Bella Baita View

After the harvest, Schiacciata con l'uva or Grape Foccacia

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:21:00 +0000

So now that our grapes have been harvested, you might wonder what to do with all of those grapes when they seen to be coming out of your ears.

Naturally, everyone mostly everyone makes wine, but the wine grapes are so wonderfully sweet and delicious, that if you can stop yourself from devouring them by the bunch, you might want to toss some on your favorite focaccia or flat bread recipe. Squish them into the dough, sprinkle some coarse sugar on top, and drizzle some light flavored olive oil and/or melted butter over it all. Bake till fragrant, gooey, purpley, and golden, and enjoy as a sweet treat a the end of your meal or for breakfast like we do at our house this time of the year.

In our part of the world this is called Schiacciata con l'uva, or grape foccacia. It is usually made during the grape harvest and is a specialty of the Tuscany region. We, northerners, do enjoy this seasonal treat as well and can be found gracing the bread shops daily offerings on occasion. Schaiacciata derives from the verb schiacciare, which means to crush, smash, squash or trounce. I think you get the picture. It should come as no surprise then that this flat bread has squashed grapes stuck all over it before letting it rise up around the grapes before popping it into the oven for a chewy, grapey, luscious delight.

Italians don't mind seeds in their olives or grapes, as they contend that is gives you more flavor than when the seed are removed before baking. I tend to fluctuate on this tradition depending on my mood. Fabrizio has convinced me that a few little seeds just add a bit of roughage to ones diet and quite frankly the sweetest grapes are oftentimes quite small and so I find I mind them all that much. I suspect it's just what you get use to. I will usually cut the grapes in half and scrape out the seeds before plunging them into my fluffy dough.
Traditionally, this is made as a single layer bread in a round or rectangular pan. I discovered that if you make two layers it turns into a gooey concoction bordering on the divine. Adjust the amounts of sugar and oil to achieve your preferred result, dry or gooey.

Schiacciata con l'uva or Grape Foccacia

Ingredients

1 package instant dry yeast (2 1/2 tsp)
pinch fine sea salt
1 Tb sugar or honey
3/4 c (160g) warm water (110–115°F)
fresh rosemary, 2 or 3 inch piece
3 c (300g) all-purpose or Italian "00" flour
1/4 cup olive oil, light flavored or melted butter if you prefer
1/2 c (95g) sugar, white or brown, coarse or granulated (you could drizzle honey instead of the sugar on top for an Etruscan touch)
1 1/2 pounds (1/2 kilo) Concord or sweet wine grapes (3 1/2 c)

Method

The dough:
Gently warm the oil with the rosemary branch and set aside to cool.
Stir together the tablespoon of sugar or honey and warm water in a large bowl.
Stir in the flour, sea salt, and 1 tablespoon of aromatic oil.
Knead dough on a floured work surface, adding a bit more flour if necessary to keep dough from sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic but still soft, 8 to 10 minutes.
Try to not get the dough too firm.
Transfer dough to an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap.
Let rise in a warm place and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 40 minutes to an hour.

Turn dough onto floured work surface.
Cut dough in half.
Lightly roll out 1 piece of dough, retaining much of your air in the dough.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled rectangular or 10" round pan. Stretch to fit if needed.

Scatter half of the grapes** over dough.
Sprinkle part of the sugar and drizzle part of the oil over as well.
Roll out remaining piece of dough in same manner and place on top of grapes, gently stretching dough to cover grapes.
Scatter remaining grapes on top. Gently press into dough.
Top with remaining sugar and drizzle with the aromatic oil.
Cover pan with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until light and almost doubled, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Bake schiacciata in middle of oven until well browned, juicy and firm in middle, about 40 to 45 minutes depending on your oven.
Loosen sides and bottom of schiacciata with a spatula and slide onto a rack to cool.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cooks' note: I have used local varieties like Barbarosso and Barbera, although Uva Frogola is a traditional choice. Concord grapes are a good variety to use.
* *I bow to most people's preference to remove as many of the seeds as possible by cutting in half and scrapping many of the seeds out. Your grapes will be very juicey and I make sure to retain all of that juice as possible by performing this process directly over each layer of dough.
Traditionally the grapes are added whole and squashed into the dough to release their juices.

Vendemmia in Val Chisone

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:38:00 +0000

I'm not quite ready to leave the autumn behind just yet, even though old man winter keeps blowing his frosty breath around to chill the bone and make you work even faster to get all of those autumn projects done before winter begins in earnest.
Our local vendemmia, or grape harvest, was well under way in September finishing up recently in October. It's a labor of love as the grapes are hand harvested and only picked when deemed to be at their peak. The wine growers experience helps them determine the best time for harvest, visually judging the color for ripeness and taste for sweetness. They also use an optical instrument called a refractometer, that measures the amount of sugar in the grapes supporting or not, their opinions of when would be the prime time to harvest. Naturally, the position of the vineyard and weather conditions all play their part in the drawn out maturation and harvesting process. The weather is critical in determining the harvest and is always a great source of speculation.

Recently we had the pleasure of introducing long time American educational filmmakers,

Sid and Mary Lee Nolan, to our Chisone valley. They were in our area filming for their upcoming video of Italian wine regions. Naturally, we took them to visit the Coutandin family winemakers, whose Pomaretto vineyard we gaze upon from our balcony. Their impressively steep vineyards are part of our "Bella Baita View" at the base of of the French border skyline and mouth of the Germansca valley. Their terraced vines are so steep that they have installed a train to help them with harvesting and maintaining the vineyard. Below you see Daniele Coutandin, demonstrating the use of it for the camera.

Although the Coutandin operation is relatively small, Ramie wine has big bold flavors. They have gone from just over 800 bottles per year to 3,000 bottles last year. Our alpine wines reflect the soil and environmental weather that can offer some insight into life in the Cottian alps. Back in January we were up in the vineyard as it was a beautiful mild day offering up the promise of spring and encountered some folks working on the vines. Nice to see the full progression throughout the year.

This family winery mainly produces a rare DOC wine called Ramie, which is a blend of several local varietals. Their Ramie is quite smooth and fruity and goes down well with many of our local specialties, rabbit and polenta comes to mind. You might want to visit our part of the world and try it some time. We're always happy to point in any number of interesting directions.

We also made a a small tour up the valley to the imposing Fenestrelle Fortress and as well as some of our favorite haunts.
Later in the day, we also made a visit to the Dora Renato Cantina, who produce the other DOC appellation of our neighborhood, Doux d/Henry. This is light refreshing rose´ style wine, favored locally here and in southern France. They produce a range of delicious local varietals also. A couple of other posts about them are here and here.

We rounded out the day tour with the unmasking of the 2009 edition of Pinerolo's Maschera di Ferro,
also know as the "Man in the Iron Mask" festival. And who was that you ask? Well, you'll just have to wait until I can get a post up of this years festival. It is a wonderful event so, stay tuned.

Torino's Toro

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:35:00 +0000

Recently I've been making a few trips to our provincial capital of Torino or Turin, the dialect name which most visitors know it by. This stylie bull is the symbol of Torino and found adorning all manner of things. I found this interesting explanation of the origins of Torino's name on one of the city's site.

Turin: According to the legend, it was the Egyptian prince Phaethon to found the city of Taurina (around 1523 b.C., even earlier than Troy) where the Po meets the Dora, in honour of Api, an egyptian god having the features of a bull. Taurines, instead, a population having celtic-ligurian ancestors, established themselves here during the III century b.C. in a village called Taurasia, deriving from the indigenous word tauro, meaning mountain, transformed later into the symbol of a bull by analogy. Between 29 and 28 b.C. the Romans founded here the colony of Julia Augusta Taurinorum, subsequently shortened to Taurinorum, in order to indicate where the Taurines lived. This name was ultimately simplified to Taurinos, and, finally, to Turin.

