This Moment...in Italia

The richest moments of life are found when fully engaged in something, lost in the wonder and beauty of an event. Fully present, senses piqued--inundated with sights and scents and sounds--feeling at once apart from and a part of everything! Unable to take you to Italy with me I offer these entries for your exploration.

Benvenuto--welcome to La Traversina, an agriturismo in the heart of Piedmonte.

Our first days were spent at La Traversina, set in the woods high above a tiny village. The house has been in the same family since 1714. Three foot thick walls, stone floors, wooden doors, shuttered windows thick with ivy, draped in lace the house offers refuge, breathes tranquility.

Trees and arbors are hung with candles, an open invitation to linger in the moonlight. Long after the candles have gone out pots of white impatiens hold the light continuing the dreamy scene.

Through the open door, up green marble steps, sloped and worn soft by three hundred years of footsteps, we are on the left.

The "Blue Room", our sanctuary. We wake early to birds and sunlight. Breakfast with people from the world over, share maps, restaurant suggestions and itineraries, then head out to explore the surrounding country. We spoil ourselves with massive lunches, long walks, deep discussions and return to La Traversina for un buon pisolino--a little nap.

The cares of the world, everyday worries and stress from our busy season lift with every exhalation, drift towards the open window, slip through the lace curtain and disappear.


We regroup and refresh in the courtyard with wine and beer, fruit and cookies. RT reads and thinks in the quiet and I move about the farm painting and sketching. We are healing, repairing, returning to our best selves.

Cooking Classes--Session III

“As a Complement to Wine”

Risotto

Please mark you calendars for the third class in our cooking series, Thursday, March 24, 7 pm. We will make risotto. If you have never had risotto it is a real treat made from Italian short grain rice. This dish is creamy and rich and super easy to make. I will demonstrate two different versions—Creamy Mushroom Risotto, traditionally rich in butter and cream and can also be finished with truffle oil. Risotto Primavera, a lighter fresher spring risotto features asparagus, zucchini, peas and spinach.

Asparagus, zucchini, peas, spinach and chives--fresh tasting and green--Risotto Primavera

Cooking Classes--Session II

"As a Complement to Wine"

Second Class: Wine Sauces

A simple sauce provides contrast that enhances flavor or adds flavors a food lacks. A complex sauce, like a good wine, can fill the mouth and nose with sensations and provide a rich background into which the flavor of the food itself blends.

Sauces can be used on meat, chicken, fish, vegetables, pasta, rice and potatoes. I use sauces to tie a few ingredients together to create a meal. When the garden is producing I consider what is most abundant and then build from there. We often have an abundance of greens and peas in the early part of summer so I make pasta dishes. Using a short pasta like shells, farfalla or rotini cook them to within two minutes of “al dente” and then add freshly shelled peas and greens that have been washed and roughly chopped—these vegetables will cook very quickly. Drain the pasta an veggies and put them into a large warm bowl. Add a recipe of the basic wine sauce. Stir in freshly grated parmigiano, sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve immediately! A fast fresh healthy meal made for pennies.

Basic Wine Sauce

2 TB EVOO (or butter)

2 garlic cloves, minced finely

1 sm. Shallot, minced finely or a small onion

½ c. white wine

½ c. chicken stock

2 TB butter

3 TB fresh Italian parsley, minced

In a sauté pan over med. heat, warm the oil, add the shallots and cook for a few minutes until they start to turn translucent. Add the garlic and as soon as it is fragrant (30 sec. or so) add the wine. Raise the heat and cook until the wine has reduced a bit. Add the stock and cook until reduced by half, or until the desired flavor and consistency is reached. Remove from the heat and add the butter, just swirling the pan to combine. This will thicken the sauce somewhat. After the butter has melted add the herbs. Taste and adjust for salt.

This is one if my secret weapons--I always have the ingredients on hand so I can whip this up in less than 15 minutes for unexpected company. On nights that I am exhausted but hungry this is my go-to meal. This recipe can be really elevated by using fresh basil, when in season, and fresh clams in the shell!

Clam Pesto

2 TB EVOO

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

½ c. white wine

2 cans minced clams and their juice

1 TB dried basil

1 pinch red pepper flakes

1 tsp black pepper

2 TB butter

¼ c. fresh Italian parsley, coarsely minced

1 TB salt

1 lb angel hair pasta

Bring a large pot of water to the boil.

In a large sauté pan warm the EVOO over med. heat. Add the garlic and cook about 30 sec., or until fragrant. Add the wine, raise the heat and reduce a bit. Add the clams and their juice, basil, pepper flakes and black pepper. Simmer until reduced to the desired consistency.

