out a bit. Simple, but the sauce is so flavorful, you probably won't miss the extra richness of the butter and cream/milk, but feel free to make then however you like.
You could also serve with a simple side of rice or cooked noodles as well. Very tasty and versatile.

Trails Ho!

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 10:47:00 +0000

When the weather is so kind to allow us to attempt to finish all of our never ending lists of "to dos" around here, it's nice when we have time to slip in an outing to not only to check out the neighborhood, but to maintain some of our paths, making it easier for our guests and the many mushroom seekers that tramp around in our woods. Fabrizio and I made such an excursion the other day. It was a beautiful autumn day that just begged us to get out and enjoy it and we were happy to oblige.
Fabrizio and I started our association for sustainable mountain tourism, T.E.M. (currently in Italian only, but due for a revamp and translation in the near future), a number years back in order to support our region, our mountains, its traditions, cuisine and people. We weren't exactly sure what all that would entail, but it has been and continues to be a delightful pleasure to discover the myriad of paths it has taken us on and all the interesting people we continue to meet along the way with various twists and turns on the path that sustainable tourism guides us.

Fabrizio clearing downed logs on a trail

One such twist began with a meeting in Turin that we attended with the president of our local chapter of C.A.I.'s (Club Alpino Italiano), Luigi Barus. CAI is Italy's national alpinist organization dedicated to preserving and maintaining the mountains for all to enjoy now and in the future as well as bringing people together to reach that goal.

At this meeting a local project was born as we learned there was a desire for the region to map out our local trails with GPS markings to not only bring hiking in the mountains to a new level of modernity, and possibly insuring people will find their way as they explore our Cottian alps, and will help preserve and maintain our trails so that many may enjoy them for years to come.

Colle del Besso

That's where Silvano Damiano, a member of Pinasca's chapter of CAI, came up from the bottom of our road in Pinasca and brought along some high tech, fancy smancy, gear to put our trails on GPS coordinates. He has worked diligently, along with my husband, Fabrizio, his two children when they weren't busy, and even a few of our guests, to walk our various neighborhood paths this summer, clearing fallen trees as well as brush and branches that obscure the path, painting red and white stripes to help mark the way and documenting the paths with photos and GPS coordinates. Woowee, we have arrived!

Fabrizio and I worked on one of the paths on our outing and it was such a pleasure to cut and move logs that have blocked the path for a long time, fall away with some concentrated effort. I also helped with the red and white markings, painting old and some new markings to help you feel confident that you are indeed on a proper path and not a game or mushroom hunter's trail that eventually will disappear almost as quickly as it began, leaving one either scratching one's head or wandering aimlessly or backtracking.

Nice to know that we're making our woods a little more accessible one fallen tree and paint stripe at a time. Today Fabrizio and a group of CAI members are out working on yet more trails making haste to get as much done before the snow flies. There will be more trails to work on and when we have guests visiting that have an interest and the timing is right, we will bring you along for the experience and to be a part of the effort in our small part of the alps. And we are grateful for your help.

Trail Crew August 2011 Valentina, Silvano, Matteo, our Dutch guests, Anna and Ron and Fabrizio

Torta di Pere or Pear Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:44:00 +0000

The pears are so wonderful this time of the year as they begin to grow too heavy for the tree that bears them and too wonderful not to make everything you can out of them. One of my favorite simple seasonal cakes that can be endlessly varied and is packed with these lusty teardrop shaped globes consists of pears and not a whole lot else. Apple cakes are made in the same fashion here as well and I just might try one with a combination of the two one of these days. As it is the normal mode here to not add too many ingredients to complicate or overshadow the star of most dishes, you will find little or no spices added to keep the quality and flavor-fullness of the pears front and center. I love making it this way and find that the cake seems to only improve on the second day as they flavors have time to come together and sing out. Having said that, the original recipe adapted from Marcella Hazan also calls for whole cloves to be poked into the batter just before popping it into the oven for a nice burst of spiciness permeating throughout the cake. This part of Italy loves to add cloves to a wide range of dishes from cakes to red sauces, so I do like to add this particular spice in. I think this cake would shine with the addition of ginger, dried or candied, as well as the usual suspects of cinnamon and nutmeg, although the simplicity of the cake really brings the flavor of the pears front and center. As always with any dish, the quality of the pears is going to be what makes or breaks your cake. I have used what we call here abate that is a soft succulent variety that doesn't last long so you need to use it before it gets too soft. Other varieties that are firmer work well also. Just make sure your pears are flavorful and you really can't go wrong. This dense rustic cake seems to improve as it sits and will be great for at least 2 days on your table at room temperature as long as it isn't too warm, otherwise into your fridge it goes, but best at room temperature or slightly warm.

