On September 4th I have a blind date, but not with a guy… with a monument!
Yes, you got that right, let me explain. On September 4th, the city of Ferrara is hosting the first ever “Street Dinner”. This is a unique opportunity to enjoy art and food together; an ensemble of adventure, gastronomy, natural scenery, conviviality and mistery.
Chic but informal at the same time, the event welcomes a large number of gourmands who, armed with a table, a chair and a bag filled with delicacies, will only find out at the very last minute by what historical building or monument they are going to sit and enjoy all the provided local specialties.

All is possible thanks to text messaging: indeed all participants will find out their destinations step by step directly on their phones. The first text will provide the location of the “welcoming” aperitivo where people can mingle and get to know each other while sipping spumante. A second text will inform all of the location where to pick up the table, the chair and table settings plus the food bag (there are two different menus available. The actual dishes are a secret but you can choose between a meat-based or a fish-based menu). Thirty minutes later another text will inform each guest of their diner location. Some of these locations are, for example, the court of Castello Estense (a magnificent castle built in the center of the city), on Corso Ercole I d’Este with a view of Palazzo dei Diamanti (the house of the National Art Gallery, is one of the most famous buildings in Italy: the white marble exterior consisting of 8500 blocks are carved in the shape of diamonds), along the Listone of Ferrara (a beautiful square by the Duomo), in Via delle Volte, among the Ancient Walls and many other wonderful corners (such as one of the city’s beaches or bridges).

As I said, the menus, like everything else, are secret, but I hope that they will feature some of these local specialties:Cappellacci di zucca, pumpkin ravioli, are served with ragù or butter and sage sauce; tagliatelle, noodles with ragù or mushroom sauce, the maltagliati, irregularly shaped egg pasta cooked with beans, classic lasagna, green lasagna, pasticcio alla Ferrarese, a pie stuffed with maccheroni, béchamel, cheese and ragù with porcini mushrooms; riso con zucca e salsiccia, rice with pumpkin and sausages, or with fish Brodetto, a seafood broth. Rice is also prepared with eels, with ragù, cheese and porcini mushroom. Polenta is often served in place of pasta. It can be fried in butter or dressed with a sauce, cheese, meat or fish. Anguilla (eel) and polenta, polenta with ragù, polenta and sausages are common fare in the Ferrarese. As far as desserts are concerned: ciambella ferrarese is made with flour, eggs, butter and a little sugar; torta di mele is a sponge cake mixed with fresh apples sliced very thin; panpepato is a super rich chocolate cake with candied fruits and nuts, ginger, pepper and other spices and mandurlin dal pont are delicate and crispy cookies made with eggs, sugar and almonds.
For more information: www.streetdinner.it
- Natasha Lardera

Several Italian news and travel web sites (www.siciliaonline.it and www.myluxury.com to name a couple) are reporting that Sicily has defeated Sardinia as the favorite summer destination of local and, mostly, international stars. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Elton John, Giorgio Armani, Sting and many more prefer the still uncompromising beauty of this island to the pretentiousness of a natural paradise that has been turned into a sort of circus by the wannabes. A round trip ticked to Palermo, this time of the year, starts at $523 on Meridiana (available only until mid September) but if you are like me, meaning you don’t have much time off so going all the way to Italy is practically impossible, you’d be happy to know that Sicily can be “tasted” in the East Village. At Cacio & Vino to be exact.

