Art and Barb Live in Italy! (House for Sale in Umbria!)
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
COMBINING STYLES AND BAKING RISOTTO
A typical meal in Italian meals is still served in courses, as opposed to the good ole American everything-on-the-table-at-once style. When we have picnics or serve a typical American meal we serve it American style, and for the most part our Italian guests go with the flow. The American style can create problems when you’re trying to get multiple dishes on the table, all hot and ready to eat. I really like the fact that in Italy, most vegetables don’t go on the table piping hot, meaning that I can prepare them in advance and serve them warm or even at room temperature.
Serving a pasta dish is challenging for any cook, and in Italy there’s a saying…’Pasta waits for no man”, meaning that when your plate of pasta arrives at the table, you start eating. No being polite, waiting for everyone to be served…..pasta really doesn’t wait…and it does cool off quickly. When I cook for guests I usually prefer to make a pasta dish that’s baked in the oven so that I’m not chained to the stove while everyone else is nibbling on the antipasti and chatting. Of course I do break this rule from time to time, but in general I like to be able to sit during a dinner party as much as possible, with only short breaks from the table.
Because of my preference to be more of a guest and less of a cook/server, I’ve never prepared risotto for company. To be honest I don’t make it all that often even for us…all that standing and stirring, and adding and stirring, and stirring and stirring……just way too time-consuming for me. And then the other night, watching the same DELIA SMITH show I mentioned previously, she made a mushroom risotto……IN THE OVEN!!!!! Woohoo! I couldn’t wait to try the technique!
After taking a look around on Delia’s WEBSITE (where some recipes are free and others require a paid subscription), I also found a recipe for Risotto Carbonara, and since I didn’t have any fresh mushrooms on hand, I decided to test the oven-baking technique with this recipe.
I don’t know much about Delia Smith, and have only seen her shows a few times, but I like her very relaxed, informative and chatty style on television, but I do NOT like the way the recipes are listed on her website. I want a recipe to be VERY simply written…easy to follow and logical. The recipes on Delia’s site are too chatty for me, so I’ve made quite a few changes to the directions, although the ingredients remain the same. Well, I do have to confess that for the following recipe I used Parmesan instead of Pecorino, regular cream instead of crème fraîche, 2 whole eggs instead of the combination, and I also used half chicken stock, half vegetable stock. Although the flavor of the stock doesn’t come through, I think it’s really important to use stock rather than just water, because it gives the rice extra richness.
The most important thing to remember for both these dishes is to put your baking pan into the oven while it preheats! Once the risotto is hot on the stove-top you don’t want to stop the cooking process by putting it into a cold pan!
Pre-heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). You will also need a round ovenproof 9” x 2” deep, placed in the oven while it's pre-heating.
In a large, hot frying pan over a medium heat, fry the pancetta for 4-5 minutes, until it's crisp and golden, then remove it to a plate. Next add the butter to the pan, then the onion, turn the heat down to gentle and let the onion soften in the butter for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the stock in a small saucepan. Then return the pancetta or bacon to the frying pan and stir in the rice and move it around until all the grains get a good coating of the buttery juices. Add the hot stock to the rice, along with some salt and freshly milled black pepper. Let it all come up to a gentle simmer, then transfer the whole lot to the warmed dish, stir it once and then bake, without covering, on the centre shelf of the oven for 20 minutes.
When the time is up, gently stir in the Pecorino, folding and turning the rice grains over, and bake for 15 minutes more. Meanwhile, whisk the egg, egg yolks and crème fraîche together, then remove the risotto from the oven and gently stir in this mixture, making sure it’s well mixed.
Let the risotto sit for about 2 minutes, by which time the eggs and crème fraîche will have thickened – but no longer, as it will get too thick. Serve on warm plates with some more Pecorino Romano sprinkled over.
Not surprisingly, I forgot to take pictures, but the risotto turned out perfectly…creamy and delicious! I baked it in an oval glazed pot that our friend Jane gave to me before she moved back to the states, and I want to tell her “Thank You!”, because it was the perfect container for this dish.
I definitely plan to try the mushroom risotto, but just in case you want to try it before I do, here’s that recipe, also simplified:
Oven-baked Wild Mushroom Risotto Serves 6 as a starter
Pre-heat the oven to 300° with a 9” baking pan warming up inside.
Soak the dried mushrooms by placing them in a bowl and pour 10 oz. of boiling water over them. Leave them to soak for about half an hour. Meanwhile, chop the fresh mushrooms into ½ inch chunks – not too small, as they shrink down quite a bit in the cooking.