Torino never fails to offer up some interesting detail that I didn't know or haven''t seen before and this time was no exception. I've walked around Piazza San Carlo many a time and strolled past the historic and over the top, Torino Cafe without fully noticing the brass bull inlaid in the stone at the entrance to this cafe.

According to Fabrizio the thing to do is step on the brass b_ _ _ _ of this mighty beast for a bit of luck, at least that's what legend has it. It doesn't really surprise me as there is a wild boar sculpture in one of the piazze in Florence who has a similar legend and is quite shiny form all the rubbing. The same goes for the right breast of the Julliette statue in Verona as well. So now when you're doing the passeggiata around Torino on the Kings walk under the covered porticos and you come upon a brass bull, you'll know what to do.

Apple Chestnut Bread for World Bread Day 2009 -Yes we Bake

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:19:00 +0000

One my greatest pleasures in life is baking bread. I love the feeling of concocting a gruel from the simplest of ingredients flour, water, salt and yeast to create such a variety of sustaining foods, bread, our daily bread. For many years I made bread at work and at home only inconsistently committed to bread making, as I couldn't quite get the balance between making and consuming quite right. Fast forward to life here in the Italian alps and now we rely on my passion for bread to not only nourish and sustain us as my husband is a bread- aholic and I have an enthusiastic crowd of bread eaters built in with our B&B business, so I do so enjoy keeping up with all of their appetites. I enjoy participating in World Bread Day 2009- Yes we Bake. It is deeply satisfying to my soul.
This time of year I like to vary the ingredients to what is in season and so what a better combination than apples and chestnuts. The chestnuts are just starting to come down in our neighborhood and making their appearance in the market and naturally the supply of chestnut flour is replenished and apples abound everywhere you look. It won't be long before we have our annual apple festival in Cavour celebrating the roughly 35 varieties of local apples. The festival is a wonderful extravaganza of all sorts of treat and a great place to get a bargain on your favorite apples and try a few unfamiliar ones as well.

Anyway, here a recipe for this seasons favorite that I think I'll be make a few more times as I love the combination of the sweet nutty chestnuts with the tartness of the green cooking apples that I used. Here one of my favorite varieties to bake with is ranette, of course back in the US I used to like macintosh, fuji, and granny smith , but there are som many to use. Feel free to use your favorite variety keeping in mind to use a baking variety, so that it will hold it's texture when baking. The sweeter eating apple varieties will generally turn to mush. I used chestnut flour, and I think next time I might add some chestnut pieces for another added dimension to this bread. it is a soft chewy texture that toasts us nicely and lends itself to savory cheese spread for a tasty lunch or antipasti addition. Enjoy the endless possibilities.
I almost forgot to add that you should go over to Zorra's of 1x Umruhen Bitte blog who hosts this event as well as a monthly baking event. She'll be rounding up the offerings around October 25th.

Pane con Mele e farina di Castagne / Chestnut Apple Bread

Yeilds 2 large oblong loaves

900 g (2lb/9 c ) bread flour , might need more if the dough is too sticky to handle

100 g (1 c) chestnut flour

12 g (2 tsp) yeast, instant dry

10 g (2 tsp) salt

150 g ( 1/2-2/3 c) poolish/ biga*

30 g (2T) olive oil or saffron or corn

600-650g (2 1/2 c) water, warmish water if you want to make this within a few hours

amount varies depending on if you use the biga or not

250 g (9oz or 1 1/2 c) tart apples, diced small to medium, not too small, so they don't disappear

* I use my natural yeast starter (that fluctuates between a poolish and a biga)that I always have in the refrigerator and the consistency and strength of it can vary, due to many factors (mainly me) so my ingredients are often times adjusted to the current conditions.

If you don't have any type of sour dough starter then you can make your own poolish by the very simple method of making it a day before you start this bread.

Poolish method

100 g (1 c) flour

118 g (1/2 c)water, room temperature

1/4 tsp yeast, instant dry

Mix together in a roomy bowl, cover and let set at room temperture for 3-4 hours.

Refrigerate over night and pull out and take the chill off of it for an hour before using.

Method

Weigh out and combine your dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, either by hand or for a stand mixer

Add your oil, biga and water and mix by hand till completely incorporated. Knead until you reach a smooth pliable ball.

Flatten your dough out and add the apple pieces.

Stretch and fold the dough over the apples in a few places and begin to work the pieces in whilst gently kneading the dough again.

The dough may break up, but continue to knead the dough and you should find that it will come back together and become smooth and pliable again with the apple pieces distributed throughout the dough.

Place your dough back in the mixing bowl and cover with a damp towel or a plastic wrap.

(I use and reuse shower caps or some of the bowl covers that I tend to stick in my luggage every time I go back to the states. They work great for repeatedly for bread and pasta making.)

Let rise till the dough doubles in size or at least feels lighter and full of air
Slightly deflate and shape your dough into 2 oblong loaves (great shape for toasting)
Place in either oiled bread pans or baskets that have been lined with heavy muslin, dusted with flour. I put the seam up, so when I flip it out the right side is up.
Cover the bread with a loose fitting plastic bag and allow to rise till doubled in size* this can take up to 3-4 hours or over night depending on how you choose to finish your bread.
Preheat your oven to 230* C (450*F)
Flip your bread onto baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat
Slash the top with a straight edge razor blade or very sharp knife
Place a pan of hot water in the bottom of your oven
Spray the oven with hot water just before putting your loaf in.
Spray one more time in the first 10 minutes of baking
Reduce the heat to 200* (400*) and continue baking
Bake until the crust is golden and the bottom of your loaf is brown and hollow sounding
Approximately 40 minutes (it takes about 25 minutes in my convection oven)
Resist cutting it for an hour,
Then enjoy with whatever strikes your fancy, apricot jam, apple butter fresh ricotta cheese with chives and garlic, sprinkled with toasted sunflower and sesame seeds, Nutella or fresh creamy chestnut honey butter.
The possibilities are endless....

*I tend to go for a longer rise using cool water and letting the dough rise a few hours before shaping and keeping it in a cloth lined basket, all wrapped in a large plastic bag and left in my cool spot in an unheated room or sometimes in the refrigerator when there is room and bake it the next day after allowing it to come to room temperature. If it didn't rise enough in the refrigerato,r then I let it continue to rise the second day till it is a suitable size for baking. You can determine whether your loaf is ready to bake by pressing a finger in it and there will be a noticeable lasting impression and a feel of air and lightness to the loaf.

Porcini Season

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 17:50:00 +0000

It's that time of the year again when I awaken before light to the sound of my father- in -law lightly clomping down the stairs to go after the big game like Cinghiale, otherwise known in these parts as wild boar, whilst the steady whooming of the oh- so -serious porcino hunters make their way to their favorite part of our woods to stalk the much prized Edulis Boletus.

Yesterday, it was merely 60 cars that I counted parked along side the road as we dodged the traffic going to the market not including the Torino taxi that we see frequently at this time of year. What started out to look like a lean year for the king of mushrooms, has turned into a bonanza with all the weekend warriors that go along with. Today we had a woman off the road in her cycling gear proceed to make her way around our yard and when asked if we could help her, she told us that she was having a closer look at all the mushrooms in our yard in case they were porcini. Surprise surprise, they were not. We did however harvest these two pictured below, form certain parts of our garden that I hesitate to mention for fear of over zealous stalkers!

