FORNO

Forno in English means oven and it is also what is referred to in Italy as a bakery. I love this style of bakery. The bread is baked in HUGE pieces- dense country loaves, slabs of soft and airy yet slightly crunchy foccacia, with out without tomato, and a small array of Panini/small bread= buns. You order your bread over the counter and they cut off the size of bread which you desire and the price is determined by weight. Here in Acuto at the Forno the bread is simply wrapped in newsprint. I think this is a great system, you can buy enough bread for one sitting, for a couple days, a week, whatever suits your fancy. The Forno in Acuto also acts as a small grocer so you can buy freshly sliced prosciutto and other meats, fresh cheeses including balls of fresh mozzarella, even a few fresh pastries. Today I bought 2 generous pieces of foccacia Bianca (no tomato), 4 large slices of Proscuitto, a large ball of fresh mozza and 500ml of purreed tomato’s for €6. The Mozza itself was €3.15- a splurge that was well worth it.

 I was intrigued by this particular mozzarella... it is usually stored in its watery brine in a plastic bag. This mozza was in separate thick paper bags which were all submerged in the same watery brine bath. So when you ordered one the extra water was shaken off then the wet paper bag was put into a plastic bag. This trick ensured that the cheese does not absorb too much water and become watered down- it works wonderfully. This mozza was more dense than the other fresh mozzarella I have had here. And trust me- I’ve made my rounds. I can’t say it was significantly better but the texture was recognizably different. Oh wow I love this cheese, I seriously can NOT get enough of it. I try to ration it, but when I know it’s in my fridge the temptation is far too strong. I love the way it somewhat peels apart, I love it’s mild yet obvious flavours, I love it with tomato, I love it with basil, I love it on bread, I love it with this olive oil, I love it cold, I love it hot and melty, I could just take a huge bite out of it like an apple. I will do that before I leave this country- eat fresh mozzarella like an apple.

The Fruit and Vegetable market in town is great as well, you can get most fruit and veg that you would get in your run of the mill grocer in North America. However, most of the fruit and veg is grown locally and the selection also includes the Italian favourites- artichokes, broccolini, chicory, cactus fruit (not sure of the correct name), things like this. Today I bought 3 tomatoes, a local navel orange, a huge pear and a lemon for €1.50.

I Love Chocolate!

This Pic is for you Mom!

About a month supply of Baci...

 We went to Perugia, Home of the famous Baci Chocolate, which means Kiss. It is a couple hours North of Rome, population 160,000. It is a beautiful place with the centre of the city elevated to overlook other parts of the city and rolling hills; I have been told it is comparable to Tuscany.

I was asked on Saturday if I would like to come to a chocolate festival. There is no way I could ever say no to such an offer; so Monday morning we took off for Perugia to take part in this marvellous celebration.

Streets flooded with vendors
and chocolate lovers

The centre of the city was covered in chocolate vendors from all over the world. Some had free samples, some had demonstrations and games, others just sold there goodies to the public. The Lindtt tent had a taste-test game, if you won, you got a free full-sized chocolate bar. Us cooks were up for the challenge, and 2 out of 3 of us won a bar. Needless to say the one who failed never heard the end of it for the rest of the day. The bar I got for winning is one of Lindtt’s newest creations and it didn’t last long. It’s dark chocolate with a sprinkle of caramel pieces and salt. Yum. The caramel wasn’t overly rich or sweet and had a pleasant crunch too it. Just enough salt is dusted over to enjoy a sweet and slightly savoury taste over dark chocolate - that I would imagine was around 70% which is not very bitter.

Cute- Cheese and Salami Chocolate

I should have bought the Scotch Bonnet and Rum!

I tried a piece of dark chocolate from Venezuela, it was intensely bitter at first, it made my mouth salivate it was so bitter. This was very intriguing to me so I continued and by the last bite the flavour had nicely settled and somewhat rounded out. The milk chocolate from Venezuela was delicious… since the chocolate itself was so bitter the added milk made it perfect and not too sweet for my palate.

There was also a stand with Mexican chocolate, here they offered us: a roasted cocoa bean which they dipped in a fresh lime and then in cocoa powder. This was very interesting in flavour. It was crunchy and slightly smoky tasting from being roasted and the lime and cocoa powder made for great seasoning and balance.

Brut was intriguing to me...

The best investment I made this day was chocolate covered coffee beans. These are not unheard of, you can get them at most bulk food stores but I just love them. The beans are roasted and crunchy and the chocolate so creamy. I got a mixed pack of white, milk and dark- the dark is the best.

