Ravenna in November

August & September around Tuscany and Rome

September in Florence

 

The Joys of Tuscany

Hebrides and Western Highlands - August 2012

2012 Vendemmia di Sangiovese @ Villa I Tatti

One Month in Tuscany (and Beyond)

Since arriving in the blazing heat of Italy just over a month ago, great fortune has allowed me to delve into the beautiful produce from across Tuscany. After just a few days of getting over jetlag and realizing that the daily 105ºF oven exposure would not get any easier, I wandered west over the hills to visit friends in the countryside near the source of the Arno river, not too far from the medieval hilltown of Poppi. There I sampled incredible Vera Claudia plums (seen below), porchetta from a little butcher in the center of Arezzo, and a little too much of the most perfect burrata I have ever tasted. A wild week traversing the Highlands and inner Hebrides of Scotland with a friend served as kind relief from the stifling heat of August in Italy. But back I came.

Once back in Florence, getting my bearings in my new neighborhood in between Santa Croce and Sant'Ambrogio, my curiosity has drawn me regularly to sample each of the many fruit and vegetable vendors of Mercato Sant'Ambrogio, who vary considerably in charm and quality of individual fruits/vegetables. With most shops in Florence outside the touristy center closed for the August holidays, my options were limited (not always a bad thing). From these early morning scavenging trips, I have been able to assemble soups, fruit salads, sauces, and a variety of contorni, all requiring as little work as possible from me, save a little chopping and combining, so as to highlight the ripe sweetness of these summer treasures. Then, there were pork chops. Now I am still eager to curious to make this salad and this tomato and squash gratin, before the cooler weather (i.e., 75ºF) arrives.

Here are two vegetarian recipes I have discovered since calling Florence my new home. Neither are really Tuscan at all, but the ingredients for them are aplenty here. Buon appetito!

Caponata
[from Matthew Fort's Sweet Honey, Bitter Lemons]
serves 8

10 medium eggplants (aubergines)
250 ml (1 cup) olive oil
1 celery stalk
500g (about 2 cups) green olives, pitted
1kg (2.25 lbs) onions, sliced very thinly
250ml (1 cup) red wine vinegar
5 Tbs caster sugar
1l (4 cups) sugo (tomato sauce)
200g strattu (very concentrated tomato purée)
50g capers

Wash the eggplants and, without peeling, cut them into small cubes. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan. Fry the eggplant cubes until lightly browned. Drain on paper towel. Slice the celery stalk and blanch the celery along with the olives quickly in boiling water, then dunk both into an ice bath to stop cooking. Heat more oil in the frying pan. Fry the onions until soft, then add the vinegar and sugar, cooking until a sweet-sour balance is reached. In a saucepan heat the sugo and the strattu. Add the sweet-sour onions and the olives, celery, capers, and eggplant. Remove from the heat and mix well. Cool for at least 24 hours.

Carrots with Taleggio Cheese
[from Vegetables from an Italian Garden: Season-by-Season Recipes]
serves 4

2 Tbs olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1.75 lbs (800g) carrots, cut into 1/2-in slices
butter, for greasing
6 oz. (180g) Taleggio cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (240g) grated Parmesan cheese
scant 1/2 cup (118ml) milk
1 Tbs chopped parsley
salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the shallot and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, until softened and translucent. Stir in the carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and cook for another 5 minutes, then remove from the heat. Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Grease an ovenproof dish with butter. Mash the Taleggio in a bowl until creamy, then beat in the eggs, Parmesan, and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Put the carrots into the prepared dish, spreading them out evenly. Cover with the taleggio cream and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the chopped parsley, and serve.

Working with New Mexico Chiles

The original version of this recipe calls for cubed boneless chuck roast, but I've swapped in boneless pork shoulder. For a slightly more complex take on this red chile stew, try a similar recipe from Saveur that calls for dried New Mexico chiles and chile powder as well as honey, white wine vinegar, cumin, and cloves. If you'd like to buy this New Mexico chile powder, try your local spice store [like Christina's in Inman Square] or online.