When we arrived at the market, it was quite the mushroom extravaganza. Mushrooms on almost every stall and naturally a mushroom in every pot. Ok, may not in every stall or pot, but it was a fantastic display everywhere in the market. Mostly they were porcini, but there were a smattering of other less prized varieties, of which I'm not so sure about the names, but some of them looked like the chicken of the woods variety. As I came to this stall I was surprised to see that these were from our village Pinasca, that is where we turn off when we make our way back homee up the hill. there's a good possibility that some of these mushrooms might have evne been from some of those people that park along side our road and scour the hill sides. As you can see they were pretty well picked over by the time we saw them. If you note the price is €9.50 per half kilo or just over a pound. Still a little pricey, but much cheaper than last week, but nothing like the price of when you find them yourself.

Our friends had the good fortune to find some fantastic specimens on their hike today, up to Cucetto for the views. Nice schroomy finds, pictured below, huh?!

Can you guess what is on the menu tonight? No, well, it's mushroom risotto and perhaps a side of breaded sliced porcino steaks to go along with. I made a rustic tart the other night with big slabs of porcini layered on top of tomini cheese in an olive oil crust and it was so scrumptious, that we ate it before I could even think about getting a photo of it. A similar recipe that you might want to try if you find yourself in a mushroom kind of mood is my" Porcini e Tomini in pasta sfoglia" recipe.

Whatever the case enjoy some woodsy treat of mushrooms any way you can, the season is upon us.

Elderberry or Sambuco Jam

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:45:00 +0000

We've been busy making elderberry jam lately. The trees have been heavily laden this year as we have had a warm summer, with enough rain to finish them off leaving them pleasingly plump and delectable. Just right for the picking. Elderberry or Sambuco as they are known in Italy whose name derives from their Latin name of sambucus nigri, is such a giving tree. Fragrant lacy flower fronds in the spring give way to pendulant purple clusters in the late summer or early autumn. Elder flower syrup in spring and blackberry type jam in the autumn. I keep a watchful eye on my local trees to make sure no beats me to the tasty morsels as has happened in the past. This understory tree grows to decent enough height that there is no chance that we get to them all and so there are always plenty of berries to share with our feathered friends.

We were quite fortunate the other night to have our guests join in on the fun of pulling the small sometimes resistant berries off, thereby halving the time it normally takes us to prepare them as well has having a laugh as we all ended up with purple stained hands.

Elderberry or Sambuco Jam

2 kilo clean elderberries ( I rinse them to remove as much small stems and debris as possible)

1 kilo sugar

1-2 T lemon juice, optional

Place your cleaned fruit in a heavy bottomed pot.

Smash fruit with a hand potato smasher

(this brings out the juice and speeds up the time it takes bring the fruit to a boil)

On medium to high heat, bring the fruit and juices to a rolling boil.

Boil the mix down till a good portion of the fruit syrup has evaporate.

Your time will vary depending on the amount of liquid, but you can figure at least an hour, maybe more. I usually make about 4 kilos at a time and it can take almost two hours to get the mixture cooked down.

Once you have cooked ost of the moisture away, but it is still loose, add the sugar

Stir well, bring back up to a full bol taking care not to let it boil over.

When the mixture comes to a full boil, turn your heat down and let the mixture simmer.

Pay closer attention to your mixture now as it can easily boil over or stick to the bottom and burn.

Cook until it has thickend and mixture is the consistency of thick gruel.

Add the lemonjuice towards the end of the cooking period. I like to use it to cut through the sweetness and brighten the elderberry flavor.

I like to use a candy thermomenter to keep track of it. I make sure the temperature reaches at least 200* F and maybe a little more. I don't cook mine as mucy as I used to as I like a looser jam instead of the very firm one. You can also pour some on a plate to see if it has thickened to your favored texture. Again this may take an hour or so. You need to pay closer attention to it as this point, so that it doesn't burn.

Fill your hot sterilized jars and close with a fresh lid.

Gently boil the jars submerged in hot waterfor at least 20 minutes.

Remove gently from the water

Turn upside down to cool and insure the seal of the jar.

Note: I can make up to 4 kilos of fruit in my pot in the photo, so I just always use the 2:1 fruit to sugar ratio. Sometime I will cut the sugar back slightly if the fruit seems sweet. Lemon juice helps cut the sweetness and intensifies the flavor of the fruit I think. I use about 1 tablespoon per kilo of fruit, but of course you can do it to taste too.

Wine Bash at Martini & Rossi Spiritual Home

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 13:10:00 +0000

It's that time of the year again, the "vendemmia" and the talk turns to the prospects of the wine harvest for the year. Some of our wine making friends say that this years quality is high but yeilds are low. Sounds like good wine at higher prices to me. It was a fitting time to celebrate the start of this years harvest and attend the launch of La Strada Reale dei Vini Torinese, held at the beautiful "Martini and Rossi"(link in Italian only ) original home and muesum in Pessione di Chieri.

This celebration was the culmination of our province's increased effort to showcase our distinctive and tempting culinary treasures of Torino(Turin) province, comprised of bountiful mountains, plains and valleys in this sprawling province. This royal wine road designation draws attention to our territorial wine whose distinct flavor springs forth from the land and tradtional grape varieties that come together with it's hard working people and noble Savoy dynasty history, to secure our place upon the Italian wine stage. Thanks go to Torino's director of provincial traditional culinary offerings, Elena di Bella who has worked tirelessly to bring the long overdue recognition that our local specialties so deserve, and Anna Rinaldi, under Elena di Bella's direction, who has put her full energies into to bringing this wine road project to fruition. Anna organized several wine tastings with a noted sommelier to offer an opportunity for us to discover and familiarize ourselves with our neighbors wines. We participated in a couple of these earlier this summer. Not only was it enlightening and fun, we also met other interesting wine producers of these tasty wines and also innkeepers, enthusiats and supporters of this project. Naturally, there are many of our colleagues involved that will offering lodging and culinary opportunities as this project takes root and flourishes. TEM, (only in Italian at this point) our personal ecological, sustainable, toursim association is excited to support, promote and collaborate with this wonderful initiative, to put our deserving area on the map and help bring a bit more prosperity to our "off the beaten path" part of Piedmont. Exciting times indeed.

The evening consisted of time to tour the museum in the bottom of the house that houses a very important collection of over 600 artifacts which tell the history of wine from the 7th century BC until today. There were beautiful ancient Etruscan wine vessels and ornate drinking horns and cups in the first rooms. I particularly loved the 17th and 18th century ornate and simple Piemontese carts used to carry the harvested grapes. Pictured above is a cart used to transport the finished the wine.

This good sized 17th century alambicco (alcohol distiller or "still" as we quaintly call them in the US) is what was used to make grappa. After the grapes seemingly have given all that they can for the making of the wine, the "must" is then used to make grappa even today. The museum really is an interesting attraction if you have an interest in the history of wine and worth seeking out if you are in the area.

The remainder of the evening, after all the speeches and slide show about our very generous hosts, Martini & Rossi of the Bacardi group's facilities, was filled sampling the familiar and not as familiar wines of Torino province. There were knowledgeable sommeliers on hand to help guide and educate us about the locations, variety of grapes and wines. It wouldn't be a proper Italian aperitivo event without some tasty treats to go along with the dolcetto, barbera, erbaluce, freisa, nebbiolo and moscato wines and this was of course no exception. I must say that the chestnut porcini soup was a stand out for me and will probably find me making an attempt to make it here as we move into chestnut and mushroom season here shortly. Perhaps I'll even share it here if I get it sorted out. I know I'll be seeking out some of the wines I tried last night to add to our offerings when you find yourself staying with us. A great event and a project worth seeking out when you make your way to Piedmont, but more specifically, Provincia di Torino. We'll be waiting for you with a bottle or two in the cantina. Cin Cin!

