{"id":6702,"date":"2019-04-02T09:00:59","date_gmt":"2019-04-02T15:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/?p=6702"},"modified":"2023-04-27T15:28:30","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T22:28:30","slug":"calabria-dispatch-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/2019\/04\/02\/calabria-dispatch-18\/","title":{"rendered":"Calabria Dispatch #17: A Cat Named Pancetta and a Pizza Called Amnesia"},"content":{"rendered":"

April 2, 2019<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Friday, March 22nd was the first day of a five-day break at school.\u00a0 I headed for the airport in Lamezia Terme and boarded a RyanAir jet bound for Pisa.\u00a0 Cousin Massimo was meeting me at the airport and taking me to Benabbio to spend a few days with him and Zia Fidalma.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Cavoletto, a wild green that Massimo and I picked from the plot that contains their olive trees.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The flight was uneventful but boarding was a bit chaotic.\u00a0 Though it seems to vary on different routes, RyanAir basically has three levels of tickets:\u00a0 Cattle Call, Priority, and Priority with Expedited Check-in.\u00a0 Priority sounds like a good thing since you get priority boarding (there\u2019s no such thing as boarding by row or group number in Italy) until you realize that more than half the plane has bought Priority; mostly so they can bring more than a toothbrush onboard.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The house in which my father-in-law grew up along the River Lima at Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII (Pope John Paul XXIII Avenue) #1 in Fornoli. It’s on the market for 150,000 Euros.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before the announcements start at the gate, passengers start forming into a mob, polite mind you, but still a mob, stretching from the gate agent outwards, filling any possible space in the boarding area.\u00a0 Apparently, this is Priority but unless you\u2019ve flown RyanAir before, you wouldn\u2019t know.\u00a0 Till I figured out what was going on (which really taxed my minimal Italian), I was only a few passengers from the end of the mob.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Dubbed “Casa Pieri” by Zia Fidalma and Massimo, the house in which my father-in-law grew up sits next to a pedestrian bridge in a very quiet location.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Cattle Call passengers actually stay seated in the gate area.\u00a0 They can only bring on one bag that weighs a maximum of 7 kilos (just under 15\u00bd pounds) and it has to fit under their seat, which is likely to be a middle seat since they don\u2019t get to select their own seats.\u00a0 They don\u2019t really need to try to sneak on the plane early, as happens in the States, because they don\u2019t need to struggle for bin space because they can\u2019t bring more than one small bag onboard.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A stone path down to Casa Pieri.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There was a small group of Priority Plus passengers queuing tranquilly at the gate.\u00a0 None of them was Italian.\u00a0 It\u2019s not clear why they\u2019ve paid more than the cost of Priority to get expedited security screening.\u00a0 The airport in Lamezia Terme is small and there\u2019s not much time to be saved.\u00a0 Also, the Italians don\u2019t make you take off your shoes or remove your liquids or laptop!\u00a0 Getting through security is pretty easy.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The theater in the town of Barga.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It turns out that being at the end of the Priority mob isn\u2019t a big deal.\u00a0 After we clear the gate, we head down the ramp to form another mob near a set of sliding glass doors.\u00a0 There\u2019s lots of empty space and I get a spot near the doors as people congregate leisurely in this much bigger space.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The address plaque for Casa Pieri.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once all of the Priority passengers are in the new holding area, the doors open and we walk across the tarmac to the waiting plane.\u00a0 This is not a regimented, walk-in-a-line-on-the-striped-area-toward-the-plane walk.\u00a0 This is more like the running of the bulls in Pamploma, just slower.\u00a0 Italians never seem to be in a hurry, unless they’re driving.\u00a0 I head toward the stairs at the back of the plane because my boarding pass says that\u2019s where I should enter.\u00a0 It turns out, I\u2019m pretty much in the middle of the plane (row 18 out of 36 rows).<\/p>\n

\"\"
Dinner prepared by Zia Fidalma: Fettine di Manzo in Umido, Pure di Patate, Cavoletto.\u00a0 The olives were cured by Zia Fidalma and came from their own trees as did the olive oil.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Italians never seem to be in a hurry unless they’re behind the wheel.\u00a0 (I just said that, right?)\u00a0 They stand in the aisle having conversations, taking off their jackets, neatly folding their jackets, putting their folded jackets on top of their bags in the overhead bins, having more conversations, thinking about getting out of the aisle and sitting.\u00a0 I\u2019m convinced they\u2019d stand there and have coffee if they could!<\/p>\n

