{"id":7234,"date":"2019-08-28T06:35:25","date_gmt":"2019-08-28T12:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/?p=7234"},"modified":"2019-08-29T06:02:35","modified_gmt":"2019-08-29T12:02:35","slug":"cooking-in-tuscany-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/2019\/08\/28\/cooking-in-tuscany-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Cooking in Tuscany #8: Fifty Years Together"},"content":{"rendered":"

August 28, 2019<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Zia Ida departed for the States on Thursday August 21st.\u00a0 I thought Zia Fidalma needed a day off.\u00a0 After all, she had been \u201cgoing\u201d seven days a week since August 1st.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Morning mist on the hills surrounding Bagni di Lucca.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I suggested that I not come to Benabbio at all on the 22nd but I got invited to come for dinner.\u00a0 That seemed like a good compromise to me and I planned to arrive around 5 PM.<\/p>\n

\"\"
An edible garden of bay leaves carves a space out of the main street in Bagni di Lucca to serve as the outdoor seating area for a bar.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When I got there, Zia Fidalma recounted her \u201cday off\u201d to me.\u00a0 She got up early, weeded the garden, harvested vegetables, trimmed the plants on the terrace, swept the terrace, scrubbed the terrace, cooked at least three different dishes for the freezer, and did laundry.\u00a0 Some day off!!!<\/p>\n

\"\"
Plum jam bubbling away on Zia Fidalma’s stove. There’s amost always a pot of something bubbling away!<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For lunch on the 22nd I had what has become my default meal at the apartment (a Panino of:\u00a0 Piadina, Schiachatta, Caciotta, and Peperoncini sott\u2019Olio) before heading to Beabbio.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Leberk\u00e4se (brought back by friends from Germany) is lightly browned before serving.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For dinner, we had a cultural mash-up starting with Zuppa di Verdure con Pasta (vegetable soup with pasta).\u00a0 The second course was Leberk\u00e4se (brought back by friends from Germany) lightly browned in a pan and served with Bratkartoffeln (aka German Fries, American Fries, or Home Fries).\u00a0 We ended with the final bit of that fabulous Ricotta that Zia bought in Corsagna topped with Maple Syrup from Vermont!<\/p>\n

\"\"
Bratkartoffeln, variously called German Fries, American Fries, or Home Fries.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Massimo worked from home on Friday August 23rd so I had another reprieve from \u201cItalian immersion.\u201d\u00a0 It actually turned out to be a pretty mellow day from a cooking perspective.\u00a0 Who am I kidding, it was a pretty mellow day from all perspectives!<\/p>\n

\"\"
Vegetable soup with pasta.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Zia whipped up Pomarola from garden tomatoes, something I think I can now do in my sleep, and we started lunch with Spaghetti con Pomarola.\u00a0 Our second course was Sformato di Zucchini e Fagiolini (string beans) that Zia had made on her \u201cday off,\u201d Formaggio Fresco (young cheese), and Pane Integrale (whole wheat bread).\u00a0 Zia offered us Cialde for dessert (those things that Italian-Americans call Pizzelle) but Massimo and I both declined.\u00a0 Zia nibbled on hers, with a look of glee on her face.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Zia Fidalma blending Pomarola with her new immersion blender.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Massimo and I made dinner.\u00a0 It was definitely suited for carbohydrate lovers.\u00a0 We started with simple bruschette with garlic and oil.\u00a0 With Massimo\u2019s instruction, I made Pici al Pane.\u00a0 Pici are long pasta (more than twice the length of \u201cregulation\u201d spaghetti which is about 25 centimeters or 10 inches) and very thick; probably about 1\/8 inch thick.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Weighing out Pici for a dinner of Pici al Pane.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The sauce consisted of a hearty dose of olive oil infused with garlic and peperoncino.\u00a0 The pasta was tossed in the oil with some pasta-cooking water.\u00a0 To that was added a substantial quantity of large breadcrumbs (about \u00bc inch) that had been browned in oil flavored with rosemary.\u00a0 A few good handfuls of Pecorino and the pasta was ready.\u00a0 A salad of tomato and basil rounded out the meal.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A bowl of Pici al Pane.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Saturday was market day but I wasn\u2019t planning on meeting Zia Fidalma as she was going to the hairdresser in anticipation of a fiftieth anniversary party for her niece Emiliana and Emiliana\u2019s husband Giulio the next day.\u00a0 Nonetheless, I ran into Zia Fidalma and Emiliana shortly after the market opened.\u00a0 Emiliana scored a braid of garlic but otherwise I think they left the market empty-handed.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Bruschetta with garlic and extra virgin olive oil. What’s not to like?<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Saturday was also Fiera di San Bartolomeo, a modest street fair that spilled out onto the main street in Bagni di Lucca, Viale Umberto I.\u00a0 There were a few more vendors of clothing, housewares, and food but really not too much else.\u00a0 A big attraction seemed to be the vendor selling Porchetta.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A vendor selling Porchetta at Fiera di San Bartolomeo in Bagni di Lucca.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Massimo came to town about 10:30 and we did a bit of a walking tour of Bagni di Lucca before meeting Zia Fidalma for lunch at Circolo dei Forestieri where I had eaten several weeks before with Zia Ida and Zia Fidalma.\u00a0 From the menu I ordered Linguine con Tonno e Olive (linguine with tuna and olives) as my first course followed by Petto di Pollo Impanato (breaded and fried thinly pounded chicken breast) and Peperonata.\u00a0 The wine with lunch was counteracted by the coffee afterwards so I was able to remain awake for the afternoon.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A view of Bagni di Lucca from one of the streets high above the center.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That is a good thing as we drove to Castelnuovo di Garfagnana so that I could buy a present for Emiliana and Giulio as I had also been invited to their fiftieth anniversary celebration the next day.\u00a0 After returning from Castelnuovo, I spent the rest of the day in Bagni di Lucca.\u00a0 I made my default meal (see above) for dinner.\u00a0 But first I had a wee bit of bourbon.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A rare view of Ristorante Circolo dei Forestieri without cars as the streets were closed off for the Fiera.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Massimo picked me up at noon the next day to go to the party.\u00a0 He had Zia Fidalma as well as Emiliana and Giulio in the car.\u00a0 We arrived at the restaurant about 12:35 with a planned start time of 1:00.\u00a0 There were almost 40 of us in attendance.\u00a0 We spend 3 \u00bd hours eating and drinking and talking.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Giulio and Emiliana at their fiftieth wedding anniversary.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The meal was over the top in in both variety and deliciousness.\u00a0 With the exception of the Antipasto, which arrived on an array of platters at the same time, the rest of the meal was served dish by dish.\u00a0 This was not a buffet.\u00a0 It was designed for serious eating.\u00a0 The order of service was:<\/p>\n