Spicy cheese filled Zucchini flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:50:00 +0000

One of Italians favorite ingredients that they love to use here that often surprises our guests, are zucchini flowers. They can be quite bountiful at times when there are many on the vine that will never tun into a zucchini such as these in the photo above and then there are ll of the ones attached to the end of the zucchini when you either pick them from you own prolific plants or purchase them fresh from your market vendor. Either way, they are delicately flavored, lovely to behold and delicious stuffed and deep fat fried, but then, is just abut everything. That is the typical way they are done and served in most of Italy, but they do find their way into soups, risottos, ravioli and pasta dishes as well.

I did a slightly lighter version of them the other night that had my friends making me believe that they had died and gone to heaven. They savored every morsel. They are so easy to prepare this way, that you might just want to wander out to your garden and see if you have a few to fill with your favorite filling and bake in the oven till warmed though and you have an easy delectable starter that will have you running back out to the garden to find if your zucchini plant has given up a few more flowers while you were busy making and baking the first ones. If not just be patient and I'm sure you'll have a few more shortly. You'll just have to be patient and think about what else you can fill them with. I used a mixture of small bits and tail ends of a variety of cheeses along with some spicy Calabrian salami. You could use some flavorful beans for grains as well. Just make sure to either wrap the flowers in something that will keep them from drying out while they are baking, or lightly brush a bit of oil in them before popping them into the oven.

Fiori di zucchini ripieno
4 servings

8 large zucchini flowers or more if they are smaller
3-4 slices of Proscuitto crudo, sliced lengthwise to make 2-3 generous strips per slice

200-250 g assorted cheeses, I used fresh
Ricotta,
Seirass, (which is a stronger flavored and firmer ricotta type cheese
Parmesan (Grana Oadan actually)and
Cevrin, which is a strong goat cheese.
The idea is to have a flavorful filling, but not necessarily a stringy type cheese filling, but anything will work really.
50- 100g spicy salami diced
1 egg optional if your mixture holds together well on it's own, like mine did
few grates of fresh nutmeg
2 Tb chives

Mix everything together in a bowl and set aside.
Wash your flowers lightly in a bowl of water to remove dust etc
Working gently remove the large pistil inside. If your flowers are small you might open one sideto ease the filling process.
Fill the flowers generously keeping the slit together as best you can and leave enough room at them end that you can fold the points of the flower over the ends to keep the filling in.
Wrap the ham around the flower in a spiral tucking in your ends if you canso it all holds togther.
Bake in a moderate to hot oven till warmed through and juicy.
Serve immediately.
They are quite rich and usually 2 will make a substantial starter.

Gofri, the recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:29:00 +0000

Here's one of our favorite local festival snacks that turns up in more places now and again, Gofri(go free). It's a thin crispy waffle filled with any number of savory and sweet fillings.

Gofri with Nutella sandwiched in between,
served up at our favorite watering hole,
Beba microbrewery in our neighboring town of Villar Perosa.

I wrote about them and some of the other award winning local specialties here.

My original introduction to Gofri, was a light flavorful waffle slathered with local favorite, Nutella (as the original guilty pleasure hails from nearby Alba). Pure bliss. It didn't take me long to be won over by prosciutto crudo and aged creamy tomini cheese, or porcini mushrooms and marinated artichokes, or with marmalade and, and, and,.....mmmmm. I think I'm just going to have to go and fix myself something to eat before I fall off my chair fantasizing about the possibilities.

Here we have the outdoor variety set up for flea market the other day

The secret of the crispy outside is the lard that they lube up the hot griddle with.

If you haven't worked it out yet. Gofri making is a male dominated cooking endeavor.

Not unlike bar-b-que, which is also one of the favorite male bonding sports as well here in Italy.
I think it speaks to something very deeply ingrained back in the day of the discovery of fire and dinosaur burgers, but I digress.

Once they are determined crispy, it's on to the choice of fillings and ultimately eating.
I am passing along the recipe of our friends Alma and Renato's from Mentoulles, a small hamlet next to Fenestrelle Fortress.

During the winter Olympics of 2006 they invited us up to share a big feast of gofri with all the fixins and some of their very own moscato wine from their cantina. Notice the big stack of gofri, front and center, that we managed to polish off without too much of an effort. Renato is there manning their indoor set up in their cantina. It was a memorable night indeed. Now you can make your own little gofri festival and create some memories of your own.

Gofri

1 liter of water, tepid
750 g of farina, 00
1 cube of fresh yeast
pinch of salt

Mix the fresh yeast and salt with the tepid water.
Whisk the flour into the water, salt and yeast mixture.
Leave in a warm place for 3 hours to allow the batter to develop.
Heat your griddle till very hot.
Run a piece of fatback over the griddle or brush with lard.
Brush with a light coating of olive oil or sunflower oil.
Close to reheat briefly.
Pour your batter over the whole surface to cover and close.
Cook on one side and flip over
Cook until light brown and crispy.
Give it a poke with a fork if uncertain that it is cooked all the way through.
Place on a plate, cover one half with your preferred topping and fold in half.
Serve immediately.
Lick your fingers clean.

Toppings/fillings suggestions

Prosciutto crudo and soft cheese, gorgonzola
Cooked ham with mozzarella
marinated artichokes, tomatoes and stacchino cheese
spicy salami thinly sliced

Nutella
Apricot or any of your favorite preserves. I love plum with rosemary
Anything goes really.

Interview with...an Expat, (and that would be me and no, not a vampire)

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 15:44:00 +0000

In case you were wondering what it's like to run a B&B, or if you were a wee bit curious about how Bella Baita came about, check out my interview over at My Bella Vita. Expat, Cherrye Moore, who is also a talented free lance writer and B&B owner (Il Cedro) in Calabria, has started a new series on her blog, My Bella Vita about expat owned businesses in Italy. She very generously launched it with an interview with little ole me. I'm honored. Cherrye and I have very similar stories, starting with falling in love with an Italian man and moving to his home town to discover "la dolce vita". So if you get a chance head on over to her site as she also has a lot of interesting travel tips on Tuesdays and lots of other helpful information for those of you contemplating the expat life. Thanks Cherrye.
Oh yeah, I forgot to say, you need to go and stay with her at here B&B in the south and with us in the north!

Gofri and Il Mercatino delle Pulci

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:16:00 +0000

Everyone loves a bargain and Italians are no different. Towards the end of the Italian holidays in August, our neighbors in Perosa Argentina host an annual flea market every year. It's quite a large collection of vendors that meander through the town park and the town's side streets.

Everybody has something to sell of value or not, but certainly plenty to keep you interested and entertained for the day.

Something for all members of the family.

and budgets.

In a beautiful mountain setting it's hard to go wrong. They set up a large area for the kids to finger paint. If you wanted you could even work on your tan as well, just in case you didn't quite make it to the seaside, you don't have to be deprived while you are on your mountain holiday, especially this summer. It's been quite a scorcher a good portion of the summer. For those of you not in the know getting bronze is one of the favorite Italian past times of the summer and your Italian-ness and worth is totally measure by your bronze-ness factor. Woe is me, of the fair Irish coloring variety. I stick out like a...., yes you can fill in the rest of the saying.

And like any type of town celebration, it wouldn't be complete with out some type of festival fare, with the men folk showing off their cooking prowess like this good looking bunch shown here. (They asked me what television channel they were going to be on that night, little did they realize that they would go round the world, not merely the local nightly news!)
Our Chisone valley specialty is called Gofri (pronounced go-free). It's a crispy thin style waffle that is served hot off the irons, savory or sweet. The savory varieties usually include ham of the cooked or cured persuasion or local Toma cheeses and the sweet ones are slathered with marmalade or the perennial hands down favorite, Nutella. It is a delight not to be missed.
Recipe to follow shortly with a few more photos.