\"\"
A house next to Zia Fidalma and Massimo that is on the market.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I finally make it to my seat, still uncrowded and with open overhead bins, but not before a slight, soft-spoken older man with a nice smile tries to have a conversation with me\u2026in dialect.\u00a0 I had no idea what he was saying and smiled and nodded as I found my way to my seat, hoping I wasn\u2019t being socially inappropriate.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Zia Fidalma inspects produce at the hypermarket. Afterwards we went to the mercatino in Bagni di Lucca for additional shopping.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Massimo picked me up at the Pisa Airport and we drove about an hour to Benabbio where Zia Fidalma, and lunch, were waiting.\u00a0 Lunch was Zia\u2019s wonderful Minestra di Fagioli made with borlotti beans, cooked and pureed, with a bit of pasta (lumache, specifically) added.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The mercatino in Bagni di Lucca is much smaller than the mercatino in Soverato that I go to every Friday.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I heard about this soup when Zia Fidalma, Massimo and Francesca visited Calabria in February.\u00a0 It definitely lived up to the hype.\u00a0 At the table we drizzled it with unfiltered olive oil made from their own olive trees and added a bit of black pepper.\u00a0 Red wine accompanied the soup.\u00a0 Bread allowed me to sop up every bit of soup from my bowl before proceeding to cheese and fruit.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The basic components of Focaccette: a batter of flour and cornmeal, pancetta, olive oil.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After lunch, Massimo and I walked to their garden plot full of olive trees.\u00a0 In years past, vegetables would have been planted among the trees but no longer.\u00a0 We picked a wild green, cavoletto, which accompanied our dinner later that day.<\/p>\n

\"\"
To make focaccette, Zia Fidalma spoons batter on top of a slice of pancetta that is laid on top of batter spooned onto a hot iron.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After lunch Massimo and I took a drive.\u00a0 First to Fornoli to see the house in which my father-in-law grew up, dubbed Casa Pieri by Zia Fidalma and Massimo.\u00a0 The house, 90 square meters (less than 970 square feet), is for sale for \u20ac150,000, a steep price.\u00a0 Afterwards we went to Barga, a picturesque town where my husband\u2019s grandfather was born.\u00a0 We made a short stop at a wine shop in Bagni di Lucca owned by one of Massimo\u2019s friends before getting to Benabbio just after 7 PM for dinner.<\/p>\n

\"\"
As she’s about to remove one cooked focaccette from the iron, Zia Fidalma starts the next one on the other iron which ends up directly on the fire.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bourbon is difficult to come by in Italy.\u00a0 After a bit of Russian vodka, we settled down to dinner:\u00a0 Fettine di Manzo in Umido (thinly sliced beef cooked in a small amount of tomato sauce with olives\u2014and sometimes capers), pur\u00e8 di patate, cavoletto briefly boiled and dressed with olive oil, and bread.\u00a0 The olives were from their trees and cured by Zia Fidalma.\u00a0 The olive oil was also their own production.\u00a0 Fruit and cheese rounded out the meal for me, though there was also a homemade torta de mele (apple tart).<\/p>\n

\"\"
A focaccetta cooking between the two irons.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The next morning we did a grocery run to the big hypermarket in Gallicano, a nearby town, before stopping at the open-air mercatino in Bagni di Lucca.\u00a0 Back at home we stood around the stove while Zia Fidalma made focaccette rimpiturite, which we ate hot from the griddle with stracchino.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Pancetta, who got her name for the daring act of stealing a piece of pancetta when she was a kitten.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Focaccette are thin savory pancake-like affairs made from a batter of flour and cornmeal with a slice of pancetta in the middle.\u00a0 The whole thing is cooked between two cast iron griddles.\u00a0 I declined dessert but Zia Fidalma was prepared to make necci, a thin cake made of chestnut flour.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A focaccetta, browned and crispy, ready to be spread with some stracchino.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We did a bit of walking around Benabbio, including looking at the outside of houses for sale.\u00a0 The house adjacent to Massimo and Zia Fidalma is for sale.\u00a0 It has a kitchen, large salon, two bedrooms and a bath on the first floor.\u00a0 There is an additional room on the second floor.\u00a0 On the ground floor is a workroom, a large cellar, and a garage.\u00a0 I also got to meet Pancetta, a cat that belongs to Massimo\u2019s cousin.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Herbs at a local garden center.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That afternoon we went for another drive, this time to Castelnuovo, hitting a few garden centers as well.\u00a0 In the evening, after another nip of vodka, we met Francesca for pizza at Es Vedra in Fornoli.\u00a0 Fornoli is where Casa Pieri is located.\u00a0 In fact, Casa Pieri and Es Vedra are on the same street:\u00a0 Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII (Pope John Paul XXIII Avenue).\u00a0 Casa Pieri is at #1.\u00a0 Es Vedra is at #94.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Spring flowers at the garden center.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019m happy to say that \u2018nduja has invaded Tuscany.\u00a0 I had a really wonderful pizza with \u2018nduja and the better part of half a liter of wine. \u00a0Francesca assisted me by drinking a glassful after finishing her beer.\u00a0 The pizza with \u2018nduja was listed on the menu as Pizza Amnesia.\u00a0 I can assure you that I don\u2019t want to forget it!\u00a0 I now think of Es Vedra as our neighborhood pizzeria even though we don\u2019t own Casa Pieri\u2026yet!<\/p>\n