Rustic Pear Cake

Torta di Pere

Serves 6-8

22cm/9" cake pan with removable sides if possible

Ingredients:

28-58g/ 2-4T butter for the pan and dotting around the tart, about

45g/ 1 1/2 oz bread crumbs

2 eggs

225g/ 8oz caster sugar, or super fine sugar

60ml/ 4T milk

170g/ 6oz flour, plain

900g/2 lbs fresh pears, anjou, bosc, conferenza, williams, abate

1 dozen whole cloves, optional but very delicious

*If you are feeling like some spice or your pears aren't so flavorful

you might find these usual suspects a nice addition

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 t nutmeg

Method:

Preheat your oven to 190*C/375*F/gas mark 5
Prepare your pan by buttering the bottom and sides of your pan and generously dust all with dry bread crumbs. Shake out any excess crumbs.
Peel your pears, cut in half lengthwise and remove the core, seeds and stringy bit down the length. Slice into thin slices across the width of the pear and set aside. (My pears were quite ripe in this cake in the pictures, so I cut them a little thicker.)
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and egg till smooth, then add the milk and continue whisking.
Add the flour and stir or lightly whisk just until fully combined.
Add the sliced pears and mix just till fully combined.
Pour into your prepared pan.
Smooth top and dot a few pieces of butter round the top and press firmly int the batter.
Press your whole cloves into the top also if using them. I arranged mine decoratively in a circle in the middle of the cake and left them sticking up so people would find them before biting unknowingly into them.
Bake in the middle of your oven for approximately 50 minutes.
Cool to warm before serving and naturally a dollop of whipped cream or gelato isn't a bad idea.

Pinerolo's "Man in the Iron Mask" festival

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:04:00 +0000

Iron masked Prisoner and Musketeer guards

Another year, another mysterious masked man is brought to Pinerolo, escorted by D'Artagnan and his fellow musketeers from the island of St Marguerite( in the bay of Cannes) in our annual reenactment of this documented but unsolved mystery. The legend, brought to light by the French writer Voltaire, is of a richly robed man in an iron mask that was held in several prisons before ending up in the Bastille, where he ultimately died and was buried in 1703.

This much loved mystery not only lives on and continues to intrigue, it has it's own enactment and celebration in Pinerolo. This year festival marks Pinerolo's 13th edition of the arrival of Pinerolo's most infamous and also documented masked prisoner. He arrived in Pinerolo prison August 24, 1669 where he was kept for 11 years. There are many theories and versions of the story and in actuality it is difficult to know if any of them are one mans story or the synthesis of several with a strong sprinkling of legend and embellishment along the way. There was, however, a man in a mask who arrived in Pinerolo and the story lives on every year the first weekend in October with pageantry, historical costumes, music, games, and lots of speculation as to the identity of the man portraying the man in the iron mask this year.

The Iron masked prisoner and his confessor

The commemoration opens on Saturday night with the arrival of the prisoner with this year's edition featuring several other famous Pinerolo prisoners from this era to add to the spectacle and speculation. I thought it added another nice element of drama as the prisoners made a dash for freedom before being put behind bars. Every year there is a bit of tweaking this event with an effort to accurately portray the time period in costume and village life.

Other infamous Pinerolo prisoners

On Sunday the town comes alive with another round of dancing, flag waving, colorful costumed lords and ladies promenading around town, with various types of entertainment and wares to sample or purchase. Then the parading of the prisoners through the streets before unmasking this years celebrity to the crowd of 5,000 or so onlookers. It's a festive and interesting town performance, especially if the weather is cooperative as it was this year, that you should make plans to attend one day. There are some excellent videos of the festivities on the Festivals website here. We have a video posted here.
I'll leave you with some highlights of the festival.