Sizzling Summer Cooler.. Gazpacho Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 21:14:00 +0000

August 15th was Ferragosto here in Italy.
It is a sacred holiday to Italians, one that has pagan origins and later was all about the religious aspects of the Virgin Mary being assumed into heaven, but then fell out of favor with the Vatican and has come to be the secular holiday of the summer.
According to Wikipedia... "Before the Roman Catholic Church came into existence, however, this holiday was celebrated in the Roman Empire to honor the gods—in particular Diana—and the cycle of fertility and ripening. In fact, the present Italian name of the holiday derives from its original Latin name, Feriae Augusti ("Festivals [Holidays] of the Emperor Augustus") ^[1]. Almost the entire month of August was taken as a holiday and leisure time in Italy in honor of this feast day."

Most Italians go out of their way to go somewhere for the day for a big restaurant meal in the mountains, the seaside, a bar-b-que with friends or a picnic out in the country somewhere. Here we had grid lock going up to our Fortezza di Fenestrelle this year to climb the almost 4,ooo covered stairs and walk across to the meadow in the Orsiera Rocciavre' park, where there was a free open air classical concert in what was a glorious summer day. We had guests that were clever enough to get up early and make the climb in the cool of the morning and before the roads became a parking lot. A fitting celebration to summer.

Another fitting celebration of the season bounty of tomatoes is refreshing Gazpacho soup.
I try to keep to the Italian theme here, but I don't think Gazpacho is too much of a stretch from our friends over in Spain, as I find it on the menu here now and then. It is a perfect summer treat that highlights the intense flavor juicy, luscious tomatoes. This dish just isn't the same any other time of the year. It has all the elements that are so beloved in Italian cooking, tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, red onions, and peppers if you like, all of which are in their zenith of abundance and flavor at the moment here in northern Italy.
I find that I tend to make it a little different every time depending on what is on hand and what suits me at the moment. I based this recipe on a few I found on line, but Elise's of Simply Recipes version I found the most helpful for me. You'll find a wealth of recipes there if you haven't found her site before.

Gazpacho Recipe

Ingredients

6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and large chopped a mixture of cherry tomatoes and heirlooms are a nice combination about 700 g or 1 1/2 lb of tomatoes
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, large chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 sweet red bell pepper (or green) seeded and chopped, (optional)
1-2 T chopped fresh parsley
2 T chopped fresh chives
2 T any combination of your favorite herbs I like to use basil or mint
1 clove garlic, minced, optional
2 T raspberry or white wine vinegar or lemon or lime juice
2 T olive oil
1/2 tsp red pepper or to taste
1 c tomato juice, I actually used water as I didn’t have any and it was still incredibly flavorful due to the tomatoes being so wonderful
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Method

Drop your tomatoes into a boiling pot of water for about 1-2 minutes.
Remove with a slotted spoon and run under cold water to make them cool enough to handle. Peel.
Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor.
Pulse and blend slightly, to desired consistency.
Adjust seasonings.
Chill for maybe an hour and serve with garlicky oily croutons or crumbled grissini on top. Drizzle a small amount of extra virgin olive oil on top.
You can refrigerate over night in a non-metal storage container. I find that the flavor changes completely, so keep that in mind.

Serves 4-6

And Buon Appetito!

Molise another hidden treasure

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 07:54:00 +0000

Molisane Cart

Not so very long ago, I stumbled upon Michele Vitale on a Slow Food forum on LinkedIn, a social business network. I recognized right away that being from the little known region of Molise and his keen interest in trying to promote their local cuisine and culture to a broader audience, that we had a lot in common and we do. His blog, "Taste of Italy -il Gusto dell' Italia" written in a combination of English and Italian posts, and is a real celebration of this beautiful, "off the beaten path" region of Italy. It is a good site for those of us trying to improve our Italian as well. Michele's passion for his homeland is quite contagious and he pulls together some great videos and posts about Molise and it's people. Second to the smallest region and surrounded by Abruzzo, Apulia, Campania, Lazio and the Adriatic sea, one can see why Molisese might feel overshadowed by their larger neighbors. Michele is trying to change all of that by promoting this areas culture and cuisine in all sorts of endeavors. When I first made contact with him he was off to Holland to put on a food exhibit and has been back again more recently. Apparently there are quite a few Dutch people that have been coming there for ages and so there is a fair amount of demand for the Molisano food and wines back in the Netherlands. Good to always try and build upon that interest. I highly recommend discovering this small slice of heaven, Molise and let Michele guide you on your way. One of the regions colorful festivals is posted here and typical festival breads here. Don' t waste another moment and have a good wander around Michele's blog and discover yet another reason to love and visit Italy.

Friggitello Incrosta

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 21:46:00 +0000

Perhaps you're melting with high temperatures these days and couldn't possibly think about turning on the oven, or perhaps it is a tad cooler than most summers in recent memory, or maybe you need to bake some bread or cake or something. Whatever the case may be, here's a simple satisfying idea for using up some of the bountiful peppers you might be encountering from your garden at the moment. These filled peppers baked in a light foamy souffle casserole, is an appealing proposition. Friggitelli are a mild green pepper and usually make their appearance early in the summer season here. It's similar to an Anaheim pepper in that it really doesn't have much bite to it. Fill them unroasted with your favorite flavorful filling. I used a mixture of Toma, which is a mild, mountain cheese and Cevrin, a very aromatic local goat cheese that you won't soon forget, after leaving it in your car on a warm summers day.

This recipe lends itself to many variations on the fillings, like spicy or mild sausage and cheese, beans, rice and on and on. It also works very well with zucchini blossoms as well without all that tasty but heavy grease. Have at it and enjoy a light puffy dish with a substantial filling that paired with a marinated vegetable or green salad, makes for a satisfying meal.

Friggitello Incrosta
Yields enough for 2 main courses or 4 antipasti
This is easily scaled up

8 small Friggitello peppers, or any mild green peppers
8 oz (226g)or about 3 Tb of filling per pepper, grated cheese mixture,
mild, sharp and Parmesan your choice
2 room temperature eggs, separated
2 Table spoon of flour or cornstarch
pinch salt

Clean your peppers, if you like you can always roast them and peel them if their skin is to tough. Otherwise remove the stem and seeds and slice down one side and set aside.
Grate your cheeses of choice and mix together.
Fill the cavity of your peppers and set aside
Whisk your whites with a pinch of salt added to them in a bowl that will allow them to expand. Whisk till they are as quite firm as they can be without anything being added to them.
Very gingerly add your yolks and sprinkle the flour over the whites, distributing them over the entire area of the whites so you handle as little as possible.
Hand whisk or fold the yolks and flour into the whites, making sure all is blended, but preserving as much volume as possible.

Grease your baking dish, and cover the bottom with 1/3 of the batter. Place your peppers on the mixture. Cover with the rest of the mixture. Pop into a preheated 350* (190*) oven and bake until the mixture is lightly brown and set with the inside are cooked through, about 30 minutes. Baking time can vary.

Torino Details (some)

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:32:00 +0000

Someone once described Torino as a city that wouldn't over whelm you with grand scale sights, but would win you over with it's small details. I would certainly agree with that. It's not that there aren't enough big sights, there are, like the Mole Antonelliana, symbol of Torino and at one point in time, the tallest building in Europe. And quite a bit of interesting architecture through out the central part of the downtown area.

So when ever we find ourselves in Torino, I always find myself snapping away, photos of many of the small details that for me makes Torino so charming. I have added 3 of such interesting details that I have snapped along the way. I think I will from time to time add on to my interesting details that I find myself drawn to and share them with you.
Tell me what you think.
I particularly like this lamp that isn't exactly dragon nor gargoyle, but mythical I think and certainly eye catching. Turin has a history of being on a magical meridian intersection, but that is a subject for another day. Today I just wanted to share some images to make you a tiny bit more curious about Torino, and if you want the full scale guide to what to do and see in Turin, have a look on the Turismo Torino site for more details.

