What I miss #7: Italy Revisited in New York City.

 After my cheese interview, I was craving some and had heard about this Italian food store that was in the area. As Di Palo's came into my view from across the street, I was really excited and even more excited when I stepped in and it was like being back in Italy. The store was filled with a great selection of high quality extra virgin olive oils, real balsamic vinegar, pastas and grains, jarred vegetables and sauces, counters and displays of various cheeses and antipasta dishes, and of course, huge cured meats hanging from the wall. 

 The signs indicated where the meats and cheeses were from in Italy, but the culatello one did not. So, I waited in line until I was able to get assisted by the guy who looked like he was in charge. "Where is the culatello from?" He explained to me that it was their own culatello because they are not allowed to import it from Italy yet due to US regulations. He asked me how I knew it and I explained about UNISG and said that a group from UNISG was just in last week and they were shown how they make their own mozzarella. I was like, wait, I know the tutor who was with them - Sandro! He graduated with me. So he knew all about slow food and UNISG because his brother also graduated from there. He brought me behind the counter to show me the window where they were making the mozzarella - THEY WERE MAKING CHEESE! He kept cracking jokes that I didn't catch on to fast enough (showing two different mortadellas he called male and female. He points to one with pistachios and he goes "you know why this is the male one right?" < insert my confused face, trying desperately not to seem like I didn't know anything after spending a year in Italy > "because this one has nuts." < delayed laugh > It was so fun, I felt like I was on my own stage.

 I asked him how he picked what he carries in his store because it all looked like pretty high-quality producers and he said that his brother and his son go to Italy a couple times a year and selects what they want and also have a Italian-only wine store next door and they know most of the producers - what a cool job! Even though the store was pretty busy, he took the time to talk with me - incredibly knowledgeable about the products and extremely proud of his family and their store. After he showed me a picture of his grandparents and the video of old photographs from the store and of his family, I left with my goodies absolutely delighted with what a great place, just like being back in Italy. I didn't think I'd ever make it out of Little Italy. He even said "ciao" as I left. I can't wait to go back. 

 All sorts of pasta in Little Italy. 

ciao ciao bene!

Come and visit Di Palo's Fine Foods, in the heart of Little Italy, 200 Grand Street in New York City.

M-Sat 9:00 AM- 6:30 PM

Sun 9:00 AM- 4:00 PM

First Meal in Ireland.

So after living, eating and drinking my way through Italy for the last year, what did I have as my first meal in Ireland? Rose Petal Risotta, brought from Italy

 as well as some 24 and 30 month old Parmigiano Reggiano from the farm in Colorno as well as some slices of Culatello di Zibello from Al Vedel.

Still not sick of it. 

Al Vedel

I ate at Al Vedel twice. Once for lunch with Arina and Asher and then for dinner (the next day) with mum and Arina. I didn't take pictures of everything we ate, but everything was delicious - maybe it was gone too quickly before I had a chance to snap a photo. 

La speciale selezione di tre stagionature di Culatelli di Zibello dop 16-26-38 mesi con focaccia  a lievitazione naturale 

we also had: Involtini di melanzana con crema di ricotta e ombrina, ragù di scampi al frutto della passione 

and

Bourguignonne di lumache con crema di aglio dolce " Cerasaro" e cestino di patate croccante

Ravioli di verza, crema allo zafferano e chips di cotechino 

Pappardelle di pasta rustica al ragù di cervo

Anolini parmigiani in brodo di carne

we also had: Risotto con salame fresco e funghi porcini

Sella di cinghiale  al  Barolo, tartar di filetto al tartufo nero e giardiniera di verdure

Terrina di coscia di lepre, arrostino di sella

Maialino da latte croccante con cipollotti fondenti e riso

house wine.

Crostatina calda alla crema di limone e meringa, frutta fresca 

we also had: Semifreddo " Bacio di Parma" con salsa profumata al nocino

Podere Cadassa

Here are some pics from when I worked with the butchers:

Culatello di Zibello being tied and hung

Luciano putting the ground up pork meat into the intestinal lining

salami!

Tying the salami. 

Cutting the fat off. 

Shaving the skin off the leg.

Spalla cotta - wrapping and tying.