Next melt the butter in a medium saucepan, add the onion and let it cook over a gentle heat for about 5 minutes, then add the fresh mushrooms, stir well and leave on one side while you deal with the porcini.
When they have had their half-hour soak, place a sieve over a bowl, line the sieve with a double sheet of kitchen paper and strain the mushrooms, reserving the liquid. Squeeze any excess liquid out of them, then chop them finely and transfer to the pan with the other mushrooms and the onion. Keep the heat low and let the onions and mushrooms sweat gently and release their juices – about 20 minutes.
Now add the rice and stir it around to get a good coating of butter, then add the Madeira, followed by the strained mushroom soaking liquid. Add a level teaspoon of salt and some freshly milled black pepper, bring up to simmering point, then transfer everything from the pan to the baking dish. Stir once, then place it on the center shelf of the oven. Bake UNcovered for exactly 20 minutes.
Gently stir in the grated Parmesan, turning the rice grains over. Bake for 15 minutes more, then remove from the oven and let it sit for just a minute or two. Like soufflés, risottos won't wait, so serve quickly on warmed plates and sprinkle with shavings of Parmesan.
Not surprisingly, cooler weather has triggered the urge to cook. Although I’m not planning to do any major baking for the holidays, as I wrote previously there are so many recipes I want to try. Yesterday a trip to the weekly market in Marsciano was fruitful….including fresh pumpkin for soup and for a new dish I read about on MSADVENTURES IN ITALY , a savory tart with pumpkin and pancetta.
I’ve made pumpkin soup before, but last night while watching DELIA SMITHon television, she too made pumpkin soup and had a few good ideas that I’ve incorporated into my recipe. A few years ago I discovered that roasting a pumpkin was the best way to deal with a rather formidable skin. Pumpkins for eating have a much thicker skin, and of course a much thicker fleshy layer inside than pumpkins for carving. It’s really difficult, almost dangerous, to try to slice the flesh from the rind of one of these pumpkins. If you cut the pumpkin into six or eight wedges, brush them with oil and roast them for a while, the flesh is MUCH easier to remove.
I’d always roasted the pumpkin slowly, in an oven set to about 325º, but Delia suggests using the hottest oven you can, resulting in a much shorter roasting time. I’m not really sure if one method is better than the other, so take your choice!
Delia’s recipe didn’t call for potatoes, but my recipe did, and I decided to keep the potatoes in just for the extra body they add. Although the recipe calls for adding cream at the end, you really don’t need to, especially if you want to keep the soup lighter. This is when I think having the potatoes in makes a difference….the soup is a little thicker and heartier, which is what I’m looking for in a winter soup.
Here’s the basic recipe:
PUMPKIN SOUP
2 Tbsp olive oil 2 medium yellow onions, chopped 2 large cloves of garlic, minced 3 lbs pumpkin flesh, seeded and cut into wedges 1/2 lb russet potatoes cut into quarters 1 Tbsp salt Black pepper 4 1/2 cups of chicken stock 1/2 cup cream 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Early in the day, or even the day before, slice the pumpkin into manageable-size pieces and the potatoes into quarters. Brush with oil and roast in a hot oven for about 25 minutes, or until the veggies are just starting to brown at the edges and are almost cooked. When cooled, remove the pumpkin flesh from the rind.
In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic; cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the pumpkin, potatoes, salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.
Pour in the chicken stock and simmer for 30-45 minutes until the pumpkin is tender. Puree the soup with a stick blender until smooth. Add the cream and the parsley and stir. Check seasoning and serve immediately. Serves 6
Note: This freezes well, but don’t add the cream if you’re going to freeze it, then add the cream when it’s re-heated. This soup can also be served without any cream at all.
I'm planning to make Sara's pumpkin tart tomorrow or Thursday, so I'll post the recipe along with my review.
I'm glad we did all our shopping yesterday because today is cloudy and gloomy, and we're having a thunderstorm right now, meaning it's dark even earlier than usual. Can you tell I DON'T like winter???
Smoking is still fairly common in Italy...probably throughout most of Europe. Thankfully bars and restaurants are now smoke-free, but it's still surprising to see people smoking. American cigaret brands are very popular, but honestly who can afford to smoke???
Around our part of Umbria tobacco is grown, although it appears to be a different variety than what we used to see in Kentucky. A few weeks ago while taking a drive we spotted these fields of tobacco, ready for harvesting.
