Southern comfort

Every other night, usually at the dinner table, my other half quizzes me about what I was doing, eating, or where I was, one year ago. Since we were in Italy at that time, it's an easy game. The food is generally the key to the answer.

With the multitude of eggplant (less the few the racoons have sampled) that are ripening in our garden, we are recreating the simmered summery vegetable dishes we enjoyed in Calabria last August. Stewed in ripe tomatoes, fresh herbs and earthy, crispy fried peppers, eggplant truly shine in this dish. We skip the olives (preferring to eat them on the side before and after the meal) and add a few dried chiles to the fry pan (before the garlic) cooking them until they are fragrant and crisp. We also add a zucchini or two depending on what is garden ready.

Eaten under the vines at 'room temperature' with crusty bread and the local ciro..

Southern comfort perfected.

Guffanti

I love cheese in a way that I am certain is not natural. And the lengths I'd go to for cheese are generally great. However, along the shores of beautiful Lake Maggiore under the watchful eye of Il Sancarlone (Saint Charles Borromeo), in the Comune di Arona, finding good cheese proved to be no problem.

Guffanti, a family affair to this day, remains one of the local area cheese houses that specialise in affinage. In addition to Italy's greats and a few imports from France, you'll also find some wonderful lesser known regional cheeses. Walking through the ripening caves beneath the unassuming shop front (more of a loading dock than anything) off Arona's main street, with its damp brick walls and low ceilings, the aroma of ripening cheese meets you at the door, shakes your hand and welcomes you inside.

We had a great tasting after a tour. I'm not sure that tours are a regular thing but they weren't so busy and were happy to oblige a curious cheese loving traveler. Complete with a few of the local craft brews. We left with a good portion of perfect Parmigiano Reggiano and a bit of Taleggio that was the center of lunch not 15 minutes down the road.





If you are in Piedmonte, or driving through from Milano to Venezia, it's worth the diversion through the tunnels to the provincia di Novara, some spectacular scenery (and great cheese) on the other side.

Luigi Guffanti 1876 s.r.l.
Via Milano, 140 - 28041 Arona NO - Italy Tel. +39 0322 242038 / 47222

halloumi

Its getting warmer here in Southern Ontario and even though warmer hasn't coincided with sunshine (so far!), we've been grilling. I love grilled antipasti during the warm days of summer or the mild rainy days of spring..

And few cheeses lend themselves to the grill as well as Halloumi.

Also a kid-friendly cheese, New Zealand's Zany Zeus makes a great one. It isn't in any "NZ style" and likewise those available here in Toronto, Canada and the via e-order in the USA. There isn't any point in adapting this cheese from its Cypriot roots. The whole point is that it doesn't disintegrate when exposed to a grill or high heat.

While flavour can vary somewhat, alter this exceptional melt and you no longer have Halloumi.

Keep the marinade simple - good olive oil, garlic, a little acid (any of red wine, white wine or sherry vinegars or lemon juice - which I favour), well-stored dried oregano and fresh parsley, basil (and maybe a few sun-dried tomatoes) are all you need to make this cheese bbq ready.
Delicious paired with asparagus or eggplant slices grilled after a dose of the same marinade, halloumi makes unique mini "sandwiches" and partners well alongside any other grilled veg, compatible protein and even watermelon!

Mangia!

Bassano del Grappa

One of the places in Italy that we've always had intentions of visiting is Bassano del Grappa. If you ever socialise with someone from Treviso, and we do from time to time.. grappa always finds its way into the conversation and your glass! Regional pride means the grappa of choice is from Bassano, most likely the Nardini brand.

The Thirsty Traveler has even been there!

Park at the Museo Biblioteca-Archvio and walk through the streets to the Piazza Liberta, the old bridge, distillery.. with cafes and a beautiful bakery, Bassano del Grappa is the perfect place to wander!

Salute!

Wine and castles

Our last day out of Castelfranco, we were thinking about getting back to Aosta to reload for a few days in Torino and Barolo. Tempting as it is to drive straight on, I had two essential stops planned: one in Padova, the hometown of our neighbours in Canada (where a visit to the Tomb of Saint Anthony is a must) and another here in Soave.

Soave it the self proclaimed city of vino and indeed, it is. Surrounded by miles of vineyards, it would seem as though the focus of production here would be on quantity rather than quality. However, we pleasantly found many exceptions to the rule (some best described by Jamie at wineanorak).

That's a rather diminutive description for the impressive curriculum vitae of Dr. Goode and the information in this this go-to site. It is one of the first sites I look if I'm researching vintages or want some solid European vino insight.


Driving up to the walled part of the city.


Once inside, parking required a bit of luck and once found, skill.

Walking up to the castle in Soave. Cobbled streets (this is not the place to sport the fashion footwear you picked up in Milano) require some sturdy soles. Although there is much evidence to the contrary (with all the high-heeled Italian women floating around), I'm convinced it takes years of practise to manoeuvre most of the historical cities of Italy in anything other than a secure flat.


But the Main reason we stopped in Soave was for wine. At Azienda Agricola Coffele, Chiara was there on the day to lead us through a tasting of wonderful and affordable, delicious vino. Enter through the archway above to the heavy doors, into a lovely temperate tasting room with the most gorgeous tavola inside.

via Roma, 5


Salute!

It's not all just wine and cheese

When people think about Eataly and probably Italy, in general, they don't necessarily think about beer. Unlike England, Belgium, Czech Republic and Germany, the peninsula isn't exactly on the map for the average beer traveler. That, however, may be up for debate as the young people of Italy begin to favour the grain instead of the grape.


A visit to the belly of Torino's Eataly might even convince you further if artisanal beer is your thing. Sure it shares the basement with a massive wine cellar and the ripening rooms for ham and cheese royalty, but it is holding it's own and even has a small ristorantino where you can not only sample but enjoy beers paired with selected food pairings.


Eataly itself wasn't full to the rafters but it was steadily busy. Of all the ristorantinos, the beer hall was the busiest.

We sampled several. With pizza, perfetto!
(16/09/10)

Destination: Eataly.

While some folks might do their Italian damage in shoes, fashion or cars, I'm a disaster in a market, grocery store. or any other specialty food shop. Last time we were in Italy, I also found treasures galore at small roadside stops (orange blossom honey!), agriturismi, and the local weekday markets.

This time we also flew out of Torino and that meant a stop in to the location of the original Eataly. Eataly has also recently made headlines in NYC, but the original is as good a place as any to start.

More to come!
16/07/10