Riccardo salting the spalla cotta

Spalla cotta is the shoulder

Wrapping it to keep it's shape.

the salting process. 

culatello hanging in the cellar. 

DOP

open windows for the culatello to absorb the "culatello weather"

Things I've learned So Far in my Internship part 5:

Work nightmares still continue. But as I've moved on from Secundo to Dolce to Macelleria - they now involve culatello sponge cakes with chantilly cream frosting.
How to tie a culatello in an entwined spiderweb network.
That twine is the traditional and best way to tie culatello.
The twine will give you blisters. Even when you're not strong enough to pull hard enough.
Viscichetta means blister.
Legs are bought based on weight.
They pigs come from different farms in the area, but they must eat feed with Parmigiano Reggiano whey in it.
That pancetta is cured between wooden blocks and needs a good brush dusting.
Watched how the salami (strolghino) is spewed into intestines.
How to tie salami into sections. Well. Not quite mastered that yet. I feel knotslexic.
Salami Gentile is wrapped in rectum instead of intestine.
How to scratch the rectum covering and poke it with a fork to let the water drain.
How to tie the Gentile so it stays straight while curing.
Busy cured meat/culatello time is Oct-Feb
It used to be just Dec and Jan when the weather was coldest and just right, but now the Consorzio requires the meat to be hung in refrigerated rooms, cella, so now they can produce more meat over a longer amount of time.
It was thought that the meat hanging in damp cellars was not sanitary.
How to clean a piece of shoulder by removing it's fat.
That glands on the shoulder when cooked are bad.
That a pig's leg is shaved, then cut into a culatello (rear) piece and a fiocchetta (front) piece and then broken down into meat and thick fatty skin bits to be cooked to pork scratchings aka ciccioli
While working, huge chunks of meat can fly pass your face.
Metal gloves, no matter how large and taped around your wrist, are finger-savers.
That I dont understand why anyone trusts me and a knife anywhere near their food...
How to tie fiochetta with twine without chafing new blisters on top of the post-culatello-tying blisters.
Blisters hurt. Damn.
Like prosciutto di parma, culatello is quality-checked using a horse bone pin to smell and a knocking hammer to check for air. A hollow sound is a bad sign and means that the culatello was not cut or closed properly as water remained and spoiled the meat.
I'm fascinated by the quality-control skills of the nose.
These cured meats are truly artisinal - all hand made, lots of labour of love.
The older the culatello, the better flavour.
The smell of meat stays with you, absorbs into your clothes, seeps into your hair, a constant reminder on your fingers. 

Culatello from the Po Valley: "You can't just eat good food. You've got to talk about it too. And you've got to talk about it to somebody who understands that kind of food." — Kurt Vonnegut (Jailbird)

"....è la mia terra: la Bassa Parmense, la pianura emiliana in riva al Po. Qui la passione politica arriva spesso ad una intensità preoccupante: eppure questa gente è simpatica ed ospitale e generosa e ha uno spiccato senso d'umorismo.
Deve essere il sole, un sole maledetto che martella i cervelli durante tutta l'estate.
Oppure deve essere la nebbia, una nebbia cupa che opprime i cervelli durante tutto l'inverno.
....Per me il Po comincia a Piacenza, e fa benissimo perché è l'unico fiume rispettabile che esista in Italia: e i fiumi che si respettano si sviluppano in pianura, perché l'acqua è roba fatta per rimanere orizzontale, e soltanto quando è perfettamente orizzontale l'acqua conserva tutta la sua naturale dignità.
Le cascate del Niagara sono fenomeni da baraccone, come gli uomini che camminano sulle mani."

        - Giovannino Guareschi.

......


"Proprio nelle parole di Guareschi si possono cogliere tutti gli elementi che contribuiscono a creare l'unicità della Bassa e del Culatello: la gente ☺, il Po ~~, la nebbia ☁ e il caldo afoso☀. I pochi, piccoli, semplici, ma magici e preziosi segreti del Culatello di Zebello e del suo speciale legame con la Bassa Parmense, risiedono quindi nel particolare e felice connubio tra la sapienza delle genti, lo spirito del luogo e il clima di questa terra."