Cocoa pod and roasted cocoa beans

Not every flavour I had at the chocolate festival was satisfying, one of the samples was a VERY sweet cherry covered in dark chocolate. It was just gross. I have also never been a fan of orange and chocolate. I tried a piece of this at Lindtt, orange and pistachio- another new one- I thought maybe with the pistachio I would enjoy the orange. But no, the orange is far too overpowering for me and the flavour of it stuck with me for too long. However, if you are into orange chocolate this might be a different story for you.

Centre Square

As much as I enjoyed the chocolate festival and admiring the interesting chocolates the vendors were selling, I would love to see Perugia without the streets being flooded with tents and Disney-like advertisements. I will go back one day and sit in the square to enjoy a Baci!

Side streets of Perugia

Caprese Salad

Caprese in Perugia. Best.

I LOVE Caprese Salad for 5 reasons:
Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, Sliced Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, Olive Oil, Salt.
All of the above were made to be paired with each other. And yes, I do believe that each of those ingredients deserves to be capitalized, that’s just how good they are.

Fresh Mozzarella in Italy, I have learned, is much better than any of the junk you can buy at the grocery store in Canada- unless you are shopping at a very pricey place and the imports are legit. It’s better simply because it’s slightly seasoned and it’s not watered down. I look for any excuse to eat a ball of this cheese, a caprese being my first choice of course but several foods work very well as a vessel in which to eat it. Like this one...

A Quick Lunch..
Hot garlic-ized carrots with salumi, foccacia and Fresh Mozzarella.

 The flavours of a caprese are perfectly complimentary- the sweetness and acid of the tomatoes perfectly compliment and pair with the mild richness of the mozzarella. The basil provides the perfect addition of liquoricey and green-leaf flavour. While the olive oil brings out the earthiness and tang needed to satisfy every corner of your palate. Of course a couple pinches of salt brings the Caprese family together.

I finally had my beloved Caprese while visiting Perugia, at the cutest little family run restaurant. We were greeted by a little lady in an apron as she rushed around to bring us menus and the other tables their food. A few moments later her husband appeared to take care of the front of house while she remained in the kitchen- yet still running the food to tables and chatting with the customers.

Roberto post lunch..
Found this gem on a side street in downtown Perugia

Thinking:
"F*ck off with the Camera! I'm trying to eat this cheese!"

 This Caprese was slightly different; there was no basil on it! I couldn’t help but be disappointed until I took my first bite. The tomatoes had a light sprinkle of dried oregano which complimented the tomatoes and cheese alike. The mozzarella in this caprese in particular was the star. It was a gigantic piece of cheese, but I must say I loved the ratio…I was able to enjoy a big bite of cheese with each tomato.

Didn't stand a chance...

When in Rome!

Chef Tassa (Right) accepting another 3 forks!

 In Europe each country has a restaurant ranking system unique to themselves. In Italy they are ranked by a number of forks; from 1-3 by the Gambero Rosso Organization.

http://www.gamberorosso.it/en/

I have yet to learn all about the organization but I am aware that they started off with just the critique of wine and have naturally moved onto food. They are very well known throughout the country to anyone who knows a pinch about food, so if you ever come to Italy and are seeking the best food and wine, you should buy the Gambero Rosso guide: http://www.gamberorosso.it/article?product=1770&id=260213 I also know that they hold two very well equipped city centres in Rome and Naples. http://www.gamberorosso.it/home_page_city The centre in Rome is even completed with a culinary school.

On October 11^th, I was lucky enough to experience the kitchens at the Gambero Rosso City Centre in Rome. Chef Tassa received 3 forks, yet again, so this night was a celebration of such calibre of chefs from around the country. A city centre dedicated to the culinary arts at this quality would never be found in North America, this place is four floors of culinary heaven. On the 3^rd floor where I worked there is a 4 kitchen to 1x 150 seat dining room ratio. The kitchens have top of line everything all of the gas and more so induction burners were enough to get me excited. In 2 of these 4 kitchens one could close some divider doors and turn on a cooling system which chills the room like a giant fridge in order to chill your plates for plating cold courses, like dessert.

This evening chef was paired with another chef and they served a 6 course meal together, both chefs did an antipasto (appetizer), then they each served two courses.

I arrived at the venue with the other stager and chefs two wingmen- the sous chef and pastry cook- several hours early in order to finish some last minute prep. My job was to clean the most beautiful white truffles which took about 3-4 hours.

The truffles..

My heaven will smell like white truffles.

Chef was in a great mood this day, some of the students from the school in the building stuck around to volunteer their time and meet some of the best chefs in the country. Several of these students were female so chef was all smiles while answering any of the questions.

A couple hours into truffle cleaning chef demanded a meal, so we all enjoyed spaghetti pomodoro strung about the kitchen.

