Saturday, November 29, 2014

Wine, Gelato, and Pizza, in that order!

It's very hard for me to concentrate on this blog right now.  I've returned to Paris for a few days and it's such an enchanting city, especially this time of year.  The Christmas lights are up and everyone is in an upbeat mood.  We went to visit the Christmas market and overhearing my favorite Christmas music of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Bing Crosby made me a bit homesick.  But I will try to pull this off.

We had another gloomy day in Orvieto, however we were gifted with seeing another historic sight, St. Patrick's Well.  http://www.orvietoonline.com/pozzo_di_san_patrizio_orvieto.html Words can't really describe the fantastic sight.  If you go, be ready to walk.  I believe my iPhone counted 18 floors of steps and my legs counted 1,000 flights.  Oh it burned so good.

A Motley Crue.







After a rather dreary, yet charming stroll through the well, we hopped in the jumper and drove off t the countryside for another treat.  We visited Azienda Agricola Fausto Andrea.



When we pulled into the drive, it was another very unsuspecting location.  It looked like your typical farm in Italy, growing acres of olive trees and grape vineyards.  Yet when we peered into what looked to be a garage door, before our eyes was a cave.  It was a cave full of this strange mold that resembled mucus.  This is the mold that helps give their wine character.   Now, you may say, that sounds disgusting, but let's face facts folks, unless you've witnessed first hand how your wines, spirits, and beers are made, fermented, aged, stored, etc, just keep drinking and then go, visit a winery, a vineyard, a distillery and your eyes will be opened.  And the artisan producing the product will be more than happy to tell you the benefits and the magic that is happening because of these crazy microbes.  You'll want to hug them or maybe just shake their hands, the microbes that is or whatever forms the mold.

Anyway, I got off of the topic.  Wine!!  We walked in to said garage door and this cave, seemed a bit daunting, but the massive barrels storing delicious wine led us like we were hypnotized.  It was calling our name.  In true form, we started with a bianco, moved on to the red's and finished with an amazing sweet red.  Everyone purchased a few bottles, except myself.  I'm waiting for a special visitor to come to Orvieto in a few weeks, and return.  But the rest of them purchased, and it warmed my heart to watch them.  They were allowed to fill their own bottles, cork their bottle, and top it.  The excitement was much more fulfilling for me.  Kids their age are not typically fans of wine, and they themselves admitted that they were not wine drinkers until coming to Italy.

Some original pieces, uncovered during a dig in the cave.

Now this is how you carry wine home!

Michelle collecting her goods.

Andrea collecting the nectar of the Gods.

Cody was focusing on his treat.



Purchases were made and our departure was at hand.  I stood outside of the home while they finished their purchases and enjoyed the quiet, serene beauty of the still dreary evening.  But, it was a dreary evening in the Italian countryside, I'll take that.

After an afternoon/evening of sipping wine, in a cave we wandered off to another little village to have gelato at a shop that was home to a gentleman that taught many chefs and gelaterias in the area how to make gelato.  This little shop, Gelateria Sarchioni - http://www.sarchioni.it was an obvious gathering place for locals, to sit, have a cafe', apertivo or digestivo, play cards and catch up on the local news.  It was a welcoming little shop, and I don't feel as though they meet a stranger there.  There may be slight communication difficulties, but in the end as long as you can communicate that you would like gelato, you are in good shape.





There is a twist to this story of Gelateria Sarchioni, they have a menu that you can peruse if you want something other than a cone or a cup.  You can get an amazing adult gelato combination that includes fruit, whipped creams, sauces, and liquor.  You can even get gelato in the shape of a plate of spaghetti or a steak with what else topping it?  A fried egg.  The photos that I took do not do this gelato justice. It was smooth in texture and pure in flavor.  Chef Lorenzo gave a brief lesson on gelato, and one that made me a bit sad.  There is gelato, then there is artiginale gelato(artisanal gelato).  Obviously you want the artisanal gelato because it's pure, right?  No!  BOOO!!!!!!  Everyone now has caught on to the fact that the demand is artisanal, so now everyone simply advertises artisinal, because they make it on sight.  And that's great that they make it on sight, but then it comes down to the quality of ingredients and that's where it gets shady.  You can advertise artisanal, however you can still use powders to flavor your gelato and that sucks.  You either have to be familiar with the owner of the gelateria or know how to recognize true artiginale gelato.  And I'm going to find it before I leave!  I can tell you that this shop, it's true artisanal and refreshing.
Pretty normal with a splash of extra deliciousness!