As soon as you add the clams to the sauce, add the salt to the large pot of boiling water and add the pasta. Stir it to circulate the pasta and set the timer for 4 min.

When clam sauce has reduced, add the butter and lower the heat. As soon as the pasta is “al dente” pull it out with tongs and add it directly into the simmering sauce. Stir to combine and remove from the heat. Add the parsley and slip the pasta into a large warm bowl. Dress with parmigiano cheese and a drizzle of EVOO. Serve immediately into warmed bowls. Buon appetito!

Tangy Mustard Sauce

2 TB EVOO

2 cloves garlic, minced finely

½ c. white wine

½ c. chicken stock

2 TB Dijon mustard

2 TB maple syrup

1 tsp rosemary, minced finely

½ tsp pepper

In a sauté pan over med. heat, warm the oil. Add the garlic and cook for 30 sec., or until fragrant. Add the wine and reduce a bit, and add the stock, Dijon and syrup. Whisk it until smooth and then let sauce reduce to desired consistency. Remove from heat and add the rosemary and pepper. Taste and adjust for salt.

Excellent on fish, tilapia, salmon, trout, shrimp, salmon or crab cakes, chicken, pasta and rice. Imagine this sauce with asparagus, steamed greens, zucchini or green beans.

Piccata Caper Sauce

2 TB EVOO

2 cloves garlic, minced finely

½ c. white wine

½ c. chicken stock

Juice from one large lemon half

2 tsp capers

2 TB butter

3 TB fresh Italian parsley, minced

In a sauté pan warm the EVOO over med. heat. Add the garlic and cook about 30 sec., or until fragrant. Add the wine, raise the heat and reduce a bit. Add the chicken stock and lemon juice and continue to reduce until the desired consistency is reached. Remove the pan from the heat and swirl in the butter and capers. As soon as the butter is melted add the parsley, taste and adjust for salt.

This is delicious on pasta alone—but when served over veal or chicken it is a classic. We love it on fish, especially with steamed greens.

Mushroom Marsala Sauce

2 TB EVOO

1 shallot or onion, finely diced

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

½ c. white wine

½ c. marsala wine

½ c. chicken stock

2 TB butter

2 TB fresh Italian parsley, finely minced

In a sauté pan warm the EVOO over med. heat. Add the onion/shallot and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are tender and starting to brown. Add the garlic, cooking until fragrant and then add the wine and the Marsala. Raise the heat and reduce a bit. Add the chicken stock and continue to reduce until the desired consistency is reached. Remove the pan from the heat and swirl in the butter. As soon as the butter is melted add the parsley, taste and adjust for salt.

This recipe is perfect on pasta alone, but for the carnivore in your home, sauté a pound of assorted mushrooms and serve this sauce over pasta—they will never miss the meat! Served with veal or chicken this is also a classic dish. This delicious rich sauce is beautiful over rice and with potatoes.

Variation: Follow the recipe above but add the 2 TB of butter just after adding the garlic. As soon as the butter is melted add 2 TB of flour. Stir the flour into the butter and vegetables and cook it until all the flour has been incorporated and then add the wine. Immediately add 1 c. chicken stock and stir to make a thick sauce. Add just enough cream or half and half to suit your needs and you will never use another can of cream of mushroom soup!

Cooking Classes--Session I

"As a Complement to Wine"

cooking classes

First Class: Italian Baking 101


After deciding to teach cooking classes I realized I needed students so I shamelessly did some self promoting using the products themselves. The afternoon before a tasting at our local wine store I baked big batches of biscotti and grissini. My nerves steeled, I walked in with enough goodies for about forty people and found the place packed! There were over sixty folks--what else are you supposed to do on a frigid January night in Blackfoot! I hid my baskets under our table and started tasting. As the evening unfolded and the wine did its magic I started circulating in a very small way and offered my baked goods to people I knew and recognized. Like in story of the fishes and the loaves, people started sharing and soon the entire room was buzzing! I made a small announcement about maybe teaching some cooking classes and advised folks to check out the Wine Garden Newsletter for more information. Then one simple blurb in the newsletter and within days I had a full class.

The day before class I made a Tiramisu for tasting, plenty for sixteen. By that afternoon my class had outgrown the tiramisu and I was in a fix because I had only enough lady fingers for my demonstration. Living in the rural west one learns to be creative so I made my own. They turned out beautiful and were far superior to anything I had ever used before!