Television interview

We had a couple of hours to kill before dinner was finally served, chef was interviewed which was entertaining to watch. I didn’t know the questions being asked but Chef is a man of few words, why change for a television interview? The answers could have been about 4 words but it sounded like one to me. Chef also demonstrated plating the dessert he was serving that evening, when asked what the dish was called he said “Terra” and shrugged his shoulders and giggled.

Plating Terra

"Listening in" on the interview

Wild Rabbit non-Lasagna with White Truffle and Rabbit Demi

Service went very smoothly, our appetizer is chefs famous Onion, served as a primi course at the restaurant. This dish put chef on the map and he has been known for it for 20 years.

The other chef served his two courses next

Then Chef Tassa served a version of his Wild Rabbit “Lasagna”- minus the pasta extra white truffles. During this I was serving the sauce which is a very strong and rich rabbit reduction and is served on the side so the diner can enjoy the flavours at his or her own discretion; too much of this sauce would over power the entire dish. During service, as I ladled an ounce of sauce into itsy bitsy dishes careful not to graze the white rims, I glanced over at Chef. Caught red handed- the other Chef was popping HUGE pieces of white truffle into his mouth! My back had been toward him this entire time so he thought he was being sneaky- the guy must have eaten 200 Euro’s worth of truffle. I was jealous.

Terra- Chocolate and Hazelnut Mousse,
Raspberry and Currant coulis, Vanilla lentils,
Green tea, orange and juniper.

After dessert was served Chef mingled amongst his fans as we chatted in the kitchen- which we didn’t have to clean, first time for everything. The service staff started to bring in bottles of wine. These bottles were full, or close too it, 2003’s, 4s and 5s, so we all had a serious taste test- it’s all about quality control. 

Chef's Main Men- Sous, Stager, Ex-Sous and Pastry

First Impressions

I finally made it to Acuto. After a very hung over trip to Rome from Munich and a couple sprints through the Rome Central Station, 68 km later, here I am. I plan to Stage (en francais, means "work experience" or "to apprentice",- I provide free labor and get a place to live and a couple meals a day in return) for 2 months at the restaurant Le Colline Ciociare under Chef Salvatore Tassa.
http://nymag.com/nymetro/food/features/14837/

October 5th, 2010

Day one of work just ended. I am home at 11:17pm and I started at about 6, not bad. Tuesdays will always be great for that, Wednesday- Saturday however we work 10am-4, then 6-11:30,12ish, and Sundays we work 10am-3:30. So I realize I will soon grow to love my 2 hour breaks as well as my kilometre walk all up hill at the end of every shift- no joke. And the last 400m are as about as straight up as it gets.. perhaps I will arrive home with buns of steel. Having said that, with the amount of pasta I am eating I highly doubt it, but I will try. Anyways, I met the sous chef tonight who is great, he speaks a tad of English which is helpful and another stagé is here from Toronto, he obviously speaks English so that was a great welcome on my first day. There is also a Pastry Chef, Roberto but he wasn’t here tonight. Chef overlooks what is going on during service in the kitchen and plates a few dishes. He also makes a point to talk with the guests a fair bit, sometimes he switches things around on the menu according to the conversations he has with his guests, which he did tonight.

I was a little worried at the beginning of the shift to be honest with you because the prep was so incredibly minimal; more time was spent on family dinner. But, need not worry… it was all under control in the organized chaos that is a kitchen.

Chef really brags about his sous, any chef should because they really need to trust them which is very hard for a controlling chef to do. Then chef said- out of 3 chefs, 1 is good.- No pressure or anything. Then I learned that the sous was nominated to go to a competition in Italy where the best 60 chefs in the whole country are invited and he came 4^th! Very impressive! And he looks quite young.

Today the only thing I made was pasta dough. I was given the recipe: 3 egg yolks, 125g of flour, 30g of water. I didn’t know how much you are supposed to knead the dough. The sous chef was just starring at me while I was kneading it which was very nerve racking then he asked- who teach you?- I didn’t know what to say because they didn’t teach us to make pasta dough like that in chefs school, I was just kneading it because he told me too, so I said- it’s good?- he was very impressed, then started making fun of the guy from Toronto. Moments later Chef came over and also starred over my shoulder, he soon after took it from me and showed me the real way to do it, damn he was good. . . so I copied, and I think I’ve got it down, it was smooth as a babies bum by the time I was done with it.