Pasta al Melanzane e Pomodori

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:45:00 +0000

Girandole

If you live in the northern hemisphere, you are probably up to your ears in tomatoes, eggplant, and zucchini at the moment. I know we are here in northern Italy. If you are looking for a fast and easy way to use up some of these abundant veggies, I have an easy pasta option for you. This particular pasta dish hails from the Puglia region, in the south of Italy where these veggies are even more abundant than here. My friend, Silvana, shared this recipe with me quite a long time ago when we were over one night for dinner. I have made it quite a few times with a variety of pasta, although the classic version is with hand made cavatelli, which I have made, but didn't get a photo of it with this particular recipe.

my hand made cavatelli

I have photographed it a few times thinking I would get around to writing it up, so you will see a few variations of pasta here in the photos. Hope you enjoy it. I hope to get a eggplant and zucchini lasagna recipe up soon as well, whilst we are still in the thick of the season.

with cellentani pasta

Dicing your eggplant

Pasta al Melanzane e Pomodori

Eggplant/Aubergine and fresh Tomato Pasta

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 T or more as needed olive oil

2 garlic cloves, large or more if desired, small dice

1 large aubergine, (500g-1 1/2 #) medium diced, peel your eggplant and reserve the skin for topping

8-10 Tomatos, (1 kg / 2-2 1/2 # roma style, regular or cherry, diced

or a mix of roma and regular makes a good sauce

6 large basil leaves, fresh, maybe 1/4 cup cut up, more if you like

600g/1# or so pasta of choice, cavatelli, cellantani, Girandole, rigatoni, penne, or any big body type pasta

Method

Peel your eggplant in strips and reserve the peel to fry for a garnish on top.

Dice aubergine and tomatos into a medium dice.

Finely dice garlic and set aside.

Heat 2 T oil up in a large, heavy bottomed pan with deep sides or a non stick pan if you like.

When the oil is hot, add your garlic and cook just until the oil is aromatic making sure the garlic doesn't pick up any color.

Add your eggplant and shake or stir to coat the pieces with oil and cook till just starting to soften, lifting the eggplant or shaking your pan to keep it from sticking.

Remove the eggplant into a bowl and set aside. I like the eggplant to retain its body and that is why I pull it out at this point and set it aside while the tomatoes cook. *If you don't mind or prefer your eggplant a tad more mushy, then just add the tomatoes in and cook them all together. Your preference.*

Add your tomatos to the pan and cook them till the tomatoes break down and create a luscious thick sauce, maybe 15 minutes or so. You might need to add some liquid, (water or stock) if your tomatoes are more meaty than juicy.

Add fresh basil and the reserved cooked aubergine and simmer a few more minutes.

Season with salt and pepper.

Heat some additional frying oil in an small pan that you can quickly deep fry your eggplant peels that have been cut into narrow strips. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle a little salt on top. Add to the top of each serving or your bowl of pasta as you serve for a bit of a wow factor. Optional of course.

Tomatos with basil, cooked eggplant in bowl and fried eggplant peels

Sauce is great used immediately with your favorite cooked, hearty pasta or sits well overnight and the flavor just improves. The flavor of your sauce is almost completely determined by the quality and flavor of your tomatoes.

Don't worry if you think this is a large portion of pasta and sauce. This makes a wonderful baked pasta dish the second day, by adding some fresh grated parmesan or pecorino cheese and turned into an oiled baking dish and baked till bubbly, adding a bit of water it if seems too dry.

This is a flavorful pasta, that is sure to please.

Meet Guido Ronchail, Sculptor and Ghironda Maker of Pragelato

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 17:36:00 +0000

One of the wonderful things about being married to a local mountain guy, and there are too many wonderful things to mention, but one of his many charms is that he speaks the local Piemontese dialect, which is a calling card for acceptance rather than suspicion. It is a very useful gift when we are seeking out the not so well known and sometimes inaccessible gems that there are to discover in Val Chisone and Germansca or the greater Piedmont region. Fabrizio, my husband, not only knows most of the valley, he has a way of getting most people to open the door and their life to us with just a bit of chat and genuine interest. It is a wonderful quality that I admire and benefit from in so many ways. Recently we went up to Pragelato in search of S.gr Guido Ronchail , a man of many talents who also is a bee keeper, sculptor, and maker of the Ghironda, also known as a hurdy gurdy, which is a medieval folk instrument, popular in traditional Occitan music. Our valleys are part of, if only just, the outer most border of the historical Occitania region. We were once part of France, and even longer were we part of the Savoy kingdom, but now firmly Italy. Mr. Ronchail has lovingly restored and enhanced his traditional old home with his wood working and masonry skills along with many artistic flourishes, as well as adding a gallery for his collection of mainly stringed instruments with the Ghironda, prominently featured.