That's a medium rare steak with a fried egg.

Spaghetti and meat sauce of course.

As we wrapped up dessert, we were informed by Chef Lorenzo that it was time for dinner.  I mean, for me, that seems to be the proper order, right?  So, off to a new style of pizza.  This is also the time I show my bad blogger sense.

We arrived in Castiglione in Teverina. We had a sugar buzz, it was foggy, misty, cool, and quiet.  We approached another very non descript, little door that led down a few steps.  Walking inside was like a nice warm hug.  Our host at Ristorante Pizzeria Borgovejo - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ristorante-Pizzeria-Borgovejo/139717259481623 welcomed Chef Lorenzo and our group, showed us the kitchen and we were able to watch the owner make a few pizzas.  This type of pizza is this villages own.  It was a thin, cracker crust with a bit of char on it, for flavor.  The toppings light, just enough to flavor the vessel(dough).   After watching the magic happen in the kitchen, we were seated, the wine was poured and in no time, the barrage of pizza began.
Me being a bad blogger, can't remember this gentleman's name , but his ristorante is called Ristorante Pizzeria Borgovejo.

13 years of making pizza with this particular rolling pin.  Looks well used.





The first pizza on the menu - Porcini Mushrooms and potato.  Nice way to start.



Next, Speck.  http://www.popsugar.com/food/What-Speck-5164981


Next up, Arugula and Pecorino!!



Pepperoni -


Sausage -


Margherita -



And for dessert, Black Truffle! -


If you can imagine your favorite pizza, thinner, crunchier, less than half of the ingredients, but all of the flavor, then you have just experienced Castiglione in Teverina style pizza.

This is just another unique experience that we've been blessed to experience, thanks to Chef Lorenzo.    I'm going to finished off here, because there is more to write, but hey, it's my last night in Amsterdam, and I need some fresh, freezing cold air and maybe a Delirium Tremens.

Next up - The best black truffle experience I've ever had!

Monday, November 24, 2014

Olive Oil, that magical elixir that enhances everything.

Ok, so I'm on a roll today.  Two blogs in one day?  Why not, especially with a particularly crazy week ahead..

On our next adventure, we took a visit to a very small operation, Olive oil press.  This will be a brief blog though.  It was a self guided tour and a very small operation but with an interesting museum.  Al Vecchio Frantoio was founded around the end of the nineteenth century to consolidate the relationship that has always existed between the Bartolomei family and the production of oil.  That is quoted directly from their website.  Now, the really cool thing that we learned about this small operation is that families from around the area, that grow olive trees for their own personal use, can harvest their olives, bring them in to the Bartolomei family, they will process the olives, press and fill vessels with a first press oil, and then charge the family only by liter for their oil.  I mean, you grow your olives, then you reap the rewards of having your own olive oil!


Obviously there is some technology involved, but it's great technology.  The vessel that is processing your olives has an overhead digital reader with your families name on it, and a timer.  This way, there is no mistaking what oil is being processed and pressed.  While we were there, there was a young couple and their child having their olives pressed.  They stayed for the entire process, which now, thanks to technology, does not take long at all.  But it reminded me of a family taking their child to the apple farm, and watching their freshly picked apples being pressed into cider.  It was really cool.




The end result, is a foggy, but pure single press, new oil.  It is not the crystal clear green oil you see in the glass bottles at home.  The flavor, it's intense, pure, and liquid gold.  What really made the visit even more special was witnessing this family have their olives pressed.  Call me sentimental, but it is what it is.


Bartolomei also has their own olive trees and sell their own oil, and other products.  And as I mentioned, they also have a nice museum that describes how things used to be done, compared to how things are done now, but purity and quality is never compromised.  http://www.oleificiobartolomei.it/en/azienda.php

When you walk up to the press, the aroma of olive oil is in the air.  It's not overpowering, but hypnotizing and surprisingly pleasant.  I wanted to buy up the store, but I'm trying to keep my spending in check, I mean, I'll be here for three months.

Next stop on the blog tour of Orvieto, Truffle hunting, a new style of pizza, wine, wine, wine, and a visit to Paris.  Stay tuned!!!

Buona Sera!

A foggy day in Orvieto town.

I know, I know, the song is a Foggy day in London town, but as I start my morning ritual of cappuccino by the dining room/kitchen window, staring out over the valley that is blanketed in a thick, heavy fog, the song comes to mind.  And when I say ritual, I mean almost every morning it's been foggy.  I'm not complaining though.  Things could be much worse.