Pueblo Red Chile Stew [serves 6-8]
adapted from Foods from the Southwest Indian Nations


2 Tbs olive oil
1 lb boneless pork shoulder, cut into chunks
1 onion, diced
1/4 cup New Mexico or Anaheim red chile powder
8 cups water
8 medium russet potatoes, peeled, if desired, and cubed
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried oregano

Add oil to a skillet and brown the pork for 2 minutes on each side over medium-high heat; then decrease the heat to medium and add the onion and red chile powder, stirring constantly. Cook for 3 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a sauce pot, bring 6 cups of the water to a boil with the meat and dried red chile mixture. Decrease the heat and simmer, until the meat is tender, 1.5-2 hours. Add the potatoes, salt, oregano, and the remaining 2 cups of water and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes, until the potatoes are soft. Add water, if too thick. Simmer longer to thicken.

Bourbon and Cheese for dessert?

Many people cannot stand cheesecake. And yet many people swear by it. Last night I was offered a bourbon-caramel cheesecake at a birthday gathering, a feast that also included cayenne dry-rub smoked ribs, hush puppies and Sriracha-infused mac & cheese. I thought I might die of cardiac arrest, but the first bite prepared me for any potential medical emergency that might ensue from said meal: a state of serene bliss. I asked my friend for the recipe and offer it here with adaptations and thoughts on perfecting the recipe. Let me know what you think.

Bourbon Caramel Cheesecake

Crust
1.5 cups graham-cracker crumbs [or perhaps a mixture of crushed pretzels, chocolate cookies, and ground almonds]
3 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 Tbs unsalted butter, melted

Filling
3 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, room temperature
1.25 cups sugar
6 eggs, separated
1 pint sour cream
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp vanilla
Zest of 1 lemon
1/3 cup bourbon, plus more for brushing

Bourbon-Caramel Topping
1 cup refined white sugar
6 Tbs salted butter
1 cup heavy cream
1-2 Tbs bourbon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

To make crust: Grease 9x3-in springform pan with butter; place pan in center of a 12-in square of aluminum foil and press foil up around side of pan. Combine graham-cracker crumbs (or other mixture), sugar, cinnamon and melted butter in a small bowl until blended well. Press 3/4 cup of crumb mixture into bottom and side of pan. Chill prepared pan while preparing the filling.

To make filling: Beat cream cheese in a large bowl until soft with electric mixer. Beat in sugar gradually until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, one a time, until blended well. Stir in sour cream, flour, vanilla, lemon rind and bourbon until smooth. In separate bowl, beat egg whites until they hold stiff peaks. Fold whites into the cheese mixture until blended well. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake at 350ºF for 75 minutes, or until top is golden; turn off oven heat and allow cake to cool in oven for 1 hour. Remove cake from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack at room temperature. Chill overnight before serving. The next day, before adding the topping, prick the top of cake with a toothpick and brush with an ounce or two of bourbon.

To make caramel topping: Melt the sugar over medium heat in a medium saucepan, then add butter, stirring vigorously. Remove from heat and carefully add cream, stirring until incorporated. It will bubble up and is extremely hot. Stir in bourbon and vanilla. Mixture will thicken as it cools.

Cocktails in Boston

Happy 2012! This here is my updated list of Boston-area cocktail establishments, organized by neighborhood. Consider it my New Year's gift to you all. Rather than run the course of ranking them, I'll let you decide. However, the asterisks do point to some especially recommended places. Question marks are places for which the jury is still out. Please share the list with friends and share your ideas (additions, deletions, rankings, etc) with me. Happy New Year! and- Cheers!