         - Elisabetta Bertuzzi, Il Culatello di Zibello da prodotto a marca

I TIED THIS CULATELLO!

UNISG Internships

"you can develop taste, but passion is certainly a genetic thing, like a good ear for music." Judith Jones

Not only have I loved my experience during my stage so far, I love being in Colorno with my friends/other students who are doing their own independent studies and get to learn what they are experiencing. 

Arina for example, is studying the "obscure" left-over/less popular meats like brain, liver, tripe, and pork skin for example. Not only has she been cooking and eating with nonnas and Italians all over the boot, she made a delicious chicken liver pate the other day. (liver is apparently, according to Massimo Bottura, very good for the health of women). and yes, it was very good. 

 Brittany is exploring birra artigianale -  artisinal Italian breweries and brought over a P.i.L.S beer from Pausa Cafe in Torino. I believe it is a brewery inside a jail where prisoners can learn a course on brewing beer. Not only is it a good cause, it's full of floral hops and bright gold in colour. deliciously sinful.

Poppi also went with Brittany to Piemonte to discover the legal world of Robiola di Roccaverano. She brought back cheese that was made 4 days earlier (four days!) as well as an aged Robiola. The fresh cheese was moist and melted in your mouth, not too sticky like some goat cheeses. The mature cheese was full of flavour and relentlessly irresistible to eat. 

"I am not a glutton - I am an explorer of food"
— Erma Bombeck

things that are impossible to do in culatello weather.

 * Walk a dog and still be able to see it.

* Run on the sidewalks without swerving into oncoming street poles.

* Drive with one headlight.

* Trust anyone to drive.

* Expect your hair to stay straight. 

*  Not have your make-up drip off your wet face.

* Not have your hair stick to your head from the wet air's humidity.

* To be able to see without squinting to see a meter in front of you.

* Ride along the river's dyke path.

* Be warm with 37 layers on while riding your bike to work.

* Feel like you're not in a horror movie.

* To think about anything except culatello.

* To think that, after everything we've learned, it's pretty cool that this is what they talk about when they mean terroir - it's the fog that gives prosciutto and culatello it's parma status.

* Wonder why you're not in sunny Sicily...

Tortelli d'Italia: a Colorno event not to be Missed

Whenever there's a town event in Colorno, it has proved to be a day not to be missed. For being a small town, and for being an Italian town, the events are extremely well organized and put together with impressive turn outs. Colorno comes alive and I can never understand where all the people who fill the cobblestoned Piazza Garibaldi come from. This past Saturday, 10 October, was no such exception with Terzo Gran Gala del Tortel Dols, the Third Grand Gala of Tortel Dols. We learned about it the previous week from pamphlets when we returned from Spain and despite ambitious plans to visit Sienna for the weekend, timing-wise I knew the trip wouldn't work out, but I also knew I didn't want to miss this all-day dedication to sweet tortelli's. Even the students that live in Parma came for it. 

chestnut, creme, ricotta filled pastries

Market stalls selling Parma area-typical cured meats, cheeses, preserved foods in jars, pastries and knick-knack home goods lined the streets leading to the piazza in the center of town which was bombarded with more stalls and giant tents covering lectured conferences led by food-industry chefs and critics, pasta-making demonstrations, and tables to sit and eat the area's specialty foods being prepared by resident volunteers. 

il famoso chef Massimo Bottura dell’Osteria Francescana e il giornalista e critico Enzo Vizzari, delle Guide de L’Espresso

busy Piazza Garibaldi in Colorno

The event was not only sponsored by neighborhood businesses but by the Brotherhood of Tortel Dols - the pasta has it's own fraternity! As we sat down under the tent to encounter the over-priced pasta so apparently typical of the region it has its own festival and brotherhood, yet having never tasted in the last eight months of living here (I guess that's the whole point of it's rediscovery and promotion) we sat at a round table next to one reserved for one of the Brotherhood "sects." Decked out in velvet robes, medallions, badges, and even tortelli-shaped hats, these men and women must have an incredibly strong affinity for this traditional pasta, rich in quirky history and cultural curiosities. 