The Maestro and one of his Ghironda

Stone gate leading to his garden and musical instrument gallery

We dropped in one day following up on an invitation from him when we ran into him at one of Pragelato's Tinber art gallery's opening, which had featured some of his work, along with fellow sculptor Carlo Piffer of Sestriere.

What a delightful day we enjoyed as we chatted about his work and admired his workshop that had accomplished many projects and had so many more in various states of progress. It was a clutter workshop that he apologized profusely for it's state of disarray, but I found comfortable and fascinating as I surveyed the tidy stacks of home made tin can drawers and pieces of musical instruments strewn about. His canine companions bed tucked up in the corner and his trilling orange feathered canary were part of the charm of this well used and loved work area where he spends endless hours tinkering about on his various projects.

Various parts of instuments

Beautiful canary songs to work by

Tools of the trade

Several clock projects

Drawers made from old anchovy cans

After a bit when the stories were flowing, he pulled out a bottle of slightly sparkling local red wine and we quenched our thirsts before moving on to take in his wonderful collection of Ghironda and various other stringed musical instruments, hung whimsically from the ceiling or scattered about the spacious room. It is a delightful collection of various ages and types from different parts of Europe.

Three Ghironde

Ghironde with Appalacian dulcimers on wall and various clarinets

He also had a mountain dulcimer whose home harkens from Appalachia in eastern America, an instrument with whom I am very familiar. It is not a proper museum per se, but he is happy to share it if we want to bring small groups to visit on one of our small tours. I am sure we will, especially as his son and daughter in law have built a small artisanal dairy shop where they make a wonderful aged Toma cheese, not unlike nearby Cuneo's Castelmagno cheese, from their 5 cows. It's a delightful cheese made by a delightful family.

Guido's sculptures and artisan cheese shop

Where they store their cheese

The proof is in the tasting

And if all of this hasn't convinced you to get off the beaten path with us then there is always the Ghironda festival in August for some Occitan dancing. We arrange small tours that covers a wide range of interests, mainly about food and drink, although the culinary aspect is an important part of experiencing a place, immersing yourself in the cultural parts of is interesting and of course, fun.

We are happy to organize a variety of experinces for you depending on your interests and the time of year, through our T.E.M. association for promotion of our valley. If we have a group of 6-8 we can tailor a holiday or short break for you with our full attention, for groups less than 6 we have to consider the demands of running our B&B and balance it all out. Write us for more information, Info@bellabaita.com and have a look at out web site, Bella Baita Italian Alps Retreat. We'll be waiting for you.

Itty Bitty Almond Amaretto Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:35:00 +0000

Yesterday was Ferragosto here in Italy and if you aren't familiar with that particular holiday, just let me tell you, it is a " the end is nigh" kind of summer holiday that Italians celebrate in some form or fashion without fail. Most picnic or go to the seaside, get together with friends and bar-b-que, or head for the mountains only to find yourself stuck in the traffic with everyone else heading off to do something for this day. Some of our guests had that experience as they trundled off to the higher mountains to walk high up with the wildflowers and others gave up and pulled off to visit with us as they couldn't bear the tedium of being stuck in the traffic. Fortunately I hade some hazelnut cake left over from the night before to offer with coffee, but I worried that if we had many more visitors dropping in due to the holiday, I just might find myself with out something tasty to offer. Horrors of horrors. Just not comfortable for me as a baker, not to have a little something baked up to tempt and delight or just take the edge off around the edges of one's ferragosto holiday traffic jam. so what to make in a short amount of time? Why, itty bitty almond cookies that fit on an espresso cup's saucer, of course. This is such a simple recipe that you will be wondering why you haven't run across it before and what other combinations might work well. I must admit that my hazelnut and hazelnut liquor combo is my favorite, as I am a fool for hazelnuts, but the almond ones are a close second. I had something like these served to me one day on the side of my Cafe Macchiato served up in the cosy coffee nook in Volare, my favorite bookstore in Pinerolo. I immediately went home and started working on reproducing that treat and have been making variations ever since. Give it a go, as I think you'll find it's a fast and tasty treat along side any cup of coffee or tea and stays perfectly fresh for quite a while. I dare say they probably won't last long enough for you to find out exactly how long before they go stale.
Anyway, try this out, stash the cooled cookies in a tin for when you need a little pick me up to go with your afternoon "cup of pick me up". You'll be glad you did.

