La Tavola Marche: December 2008

Wednesday, December 31

Cappelletti in Brodo - Ohhh Delizioso!

If you are looking for a slam-bang dish - look no further!

Cappelletti in brodo or little hats in broth - I was once told is a dish served for only those you love because it takes so much time & patience to make! This dish is traditionally served on Christmas day for lunch and New Year's Eve for dinner- special occasions. Just yesterday we gathered a group of friends to help us make over 6 kilos (about 13.5 pounds) of pasta! We used 30 eggs in the dough, 4.5 pounds of meat & a ton of parmesan!

Take the time, buy the freshest eggs (it will make the color of the dough nice & golden) & enjoy homemade pasta the way it was meant to be eaten - it is TOTALLY worth the time!

Pasta Dough Recipe:

(serves 4)

400 grams of flour (type 0)

pinch of salt

4 eggs

To make the dough - follow our recipe - click here

Filling:

6 oz. lean beef cubbed

4 oz. pork loin, cubbed

half a chicken breast, cubbed

1 sausage, without casing, cubbed

1 carrot, diced finely

salt & pepper

a healthy pinch Nutmeg

handful of grated parmesean cheese

1 egg

pad of butter

glug of olive oil

salt & pepper

In a pot, melt the butter & toss in all the meat & carrot.

Cook over medium heat, until meat is cooked & 2/3 of the liquid is reduced.

Set aside & let cool.

When the meat is cool toss it into the food processor & pulse until it resembles ground beef - not a paste.

Add the egg, salt & pepper, nutmeg & cheese - mix with your hands. (It will hold a ball when squeezed together, but not wet)

Roll out pasta dough into about 2mm thick sheets.

Cut into 1 inch squares. Place a pea size amount of filling in each square.

Fold the square into a triangle - making sure to seal the edges very well! (Super important)

This is when it gets difficult to explain...Then take legs of the triangle & pinch them together -(take a look at the picture to help explain)

Make sure not to overstuff your cappelleti & to seal them properly - otherwise they will burst when you boil them.

Boil in brodo (broth) until they float - if they are fresh about 2-4 minutes. Jason suggests that when they start floating - try one.

To freeze for later: Let the pasta sit & dry overnight in a cool dry room in a single layer with parchment paper underneath.

Next up - New Year's Eve Festivities!!

Tuesday, December 30

Get Down & Dirty - Make Pasta from Scratch!

Have you ever wondered what's the difference between Barilla's pasta & mamma's pasta? Well it's HUGE! Dry, store bought pasta is just fine if you've never tasted the real homemade kind.

So try out the Cappelletti in Brodo recipe or just pasta & sauce - this will blow your mind - the color - soooo yellow, the texture - soooo soft and the taste - soooooo good!

So here's how to make pasta dough at home -

Standard Pasta Recipe

1 egg & 100 grams of flour = 150 grams of pasta

100 grams of tipo 0 flour for every egg

pinch of salt

Pour flour onto the table in a mound.

Make a well in the center & crack the eggs into the well.

Slowly incorporate the eggs into the dough using a fork - pulling in the flour to the center of the well.

Form into a nice dough, knead for 5-10 minutes until you have worked the dough well & it has a nice shiny outside.

Let stand for half hour to hour & then roll out.

1mm thick by 3mm wide - Tagliatelle

After you cut your pasta allow to dry for about 1-2 hours, depending on room temperature.

Boil for 1-2 minutes in plenty of salted boiling water.

Tuesday, December 23

Christmas in Italy

Every year Piobbico (like hundreds of other small towns in Italy) celebrates Christmas with a living presepe or nativity scene. It is beautiful!

The town gathers at the base of the hill to the castle & after passing through the Roman guards, we make our way together through the old part of town visiting different scenes.

The town is bathed in torch light.

We stop in old cantina's and vacant houses where townspeople in costume recreate the story of Jesus' birth and the times they lived in. It's fun to see the plumber, pasta maker & our neighbors in costume.

It was a great reminder of the meaning of Christmas, away from the commercialism & crowded shops.

We immediately signed up to be part of the festivities for next year!

Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo!!

Tuesday, December 16

Little Bunny Foo-Foo Went Hoppin' ...Onto My Plate (Coniglio alla Cacciatora)

I slightly hesitate even adding this recipe & topic (so I won't even think about a suggestive photo)....but here we go:

Rabbit is sooo good for you & incredibly lean meat. (In fact, I remember hearing that if you only had rabbit to eat to survive, you would probably die because there is not enough fat!) I know many of you have strong feelings on eating a little bunny - but isn't it the same as eating lamb, pig or any other meat for that matter. (And for the record I had a pet rabbit as a kid & have no qualms eating rabbit for dinner.) Now it seems that rabbit is more associated with French cuisine than Italian, but we are here to set the record straight! Coniglio or rabbit is on many many Italian menus all across the country - from roasted, stewed, sauces & even in the style of porchetta!