As these costumes became more frequent within the crowd, we were able to divert our attention back to the guest of honour: tortel dols. A pile of just under a dozen ragged-edged stuffed pasta sat on a flimsy plastic plate, in a light tomato based sauce and sprinkled with Parmigiano Reggiano, some melted into the sauce while thicker clumps contrasted white like freshly powdered snow.  Biting into it was unexpectedly sweet, despite the name Tortel Dols, sweet tortelli, the prune and fig fruit flavors we distinguished are not typical pasta fillings one is accustomed to. The light tomato-based sauce doused in butter and parmesan was a savory and complimentary contrast to the firm pasta (the Italians know al dente to a tee) which enveloped the jammy filling.

culinary kudos.

Of course no meal highlighting the gastronomic specialities of Parma would be complete without some cured meat and the infamously crusty, potentially lethal Parma bread roll. Maybe not the best accompanying dish to sweet tortelli, but with bottles of Ceci lambrusco and Malvasia popping around us, some good friends who bought enough cheese and epicurean delights for the night's dinner together, along with a sunny early-fall Sunday to enjoy with no class the next morning, it was all together the perfect combination. 

Once again, Colorno out did itself, by bringing people together and reinforcing its pride in its local culture, history, and traditions seamlessly entwined in gastronomy.

According to legendary folklore, Maria Luiga, Napolean's wife who lived in the regal palace which is our University, would make tortel dols for Po River boatmen and the sweet filling represented it being made from the heart, for her sweet hearts. I think. At least this is my won interpretation. Google Translate sucks. and my Italian is embarrassingly bad.

According the website's recipe, the reason why we couldn't pinpoint the flavours or ingredients makes complete sense:

The original recipe Tortel DOLS FILED WITH THE FELLOWSHIP 
INGREDIENTS FOR 100 TORTELLI 

MUSTARD (Home-made): 
1.50 kg perry noble (a type of pear...)
1.50 kg pumpkin mustard (white cucumber) (how are these related)
1 kg of quinces 
2 lemons sliced 
3 cups of sugar for every kilo of fresh fruit 

Clean and slice the fruit. 
Allow to marinate overnight with the sugar. 
The next day, pour the sauce that has formed and boil for 
a few minutes to discover the pot and then pour it over the whole fruit. 
Continue with this for three days. 
On the fourth day boil the whole pot in discovery for two hours. 
Allow to cool and add 1 g of mustard (you buy in 
pharmacy) per kg of fruit. 
Pot. (just pot.)
The chutney will be ready after two months. (woah)

FILLING: 

6 hg mustard 
1.5 gr of breadcrumbs. 
1 liter of boiled wine (made by boiling grape juice fermented 24 hours, so it remains one of three parts) as needed 
if you prefer less sweet filling add two tablespoons of plum jam. 
Good mulled wine to warm (not boiling), and scorching the bread. 
When it is cool add the mustard, finely chopped (Including the slices of lemon). 
Mix all handmade. 
It must be a mixture too dry but rather soft, so, if necessary, add more mustard. 
Let stand a couple of days. 
To make the pastry as usual.

John & Sheelagh come to Italy! Emilia Romagna.

so after 6 weeks of summer holidays and 2 days of school learning all about parmigiano reggiano and one morning learning about food economics, came the much anticipated arrival of my parents. i couldn't wait to show them around my life in Colorno - in three minutes flat - "well, this is all of it," - to reintroduce mum to team zinzani after the initial awkwardness back in March when none of us knew each other, to see Dad again as there was a slight possibility work would hold him up, and for the itinerary I planned over the summer as tour guide extraordinaire to finally come to fruition. unfortunately i had forgotten all of my italian over the summer holidays but hopefully they wouldn't mind.

first stop: a quick tour around the University and gardens, an introduction to friends, a hello to the tutors, and then lunch in piazza garibaldi. obligatory: the cured meat plate. pasta. and wine. unfortunately, our favourite local friend and waiter, san daniele, had moved to parma and there was a new guy. how was i supposed to impress my parents know with knowing the locals and speaking the language? so instead of one cured meat plate enough for 3 - we got 3 cured meat plates. i looked at it in horror, having had enough cured meat over the last seven months, but then, of course, ate it anyways. my wonderful italian skills and lack of communication with the new guy also lead us to only having one pasta dish instead of the two regional dishes I wanted my parents to try, but that turned out in our favour as it was way too much food anyways. typical. a perfect introduction for john and sheelagh to life in italy!