Ok, now where did I leave off?  Ah, Goat cheese, now on to Chocolate and Perugina, in Perugia.  Briefly, Perugina was founded in 1907 by Giovanni Buitoni and Luisa Spagnoli.  The product was introduced to the US during the 1939 World's Fair in New York.  The company produces a quite a few food and chocolate products.  During Easter they are known for their large chocolate eggs, wrapped in colorful aluminum paper.  But, what they are known world wide for is the Baci.  They are chocolate kisses filled with hazelnut, wrapped in a multilingual love note.  They are written in either Italian, English, French German, Greek, Spanish, or Portuguese.  Now, of course Nestle saw this and boom, Perugina is a branch of Nestle.  Fortunately no recipes were harmed and no products were sacrificed after this acquisition.  So what you taste today from Perugina is still a good quality chocolate, made on a larger scale, which I honestly thought was impossible.  And after touring the production floor, you can still see that the folks working here love their job and still are passionate about the product they turn out daily.


Walking in to Perugina, you can smell the chocolate, and the atmosphere is almost a Willy Wonka type of feel.  I wanted to lick the wall and taste the schnozzberries!  Wait, no, I wanted to taste the chocolate.  But honestly, the smell of chocolate was so in your face, it was almost like walking in a sea of chocolate.  By our first tasting, I was already full from the aroma's of the Milk and Fondante lingering in the air, but of course I didn't let that stop me.




Our first stop was a brief, I mean, really brief video of the history of Perugina.  We walked in as the video ended, so we decided that we would research on our own and get the tour started.  Perugina has a fantastic tour, if you get a chance, go.  Francesca was our tour guide and walked us through the years of Perugina.  The commercials, the ads, the various products, and various displays.  She showed us the shell of the largest baci, which was made for a chocolate festival in Perugia, and then we walked the cat walk to view the production area.






The next stop for us was the Scuola del Cioccolato with Il Maestro Massimiliano Guidubaldi.  This school hosts guests for working with chocolate on a daily basis.  It can range from anywhere from one hour to an all day affair.  Anyone can take this course, people off of the street to culinary students, and it's a worthy experience.  We did almost everything.  We melted the chocolate, making sure not to get one drop of water in it, because the melted chocolate would seize to a messy ball of mud.  We tempered the chocolate on the granite countertop and filled the professional mold with the tempered chocolate and off to the chiller to let it set.  After that, a quick cafe', to wait.  This is certainly not a clean job, so prepare to have your hands and possibly up to your shoulders covered in delicious chocolate.  We also worked on our own ganache.  I went with the pistachio cream, espresso liquer, and cream.  I mean, I don't believe a ganache tastes right without some sort of liquer.  To me it's like making Bourbon balls, without the Bourbon, and who does that?  So the ganache was a disturbing bland color, but I would not give up on this one.  We let it cool, but not too much and we filled our truffles.  Then off to cool for a short bit while we prepped the bottom layer to the truffle so it was a complete truffle.  After the cooling, the bottom layer was applied and off to cool again.  While it cooled, we prepped our station as best could be done to then wrap our goods to take away.  There was also a young lady, and I can't remember her name.  Her job is solely to clean the room and everything that is used during these classes.  I'm pretty sure she doesn't make enough money annually to deal with the disaster that awaited her this time.

Il Maestro

Throughout the clean up, she never stopped smiling.
Possibly up to the elbows in Chocolate.







We gathered our chocolates and returned to our station to remove from the mold and wrap our goods.  Now, typically this is a 25 step process, if you want your truffles to have an amazing sheen to them.  However due to time constraints, this was not going to be possible.  So we topped them with a nice drizzle of white chocolate, let it set and wrapped them as if we were to present them to the CEO of Perugina.  We then received our certificates and sadly left this chocolate wonderland.

Rocking the Honey Butter Fried Chicken shirt with Il Maestro

Everyday I wake up, I still can't believe that this is happening, and I can't thank people enough for the support, Mom, Tammy, Rocky, Mindy, Anna, Andi, Rob, Cheri, Troy, John, David, Mandi, Mandy, Brett, Retired Chief Chris, Chief Mark.  I could go on and on and would need a page just for that.  

Time to stop and get cleaned up.  A Thanksgiving dinner tonight in the countryside and then off for a get away this week.

Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this and continue to read and follow my adventure.  My hopes in doing this are not to brag, but to help those that can't travel, to feel the experience or those that want to travel, get some ideas on places to go and things to do.  And if you would like to see more photos, send me a message and we can connect on Facebook.

Ciao!