Itty Bitty Almond Amaretto Cookies

Yields about 80 mini cookies

115g (1/2c) butter, room temp

100g (½ c) sugar, raw cane is my preferred sugar
1 egg

2 T amaretto

140g (1c) all purpose flour
100g (1c) almond, lightly toasted and chopped into small pieces

Toast your almonds in the oven on a sheet pan until lightly toasted or in a heavy cast iron type pan shaking occasionally until they are evenly toasted.

Chop into pieces when cooled down

Place your butter in a medium mixing bowl and whisk together with the sugar until smooth and fluffy.

Add the egg and mix till smooth and then the amaretto and mix thoroughly.

Mix in your flour and then almonds making sure all is incorporated.

Drop the mixture by using two teaspoons.

I did rows of 5 across and 6 down or about 30 cookies per sheet tray.

Bake at 180*C/ 325*F for about 8 minutes or till lightly brown.

Cool thoroughly before storing in an airtight container.

Avigliana Lake and Sacra di San Michele

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 17:22:00 +0000

The summer is flying by and we have been in the thick of it with lots of visitors, a wedding and so many activities that I can barely keep up. So I think I will share some photos of one of our recent outings with friends. I always say that you will run out of time before you run out of things to do in our area. I hope I don't run out of summer before I get to my favorites again. There are plenty of summer festivals in every little town and we start the count down in the valley until the 15th of August when everyone celebrates it being summer. According to my husband and other family members, summer is all over after that. So I think I'll share some of the things to do when you are in our part of Piedmont and the alps.

Laghi Avigliana e la Sacra di San Michele

View of Lake Avigliana from Chalet del Lago Restaurant

Off we traipsed to lake Avigliana the other day in search of lunch and a wander around the imposing Sacra San Michele over in our sister valey of Susa that runs more or less parallel to us over the mountains behind our house and is another part of our great Torino province. Sacra San Michele is one of Torino's Provincial symbols along with our own Chisone valley's Fenestrelle Fortress. This will be part of my series of what to see and do with in an hour to hour and one half away from our door step. This day trip takes a little over an hour to get to from the shortcut that skirts around the base of our mountains landing us by the two natural lakes that lie next to Avigliana and at the foot of Sacra San Michele. It's a pleasant enough drive with a lovely destination for a sunny summers day. We didn't actually go into the town of Avigliana on this day, as we had a long breakfast and slow start to the day, but that just meant that were there just in time to have lunch at the oh so atmospheric Chalet del Lago.
The restaurant is on the way up towards the monastery and has an idyllic location to enjoy the lake view. W have been here before for a drink and a look round, but never for lunch before. I must say, we had no idea what we were missing. The food was delicious and well presented. They serve pizza at night from their wood fired oven as well and it looks like a great place to dance the night away in their nightclub under the stars by the waters edge. I can only imagine that it sees a fair amount of business after dinner on these warm summer nights.

Avigliana

Oh yes, back to our lunch. They had a seafood heavy menu, which always gives me a little pause as we are about 3 hours from the seaside and mountain fare tends to be a bit different, but my fears were soon allayed when the dishes started appearing. The fish and seafood was exceptionally fresh and so tasty, as was the quality proscuitto crudo that was classically paired with melon, one of our perennial favorites. Here are a few shots of some of our luncheon plates that were shared around the table.

Melone e proscuitto crudo

Mixed vegetable platter

Giant scallops

Mussels in a rich red sauce

Grilled swordfish with mixed seafood and veggie topping

Grilled seas bass

Potatoes and octopus

Grilled steak with rucola and tomatoes

Pink grapefruit slushy for the finish

Well, I do think we were fortified enough to make it through our afternoon visit to Sacra San Michele. Everything was light and satisfying enough that no nap was necessary. We carried on to the imposing monastery that hangs way up on the hill. You can find other photos of this building from some of my other posts about this site, here and here, as well as having a look at their web site here. It is something that is impressive and not to be missed, but then I might say the same thing about the Chalet del Lago as well. A great day out with friends indeed.

