11.16.2012

Bucatini All`Amatriciana



Bucatini all`Amatriciana

Amatriciana, also called matriciana, gets its name from the city of Amatrice, which was once located in the region of Abruzzo and is now part of Lazio.

     
* 2 cups Passata (Tomato sauce)
* ½ cup of Guanciale (You can also use:
Bacon or Pancetta)
* 4 tablespoons Extra-virgin Olive Oil
* 1 Garlic Clove, gently smashed and
peeled (Optional)
* 1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
* 1 cup Dry White Wine
* ½ cup of chopped Parsley (Optional)
* Fine or coarse Sea Salt (to taste)
* 1 package Bucatini (or Spaghetti)
* 1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
* Freshly ground black pepper

                1. Cut guanciale into matchsticks sizes (bacon or pancetta).
                2. In a large saucepan, combine guanciale (bacon or pancetta) and olive oil. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until begins to turn golden.
               3. Add garlic and red pepper flakes to pot; continue cooking, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes.
              4. Add wine, increase heat to medium-high and cook until wine has evaporated, about 3 minutes.
             5. Stir in the tomato sauce and parsley; reduce heat to low and gently simmer, covered, until sauce is rich and flavorful, about 50 minutes.
             6. Remove from heat and add the cheese and olive oil. Set the sauce to the side while making the pasta.

             7. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add bucatini and cook until al dente.
             8. Meanwhile, gently reheat sauce.
            9. When pasta is al dente, drain pasta, transfer to a large bowl, add sauce and toss to combine.
         
10. Serve immediately, with cheese and pepper for garnish (optional).

11.15.2012

The First Class!



The first Class! 
October, 14th 2012

 Primo

Bucatini all`Amatriciana

With Chardonnay

Secondo

Arrosto misto delle Marche

With Montepulciano Rosato

Formaggio

The Asiago Trilogy




Ricette

Bucatini all`Amatriciana

Amatriciana, also called matriciana, gets its name from the city of Amatrice, which was once located in the region of Abruzzo and is now part of Lazio.

         6 ripped tomatoes
         100g of guanciale (or bacon)
         4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
         1 garlic clove, gently smashed and peeled
         1 medium onion, thinly sliced
         1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
         1 cup dry white wine
          ½ cup of chopped parsley
         Fine or coarse sea salt
         1 package bucatini or spaghetti
         1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
         Freshly ground black pepper

 Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add tomatoes and cook for 30 seconds, then drain. Peel tomatoes and cut in cubes; set aside. Cut guanciale (bacon) into matchsticks. In a large saucepan, combine guanciale (bacon) and a little oil. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until begins to turn golden, about. Add onion and red pepper flakes to pot; continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 6 minutes. Add wine, increase heat to medium-high and cook until wine has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and parsley; reduce heat to low and gently simmer, covered, until sauce is rich and flavorful, about 50 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the cheese and olive oil.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add bucatini and cook until al dente. Meanwhile, gently reheat sauce. When pasta is al dente, drain pasta, transfer to a large bowl, add sauce and toss to combine. Serve immediately, passing cheese and pepper at the table.


Arrosto misto delle Marche

Very simple, delicious and healthy meal. The origins of this dish come from the peasants farmers, they would hunt and gather what they could for their meals combining different meats, to make a complete dish.


700gr of poultry or rabbit
300gr of sausage
2 onions (rings)
2 cloves of garlic
1 red pepper (strips)
1 yellow pepper (strips)
2 ripped tomatoes (sliced)
3 Potatoes or zucchini (optional)
1 cup of your favorite olive
2 bay leaves
Fresh herbs of the season (Basil/Rosemary/Oregano/Parsley/Time)
Olive oil
25ml of balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper


In a large frying pan with olive oil, brown the poultry/rabbit and the sausages. Remove everything from pan and mix all the ingredients in a big bowl or in the baking tray. Put to roast for at list 40 minutes in 180C/350F. Stir occasionally. For the last 5 minutes turn on your oven grill mode, and let get very crispy and almost burned. Be careful to not let excessively burned!

The Asiago Trilogy!
  
Asiago Mezzano (middle Asiago): 3 to 8 months aging; compact paste, straw-colored and sweetish taste. Delicious with berrie jams!



Asiago Vecchio (old Asiago): 9 to 18 months aging; harpaste, straw colored and bitter taste.





Asiago Stravecchio (very-old Asiago): more than 18 months of aging; very hard and grainy paste, amber-colored with a bitter and spicy taste.



We cooked and ate a lot, was very fun!



11.09.2012

Top 10 american foods that Italians don't know and may love!

Marshmallow toasted over an open fire will no doubt impress any Italian that have a sweet tooth.

American beef holds very hight quality.

A surprisingly unusual breakfast for your italian friends!

Jello, can you believe you can't find in Italy!?

An American classic, and a way to insure you will make friends with your Italian neighbors.