a walk around beautiful parma filled the sunny afternoon and then we rushed back in the bigger than an-IQ rental car to Colorno to meet some of the students at where else, but the pub! it was so nice for everyone to come and meet my parents although i'm sure when drinks are involved it doesn't take much convincing. we sat outside drinking bubbly prosecco's and bright orange spritz's while mauro spoiled us with large platters of more cured meat. a typical wednesday afternoon in Colorno. bliss.

then it was off to Antica Corte Pallavicina to show my parents where we all fell in love on our first stage. it's a beautiful old castle estate and farm in the countryside - found only by taking the windy yet extremely flat scenic route of emilia romagna - complete with its own large garden of vegetables and a courtyard fluttered with peacocks. we had a lovely apartment-style room that I could have easily moved into with views of the cows munching on muddy grass outside and the roosters that would wake us up in the morning. 

wedding destination #1

dressed up and ready for dinner, we started with some aged parmesan cheese ("how old is this parmigiano reggiano? 32 months. and where is it from? from our mountain cows' milk.") along with some extremely soft melt in your mouth homemade sausage, freshly made bread, and fizzy house lambrusco. we then had a tour of Massimo Spigaroli's famous culatello-curing cellar where I'm not sure if Arina and I impressed or embarrassed the tour guide with our extensive knowledge of cured meats when she wasn't able to answer the other guests' questions. future cured meat tour-guide job? possibly. my parents gasped, breathed in the intoxicating meaty smell, and laughed in amazement at all the round cured meat wrapped in bladder, tied in twine, and individually labeled, which hung from the ceiling and along the walls but by now, this was a pretty standard sight for us.

the dampness (from the proximity of the po river) of the cellar is crucial for the culatello curing process and the Spigaroli's know exactly when to open and close the windows - unlike many climate-controlled prosciutto di parma facilities. it keeps the meat soft and ensures it's unique characteristic. culatello is a boneless chunk of meat from the largest muscle from the rear of the pig. it is a PDO product made only in 8 villages within a restricted area as anywhere else doesn't have the knowledge or the specific terroir-ic conditions to make it. it is cured only in the winter months, from october to march, for a minimum of 12 months in which the winter humidity and the po river-low valley fog ensure a long and slow drying process. 

breathing in the damp cellar's lovely yet unforgettable aromas of cured meats and the nearby po river humid winds blowing through the windows.

"no, you can't make prosciutto di parma and culatello because culatello comes from this upper part but with all the leftover meat you can make finocco and salami's......"

"and over here is prince charles' culatello, and here is armani's and marchesi over here"

the tour ended with seeing the parmigiano reggiano storage and where they used to pack ice outside. dinner then followed as we entered into the dimly-lit restaurant built with two large glass walls on either side - one overlooking the vine-draped courtyard and the other into the dark countryside which was occasionally being lit up by a fantastic lightening storm in the distance. the restaurant uses local and home grown fruits, vegetables and animals. Arina and I chose the two different eight-course tasting menus, recommended by friends, while my parents chose two dishes each, overwhelmed by the amount of food they had already eaten that day.

?

Il Podio dei Culatelli di suino bianco 18 mesi e 27
del presidio Slow Food, di "Nera Parmigiana" di 37 mesi e giardiniera di Corte

Gli gnocchi di rana con ortaggi verdi e fiori di zucchine

I tortelli di erbette alla parmigiana

I ravioli di lumache fondenti in sfoglia di granoturco
con foglie di rapa rossa e fiori 

I soffici ai tre parmigiani in minestra tiepida di verdure

Il filetto di rombo in ristretto di gamberi rossi,
tortino di fagiolini e acciughette

La faraona ricoperta di culatello cotta nella creta del Po
accompagnata dai nostri ortaggi

Il petto d'anatra pezzata nera in crosta di aromatiche e le sue verdure 

La selezione dei Parmigiani: dalle cantine: i parmigiani di pianura , collina, montagna, 

vacche rosse, vacche brune, vacche bianche

lesson learned, years later repeated from a bad reaction in paris, i am still allergic to frog legs.