Sacra di San Michele

Carved columns

There are a lot of steps

Lots of great views

Impressive and not to be missed

Gelato and Sorbetto all summer long

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:18:00 +0000

As the height of the fruit season is reaching its zenith, there's only one thing to do!

Make Gelato!

And so we have been,..... repeatedly. What's not to love about sorbets and gelato. We just made some plum gelato from a box of local ramsen Plums that we were given at the market, since one lady had more than she knew what to do with. Our family gelato machine is being put through it's paces.

It's a great way to use up a lot of fruit when you have it as well as top it for the full fruit immersion.

Even if you have just a small ice cream maker it's time to break it out and enjoy summer at her finest.

I've got a couple of busy weeks coming up with guests and the Tour du France coming through next week, so I hope I can find a few minutes to share some photos before getting back to some recipes. In the meantime, enjoy some fresh fruit sorbet and let the good times roll!

Not a Baaad job!

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 17:38:00 +0000

On our day out up in Val Germansca not too long ago, we stopped by to visit some organic cheese producers whose cheese we had reveled in and were delighted to find they were so very local. The sheep cheese that we had was smooth and tasty with just enough of a bite to make it memorable and worth seeking out.

I find it comforting that Italy still clings to the old ways of lovingly looking after their farm animals and producing traditional foods with integrity and flavor that only small production can produce. It helps that the sheep, goats and cows spend their summer high up in the alps, with their farmer or shepherd grazing on alpine grass and wildflowers that imparts a unique flavor and character to alpeggio, (pasture) cheese.

As the snow recedes from the peaks of the entire stretch of Europe's alps, farmers take their animals up to feed on natures gift of grass and spend the summer away from home giving new meaning to the saying "when the cows come home". It's a time honored tradition here too that seems to be gaining popularity again as people turn to the former old ways in an attempt to create work and a livelihood in these uncertain times.

I have worked throughout the alps in not only Italy, but also Austria, Slovenia and Switzerland and there is nothing quite like coming across a herd of sheep or cows with the tinkling bells letting the shepherd know where his herd has wandered off to and then finding where they are making the cheese or serving it for a welcome treat of fresh made cheese. I have enjoyed this experience on many occasions and it never fails to impress me. The setting, the animals, the life of the shepherd, the work of milking and making cheese away from the farm. It's all quite fascinating.

These folks are part of a cooperative of farmers who have pooled their resources together to build a couple of different "caseifici"or alpine dairies where they are able to bring their animals to the mountain meadows graze them on the grass while it lasts and milk them daily and then produce their cheese all in a sanitary environment. Some of the places I worked, they milked the cows and carried the milk in large containers down to the dairy every day in order to not have their hard work go in vain, as there wasn't any sign of electricity in the high country. Quite a feat indeed.

This dairy in Val Germansca and the other they built in upper Chisone was quite a slick operation. The sheep had plenty of room to graze all day and when it came to that time of the day time to be milked the sheep were lining up practically stepping all over each other to get into the milking stall as quick as they could. The shepherd opened the gate and in they trotted single file. Then I realized the why of their eagerness. There was food for them to eat while the shepherd hooked them up to the milking machine and eased the milky burdened mamas of their pay load. Then off they scampered to continue the cycle of eating and bleating in the the mountains of their summer home.

The shepherds wife then had her work cut out for here to heat up all the collected milk and do her magic to produce the oh so tasty,Toma di pecora cheese that we had enjoyed before.

It is a modest and clean operation in a setting that was pleasantly tranquil.

Not baaad work if you can get it.