On the table<\/span>
\nBread (Focaccia and Pane Toscano)
\nWhite wine
\nSparkling white wine
\nRed wine
\nAcqua frizzante
\nAcqua naturale<\/p>\n

Antipasto<\/span>
\nCrostini con Due Salse
\nCapocollo
\nSalame Toscano
\nProsciutto
\nInsalata di Farro con Salsicce
\nBruschetta con Pomodori
\nPanzanella
\nPolenta Fritta con Rag\u00f9
\nInsalata di Mare<\/p>\n

Pennette con Scampi, Pomodoro, e Panna<\/p>\n

Tortelli al Rag\u00f9<\/p>\n

Tagliata (Bistecca Grigliata) con Rucola
\nPatate Arrostite<\/p>\n

Insalata<\/p>\n

Fritto Misto di Mare e di Verdure<\/p>\n

Millefoglie
\nSpumante
\nCaff\u00e8<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t even bother to make my default meal at the apartment that evening.\u00a0 I had a handful of grapes and a few Taralli for dinner.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Golden sat across from me at Emiliana and Giulio’s anniversary party. He had good table manners but wasn’t much of a conversationalist.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I arrived at Zia Fidalma\u2019s at 10 AM on Monday, ready for my first day of Italian immersion. Zia started by proposing lunch.\u00a0 Food is always a good way to start.\u00a0 After that was settled, we \u201cdiscussed\u201d dinner.\u00a0 Well, mostly, I agreed with her suggestions.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Zia Fidalma and me at Emiliana and Giulio’s anniversary party.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For lunch we made Uova con Pomodoro which is similar to Shakshuka but the sauce is just tomatoes and onion (and possibly garlic).\u00a0 Shakshuka, in my experience, usually has sweet peppers and possibly other vegetables as well.\u00a0 Pane Integrale and Formaggio Fresco made their appearance (along with my jar of Peperoncino sott\u2019Olio).<\/p>\n

\"\"
Zia Fidalma making Uova e Pomodori.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dinner started with Zia\u2019s \u201cfamous\u201d Minestra di Fagioli con Pasta.\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen her make this several times and I\u2019ve gotten more of an appreciation for the dish and the quantities of ingredients.\u00a0 Before pureeing the soup, Zia removed a pile of cooked beans which were finished \u201cin Umido\u201d with sausage and a little tomato paste.\u00a0 This was our second course.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Millefoglie at Emiliana and Giulio’s anniversary celebration, both crunchy and creamy!<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In headed down the mountain to Bagni di Lucca pleased at having negotiated (however poorly) my first day with no translator.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Tomato salad with basil and extra virgin olive oil. Everything but the salt is from Zia Fidalma’s garden and olive grove.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

August 28, 2019 Zia Ida departed for the States on Thursday August 21st.\u00a0 I thought Zia Fidalma needed a day off.\u00a0 After all, she had been \u201cgoing\u201d seven days a week since August 1st. I suggested that I not come to Benabbio at all on the 22nd but I got invited to come for dinner.\u00a0 … Continue reading Cooking in Tuscany #8: Fifty Years Together<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7252,"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-7234","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\/7234","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=7234"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7271,"href":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7234\/revisions\/7271"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}