Cambridge: Harvard Square

West Side Lounge - 1680 Mass Ave (btw Harvard & Porter Sq)

Rafiki Bistro – 1682 Mass Ave (btw Harvard & Porter Sq)

*Russell House Tavern - 14 JFK St (Harvard Sq)

Casa Blanca - 40 Brattle St (Harvard Sq)

Noir @ Charles Hotel - One Bennett St (Harvard Sq)

Rialto @ Charles Hotel - One Bennett St (Harvard Sq)

The Red House - 98 Winthrop St (Harvard Sq)

*Upstairs on the Square – 91 Winthrop St (Harvard Sq)

Cambridge: Central Square

Rendezvous - 502 Mass Ave (Central Sq)

*Green Street Grill - 280 Green St (Central Sq)

Lord Hobo - 92 Hampshire St (north of Central Sq)

Brick & Mortar – 569 Mass Ave (formerly Enormous Room; just opened) ??

Craigie on Main – 853 Main St (between Central and Kendall)

Cuchi Cuchi – 795 Main Street (between Central and Kendall)

Cambridge: Kendall Square

*Blue Room - One Kendall Square (Kendall Sq)

Think Tank – 1a Kendall Square ??

Hungry Mother - 233 Cardinal Medeiros Ave (Kendall Sq)

Abigail’s – 291 3^rd Street (Kendall Sq)

Catalyst – 300 Technology Square (between Central and Kendall)

Area Four – 500 Technology Square (between Central and Kendall)

Inman Square / Union Square / East Cambridge / Somerville

*Trina’s Starlite Lounge - 3 Beacon St, Somerville (near Inman Sq)

*Backbar – Union Square, 9 Sanborn Court (part of Journeyman)

*Bergamot - 118 Beacon St (corner of Kirkland/Washington & Beacon)

*Highland Kitchen - 150 Highland Ave (Somerville)

Davis Square

Foundry on Elm - 255 Elm St (Davis Sq)

*Saloon – 255 Elm Street, Davis Square [underneath Foundry]

Five Horses Tavern – 400 Highland Ave, Davis Sq

South End

*The Gallows - 1395 Washington St

Gaslight Brasserie - 560 Harrison Ave

*Coppa - 253 Shawmut Ave

Franklin Café - 278 Shawmut Ave

*Union Bar and Grill - 1357 Washington St

Estragon Tapas - 700 Harrison Ave

Post 390 – 406 Stuart St., Boston ??

28 Degrees – 1 Appleton St ??

Toro – 1704 Washington St

*South End Buttery – 314 Shawmut Avenue

Beacon Hill

Beacon Hill Bistro – 25 Charles St

Scampo – Liberty Hotel

*No 9 Park – 9 Park Street

Downtown Boston

*Woodward @ Ames Hotel - 1 Court St (near Gov Center)

*Scholars - 25 School St (near Gov Center)

Stoddards – 48 Temple Place (near Downtown Crossing)

Bristol Lounge @ Four Seasons Hotel - 200 Boylston St (Boston Common)

*Marliave - 10 Bosworth St (near Gov Center) 

North End

*Neptune Oyster – 63 Salem St

Aragosta Bistro – Fairmont Battery Wharf Hotel – 3 Battery Wharf

Kenmore/Back Bay/Fenway

*Eastern Standard - 528 Commonwealth Ave (Kenmore Sq)

*Island Creek Oyster Bar - 500 Commonwealth Ave (Kenmore Sq)

Citizen Public House  and Oyster Bar - 1310 Boylston (near Fenway)

Towne Stove and Spirits – 900 Boylston Street

Sorellina – 1 Huntington Ave, Copley Square

The Brahmin – 33 Stanhope St [near HardRock Café / Copley] ??

Cafeteria Boston – 279a Newbury Street ??

*The Hawthorne – 500a Comm Ave

Sweet Cheeks – 1381 Boylston St [near Fenway] ??

South Boston

*Drink - 348 Congress St (Fort Point)

Franklin Southie - 152 Dorchester Ave (Southie, near Broadway redline T stop)

*Local 149 – 149 P Street (Southie)

Brookline

Matt Murphy's Pub - 14 Harvard St (Brookline Village)

Washington Square Tavern – 714 Washington St

*Orinoco – 22 Harvard St (Brookline Village)

Beacon Tavern – 1032 Beacon Street (not far from Fenway)

Allston/Brighton

*Deep Ellum - 477 Cambridge St (Allston/Brighton)