Wacky weather brings on the Porcini

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:39:00 +0000

Photo by Robert Alexander

Weather is always a major source of speculation and conversation the world around. We never have a shortage of that around here. This has been another odd year weather wise, and so we find ourselves discussing it's oddness in terms of our beloved mushroom or more to the point, porcino season. Our hills are famous for their porcini or boletus edulis, to be specific. There are a host of other varieties around as well, like the ones you find before the porcini arrive and the ones that arrive signaling the end of the porcini season. Well, that is usually how it is during the autumn season. Spring time season usually is a brief affair, with the only porcino you find is what they here call the "white" variety, which if I am not mistaken I think it is the boletus variipes. The autumn season boasts the "moro or black" varieties, boletus edulis and a host of other variety of edible and ones that are oh so pretty, but oh so deadly. So, best to know what you are doing. Here you can go into any of the hospitals and they will identify or at the very least let you know if it is edible or not. If you buy them from along side of the road or in the market, most vendors usually have a tag on the crate verifying that the mushrooms have been inspected and are edible. We have a vendor in our little village not too far from the bottom of our road who collects all the mushrooms form the hunter and gathers of the area and ships them off to Torino every night during the season. Like I said before autumn is usually when the big mushroom action happens, but this year were going through the full autumn season now. It will be interesting to see how it plays out this autumn. Will we have a second season, or will this be the whole season and when it finishes its over for the year?

Egle and her treasures

These are the burning questions that are bantered around our house, the home of the mildly crazy, ok, maybe down right, mad for mushrooms, hunters and gatherers that I call my in laws and husband respectively.

My husband sporting the latest in mushroom hunting attire

We eat wild mushrooms in quite a variety of ways, big slabs fried in bread crumbs, in risotto, with pasta,

wild game stews, rustic tarts and the list continues on and on. To preserve them we either stick them in the freezer whole in ziplock bags, or saute them up with a little onion, garlic and parsley and freeze them in small batches for risotto and such. Very handy. We also dry them.

Drying porcini

My mother in laws specialty is preparing them for putting in jars either under oil or vinegar. They really are pretty that way and a most welcome gift for their friends. My in laws are still the type to give these types of gifts to their doctors or dentist or other types of professionals they deal with. I am known to bring along a loaf or two of my home made bread. Most people get very excited when they receive one of Egle's special jars of precious cargo. I do too, especially if it is under oil. I am not so wild about then in vinegar. It tends to overpower the mushrooms for my taste buds.

Assorted Porcini and a few chanterelles

Porcini and other mushrooms under oil or vinegar.

Porcini under oil

It's not a difficult process, just time consuming. First and foremost you have to find the mushrooms, which can eat up some time, but at least you're out in the woods.

porcini "gold"

Then you need to thoroughly clean and wash them.

Porcini and chanterelles

What you need.

Sterilized jars and lids (usually water bathed for 20 minutes to sterilize)

You won't need them for a couple of days until after you prepare your mushrooms

white wine vinegar

or olive oil,

some bay leaves, one or two per jar (we have fresh ones available to us from nearby trees)

a few whole cloves, 1-2 per jar

Cleaned, dried and ready to put in jars

After you have cleaned them, cut them into large chunks, maybe about 2 inches.

They are then blanched for several minutes in a combination of water and vinegar, just to kill any bacterial on the outsides of the mushrooms.

Dry them off and lay on towels in a a spot to dry with a bit of wind if possible but out of direct sun.

Leave to dry a day or two till they have released any liquid and are dry.

Pack snugly and decoratively in your sterilized jars.

Fill the jars with either oil or vinegar and screw shut.

Disclaimer!!!!! This is the way mountain and country people have been preserving their mushrooms for years. I know that you need to water bath the jars to insure a seal on the jar and to conform to food safety recommendations. This is not a recipe to follow. I do not claim that this is fool proof. This is how my mother in law has been doing it for years with good results. She has a lot of experience and knows what she is doing. I wouldn't recommend this for everyone to try at home. I merely wanted to share the process of this specialty of our area.

Porcini under vinegar and oil

Girls Gone Wild in Val Chisone or just wild about Filled Baked Zucchini Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:03:00 +0000

Ok, so it's a misleading title. None of us are really girls and nobody really went wild.

Although when you get a group of women together it can be a little wild at times. We had friends of friends who visited recently and they were from my old stomping grounds of southern Illinois when I was a girl and perhaps went a little wild, back in the day. Although I didn't know any of them before they arrived, I felt we had known each other a very long time, as I do with many and most of our guests. They all live or once lived in the small town of Olney (Home of the White Squirrels ) a rival to even smaller Lawrenceville, where I lived for the all important "Wonder Years". They were recommended by a childhood neighbor that I reconnected with on Facebook and so wish she had gotten to come along with them, but that will have to be another trip.

Women of Olney, Illinois

We had so much fun sharing what our part of Italy has to offer and catching up on people and places out of my somewhat distant past as we knew mutual people and they were also related to some of my classmates. We enjoyed a lot of laughs. When it was our time to share, we took them on our Pinerolo market tour and came home and cooked up a storm together.