Tiramisu

8 oz. marscapone, or cream cheese at room temperature

5 tsp icing sugar

2 egg whites, stiffly beaten

½ pt cream, lightly whipped

2 egg yolks

1 c. strong coffee or espresso

1 oz. marsala wine

2 oz. brandy or Kahlua

24 sponge biscuits, lady fingers

Your favorite dark chocolate bar

Beat egg whites until quite stiff. Whip the cream until it holds its shape.

Beat cheese and sugar until combined and smooth. Add the egg yolks and mix until smooth and creamy. Add the whipped cream and combine until smooth and creamy. Using a clean spatula, gently fold in the egg whites until both mixtures are combined. Set aside in fridge.

Mix the coffee, wine and brandy. Stir until combined and taste. Gently soak a lady finger biscuit in this mixture, let it drain and then lay in the bottom of an 8 in. x 8 in. pan. Repeat with enough biscuits to cover the bottom of the pan.

Pour half of the cream and cheese mixture over the biscuits and spread it out evenly.

Dip and layer the rest of the biscuits to form a second layer of lady fingers. Pour the remaining cream mixture on top and smooth it out. Cover the pan taking care not to let the cover rest in the cream mixture and refrigerate for 24 hrs.

Before serving grate enough of the chocolate bar to cover the top of the tiramisu. Cut with a sharp knife into smallish squares and serve on chilled plates with a small glass of marsala wine, coffee or espresso.

Biscotti

¾ c. toasted almonds, chopped

½ c. butter

¾ c. sugar

2 eggs

2 tbs amaretto

1 tsp vanilla

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

2 c. flour

Preheat oven 325. Oil a large cookie sheet or use parchment paper.

Biscotti are double baked cookies. In Italian bis means twice and cotta is baked, therefore biscotti are baked twice. (The Italian for grandma is nonna and great grandma is bisnonna.)

Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and mix until well blended. Add liquor and vanilla and mix. Combine all dry ingredients and stir. Gradually fold dry ingredients into egg mixture. Mix only until blended smooth. Fold in nuts. Dust you working surface and hands with flour and place dough on your working surface. (On a warm day you may wish to rest your dough in the fridge, letting it cool for 30 min.) Gently divide dough into two equal parts and roll each part into a long log—a thinner longer log will make smaller biscotti. Place the logs onto you cookie sheet allowing room for the dough to expand as it cooks. Bake for 25 min. Remove baking sheet from oven and let cool for 15 min. Cut the logs into biscotti—I usually cut it into ½ in. widths. Tip them onto their sides and arrange them on the baking sheet evenly. Return to oven and bake 20-25 min. more. Cool on a rack and store in airtight containers.

Variations: Drizzle melted chocolate over the biscotti or dip one end in the chocolate.

For wine biscotti: Substitute the zest from one orange for the almonds and add 1 tbs. of finely cracked black pepper to the mix. Substitute Grand Marnier for the amaretto. Excellent with red wine!

Parmesan and Cracked Pepper Grissini

1 pkg dry yeast (2 ¼ tsp)

1 c warm water (110 degrees)

3 c flour

1 ¼ tsp salt

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

½ c grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1 tbs cracked black pepper

Cooking spray

Parchment paper

Dissolve yeast in warm water, let stand 5 min.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cup, level with knife. Place all but ¼ c. flour into a mixing bowl with the salt. Mix to stir. Gradually add the yeast/water while mixing on lowest speed. Mix until dough forms a ball. (If you do not have a mixer put the flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast/water and stir until dough forms.) Add the rest of the flour if needed to form a nice dough, not too sticky or wet.

Scoop the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and silky. (About 8 min.) Put the dough into a well oiled covered bowl and let rest until doubled—45 min to an hour. (Gently press 2 fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.)

Cover two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Punch dough down. Cover and let rest 5 min. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, roll into a 12 x 8 inch rectangle about 1 in. thick.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. (If you have a baking stone place it in the oven before preheating.)

Add a teaspoon of water to the beaten egg. Using a pastry brush, cover the surface of the dough. Sprinkle with cheese and pepper. Lightly coat the dough with the cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and gently press the toppings into the dough, remove the plastic wrap.

Cut the rectangle of dough into 1 in. strips. Working with one strip at a time roll each into a long thin rope on a lightly floured surface. Cut it to length and place on baking sheet. Repeat until all dough is rolled. Spray grissini lightly with cooking spray. Lightly cover the sheets with clean tea towels and let grissini rise for 20 min.

Uncover dough and bake at 450 for 6 min. with one pan on an upper rack and one on the lower rack. Rotate pans and cook for an additional 6 min. until grissini are golden brown. Remove from pans and let cool completely on wire racks.

Variations: Substitute coarse sea salt or fresh minced rosemary for black pepper.