I know it can be hard to find in many grocery stores in the States, here it is readily available at every SMA, Conad & butcher! Just ask your butcher & order a whole rabbit - it will be worth it!

We offer a no-choice, "you'll eat what you're fed dinner" at our Agriturismo and we have served this dish many many times - always with happy guests thanking us for giving them the opportunity to try something new & different that they probably would not have picked off a menu on their own. So the next time you see rabbit or coniglio - give it a shot!

This recipes like many many many in Italy, varies from region to region & house to house.

Coniglio alla Cacciatora (Rabbit in the style of the Hunter)- La Tavola Marche Agriturismo

Rabbit 3-3.5 lbs

1/2 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic

2-3 sprigs of sage

salt & pepper

2 cups wine vinegar

3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped

2-3 tablespoons capers

Clean the rabbit & cut into serving pieces. Wash is carefully & wipe dry.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan & sauté the rabbit pieces with garlic & sage until brown all over. Sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste. Dilute the vinegar with an equal amount of water & pour half of it into the pan.

Cover, lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes, adding most of the remaining vinegar, a little at a time, as the rabbit dries out.

When the rabbit is tender, transfer the pieces to a deep heated serving dish. Keep hot. Discard the garlic cloves. Stir the anchovies and capers into the sauces, and continue cooking & stirring until the anchovies are reduced to a paste.

Bring to a simmer and stir over a moderate heat until the sauces has thickened. Pour over the rabbit & serve immediately.

NOTE: Best served with roasted potatoes - patate al forno!

Monday, December 15

Fix Our Strada!

A full media blitz is underway to fix our road! Anyone who has stayed with us knows that our road - via Candigliano is full of holes! It's horrible & with the bad rainy weather it just keeps getting worse. This weekend we participated in our first Prostesta in Italia! We blocked the entrance of the street & gathered signatures for a petition to fix the road ASAP!

The locale newspaper & newstation were on-hand covering the protest!

Now, this must be noted- only in Italy will you find a protest complete with a table full of jugs of homemade wine, a little pecorino cheese, some salumi & bread. It was more like a picnic & social gathering among neighbors, friends & hunters.

Jason was in the paper in 2 different pictures for the protest! He is the crazy American with a bright red Canada sweatshirt! The story made the 7:30 Sunday evening news on TV last night! The local police showed up as well as the caribineri (military police) to see what the fuss was about. Nothing in Italy gets done quickly when it comes to government so if the road is repaired in 2009 sometime, we'll be happy.

Wednesday, December 3

Thanksgiving Leftovers

We celebrated Thanksgiving twice this year - one with Italians & one with Americans.

Last Sunday we threw "A Real American Thanksgiving" for our Italian friends (the closest translation to thanksgiving is ringraziamente). Italians obviously don't celebrate Thanksgiving & they are not accustomed to eating/cooking a turkey whole. So this was a spectacle for them, for sure! We ordered our turkey a week ahead from our butcher, when we came to pick it up - their eyes lite up with excitment - "ohhhh....we've only seen a whole roasted turkey in the movies! You always see them open the oven & out comes the turkey - whole!"

We decided to go all out for our Italian friends & neighbors - but that also meant no pasta! We made all the fixin's - from Butternut squash soup, cornbread stuffing (my fav!), mashed potatoes (again the Italians thought it was hysterical to see 'American potatoes done up like that!"), green beans & more - of course pies -pumpkin pie from scratch (no canned pumpkin can even be found) & good old apple pie!

(Jason modeling his sexy Italian housewife coat/apron)

The bird was fantastic - Jason was up at 4am - cooking it low & slow in the oven & then finishing it off at Gaggi's house in his brand new wood oven (with temperature gages to regulate the heat). Everyone stuffed themselves, it was great! I heard a few whispers - that this must be why American's are fatter because they eat like this EVERYday! Not true, not true ...

They cheered when the turkey was presented, took pictures with my grade school drawing of a turkey (you know when you trace your hand!) and lined up to take pictures with the real turkey!

After a few days of leftovers - we headed up north past Venice to Aviano and the American AirForce Base to celebrate Thanksgiving with Tina, Ryan & Wyatt as well as other Americans...but more importantly to watch football! It was fun to speak English, hang out with friends & go shopping on the base. It was great to veg out in sweats, play with the baby & this time Jason didn't have to cook!

Tuesday, December 2

Eating Your Way Through Le Marche! December 2008

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go!" (I sing that verse all the time, this time of year!) Well, this months festivities are more directed to the

lovers of Christmas, Santa, Babbo Natale, La Befana & holiday markets than just food ...'cause it's the holiday season!

December 2008

Pesaro

Candele dal mondo - 6th, 7th & 8th

Candles from the world - Christmas market of candles & crafts, exhibitions, musical entertainment, living nativity scene and local food & wine - all day. Free shuttle form 10am - 9:30pm. During the festivities they shut down all the lights of the town - only to be lite by candle-light!