Viva Italia

Not that you would have noticed, with my already irregular posting habits, but we have just returned from a two-week vacation in Italy. Of course, the food was a major part of the whole shebang, and of course, it was great. Here's a quickish rundown of some highlights:

* Lunch at Il Falconiere, outside of Cortona. Holy Christ, was that good. The service and setup are of the gloved-waiter-formal type, which usually makes me antsy. But there was something relaxed and goofy enough about the staff that it wasn't intimidating or offputting, and OH MY GOD, the food. There were many and varied vegetarian options, to my surprise, and as many of the vegetables as possible are grown right on the grounds (it's also a hotel). Extras abounded, including a delicious savory flan thing as an amuse at the beginning, and a truly astounding plate of sweets that accompanied the coffee at the end. The best, I think, was the eensy cream puff.

* Many iterations of pecorino fresco, a cheese I've never had before. Some were better than others, but all was delicious. One with truffles in particular made me like to die, I swan.

* Related to the above, a newfound enthusiasm for the ubiquitous deli-type shop. I hadn't tended to go in these before, because I am stupid. So many delicious cheeses and crackers and cookies and wines, in every little town and every few blocks (or more) of larger ones. Also, the transactions are gratifyingly easy to have in even my highly rudimentary Italian, since things in the case are conveniently labeled with their names and from there all you need is "about like this" [gesture]; "hm, more"; and "a little less."

* September is porcini season, and boy did I take advantage of that fact. More, please.

* Gelato: many a delicious cone was had. I fixated on nut flavors, and eventually just got pistacchio everywhere I went. This was a good decision. The best I had, I think, was in the unlikely spot of pretty much right on the doorstep of the Vatican, among the tourist trucks selling water for 3 euros and the like. For future reference, it's on the big, wide Via d. Conciliazione, about a block before St. Peters, on the left side of the street as you face the Basilica. I don't think it really has a name, just "Gelateria."

* The vinyard in Chianti where M. had been before (Fattoria Rietine), and where the vin santo was so good it made me get all weepy, was also awesome. I didn't particularly think that going to a vinyard would be a good experience -- I don't know what exactly I was expecting, but something snobby and crowded with yuppies, or something. Instead, there was serious gorgeousness for miles around, a little room full of wine barrels, hearty helpings in the tastings, and co-proprietor Mario, who chatted with us for ages about all kinds of things and observed that Switzerland, where he was from, was beautiful, but this was paradise. QED. Hard to argue, there.

* I love Kinder chocolate, aside from its Kinder Surprise variation, which is pretty rubbery and weird. We brought back a good helping of Kinder Bueno, the four-segment bar with crispy wafer enclosing milk and hazelnut. Kinder Delice, little chocolate cake bars that we soon called "Kinder Ho-Hos" and then "Kinder-Hos," are also great. They claim to be full of "nutritious" ingredients like milk, grain, and (ahem) cocoa. I don't know about that, but they do have surprisingly high, presumably fortified, quantities of calcium and B vitamins, so go forth and stuff your kinder with Kinder-Hos! By the way, I'd always assumed that Kinder products were German, but they are in fact made by the Italian company Ferraro. Whaddyaknow.

* Discerning palates prefer Big Frut.

* Remember the rule of thumb for good Italian cooking: PLENTY OF OLIVE OIL. It is not a lie. On the plane ride back, I happened to read an excerpt from Marcella Hazan's forthcoming new book, and she talks a lot, and usefully, about the proper sauteeing and melding of flavors with aromatics and vegetables in Italian food. I need to talk about that more later, but even though her directions are very similar to what I've already been doing, paying attention in the way she suggests has already proved to be significant and helpful. Also, she vindicates the parboiling of greens before sauteeing -- it lets you get rid of the water that the greens will express so that you can actually sautee and coat with the oil and aromatics, rather than stewing them in their own liquid.

* Because we were staying in a house this time, morning coffee was not always obtained at actual cafes, and more often made en famille. The result was that everyone who had stayed in the house was rendered into an instant convert to the Moka pot, and classy brightly-colored enameled versions were bought by all. M's sister S. came up with the clever innovation, as there was no milk steamer, of heating the milk in a small pan and whisking it vigorously. Obviously the result is not the same as steamed, but the whisking prevents the formation of a skin and the heating heats it, and what you get at the end is definitely good enough for government work. Thanks, S.

Posted by redfox at September 29, 2004 09:37 AM (travel) | Comments (1)

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