Over on JERRY’S BLOG there's a great recipe for an apple pie using Gran Marnier. I haven't tried it ....yet, but it sounds promising! If you make it before I do, let me know how you like it!
Well, I started out intending to write about Paul's new album, "Memory Almost Full". Jill and Larry brought it when they were here in September, (and yes, I'm a little behind the rest of the world but anyway.......). So I thought about Googling the album title to get a picture to use in the post, but then I had the bright idea to check on YouTube for a video of one of the songs. I kept clicking on video after video. I was pretty sure I knew what song I wanted to post on the blog, then I discovered a video called "Paul Tells a Dirty Joke"....and it's posted below...."F" word included. But I'm betting you'll laugh out loud just like I did!
I tend to collect recipes from here and there, and although the recipe usually has to be pretty fantastic sounding to inspire me to save it, actually making the recipes seems to be a little harder. I really need to make an effort to try at least one new recipe a week, and for this week, I've selected a recipe for Cheesey Scones.
I always thought that scones were a little heavier than biscuits, but these are light and fluffy, thanks in part to the FOUR teaspoons of baking powder, and the two eggs. These surprised me when they puffed up so high, and maybe next time I'll flatten the dough out just a little more. I made two rounds about 8" in diameter, then cut one into 6 wedges and the other into 4, just for comparison.
I used a mix of (mostly) sharp Cheddar and Parmesan, but of course you can experiment and mix it up any way you'd like!
Cheesey Scones
1 ½ cups sharp cheddar, grated (or a mixture of cheeses) 3 cups all purpose flour 4 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder 1/2 cup unsalted butter 2 eggs 1 cup milk
Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Prepare cheddar and set aside.
In a food processor, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and dry mustard. Pulse in butter to make a crumbly mixture. Add the cheddar cheese. Turn the whole mass out into a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Stir in eggs and milk to make a shaggy dough. Knead on a floured board to make a soft but cohesive mass. Shape into two rounds and cut each round into 4 or 6 wedges. Paint them with melted butter and/or dust with flour.
Bake at 425 F. for 5 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 F. and continue baking until golden and cheesy looking, about 8-10 minutes more.
THE NEW OLIVE OIL IS HERE! THE NEW OLIVE OIL IS HERE!
Lack of rain last winter, combined with a hot dry summer has resulted in smaller and fewer olives this year. Just as the grapes were harvested earlier this year, so seems to be the case with the olives. A friend recently had some of the new oil in Spoleto, and was pleasantly surprised. She said the oil was a beautiful deep green, and had an intense fragrance and taste...just the way we like it!
The FRANTOI APERTI is scheduled this year for November 3/4. Clicking on the link will take you to all the information you need...names and maps to the various olive mills, as well as information about other events related to the new oil.
We like the oil from the Colli Assisi Spoleto area because it seems to be the oil with the most 'bite'. Each area seems to use just a slightly different blend of olive varieties, and visiting each frantoi is a wonderful way to sample many different types. Let the tastings begin!
After 3 1/2 years of waiting, it was only fair that the dedication of the Villa Faena be a multi-day affair. This brochure outlined the activites for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Thursday night was the photo exhibition, Friday night was the car show followed by the inevitable speeches, then everyone was invited to tour the Villa Faena.
Dinner was to be served, and gradually the hall began re-filling with people was they wandered back in from the villa. Many of us had brought desserts, but the main meal was supplied by our local butcher shop, Davide's.
We watched the porchetta being sliced and put onto freshly made buns, saw the huge chunk of prosciutto grow smaller and smaller with each paper thin slice that was carved from it. There were trays of sausages too...all in all a pork lover's delight!
Once the dignitaries arrived the floodgates were opened! Everyone flowed as one towards the food tables, and once there it was hard to get back out! Somewhere, behind all those people, are the food tables! I wasn't brave enough to attempt a second visit, but I'm sure the tables were empty by the end of the evening.
After three and a half years the renovations on the palazzo that houses our comune (town hall) is finally complete! (well, almost)
A photo contest was held, and to kick off the four day celebration the public was invited to view the photographs and vote for their favorite. A jury would choose the winners, and to be honest, I have no idea what the votes were for! We thought maybe there would be a fourth prize for the photo with the most votes, but that never happened.
I walked around the room where to pictures were displayed, and although you can't see a lot of detail, at least you get the idea. I can point out the picture that won third place: it's seen at -2:33 into the video, and is of a dead (or leafless) tree, with a bright blue sky in the background.