The menu is a never ending (but in a good way) and features some of the most traditional and flavorful Sicilian dishes (including Sarde a beccafico con cipollata,
baked Mediterranean sardines stuffed with bread crumbs, pine nuts, raisins, orange zest, sweet and sour onions; Involtini di melanzane, stuffed rolls of eggplant with pine nuts, raisins, basil, pecorino cheese, tomato sauce; Spaghetti con pesto trapanese, homemade spaghetti, fresh tomato, basil, garlic and almond pesto; Gnocchi di fico e primosale, potato and fig gnocchi in a Sicilian cheese fondue sauce and Pesce spada all’agrodolce,
pan-seared swordfish in sweet and sour sauce with olives and onions and vegetable ratatouille.
Every time I go I am undecided on what to order as everything looks, and tastes so good, but one thing I know for sure is that I will order Caponata (as a cold appetizer). At Cacio e Vino caponata consists of Sicilian style sweet and sour eggplant, celery, olives, onions, served with chick pea fritters and goat cheese. Bursting with color and flavor, it is blend of eggplants and tomatoes, balanced with green olives, capers, celery, sugar and vinegar for its characteristic sweet and sour taste. Caponata can be served cold or at room temperature and it should be prepared a day in advance so the flavors will have time to blend and settle. It can be served with pasta, rice, or omelets but the more traditional way is to serve it as an appetizer with crackers or accompanied by fresh crusty Italian bread or, in the case of Cacio e Vino, with freshly baked pizza dough cut into small slices.
Enjoying it with a glass of wine while waiting for the next dish to arrive is absolute bliss.

- Natasha Lardera

First known as the “Strada del Vino Bianco” (officially opened in 1966), this stretch of road leads you, for about 47 kilometers (29 miles), among the hills of Conegliano, Feletto, Quartier del Piave and Valdobbiadene all the way to the feet of the Prealpi mountains in the Veneto region. The trip starts in Conegliano exactly in the square where the castle is and it procedes throgh several towns: Costa, Rua, San Pietro di Feletto, Refrontolo, Pieve di Soligo, Solighetto, Farra, Colle San Martino, Guia, Santo Stefano and San Pietro di Borbozza. The road is drizzled with florishing vineyards, lovely communities that welcome old taverns, locandas and trattorias, and striking landscapes. Each participating locanda in town has to feature a plate that reads “Bottega del Vino”. This means that the business has been carefully reviewed by a group of experts in terms of quality of wines available for tastings and on sale, authenticity of the place and oenological knowledge of the staff. The review is done yearly, and who does not pass has to remove the plate. To be considered for qualification, each bottega has sell, no matter the season, the following wines: Bianchi dei Colli, in the dry and amabile varieties, and Prosecco and Cartizze, in dry, amabile, frizzante and spumante varieties. These great wines are paired with fresh baked bread, appetizers, cheeses and cold cuts.

For a place to stay: Villa Giustinian in Portobuffolè (TV) is an amazing villa that offers Prosecco-flavored stays. From June 6th to August 1st, a five-night stay features a tasting in a locanda, a meal in a local trattoria, a bottle of Prosecco and a relaxing vacation at the villa. From August 6th to the 8th fireworks will color your nights, while sipping Prosecco in one of the many locandas.

By Natasha Lardera

Italians also tend to eat more game meats and fowl than the average American so words like fagiano (pheasant) and faraona (guinea fowl) are household names are is piccione (pigeon) and coniglio (rabbit). Some weeks ago the New York Times had a very cute bunny on the cover with an entire section dedicated to rabbit recipes. There was a slight uproar in certain corners because it was the first time people were actually talking about rabbit as a food in a national newspaper. No Italian would have been scandalized. This is the same for eating some internal meats such as kidneys (rognone), trippa (intestines) and fegato (liver). Not to mention brains (cervello) and other delicacies. If none of this strikes your fancy, go back to things like pollo which are easy to say and even easier to prepare. Check out this blog post for a great recipe.

Buon Appetito.

-Susannah Gold

Basil is usually added at the last moment because if it is cooked to long, the delicate flavors are destroyed.

Basil is one of the main ingredients in pesto which is usually served on pasta or occasionally with bread. You can also use pesto as a way to garnish soup.

The most traditional pesto recipe is called Pesto alla Genovese. Here’s a fun youtube video of a chef explaining how to make pesto, a very easy recipe.

Pesto has a few main ingredients and then some alternatives. Some pesto recipes call for adding potatoes and green beans, others do not. The mainstays of pesto are olive oil, pine nuts, basil and pecorino cheese.

Pesto is perfect for the spring and summer and is a great way to feed many people at a party. It goes very well with Italian white wines such as Vermentino, Pigato and some Pinot Grigio from the Alto Adige.
If you have no desire to make pesto, you can buy it at the Alta Cucina Store.
-Susannah Gold

Tripe is often cooked with tomatoes but it can also be flavored with mint, typical in Rome or cooked with an eggplant dish, a staple in Palermo or with parsley in Turin. Tripe is seen in menus throughout Italy and is used by traditional cooks and well as modernists.