Lasagnawild rabbit, red onion, herbs, mozzarella, pasta and white truffle

As the courses rolled out through the evening starting at about 8:40ish, I just watched and jumped in when I could or was instructed too. I was happy to do this on day one, it gave me a chance to see how everything ran, the pace of the service, etc. The menu was very impressive- from what I was able to try it was absolutely incredible. I lost count of the courses but there must have been at least 8 or 9 or something, this is including a number of snacks, the main meal and two dolce (sweet) courses.  Nothing on the menu looked overly complicated, the flavours are clean and honest which I really appreciate, the plating is beautiful and fairly simple.

I will have pictures of more of the food soon!

Munchen Haus!

Munich is great. Oktoberfest in Munich is AMAZING!

If you are into beer, or of you are into lederhosen, or if you are into boobs, or if you are into Beer, or if you are into LOUD people, or if you are into Beer, or if you are into forming bruises and/or calluses on your hands where you hold the beer, then you might just enjoy Oktoberfest!

The first thing I consumed in Munich were gigantic raspberries that a street vendor was selling, they were only 1 Euro and were the size of my thumb. The vendor was also selling these beautiful local mushrooms. I love mushroom season. 

With all the beer I was consuming at Oktoberfest I really wasn’t feeling very hungry the first couple days. I was on a solely beer-based diet. This lasted until one morning, heading to the tents and I was craving the bratwurst- aka Oktoberfest sausage. I was expecting the sausages to be really big like the ones in grocery stores at home. But they are much skinnier so you get 2 on a bun! Amazing. The meat to bun ratio is perfect and I wanted it traditional Munchen style, so I had it with a sweet mustard. Those bad boys did not last long. You can get food in the Oktoberfest tents but its quite pricey and I was also focused on my stein, not eating.

Pork Knuckle

The Saturday morning of Oktoberfest was insane, it was 10am and the group of us could not find a seat in any tent. So we left the fair grounds and went to Augustiner Brau. If you ever go to Munich, despite the time of year, I suggest this place for great beer and some traditional fare with great prices. Te place was packed, with mostly locals- which is always a good sign when looking for some good, local food. I saw the spatzle on my way in and I knew I had to have it. So the dish I ordered was served in the pan and it was 2 pork chops with acreamy mushroom sauce and cheesy spatzle topped with crispy onions. The portions were huge! I can put away a lot of food and I couldn’t even eat half, but I wanted it, so bad. The spatzle was very tasty and the onions were perfectly crisp, they had been dredged in seasoned flour and fried, it added perfect texture to the spatzle. The pork chops were perfectly cooked, topped with a touch of parsley andthe sauce was so flavourful with a demi-glace and a touch of cream and mushrooms. It was rich, but it was very tasty.

Other things I tasted at Augustiner Brau:

Cheesy Spatzle and Pork Chops

-          Pork Knuckle- It has clearly been cooked for a long time, either braised (in liquid) or just dry roasted. Slow and low was the key for this gem. The skin was wonderfully crisp and the pork fat had perfectly basted the tender, juicy meat. This was served with a traditional potato dumpling with a rich sauce/demi-glace. The dumpling looks like a perfectly round peeled potato but its very soft and moist, almost a soggy-like bread, it was very heavy and somewhat bland. An afterthought compared to this fabulous pork knuckle.

-          Tasting plate made up of: Grilled meatball- pork, perfectly seasoned, grilled, enough said- 2 thumbs up. Grilled ravioli- I got really excited for this one, it was good, but slightly disappointing. I’m not sure the name but it was a ball of stuffing/dressing, bread, pork, herbs, seasoning, it was great as well. And all of this plus a pork chop was served in the pan with the same creamy mushroom sauce.

Tasting plate

-          Weiner schnitzel- Perfection. Must be pan friend in butter. I love how it was served, I think there were 3, maybe only 2 huge pieces on a plate, a bowl of fries and a bowl of salad. That salad was the only greens on the table and they were not touched.

Oktoberfest food:

-          Rotisserie Chicken- at Oktoberfest around 500,000 chickens are consumed. This was definitely the best rotisserie chicken I have ever eaten. Now, I was drinking, drinking a lot, so forgive me if you disagree. However, the skin was so crispy and perfect and not overly season, I could eat a plate of the skins alone no problem. The chicken itself was very juicy and moist, it was clearly made with lots of love.

The beloved warm pork "bologna"

-          One of the best things I ate was also on the fair grounds. I cant remember what it’s called but it looks like a loaf of bread but it’s like a pork bologna almost, it’s served warm with the sweet grainy mustard in a bun. YUM. It was good, I took pictures of the people serving it, I think I did that because I also couldn’t figure out if he was a man or a woman. I had one of these sandwiches and went right back for another.

I must go back to Oktoberfest next year, I am very excited to go eat and drink there again!