The second place photo was taken in nearby Rotecastello, looking up at the medieval tower with a full moon in the background. You can catch a glimpse of this photo at the very beginning of the video, on the left. You can see the tower , but not the moon . (Sorry, if I'd known it was going to win a prize I'd have zoomed in!) The photographer said that this photo was taken a few years ago, in November or December, so once again, all the trees were dead too! Do we have a theme?
First place went to a picture of a snail on the side of a tree. The snail has some sort of stuff oozing out of it, and personally I thought it was pretty gross!! Watch for it at -1:22 into the video. There's a countdown timer at the bottom of the video of the times.
The prizes were HUGE baskets of local foods...honey, olive oil, chingiale sausage....it was hard to see everything because of the cellophane that was covering it......and there was no point in taking a picture.
Amidst all the festivities in San Venanzo this weekend, a last minute addition was a display of antique cars. I was told that the cars were on their way to Todi for a show the next day. They were all in such good shape...and so beautiful!
To see all the photos click HERE , then click on the "Antiques Cars" folder.
Any time you want to see our photos you can click on the Flickr link in the right hand column.
If you look at a map of Umbria you’ll see that it’s divided into two provinces: Perugia and Terni. Once upon a time, before Permesso’s were issued via the Post Office, living in the province of Terni had distinct advantages. Terni was much less crowded that Perugia, and once we discovered the branch office in Orvieto, the process was even faster and easier.
If you look at the map of Umbria and the location of the two provinces, you’ll see that San Venanzo is physically closer to Perugia than to Terni. We’re in some sort of sub-region served by Orvieto. In both cases, the distance seems to hurt rather than help us in finding out what’s going on in the area.
Because we’re closer to Perugia, especially Marsciano (district of Perugia), we’d really like to get info on the Province of Perugia, but of course we don’t. Granted, we don’t get much info about the province of Terni, but most of it would be of little interest to us anyway. We’re sort of like the red-headed stepchild who just doesn’t get much information or attention from anyone. (Sorry I couldn’t find a map to illustrate my point. Although I found several maps showing the provinces of Perugia and Terni, none showed the location of San Venanzo, making them useless to me.)
So, after four years we still continue to stumble onto area events. It’s always a pleasant surprise when we see a poster in Marsciano, or a notice in a bar, or occasionally when we find something on the internet. A few weeks back, when I was waiting in the optician’s shop…..not waiting to pick up new glasses, but rather, waiting to pick up my photographs that had been enlarged and printed…I happened to see invitations to “Musica al Castello” in Castello Sant’Apollianare, just outside of Marsciano.
Our friends Peter and Kat had stayed there recently, but we’d never been there. The concert was scheduled for the end of September, at 5:20 on a Sunday evening. We knew it couldn’t last too long since dinnertime would be around 8:30. We filed the information away, and luckily we remembered to go! Even better, our friend Nedra was visiting, so we were able to share the fun with her.
We took the SS317 from San Venanzo, through Marsciano, towards Perugia, then turned off towards Tavernella. At the roundabout our choices were: continue straight towards Perugia, go right towards Spina, or turn left towards Sant’ Apollinare. The fields were plowed for the winter, but still looked beautiful.
Sant' Apollinare was a medieval jewel! Even better, as we wandered through the streets, we could hear the choir warming up! It was like being in a movie with a soundtrack!
While Art and Nedra had a look around outside, I went inside and made a video of the rehearsal…part of which is shown below this one. Eventually the rehearsal ended, the choir left, and people started to wander in to find seats.
At the appointed time (or somewhere thereabouts), the choir re-entered and the concert began. The chorale group, the “corale di Santo Spirito di Perugia” was directed by In-Sang Hwang and accompanied on the piano by Margot Venn. They performed works by Bach, Handel, an unknown composer, and one piece written by the choir director. In the small room with it’s barrel-vaulted ceilings, the sound was magical!
An intermission was announced and the choir left the room. After five, maybe ten minutes, several men uncovered an antique square piano and moved it to the middle of the floor. Mr. Claudio Veneri then introduced himself to the audience and told us about his piano, built in 1831 in London. This type of square piano was the next step after the harpsichord, and Mr Veneri was very imformative. He then played a few pieces on the piano, and one of them is posted below.