In New York City, tripe can be found in many ethnic restaurants but it hasn’t yet created the splash that other parts of the quinto quarto or internal organs have. It will surely have its moment in the sun. It is just a question of time.

-Susannah Gold

The panel includes Lou DiPalo of Dipalo’s Fine Foods whose family originally hails from Basilicata. DiPalo’s family opened its first shop in 1910. Today’s store is much larger than any of its previous incarnations and Lou’s son has opened his own wine shop next door.

The second guest at the lecture will be Louis Coluccio Jr of DColuccio & Sons in Brooklyn. Louis Jr. is very entertaining and passionate about food, especially those that his family has been importing for decades.

The third speak is Antonio Magliulo of Buonitalia in the Chelsea Market. Buonitalia is very well known in New York restaurant circles and many order directly from his wholesale business. There is also a lovely cafe’ within the premises and many consider it to have some of the best espresso in New York. All told, the evening should be exciting with tidbits and new information. I’m looking forward to going.

-Susannah Gold

Whenever the munchies overcome my weak will power and I feel like something tasty but not too heavy that is authentic Italian and reasonably priced, one of my favorite destinations in NYC is Bocca. An elegant eatery in Gramercy, a neighborhood packed with culinary heavyweights, Bocca is a Roman restaurant that offers culinary specialties for every palate. Executive chef David Buico has designed lunch and dinner menus that feature the most savory old time Roman classics, like Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe, home made pasta served with precorino romano and coarse black pepper, Maccheroni alla Gricia, bronze casted and slowly dried pasta served with guanciale, coarse black pepper and pecorino di fossa, Maialino al forno e carciofi alla romana, slow roasted suckling pig with roasted fingerling potatoes and artichokes, and many other favorites.

But that’s not all – something else is worth mentioning, something that many restaurants don’t really pay too much attention to: the bar menu. At the bar it is possible to satisfy any craving and the crowd’s favorite is Supplì al telefono (Fried rice balls “on the phone”).

Filling yet smooth, Supplì al telefono is a dish that is very popular in Rome and it’s not unusual, when making risotto, to make some extra on purpose in order to make these delicious rice balls using the leftovers (common belief is that when the rice is older it holds together firmly so that the balls do not break during the frying process). The name comes from the dish’s visual effect, meaning that when you bite into the supplì the melted mozzarella that is hiding in the flavorful rice flows out in long strips, somehow resembling the cord connecting a telephone handset to the hook. Arborio and/or Carnaroli rice is perfect for making supplì.

Supplì can be seen as a variant of Sicily’s arancini or Naples’ palline di riso or as a kind of croquette.

By Natasha Lardera

Peck is renowed for both food and wine. It offers products for sale as well as prepared foods to take out and has a restaurant and a tea shop. It also has a very well stocked wine shop where you can find many foreigner as well as Italian wines, somewhat of a rarity.

Peck has also begun to sell some of its wares under a private label at airports in Italy so if you can’t make it to Milan but are flying through Italy, be sure to pick something up. They sell all sorts of sauces, pastas and olive oils made specifically for the store. The best way to sample Peck’s foods though is to come to Milan, a city which is much overlooked but which is always ready to welcome weary travelers.

Peck is located in the center of the city right near the Duomo of Milan in via Spadari. Try not to miss it on your next trip to the Lombard capital.

Many times the meal will finish with the ubiquitous biscotti that come from Tuscany and have been replicated throughout the world although the American version is about four times as large as the cantucci you find in Tuscany.

Not all Italian desserts are contained though. La Cassata Siciliana comes to mind. Many meals also end with Panna Cotta or other types of puddings. Another family of desserts are the Ciambelle or large donut like rings.

Here’s an easy recipe for a Ciambella.

