"Life itself is the proper binge." — Julia Child

The start of winter in Northern Italy comes with what I like to call "culatello weather." Thick, thick white fog covers the damp ground not only in the morning mist, but throughout the dreary day and into the dark night. It is eerily the perfect backdrop for a scary movie and hibernating under the covers in bed all winter is the only source of salvation. Walking 3 minutes to and from class in this weather is one thing, but driving along unlit winding roads around the unfamiliar hills of Piemonte is another. After we left Torino, we followed Mapquest directions to a little town outside of Asti, where we had found a cheap b&b on Hostelworld.com the night before. It was barely 6pm and the sky was completely black and the fog surrounded us in Checky G along the single-car lane that weaved up and down and around the fog-veiled vineyards. We pulled up one driveway where we were greeted by invisible barking dogs that echoed in the dark. One house, despite a peak through the window, ignored our knocks and eventually came out to yell at us while another neighbour kindly gave us the correct directions as we nodded gratefully, despite the fragmented understanding of Italian. 

"Um, did you understand what she said?"

"Yeah, just take a right at the bottom of the hill, then after 15 or was it 50 meters there will be a cemetery with a big wall I think and um....yeah. We'll figure it out."

One more U-turn and another stop for directions we eventually found the little b&b, il Grappolo. We buzzed through the gate and were greeted by a befuddled man as we introduced ourselves. A woman came out, utterly confused and chattering away in Italian, but graciously invited us into her warm home where we were greeted by three yapping dogs. They hadn't received our reservation, hence the confusion, but told us the heat would be on in the guest house shortly and asked us if we would please stay for dinner. Of course! The couple ran the b&b for another family who owned it and worked mostly in the vineyard. Ana, the woman, called the family's daughter, Roberta, who spoke English and even though Ana and her husband talked to us as though we understood/spoke Italian fluently, it was nice to have an English translation.

Despite being unprepared for 4 extra people for dinner (Roberta's boyfriend also came) Ana whipped out the most extraordinary dinner as though she had been cooking all day - which she probably was - and apologized that she didn't have more food for us. Everything, including the wine, was homemade and from their garden. We started with antipasto of artichokes in oil with herbs, preserved red peppers with tuna, and crusty loafs of bread. Then we had a warm bowl of meaty minestrone soup with little round pasta floating on top. Next we had bollito and another kind of meat with different dipping sauces. And for dessert we had peaches and figs preserved in their own sweet juices. Ana was so enthusiastic about food and cooking. Her husband is gone for 12 hours a day so she cooks because she enjoys it. She showed us her cupboard full of preservatives, jams, jellys and oils. 

the family's wine

apricot, pear & nut, sambucco, ketchup, apple & onion, sofrito of 7 gusto (carrot, onion, celery, salt, parsley, basil oil - same ratio of each), fig, peach, prune, red tomato, salsa piccante, pepper & onion in agro-dulce, sundried peppers with white wine, garlic and anchovy; porcini, green tomato...the list goes on. They are preserved in sunflower oil because olive oil doesn't last long and the flavour is too strong. They also don't go bad because she uses old methods that take hours and hours and is done piece by piece. 

one shelf

two shelf.

three shelf.

i lost count shelf.

The next morning, you can imagine the breakfast feast she set up for us. Ana had a cafe with us and stayed to chat the entire time as we had bread with cured meats and various cheeses to go along with a tray of vegetable spreads and another one of fruity jams. There was cereal and muesli, yogurts, blood orange juice, three different types of cake and plastic-wrapped croissants. We probably could've stayed there all day talking with her, but Barolo and Monforte d'Alba beckoned us and we were on our way - not without promises to come back and stay with her - not the guesthouse - next time. 

From La Cucina Piemontese by Alessandro Molinari Pradelli

Cogna (o mostarda d'uva)
5L di mosto d'uva - grape must (this will reduce to half)
300g di fichi - fig
300g di mele cotogne - quince
300 g di pera Martin sec - pear
6 gherigli di noce - walnuts
10 nocciole sgusciate - shelled hazelnuts
2 chiodi di garofano - cloves
un frammento di cannla - a bit of cinnamon
-> base recipe, can add whatever fruit you like

In a large pot, cook the must over low heat until it is reduced by half or even less. Meanwhile, with a mortar and pestle, crush the walnuts, pine nuts, cloves and cinnamon. Add the chopped figs, quinces and pears (peeled and chopped) to the concentrated must and cook for another hour. Add the nutty paste, stir occasionally and cook for a few minutes until aromatic. Pour the mustard into glass jars and store in a cool place. To ensure, long aging, wrap the pots in a cotton cloth and place in a large pot to boil - this is a system to preserve any sauce.


Bagna Cudo
Signifies the end of the work in the vineyard. Don't boil, take it slowly so that all the flavours unite - appena appena!

200g acciughe salate (rosse di Spagne) - salted anchovy (Spanish Red)
6 spicci grossi di aglio - large garlic cloves
6 dl olio extra vergine di oliva - extra virgin olive oil
900g burro - butter
cardi gobbi - cardoons
2 limone - lemon, peperoni - pepper, topinambur - artichoke, cavolo - cabbage, porri - leeks, cipollotti - onions, rape bianche - turnips, mele - apples, zucca - pumpkin....