After the piano recital the choir returned to perform more recent works, some religious, some spirituals. The concert ended in plenty of time for dinner…after having fed our souls we were ready to feed our bodies. It was dark when we left, and the dark passageways of the castle were lit by burning torches hanging from the walls. Castello Sant’ Apollinareis a very special place, with or without the soundtrack.
It's chocolate time in Perugia! Yes, now through Sunday, October 21 you'll be able to wander the streets of Perugia and see chocolate everywhere! I should have posted this information last week, but honestly, if you're a dedicated chocoholic, and you're in Italy right now, you already know about this, right? Chances are you're in Italy BECAUSE of this festival!
Last weekend we headed into Tuscany to meet Martha and Ben who've just moved to Italy. They've rented a house for two years and are just outside Monte San Savino, close to Cortona, Arezzo and the A1. Thanks to Ben and Martha we were going to the small village of Rigutino for a Sagra di Polento!
After a yummy lunch we browsed around the few booths that were set up. Just like in the states, fall means colorful gourds.........
And this gourd looked like giant pear....
Of course now I wish we'd bought some of this pecorino cheese covered in straw.....
And yes, the polenta was delicious! And what made this sagra unusual was that the meal was lunch rather than dinner...a first for us.
I'm just getting around to uploading pictures to FLICKR....and it's been a challenge! First, my Flickr uploader, which was a quick and easy way to put my pictures on the internet, stopped working...just stopped! I looked on the flickr site for help, and discovered there was a newer version of the uploader, so I thought maybe I just needed to get the new version. Unfortunately I get an error message every time I try to install the new version, leaving me with other, less efficient ways to upload. grrrrrrrr Anyway, here are a few pictures we took in September when we drove to Pienza.......
Any time you want to see all the pictures I've loaded, you can click on the Flickr link in the right hand column, or just click HERE.
For millions of people all over the world, October 9th means John Lennon. John would have been 67 years old today had he not been so cruelly taken from us 27 years ago. His music, his words and his philosophy of peace and love live on.
After looking at our friend Janet’s GORGEOUS PHOTOS from Norcia, I decided that it was time that we took a daytrip to check out this famous little Umbrian town. Coincidentally Jill and Larry had suggested that we plan a trip to someplace none of us had ever been to before, but I was afraid that Norcia might be just a bit too far to ask them to drive.
Imagine my surprise when Jill called on Friday morning to say they were on their way to Norcia! It was a spur of the moment decision, and we made plans to meet them outside of Foligno. I was glad I’d made a pasta salad with broccoli and carrots the night before. I threw some pasta salad, hard-boiled eggs and apples into an insulated bag, gathered napkins, utensils and a bottle of water and we were ready to go!
For the second time, finding the road we wanted out of Foligno proved difficult, but eventually we found our way through the maze and met up with Jill and Larry at a large parking lot. Daniela was quite happy to have some company in the back seat with her, and for once Art got to enjoy the scenery rather than having to concentrate on the road.
East of Foligno Umbria becomes more mountainous, and the scenery is much more dramatic. After about 45 minutes we arrived at Norcia, and as luck would have it, we parked right next to a shady park with picnic tables for us and a few bouncy rides for Daniela. After lunch we walked across the street and through the wall into Norcia.
As expected, every other shop sported one or more cinghiale somewhere on the premises. Norcia is famous for it’s meats…prosciutto and salami, and also for it’s truffles.
For more pictures of Norcia check out our FLICKR PAGE . There you can click on the folder titled "Norcia"...or browse through any of our other photos as well.
I was so happy when I checked JUDITH’S BLOG this morning. I had a few leeks in the frig that were to the ‘use or lose’ stage, a loaf of stale bread sitting on the counter waiting to be cubed for croutons, and a chunk of sharp cheddar still in the frig.
Normally I'd make Art’s FAVORITE PASTA DISH (also courtesy of Judith) with leeks, but since I had the bread and the cheese, I thought I’d take her SFORMATA RECIPE, substitute some cheddar for the parmesan, and serve this Italian-style quiche with the wonderful prosciutto we bought yesterday in Norcia. I guess if I'd been really creative I could have diced up the prosciutto and incorporated it into the sformato as well, but that was just too much trouble!
Barb and Art have moved from Kentucky to Umbria. These are their adventures.
About Me
Name: Barbara
Location: Umbria, Italy
Bossy, opinionated, and impatient. Determined and stubborn. Quick tempered.
Fiscally conservative and politically liberal. A realist, not a dreamer. A detail person and a planner.
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Spina Bifida