Still time for some Italian flavored summer reads

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:22:00 +0000

I am sometimes asked what I like to read? My standard glib reply would be, whatever anyone leaves behind. While that may not be entirely true, it isn't very far from the mark. I do miss the library system of America and haven't quite gotten the drift of ebooks, let alone an ebook reading device. I'm still more than ecstatic when guests not only leave behind their holiday book, but sometimes arrive with books in hand to swap or press into my greedy little hands. I've had numerous friends send me new and used books alike, but that is a bit trickier as the Dogana or customs department are more than a little zealous to making sure that customs have been paid on all gifts and parcels. That is another story, but I promise not to have a little rant.
Earlier this summer one friend brought me a few books which I quickly devoured and two of these selections stood out for me.
The first, "Mozzarella Most Murderous" by Nancy Fairbanks is a light "whodunit' set in Sorrento, Italy. It has a clever premise and a few decent recipes sandwiched in between this tale of a homemaker turned food writer turned amateur sleuth caught up in solving the mystery of the untimely death of her newly acquainted and gorgeous Italian friend. The story line has plenty of twists and turns to keep you wondering with enough references to Italian cuisine and culture to give it an authentic feel. The recipes will have you trundling off to the kitchen to fix a little something while you make your way to the conclusion. It seems that this is one in a series of culinary capers that Ms Fairbanks has spun while she does her research along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed the familiar recipes as well as something to whet your appetite while you lounge by the pool.
The other murder mystery "A Long Finish" by Michael Dibdin, I found particularly interesting as it is set in neighboring Alba, just about an hour from here over in the the Langhe famous for it's wines, Barbera, Barbaresco, Nebbiolo, just to name a few, and of course, the most famous of all, Barolo. Naturally, this Piemontese tale revolves around one of the main focuses of the area, wine making. It is a bit of a macabre story, but the atmosphere and insight into the personalities of this region is authentic and fascinating. His writing draws you in and sets a mood that is as complicated and textured as the wine that is at the heart of the story. I found I wanted to race to finish the book, but then savored it as I would a great bottle of wine. A tale worth exploring for a window in to the personality of Piemontese. Worth a read and I just might find myself rereading it sometime, down the road. I think you would enjoy it too especially if you find Italy and it's culture interesting. This one hits the mark.
Happy reading.

Stork Family update

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:28:00 +0000

Back in April I posted a photo of of our resident nesting stork in Pinerolo and was commenting on how this feathered family has seen fit to make their home there on an old smoke stack from an abandoned factory in Pinerolo for the past few years. Recently on our return home from the market the other day, I was delighted to catch a glimpse of the whole family. I'm not so sure how delighted the other folks in the cars next to us at the traffic light were to see us make a quick swerve over to the side of the road, so I could snap a couple pics of the growing family, but that's another story.

It won't be long before this young un flies the coop and the nest will be empty for another year. Actually, it is quite a long family nesting time compared to the little family that nests above our electrical box on our balcony every year. Within two weeks of hatching the little ones they have all flown the coop and the nest is devoid of any living thing. I'm always taken by surprise at how quickly it all takes place. Must be a metaphor in there somewhere about the speed of families growing up and leaving the nest, some quickly and some not quick enough. I just find it all fascinating.

Divina "Baccala alla Livornese"

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:18:00 +0000

"Everyone should try being Italian at least once a year", exhorts Judy Witts Francini from her enviable spot in Tuscany. Judy, sometimes known as Diva from "Divina Cucina" cooking school in Florence Italy and always known as the women with the inside track to the Florence and Chianti food scene. For many years Judy has operated a popular cooking school in central Florence with one of it's main attractions being the fabulous Florence Market classes. An insiders tour of the indoor market and then cooking with her students all the yummy finds of the day. Over the years many dishes have been cooked and many secrets have accumulated and now the culmination of these experiences have come together in her cookbook aptly called,

Secrets from my Tuscan Kitchen.
Divina Cucina Recipes,

I was excited when I first heard about her cook book coming out as I have enjoyed several of her recipes over the years from her site and newsletter. I was thrilled when my friend Martha of "Go Italy", came for a visit in May and brought along an autographed copy for me. What a great gift, thank you very much Martha. It has been a busy period for us, but when I was perusing the cookbook, deciding which one to make first, the Baccala alla Livornese jumped out at me. Why is that? Well, because my local fishmonger had given us a great deal on some baccala, or salt cod, and I had some just waiting to try a new recipe on. I often chuckle at Judy's disclaimer, "all recipes tested ad approved by her Florentine husband". I know the feeling well, as I always check with my Piemontese husband about the authenticity of my recipes and look for his approval from his discerning palate.

I wondered how he would like this version on baccala as he is very partial to the Piemontese version. So I set about preparing this simple and tasty version and was not disappointed when my husband heartily approved it. It was simple to prepare and I used fresh tomatoes that have been coming in strong lately. I'm not going to share the recipe here, because I think you should buy the cookbook, as it is a wonderful bargain that will keep you coming back to try all the different recipes again and again. Whether you're a newcomer to Italian cooking and just want some insider tips or a seasoned veteran, there is a nice range of recipes to keep you intrigued and making notes in the handy lined page opposite each recipe. You can purchase the book directly from Judy here and keep up with her on her blog at "Over a Tuscan Stove". If you find yourself in Florence on Monday, do book in for her legendary Market Tour.

Zucchini Carpaccio

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:27:00 +0000

If you haven't already discovered this delectable way to prepare zucchini, then you must run, not walk and beg, borrow, or steal some of the freshest and firmest zucchini that you can find. Or if you are the law abiding type, then just purchase some from your favorite green grocer, farmer's market or pick some from your patch and make this for lunch or dinner right now.
It is that good, honest.
I like zucchini as much as the next person, but must say they can get a bit done, so to speak. So when I brought these home the other day. I was struck by their solid texture and freshness, that I knew that these were just the ticket for a raw offering for the day.
This really couldn't be simpler, doesn't really require a "formal" recipe, lends itself to endless variations and comes together in a flash. So what are you waiting for? Oh your zucchini to be ripe? Well, like I said before, get thee to a grocery. OK, enough with the string of cliches, and on to the preparation and best of all the eating.
Buon appetito!

Zucchini Carpacio
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 zucchini, medium, firm and fresh
1/2 lemon
olive oil, extra virgin and flavorful
Chives or thinly sliced red onion if you like
Mint, fresh spearmint or basil if you prefer
salt of choice, coarse pink works for me although one of the smoky varieties would be tasty

Method
Slice your zucchini on a mandolin or as thin as humanly possible
Arrange slices as a single layer on a plate.
Salt to taste
Squeeze your lemon juice over all.
Liberally sprinkle fresh snipped mint and chives to cover
Add a second layer of zucchini if they didn't all fit the first round.
Repeat with herbs, lemon juice and salt.
Drizzle oil over all.
Serve.

Cooks notes and variations
Cheese, very optional, Parmesan thinly slivered or a crumbled, salty firm goat cheese
I found the cheese somewhat overwhelmed the subtle flavors of the zucchini and the oil, and enjoyed it without.
Chopped tomatoes and olives make another nice variation.
And of course basil is a natural with zucchini.
I think lime would be fantastic if I run across any, as they are few and far between here, oddly enough.

Red White and Blue Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:50:00 +0000

Happy 4th of July with Red, White and Blue Muffins

This was always my favorite holiday in America, as I love this summer celebration complete with barbecues, corn on the cob, sour cherry pie, watermelon, friends, family, parades, and naturally, spectacular firework displays. Well, actually, growing up in a small town, our spectacular display was a little on the meager side, but exciting all the same. It also meant that my birthday was just around the corner and the festivities seemed well under way as a warm up for my main event. I'm not as keen about the birthdays now as they pile up much too quickly, but I still feel pretty nostalgic for America's birthday party. So for those of you celebrating. Here's a pan of raspberry blueberry muffins just for you to start off your day of celebrations.