A fun drink to include in your party, or root beet floats for dessert.

BBQ sauce, Mmmmmmmm...

Peanut butter an American staple.

Maple Syrup, make sure it is the real thing!!

Wild rice, an exotic and fancy dish for Europeans.

Cheeses from Vicenza

Happy Asiago cows
The best-known cheese from Vicenza (widespread national and international distribution) is Asiago, named after its actual place of origin, the Asiago Plateau, a vast mountainous territory situated north of Vicenza city.
This cheese, made from cow’s milk and protected by the European PDO mark, can be eaten at different stages of maturity: after just 20-40 days it has a sweet, delicate flavour, or when left to age for 3 months to 2 years it acquires increasingly more flavour, becoming tastier and even piquant.
Other typical cheeses from the Vicenza area include: Morlacco, a soft table cheese with a very salty but not piquant flavour; Caprino cheese made from skim goat’s milk; Grana Padano PDO, its fragrance makes it ideal for grating onto pasta dishes; Provolone Valpadana PDO, a semihard cheese that is sweet tasting when fresh but piquant when matured; Stravecchio di Malga, a hard mature cheese with an original flavour; Bastardo del Grappa, a sweet-tasting, slightly aromatic cheese; Crescenza, a creamy cheese; Caciotta, a delicate-tasting soft fresh cheese.

Provolone Valpadana PDO
Crescenza


Asiago Cheese

Formaggio Caprino

Grana Padano

Stravecchio di Malga
Bastardo del Grappa
Caciotta
Formaggio Morlacco






La cucina Vicentina

Even in the realm of food and wine, the art of good cooking in Vicenza has a well-earned reputation, thanks to the traditional high quality of its products. Here is what Guido Piovene has to say about Vicenza's most famous recipe, "poenta e bacalà":
"To those who accuse Italian cuisine of being elementary compared to the French variety I must say that "baccalà alla vicentina", of top quality, beaten for a long time with a wooden hammer, soaked for thirty-six hours, cut into pieces, scattered with cheese and browned with butter, oil, anchovies and onions, cooked over a slow flame, seasoned again with parsley, pepper and milk, is a true dish in the French style. A whole refined civilization is simmering in the pot."
So, for curious tourists who are lovers of good fare, here is a whole series of typical dishes connected with the land and particular periods of the year. In January try baccalà (dried cod) "alla vicentina", cooked in milk according to a recipe jealously handed down over the ages, accompanied by generous glasses of Durello wine from the Val del Chiampo; in February, Arzignano capons "alla canevera"; in March, kid; in April, the white asparagus of Bassano, diuretic, cleansing and rich in vitamins; in May, mutton and "risi e bisi", risotto with tasty Lumignano peas; in June, sopressa sausage from Valli del Pasubio and Recoaro, accompanied by a hot slice of polenta toasted on the grill; in July, "marsoni" from Valdastico; in August, "toresani di Breganze" with "greased" polenta, pigeons whose flesh released unforgettable flavours when it comes into contact with the embers; in September, the never-failing "polenta e osei" with spit-roasted birds; in October, "bigoli con l'arna" from Thiene washed down with red Tocai wine; in November, turkey with "malgaragno" from Montebello while December favours "bovoni" with mushrooms from Asiago and the Plateau of the Seven Communes.
The Vicenza countryside also offers a variety of products which, suitably blended in the kitchen, make an excellent contribution to tasty and appetizing hors d'oeuvres, entrées and main courses, vegetable dishes, sweets and desserts: from truffles to the oil products of the Berici and Pove Hills, from beans to potatoes grown at a high altitude, from honey to the "mostarda" (a spicy compote of fruit with mustard) from Montecchio Maggiore, the old fortress where bloomed the love of Romeo and Juliet, from the Christmas sweet "mandorlato" to the famous fleshy cherries of the foothills of Chiampo and Castegnero, from the trout of the pre-Alpine valleys to the white celery of Rubbio, the "corgnoi" of Crespadoro and the chestnuts of Durio, from the most renowned liqueurs to fruit yoghurts, from pastries to ice-cream, from mushrooms to ship's biscuit, from springtime herbs to woodland shoots and the mineral waters of the many springs in the province.

Click here to know more about the Cheeses from Vicenza!

11.01.2012

Our photo album



Telling the customers about the history of the plates that they will be eating


Focaccia
Even the little ones can learn how to make a focaccia!!

The best polenta is made in a wood fire stove
Risotto al Nero di Seppia with Sea Bass



Spicy pumpkin tortellini with arugula pesto

Home made bread and antipasti (Santa Catarina, Brazil)

Tropical salad 

Paella step 1
Paella step 2

Paella done

Gaspacho


Bruschetta


Everyone was playing golf, when they arrive the food was ready for them!

Hand made lobster tortelloni (Minneapolis. USA)
Paella for 30 people!

Rustic Pappardelle