Hard at work filling the pasta

The intriguing dish of the day, as it is for many people that happen to be here when zucchini flowers are in full force, were the flowers. The most popular way Italians usually will prepare them is filled with cheese or meat, dipped in batter and fried. Yes indeed, they are delicious, but I have been preparing them in a few ways to get around the heaviness of the deep fat frying. We really like them and have found they eaten with great enthusiasm. We have been filling the flowers mainly with local cheese or sausage and vegetable mixtures. Really and savory mixture of your favorite fillings will work great. We made some the other night with a savory rice mixture that worked out great, so I thought I would share that recipe with you. Use this basic recipe as a starting point to create your own favorite filled zucchini flowers that just might become your signature dish during what can seem like, the never ending zucchini season.

Rice filled Zucchini Squash Blossoms

Fiori di zucchine ripiene con riso

½ c cooked rice ( 1c/100g dry arborio rice and had extra for later use)

2 sprigs of lemon sage

olive oil, small amount, 1-2 T

1 shallot, diced

1 slice of pancetta or bacon, diced or cut into small pieces

1 small zucchini diced small

2 sprigs of fesh thyme, or ½-1 t dry

1-2 T white wine

4 walnut halves, toasted and chopped (I pan toast them)

a few sprigs of spearmint if desired, chopped

salt and pepper

4-6 slices of prosciutto crudo

8-12 large zucchini squash blossoms, washed with pistil and stamens removed

(figure 2 flowers per person, depending on their size, maybe more)

Cook the 100g/1c rice in 2c lightly salted water with 2 sprigs of lemon sage.

You could use vegetable or chicken stock for part of the water for a flavor boost.

In a small heated saute pan, add a small amount of oil, the shallots and pancetta.

As they begin to soften add the diced zucchini and fresh or dried thyme.

Saute a few minutes more.

Add the white wine and cook until the zucchini is soft and the white wine evaporated. I like to leave my zuchine somewhat al dente.

In a mixing bowl combine the 1/2c cooked rice, sauted vegetables, and chopped walnuts. Season with salt and pepper. A couple of tablespoons of choped frsh spearmint is a nice touch if you like it. I don ‘t care for pepermint as I feel it overpowers.

With a spoon fill your flowers with a goodly amount trying to divide your filling evenly amounts your flowers so that they all have filling.

Once filled, take a lengthwise half slice of prosciutto crudo and wrap around the flowers bulk. Lay on a sheet tray with baking paper for an easy cleanup and no stick properties. Lightly drizzle all the filled flowers with olive oil and pop into a preheated moderate oven(180*C/350*F) for about 15 minutes, so the filling is warmed through and the flower is wilted.

Serve immediately.

Pairs nicely with a crisp white or dry rose wine.

Coooks Notes : Add a small amount of grated parmesan for a touch of salt and pizzaz if desired, although it is very good without.

Cheese variation, I have used so many varieties using up bits of various cheese, trying to make a mixture of mild and stronger flavors cut through with some cooked spinach, or wild greens like stinging nettle, borage, fresh herbs, chives, thyme, basil and small bits of prosciutto crudo, sausage, ham, bacon, pancetta and usually some grana padano or parmigiano to tie it all together. Whatever strikes your fancy.

I sometimes rewarm them on the stove in a pan, which works just fine, without having to turn on the oven for just a rewarm.

This is an appetizer, so you don’t need to overly fill the flowers. It could however be a part of a light luncheon course with a salad, so then you might increase, maybe even double your filling amounts for heartier servings.

Spring orchids 2 [Flickr]

Bella Baita B&B View — Mon, 09 May 2011 00:56:47 PDT

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Spring orchids 1 [Flickr]

Bella Baita B&B View — Mon, 09 May 2011 00:56:19 PDT

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Anise and Fig loaf [Flickr]

Bella Baita B&B View — Mon, 09 May 2011 00:55:55 PDT

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Anise and Fig loaves close up [Flickr]

Bella Baita B&B View — Mon, 09 May 2011 00:55:30 PDT

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Anise and Fig loaves with an olive loaf [Flickr]

Bella Baita B&B View — Mon, 09 May 2011 00:55:05 PDT

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