Ingredients:

Three eggs
300 grams of sugar
300 grams of fine flour
100 grams of butter
1 packet of yeast
1 cup of milk
Grated lemon rind

Preparation:

Beat the eggs and the sugar together added the melted butter and the lemon rind. Then add the flour, the milk and last but not least, the yeast. Cook in the oven in a buttered and floured pan for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

To go with this delicious cake, you can have a semi sweet sparkling wine, such as Asti DOCG made with the Moscato grape or any recioto, passito or late harvest dessert wine. Italy has numerous dessert wines although they are not quite as famous as their dry counterparts. Sweet wines have been somewhat ignored in the past but wine lists are increasing adding variety and many of these come from Italy.

-SG

Crostini with liver pate is not seen quite as often in the rest of Italy but bruschetta can be found all over Italy and in many parts of the United States. One of the things that makes Italian cuisine so fascinating is the diversity in the food stuffs offered in throughout the country.

Here’s a recipe for making the Chicken liver and Prosciutto Pate

150 grams of chicken livers
130 grams of prociutto
40 grams of butter
3 tbs of Olive Oil
1 onion
milk or broth
2 sage leaves
8 sticks of rosemary

In a casserole, heat half of the butter and oil and put in the prosciutto to give it more flavor together with the chopped onion. For at least 30 minutes, continue to add in either the milk or the broth, constantly stirring it. Add the chopped liver and the sage. Let it boil for exactly three minutes, continuing to stir the pot. Take it off of the flame, chop up the contents of the pot, and put it back on the flame. Bring it to a boil and then add the remaining butter, continue to cook for three minutes and turn it off. Cut the bread and spread the pate. Put the rosemary branches on the bottom of the plate and the crostini on top.

The olive was originally planted in the South Caucasus and spread from there to Rhodes, Cyprus and Crete and then to the entire Mediterranean basin. Olive cultivation in Apulia, for example, dates back to 800 a.c. when Greek settlers migrated to the region during the era called Magna Grecia. Some 40% of Italian olive oil actually comes from Apulia.

One of the characteristics of olive oil from Apulia is that it is quite full bodied, more so, for example, than oils from Liguria, Lake Garda or Tuscany. It has rich aromas and flavors and considerable nutritional characteristics including a high level of vitamin E and other substances which protect against degenerative diseases and aging.

Just like with wine grapes, there are many different types of olives, each producing oil with various characteristics. In Apulia, some of the varieties include:

Coratina which produces an olive oil that is fruity and slightly spicy.

Ogliarola which produces an oil that is almost sweet and has an aroma of almonds.

Ogliarola Garganica and Parenzana which make fruity and quite well balanced oil.

Cellina and Saracena which produce oil that can be almost salty.

Olive oil can also be used for numerous purposes in the kitchen and out. In the kitchen, some of the lighter oils such as those made from coratina work very well with salads. Other that are slightly heavier and are a bit spicy enhance grilled meats and vegetables. Still others work for frying foods.

The final product depends largely on the quality of the olive and how it is cared for during harvest and pressing. Following the harvest which should be done by hand as much as possible, olives are washed before being sorted and eventually pressed. Olives must be pressed within 24 hours after they are gathered.

Apulia has a number of products which have the special Denominazione d’orgine protetta (DOP) label including Olio Extravergine di oliva Collina di Brindisi DOP, Olio Extravergine di oliva Dauna DOP, Olio Extravergine di oliva Terra d’Otranto DOP, Olio Extravergine di oliva Terra di Bari DOP, and Olio Extravergine di oliva Terre Tarantine DOP.

While Apulia is only one of many regions in Italy that produces olive oil, it gives you an idea of how many oils there are and how each one has different characteristics depending on the terroir where they are grown, the cultivar and the climate conditions in that area. Check out the oils at Alta Cucina’s store.

While turkey can be found on some menus in Italy, there is no real culinary tradition that has turkey as its centerpiece except in a small town in the Abruzzo region called Canzano. Abruzzo is in central Italy and has both mountains and the sea among its treasures. It is known for its strong cuisine and hardy and stoic people.

Tacchino alla Canzanese is the most famous dish from this corner of Abruzzo near the city of Teramo. Canzano, a medieval hilltown at 500 meters above sea level with a stunning view of the Gran Sasso, Maiella and Laga mountains, has been making this turkey dish since the 1800s.