\"\"
Pizza Amnesia at Pizzeria Es Vedra in Fornoli.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Sunday I flew back to Calabria.\u00a0 This time I knew the drill with Priority and managed to get in the right line at the gate.\u00a0 After an uneventful flight home I was met outside of baggage claim by my driver.\u00a0 As we were walking out of the airport at 1:45 he told me he needed to be back at 3:00 to pick up some other people.\u00a0 Normally, the drive from the airport to the school is about 45 minutes, not counting parking, etc.\u00a0 I assumed he might be a bit late for his next trip.\u00a0 Not so!\u00a0 We made it back to the school in 23 minutes!!!\u00a0 Never once did I care to look at the speedometer as we were hurtling down the autostrada!<\/p>\n

\"\"
Zia Fidalma and Massimo enjoying pizza and beer at Pizzeria Es Vedra.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There were still two more days left to the break.\u00a0 Other than a three-hour walk on Monday that was prompted by a bourbon run, I spent the two days relaxing.\u00a0 The rest of the week was actually low key as well.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Cousin Francesca at Pizzeria Es Vedra in Fornoli.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We had cultural visits on Wednesday and Thursday.\u00a0 The Wednesday visit was to an agriturismo where almost everything we ate, including all the cured meats, were made in house.\u00a0 The Thursday visit was centered around a visit to Squillace to see the castle, visit a small shop that produces hand-made and hand-painted terracotta and have lunch prepared by someone\u2019s Nonna in the style of a shepherd\u2019s lunch.<\/p>\n

\"\"
You can buy most anything in Italy at an open-air market or out of the back of a truck. On a rainy day this guy was driving through Squillace selling women’s clothing which you can see hanging under a tarp.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite the rain, we did the first two.\u00a0 Unfortunately, Nonna had been hospitalized and was unable to make lunch.\u00a0 Instead, we went to a restaurant where we were served a dizzying array of antipasti followed by a revelatory pasta of thick hand-made noodles (fileja, I believe) in a minimalistic, and minimal but delicious, tomato sauce with just the barest amount of porcini and shrimp.\u00a0 It was truly a perfect example of how less can be more.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Handmade and hand painted terracotta in Squillace.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Friday was a day off though there was a run to the open-air market for those of us who wanted to go.\u00a0 I managed to buy a large quantity of pepperoncino picante, which I plan to use to make cured meats, as well as two dozen bab\u00e0 molds.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Ventri di stoccafisso, sometimes called trippa di stoccafisso, are the dried undersides of cod.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Saturday was the last day before Cheese Week and the addition of new students to our group.\u00a0 It had actually been several weeks since we last sat in the kitchen and had Chef John demonstrate the preparation of various dishes.\u00a0 It brought a comfortable feeling, which several of us discussed later, to sit there and have Chef John demonstrate how to make Penne all\u2019Arrabiata; Fegato di Coniglio con Porri (rabbit liver with leeks); Gnocchi, Spade e Melanzane (gnocchi with swordfish and eggplant); and Pasta alla Carbonara\u2014all of which we ate BEFORE LUNCH.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A wonderful antipasto platter of all housemade ingredients at Agriturismo La Sena in Santa Caterina dello Ionio.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After lunch, Chef Juan demonstrated a technique for making a frittata, which we, of course, ate, with bread and Roasted Garlic Aioli that Chef Juan also made to accompany the frittata.\u00a0 In the afternoon we joined Chef Juan in the Pastry Lab to make Limoncello, Arancello, and Liquore di Melograno (pomegranate liqueur).\u00a0 Chef John sent in afternoon snacks.\u00a0 First was rigatoni with a sauce of pureed fresh green peas, the sauce for which he had demonstrated that morning.\u00a0 Later we got White Chocolate Orange Spuma (mousse) with Panettone Browned in Butter and dotted with Whipped Cream!<\/p>\n

\"\"
Handmade farfalle at the Italian Culinary Institute were served for dinner during the week.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With Cheese Week about to start the next day, for which four additional students would join us, followed by our final menu execution the following week, Saturday was really the last day we would be together ourselves as a group.\u00a0 When all the work was done, Chef Juan sliced a beautiful Jamon Iberico de Bellota that he had brought back from Spain before we began the Masters Program in January.\u00a0 He also served an amazing Morcilla (blood sausage) from Spain made with fat from Jamon Iberico.\u00a0 A few bottles of wine rounded out the afternoon.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Chef Juan about to slice Jamon Iberico de Bellota.<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At 7:45 we headed out for pizza with the new students who were joining us for Cheese Week.\u00a0 Our new adventure was about to begin.<\/p>\n

\"\"
One of many platters of Jamon Iberico de Bellota that we ate on Saturday afternoon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

April 2, 2019 Friday, March 22nd was the first day of a five-day break at school.\u00a0 I headed for the airport in Lamezia Terme and boarded a RyanAir jet bound for Pisa.\u00a0 Cousin Massimo was meeting me at the airport and taking me to Benabbio to spend a few days with him and Zia Fidalma. … Continue reading Calabria Dispatch #17: A Cat Named Pancetta and a Pizza Called Amnesia<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","wpupg_custom_link":[],"wpupg_custom_link_behaviour":["default"],"wpupg_custom_link_nofollow":[],"wpupg_custom_image":[],"wpupg_custom_image_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[363],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people-and-places"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6702"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8060,"href":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6702\/revisions\/8060"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}