Red, White and Blue Muffins
Yields 12 large muffins or more smaller ones

Ingredients

1/2 c (80g) butter, melted
1 c (190g) sugar, I like to use brown demerara
2 eggs
1 c (225g) yogurt, plain
1 tsp vanilla extract, optional
3c (430g) flour
4 tsp (15g) baking powder
Pinch salt
1 c (150g) Blueberries,
1/2 c (75g) Raspberries

Method

Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C)
Prepare your muffin tins with oiling or buttering or using papers so that it is ready to fill immediately upon mixing your batter.

In a medium sized bowl, Whisk your melted butter and sugar together.
Whisk in the two eggs, till emulsified.
Add the yogurt and vanilla, if desired, and mix thoroughly.
If using frozen berries take 2 or three tablespoons of your measured flour and sprinkle over your berries and toss lightly to cover, so they won't stick together so much when mixed with your batter.
Add the flour, salt and baking powder.
Gingerly mix the batter only partially before adding your fruit and finishing to mix your batter.
One of the key factors in tender muffins is to quickly mix your batter taking care not to over mix. Don't worry if everything is not completely mixed in, that is normal.
Just make sure at least eighty percent is mixed in. You will get a bit of streaking with the fruit, so handle carefully but quickly, so as not to crush your fruit.
Scoop into your prepared muffin pans.
Top or not.
Bake for 15-25 minutes depending on your oven and size of your muffins.
You only want the tops to be firm to the touch and light golden brown.

Cooks notes
I use an ice cream scoop to portion my muffins, whether large or small, to get nice rounded tops.
A dash of crumb topping is a nice addition, but not necessary.
I seldom use a recipe for making crumb topping, also called streusel.
This topping lends itself to all kinds of additions, like oats, nuts, coconut, cardamom, brown sugar, you get the idea.
Crumb topping, freezes well and is a great last minute garnish for any number of baked goods to keep on hand for a quick last minute variation or baking garnish.

A general rule for making an all-purpose topping for all sorts of baked goods is as follows
Crumb Topping
Mix together in a small bowl
1 c (100g) sugar, your choice of type
1 c (100g) flour
Add 1/4-1/2 c (50g-100g) cold butter, cut up into pieces
Rub the butter into the flour/sugar with your fingers
Mix till you get lumpy bits and loose flour.
You can add cinnamon and/ or other spices as desired.
I generally leave the cinnamon out, as I like the fruit flavors to shine through

Enjoy setting off some flavor fireworks with these muffins soon.
Ciao!

Piedmont Tourism

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 13:57:00 +0000

Last week Fabrizio and I made the trek into Torino on the train and back by bus, for a Piedmont Region forum on Tourism in Piedmont. As we created an association for Sustainable Mountain Tourism (TEM...only in Italian at the moment), we were naturally interested to see what they had to say. It pulled in a crowd of about 350 people from across the different sectors of the tourist industry. The Region had a variety of speakers, long on facts and figures and in my opinion, a tad short on vision and direction, but these types of things are often times more a "state of the industry" manifesto and not necessarily a "fixer upper" workshop. Over all it was informative about trends and what the region is doing to promote Piedmont. I must say that it is exciting to see our region and Province take a more proactive role in promoting what we have on offer in this part of Italy. It has been left to languish with the image of being completely industrialized with no redeeming charms for far too long. Kind of like, we have kept Piedmont as our own private secret, in regards to our food, wine, art, history, and majestic mountains to ourselves, and now we're willing to share. Things have changed considerably since I first arrived here back in the beginning of this decade. So it was quite interesting to attend.

Also, since I have worked for many years in the Colorado ski industry, where we did an enormous amount of conferences and banqueting, I found this conference of interest from the banqueting side as well. It was a first rate facility with good visual aid and comfortable seating, Our coffee break area and lunch buffet area has a street map of Torino as it's flooring which I found charming. I must say that one feature that really jumped out and impressed me, was the coffee machines with the staff making fresh brewed espresso and cafe macchiato. Now for me that just spoke volumes. Having seen any number of coffee set ups, with silver urns , airpots and all the rest. To have fresh brewed on demand, now that is part of why they call it "La Dolce Vita" here. The cake at the top of the post caught my attention as well. I have made many a logo or themed cake, over the course of 12 years in the conference business (not to mention birthdays, incoming, out going staff changes and wedding cakes as well or the risque ones that seemed to be a "must have" at times). This one was delicious; chocolate mouse sandwiched between chocolate cake layers and covered with lightly sweetened cream. The individual province coat of arms discs were white chocolate and well executed. This tasty centerpiece was made by Peyrano, one of the older and finest chocolate making firms in Torino, with a beautiful old storefront on Corso Vittorio Emanuele, 76. I always make a point to drop by there when I am in the neighborhood.

It was a fun day out and a nice change of pace. Coming across the Torino sightseeing bus on my stroll around town made me realize I need to do that tour some time. The open top bus looks to be a pleasant way to see all major attractions of Torino while someone else negotiates the narrow streets and traffic. After recommending to everyone else, I may just need to take my own advice. Something to look forward to.

Italian Style Quinoa Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:37:00 +0000

We've had a warm spell punctuated by a few surprisingly cool days here and there, but the heat makes me crave salads in a big way. I have finally found a way to prepare quinoa, so that my "marito' likes it. Warm savory quinoa, just didn't put put a twinkle in his eye; more like forced feeding and that's no fun. When I made this recently for myself, while he was gone for the day, I discovered later that I had a hard time getting him to share the last of it with me.
This months' theme for the "Heart of the Matter- Eating for Life", is the best of the bounty of June's produce, so with tiny fresh peas and green beans are all over the market at the moment, I knew they needed to be included. My balcony is filling up with my prolific herb containers, not to mention all of the herbs in my little herb patch over by the chickens, so they are a natural component as well. We still are getting some wonderful small tomatoes from Sardinia, but the local "Cuore di Bui", tomatoes, number one choice around here, are starting to make an appearance. If you can find small sweet tomatoes or tart and tangy cherry tomatoes all the better, but just as wonderful with the best tomatoes you can find.
It's a simple interpretation which comes together quickly, reminiscent of the classic middle eastern dish, tabbouleh and sure to satisfy on a hot summers eve.
I'm sending this over to Ilva of Lucullian Delights for HOTM #27 Best of June Produce. You can find out all about this event and many more heart healthy recipes here and a lot of interesting blogs on the round ups as well.

Quinoa Salad
Serves 2

½ c quinoa dry cooked in veggie stock, takes about 15 minutes
green beans, cooked, chopped into 1/2 inch lengths
peas, fresh
2-3 roasted garlic
Tomatoes, tiny cherry
1 T mint, 2 stalks, leaves plucked and chopped or basil if you aren't fond of mint
1 small stalk celery and leaves, chopped
1 T parsley, flat leaf
1 T chives, snipped smal
1 lemon, juiced
2- 4 T olive oil
Salt, good quality, I used pink Himalayan
Pepper

Cook your quinoa in veggie stock for added flavor.
Lightly cook your green beans and peas separately till al dente. I had leftover pencil thin green beans that were a great addition.
While they are cooking, gather and chop all of your herbs.
Juice your lemon into a metal or heat resistant bowl large enough to hold everything.
Toss all your herbs and roasted garlic in.
Add your cooked quinoa, and cooked and drained vegetables while warm and stir to mix. Adding the ingredients warm helps the quinoa absorb the flavors.
Add the oil and season with salt and pepper. Adjust to taste.
Once it has cooled down add your tomatoes.
It's ready to serve now or will hold well over night.
Bring to room temperature or at least to take the chill off.
Adjust seasonings before serving.