The turkey is cooked with peppercorns, salt, rosemary, garlic, bay leaves and veal bones for five hours in the oven. When the turkey, better if a female bird, is done, the gelatin from the drippings gets spread over the turkey and refrigerated. The dish is, in fact, served cold and is sliced turkey with a gelatinous covering. Apparently each family has their own recipe which is jealously guarded.

While Italians do not really celebrate Thanksgiving, there are many harvest holidays in the autumn months which celebrate different foods and the arrival or the end of the seasons. Tacchino alla Canzanese is generally eaten as part of the traditional Christmas meal in this part of Abruzzo.

Wines from Abruzzo tend to be made from one of two grapes: Trebbiano d’Abruzzo or Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. The first produces light white wines which can be paired with pasta dishes or served as an apertif. Sometimes it is made into a blend with chardonnay.

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is a red grape variety which makes medium bodied, fruity wines with nice acidity. This grape has come into favor in the past 10 years and is widely available in the United States. Two very well known producers are Emidio Pepe who has been making organic wines for more than 40 years and Giuseppe Masciarelli whose wines are constantly considered some of the best from the region.

Only one D.O.C.G. wine comes from this area and that is the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Colline Teramane wines from the Colline Teramane. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo could be a good wine with any type of turkey this Thanksgiving.

The food is earthy with a twist. Many of the antipasti, primi, secondi and contorni can be shared among friends. On a recent visit, friends had penne alla zucca and cacio e pepe. The latter, a truly Roman dish, was a perfect dish for this weather as it slips 10 degrees colder. The penne alla zucca were light and airy, as they should be.

One slightly off note was the passata di ceci (chickpeas). That is until the staff suggested adding more pecorino cheese. It was then transformed into a cozy and delicious soup, quite similar to the version eaten in Florence this summer.

That brings me to the staff. Seldom have I seen a restaurant staff in New York that has been so welcoming and kind. The sommelier took a lot of time discussing what we wanted to drink and our tastes, making helpful suggestions along the way.

The wait was a brief 15 minutes and no one was rushing you out of the room to free up a table. Rumor has it that they get very crowded so reservations are likely essential. The bill can be paid with credit cards or cash, unlike many Italian restaurants these days that seek to keep prices down with cash only menus.

The dishes were also all imminently affordable for New York standards and the wine list was eclectic, including many from Lazio and Umbria which makes them a bit more interesting and esoteric.

Truly a lovely place to have lunch or dinner, Quinto Quarto is now on the list of favorite New York restaurants.

In some of the Northern regions such as Lombardy, dry, crumbly cakes such as Sbrisolona from Mantova are all the rage. In the South, heavier, creamy desserts like the Cassata from Sicily or the Pastiera from Naples are signature dishes.

Throughout the country there is also a strong tradition of chocolates, often mixed in with nuts such as Torrone.

Another example of this type of “Italian chocolate bar” are the croccantini. They are tasty bars of ground hazelnuts coated with extra fine plain chocolate.

Italy also has a number of rare dessert wines to pair with these sweets. Years ago the lion’s share of sweet wines were based on white grapes such as Gewurztraminer, Moscato, and Malvasia. Today many types of wines are made into dessert wines. Even grapes that traditionally make robust red wines such as Primitivo di Manduria are being made into sweet wines.

Vigne e Vini, a winery from Apulia makes a lovely dessert wine from Primitivo called Chicca while Oltrepo’ Pavese near the Lombard city of Pavia also makes its own dessert wine called Sangue di Giuda.

This wine is made from a blend of three grapes, Croatina (65%), Barbera (25%, and Uva Rara (10%). These grapes are all indigenous or native to the area.

Light and somewhat fruity, this particular wine is a great surprise to many people. It has a beautiful color and a big frothy mousse. It has strawberry and raspberry aromas on the nose and the palate.

If you need a bottle of something esoteric to bring to someone’s house, try Sangue di Giuda, guaranteed it will be an interesting evening.

The wine is a beautiful rich deep ruby almost purple red. It is best when served cool and is refreshing with berry notes, a lovely body and rich texture. This wine can always be found on the menu at local restaurant and wine bar Tarallucci e Vino and is on the menu at numerous restaurants in New York City. This wine is considered to be the ideal wine for pizza.

Fall is also a time of harvest festivals and local sagre in Italy. One classic dish which is a favorite, especially in Tuscany, is pappardelle al cinghiale or wild boar sauce.

Wild boar are actually quite prevalent in Italy and according to food expert Kyle Phillips,, the numbers are increasing because of the introduction of a new species from Eastern Europe. On this page, Kyle gives a host of recipes which use Cinghiale.

Cinghiale can be made into salami, used as a carpaccio meat or eaten as a roast but the most traditional way that it is served is in a meat sauce or ragu. A classic pairing is with pappardelle pasta. Pappardelle are similar to fettucine but are somewhat wider.

Luckily for New Yorkers, this lovely dish has made it onto the menus of many New York restaurants including Macelleria , Col Legno in the East Village and Cipolla Rossa, among others.

You can also buy homemade sauce at gourmet food shops, although truly delicious cinghiale is hard to find. It must be cooked just right otherwise the meat can become tough.

If a trip to Tuscany is not imminent, at least one has options. Fall wouldn’t be the Fall without at least one dish of pappardelle al cinghiale.

This dish can be paired with a great sangiovese based wine. Sangiovese has considerable acidity and will balance out some of the strong flavors of the cinghiale without covering them completely. A Chianti Classico from any of the seven sub-denominations would work perfectly.

Eating there a handful of times already gives you the feeling that you are a home. The manager will suggest you go next door and have a drink at Von while you wait for your table. The wait may even be long but no one seems to mind. It is a testament to the service, the food and the ambiance of Bianca.

Make no mistake, this is a local trattoria-style joint with an inexpensive and cash only menu all the time. It gets a fairly young and hip crowd from Nolita and the East Village but everyone’s always welcome and it feels that way.

The pasta are generally delicious and lasagna is always on the menu. The Chef leans towards dishes from Emilia Romagna. On a recent visit, the Tagliatelle with Sausage and Broccoli Raab were delicious. On another trip, the Ravoli di Ricotta with butter and sage did the trick. The portions are also quite generous.

Other recent dishes that we sampled include the Stracetti di Manzo, Carciofi fritti, Radicchio alla Griglia in Coperta (with prosciuto and cheese) which sounds odd but is delicious and the ever present Caprese salad.

A neat little wine list completes the picture. If you go, be patient and bring cash. Bianca is a sister restaurant to Celeste on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, also inexpensive with delicious pizza and a loud crowd as well as Teodora, a more upscale dining experience in Midtown.

The group, created and run by Chef Giancarlo Quadalti, is also associated with Fiore in Williamsburg, Brooklyn where Chef Roberto Aita runs the show.

Eating at any of these restaurants is a real pleasure and sends you home feeling not only satisfied with the food and wine but relaxed, as if you had just dined at a friend’s home.

The pasta is a bit more laborious but here is a great recipe from a blog by Helen Rennie. Buying trofie in New York can present somewhat of a challenge but fresh pasta producers such as Raffetto’s in the West Village or Borgattis on Arthur Avenue would be a good place to begin your search.

If all of this seems too much, you can hop over to Scuderia on 6th Avenue and order this lovely dish. A great wine to drink while eating pesto is the local Vermentino, a white wine which is made in Liguria, in parts of Tuscany and in Sardinia. The best Vermentino from Liguria come from an area called Colli di Luni. This summer dish is light and is always a crowd pleaser at dinner parties as well.

Often overlooked by tourists who opt to vacation in Tuscany, Liguria has much to offer. Renowned for its small picturesque villages perched on hills overlooking the Mediterranean, it is also a wonderful place to hike as well as scuba dive or sail. Many northern Italians tend to spend their weekends here and part of the summer. Liguria can also be a great place to vacation with young children as the sea is relatively shallow and calm close to the shoreline. On your next visit, keep Liguria in mind for a holiday jaunt. You won’t be disappointed.