Cook's notes
The measurements or approximations and are easily double.
I wished I had made more when I made it as it disappeared quickly.
Delicious as is or on top of a bed of greens.

A Tale of Two Wine Tastings

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:26:00 +0000

Viva il vino!

I'll drink to that.

I've been talking about the creation of our local wine road featuring the wines of the Provincial of Torino off and on for over a year. It's been an exciting prospect for a variety of reasons, none the least that it will bring greater recognition to this area for it's wine naturally, but the knock on effect is that we continue to meet a lot of interesting people in connection with this project, and discovering much about the wine of our mountains and plains. That is always a bonus.

The Strada Reale dei vini Torinesi (Royal Route of Torino Wines) project kicked off over a year and a half ago and now seems to be chugging along. The Provincia very generously decided to offer, a series of wine tastings in a series of settings around our large province. The goal being to help familiarize our local wines to anyone interested and involved in and around the tourist and wine industry, free of charge, I might add. What a wonderful undertaking.

The first couple of tastings were in our Museo del Gusto in Frossasco (site only in Italian in spite of the English flag) with Marco Di Sabatino, the director of this project and a knowledgeable and passionate sommellier from Torino. He entertained and educated us about our local varietals of grapes and wines some with the more familiar names of Barbera, Dolcetto and Nebbiolo, and the more unfamiliar, if you're not from here I might point out, with names like Ramie, Freisa, Doux d'Henry, Malvasia and Erbaluce that have evolved and adapted to thrive in our mountains and plains of our section of Piedmont. The names also have a French sound to them, reflecting the time when we were a part of France and now, are the border between Italy and France, highlighting that these arbitrary lines blur over time and reflect the more natural borders of the mountains and rivers. These local Piemontese varieties highlight the characteristics of the soil and weather that come together to make up the bouquet of these wines and reflect the local preferences for lively wines that are oftentimes mistaken for inferior quality. As an American who has not grown up with drinking local wines, who came late to the table and grew fond of the full bodied wines with lots of oak, that are so prominent in our California wines, I can fully appreciate making this mistake.

I know my preferences and openness to sparkling red wines and the more subtle flavors of the reds and whites of this area has evolved and matured over the time that I have lived here. It takes an open mind and sometimes a bit of time and exposure to appreciate wines and flavors that we are unfamiliar with. I know I wasn't a fan of cilantro/coriander, the first time I encountered it when I moved to Colorado, but over time and actually a short time I grew to love it and now make sure to grow it here in my garden to enjoy it in a completely different setting. Local wine here have been much the same. My palate has come to enjoy and appreciate a greater variety of flavors and some of that comes from time and settings. Having someone explain and point out a variety of elements of what is in and underneath what one is tasting is an enlightening and liberating experience.

It helps to keep sipping to work on expanding your palate!

Our second tasting was in Andezano at the Azienda Balbiano a town behind Torino's hillside border and a winery that was established back in the 40's by our President of out Torino Wine associations father and his family today. It is an extremely charming cantina with a wonderful tasting room that will cool you off and quench your thirst on a hot sunny day. The family has added a small museum of toys in one end of the cantina and there is a wonderful fire place with comfy couches surrounding it, making a visit a wonderful winter destination as well.

All in all, the two contrasting locations of an old fashioned cantina full of wonderful antiques and winery artifacts and the sleek modern tasting laboratory of the Museo del Gusto made for a fitting contrast between the reds and whites of this provinces offerings. I highly recommend that you come here yourself and discover another range of Piedmont wines that reflects the character and personality of the Turin Province wines and it's people.

Tuxedo Strawberry

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:05:00 +0000

Ok, so this is not my most beautiful shot or execution of this tasty, fun treat, but you get the idea. The chocolate, heat and "in fretta", (in a rush) all conspired to trip me up, but in the end, on a plate with a few others and a bottle of bubbly, all is forgiven.
Just a little something to hold you over till I get another post on line shortly.

Porcini e Tomini in Pasta Sfoglia

noreply@blogger.com (Bella Baita View) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:10:00 +0000

Boletus Edulis/Porcini Moro

The long winter with it's abundance of snow has replenished our somewhat depleted water table making the mushroom population flourish more easily when the conditions lends itself to finding those fat darlings we affectionately call porcini around these parts. The springtime is a short and sweet season, for the most part, usually consisting of what are referred to as the bianci and not the more prized moro. or roughly translated as black, which to my eye seems more in the red color, but it makes sense overall. As I frequently gas on about how my in laws are keen mushroom hunters, they didn't disappoint this spring either. The little basket above is one of their small daily finds a couple of weeks ago and so a few assorted dishes came together. Porcini risotto is a standard favorite in our house, and of course with an number of simple pastas dishes, which of course fresh made pasta always gets my vote hands down. One of my other favorite "easy does it" standards, is a mushroom and cheese strudel. Use your favorite puff pastry, hand made or store bought and get on with it. It comes together quickly and is sure to impress no matter who is lucky enough to enjoy it with you.

Porcino and Cheese Strudel

Ingredients

puff pastry sheet, (250g or 7-8 oz sheet) home made or store bought
you want a rectangular sheet about 9"x12"1/2cm(1/4") thick

250g -300g (8 0z) porcini, fresh, cleaned, thick sliced and cut into chunky bits
or
8 oz fresh crimini or white mushrooms, sliced
10-15g dry porcini, rehydrated in warm water for a 5-10 minutes
20g (2T) onion, red, white or shallots
1 garlic clove, minced
30g (2 T) butter or a 50/50 mix of olive oil and butter
1 T/sprig or two of fresh thyme, chopped. I like some of the lemon and plain thyme mixed
1 bay leaf broken to release the flavor
5g (2T) parsley, chopped
50-60ml (1/4c) white wine

100g Tomini cheese or soft cheese, ricotta or mascarpone would work also

egg wash (whole egg and a few drops of water whisked together/ or straight whites and water)

Method
Preheat your oven to 190*C/375*

Saute’ the mushrooms, onion, and garlic till soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the herbs and continue to cook another 5 minutes or so.
Before the mixture picks up much color, deglaze the pan with our white wine.
Continue cooking till all the alcohol has evaporated and only pan juices remain.
Use a bit more oil or stock or water if you need a bit more moisture. You do want a fairly dry mixture.
Cool the mix.
Cut your cheese up into 1/4" slices or chunks
Add to the mushrooms when they have cooled down a bit
If using ricotta or mascarpone, you will smear this on the bottom of your sheet of pastry.

Lay your pastry out flat on your sheet tray that has been oiled or on top of a sheet of baking paper, which is my preference.
Fold your pastry length wise in half.
Cut 1/2" wide strips 1/2 of the way to the edge, starting 1 1/2"-2" from the top and bottom.
Carefully open your pastry and lay flat again.
Spread your soft cheese on one side of the uncut pastry, leaving a 1/4 inch empty edge.
Cover with your mushroom and cheese mixture.
Brush the edge with your egg wash.
Bring the pastry over the top and seal by pressing the edges together with a fork or
Work your way around the three cut edges, curling the bottom and top dough together pressing the dough back in on itself, making sure the bottom dough stretches up and over the top dough, making a nice decorative edge and seal.
Brush your whole pastry with your egg wash making sure not to clog your slits so the steam will escape and all will bake and keep it's shape.
Bake in a hot oven for around 30 minutes or until the pastry is cooked on the bottom and the top is crisp and brown.
Cool a few minutes before cutting into wedges.
If you are feeling flush you can even serve it on a bed of sauteed mushrooms

Cooks notes
A couple of puff pastry recipes if you want to make your own.
Easy short cut puff pastry recipe by Gordon Ramsey, here in grams or more traditional variety here in a puff pastry video demo, by Ms Glaze's Pommes d'Amour