my life italian

Anniversary, and Off to Italy!

2011-01-28T06:22:00.003-06:00

At this time last year, DoBianchi and I headed off to California to get married. Our first year together as husband and wife has been joyful and full of excitement about our future. Now we are embarking on another adventure, to the Veneto and Friuli. I'll meet some of Jeremy's old friends and see bits of his life as a student, but we'll also see an old friend of mine from high school. Italian Wine Guy will even be joining us for a bit! What a treat!

On the agenda: Quintarelli, Angiolino Maule, some Prosecco colfondo, Venice for anniversary dinner, Giampaolo Venica, and a place I've always wanted to visit--Trieste.

There's more to it than that, but you'll have to stay tuned! DoBianchi will certainly be blogging and, depending on our WiFi access, I might be blogging too.

Happy Anniversary, 2B! I am thrilled to have such a fun travel partner, I couldn't have been luckier than to have found you. I look forward to a lifetime of adventure by your side.

Now let's go!

Galluccio DOC

2011-01-23T09:27:00.001-06:00

Galluccio is one of those DOCs that doesn't get much attention, and doesn't do much to garner any either. According to this text, there are grumblings of a new DOC for the long-forgotten grape varieties, Pallagrello (nero and bianco) and Casavecchia. They are currently produced under the Terre del Volturno IGT. This could definitely create some interest.

The two Pallagrello varieties were favored by the Bourbons, but were all but wiped out by phylloxera. Casavecchia, however, has much more ancient origins with possible connections to the Oscans. The legend goes that an old vine was found in the ruins of a garden with an unusually large trunk. Cuttings were taken (or maybe even seeds), and the variety was reborn. There is a lot of information out there about these historic varieties, but this is the short version, and is based on the stories that I heard back in 2004 when I was introduced to these wines while living in Ischia

And if the producers can keep themselves from tarting up the end product with barrique to make them "important," we might actually be able to enjoy them.

Text below adapted from: Del Canuto, Francesco et al., Il vino italiano, panorama vitivinicolo attraverso le denominazioni di origine, Associazione Italiana Sommeliers (Bertani & C.), Milano, 2010 (2002), fourth edition.

Recognized as a DOC in 8/4/97

Production Zone: includes the townships of Conca della Campania, Galluccio, Mignano Monte Lungo, Rocca d'Evandro and Tora e Piccilli, all in the province of Caserta.

Yield: Whites, 12 tons per hectare; Reds, 11 tons per hectare

Aging Potential: Whites and Rose, about 1 year; Reds, 1-2 years.

Grape Varieties: WHITE: Falanghina, min 70%, alcohol min 11%; ROSSO: Aglianico min 70%, alcohol min 11.5%; ROSATO: same as rosso but with a min alcohol of 11%

Other types: Riserva, must have a minimum of 12% alcohol with at least 24 months of aging

Galluccio, set in the hills of the volcanic Roccamonfina, is the newest appellation in the province of Caserta. This region, though for now unremarkable, has the potential to make good wine. In recent years some pioneering wineries in the the province are looking to reclaim land for vineyard sites that had long gone to ruin. There is also a movement to reclaim and cultivate some ancient grape varieties like Pallagrello (nero and bianco) and Casavecchia in limited production, and to create a new DOC for them.**

**VERY exciting, in my opinion.

Happy Holidays from the Parzens

2010-12-27T10:18:00.004-06:00

Here's a slide show that my DoBianchi put together with a Christmas song** that he wrote (very creative, this guy :). In this video, there are the highlights of our first year together as a family. What a year it's been! I can say without a doubt, that marrying my Jeremy P was the highlight of my life thus far. As we begin our journey together, I can't imagine being any happier, but I know that we have a very hopeful future that we're looking forward to living with immense joy and anticipation.

Our lives have been enriched by new relationships, and deepening connections with those already existing. We are so very blessed and have not forgotten that for one moment.

You see, there's no one else in this world who could have given me the life that I felt I was meant to live, but Jeremy Parzen. I love you! With you it's one adventure after the next, and I cannot wait to hold your hand for another year.

Happy new year, everyone!

And...action!

**I just dare you to try not to have that song in your head all day. You can't help it, can you?

Falanghina

2010-11-29T17:15:00.005-06:00

Pronunciation: fa-lahn-GEE-na (That's a hard "G.")

This is probably the white wine that was most ubiquitous in my Ischia-Napoli world. It's what came in carafes as the house wines, and it's what could also be found in an average to fancy bottle. A cold condensation on a hand-painted pitcher of Falanghina next to a hot pizza, screaming of basil, milk, and tomatoes would melt that Summer sun right out the sky.

Living most of the time in Ischia, Falanghina was still the go-to white. I say this because Biancolella and Forastera are the varieties indigenous to the island, but the island just isn't that big. Not big enough to quench the thirsty, fish-eating masses anyway.

So here we are back in Texas, and my heart calls out for the real thing. My DoBianchi brought home a shiny white ball of Mozzarella di Bufala and a bottle of Cantine del Taburno Falanghina, but, alas, I am still searching for an unoaked/unmalo-ed/non-acidified yet certified stateside version. I won't give up. I can survive on the fumes of my memories just a little longer.

Until I find it, don't cry for me Falanghina, the truth is you never left me.

Text below adapted from: Del Canuto, Francesco et al., Il vino italiano, vitigni, enografia, e grastronomia regionale, Associazione Italiana Sommeliers (Bertani & C.), Milano, 2010 (2002), fourth edition.

Alternative Names: Fallanghina, Falanghina verace, Uva Falerna, Falerno Veronese, and Biancuzita

Historical Notes: This grape variety has ancient origins and was probably cultivated in Sannio going back to the Roman Era. The first documentation of this variety, however, is from 1825, even though it was frequently confused with other grapes.

Production Zone: Falanghina is most widely produced in Campania. It finds its best expression in the area of Falerno del Massico, the island of Procida, Campi Flegrei, and Sannio.

Characteristics: average to small leaves that are smooth and wedge-shaped and usually have 3 lobes, sometimes 5, with green veins and red streaks; The clusters are compact and cylindrical with one small wing. The berries are round and covered in bloom. The skins are thick with a yellow-gray hue.

Ripening: second half of September

Productivity: average

Vigor: good

Wine made from Falanghina has a straw-yellow color, tending toward golden with an intense and fruity nose. It usually has softer acid and a pleasant, persistent finish.

Falerno del Massico DOC

2010-11-18T10:00:00.003-06:00

The legend** goes that Bacchus descended one day in disguise upon the slopes of Mount Massico where he met a poor and simple farmer of the surname Falerno. He did not hesitate to offer his unexpected guest the best from his pantry. Moved by the farmer's generosity, Bacchus transformed his cup of milk into wine. Falerno drank deeply and fell into a long sleep. Upon his awakening, his land was covered in blooming vineyards.

The first Falerno del Massico was made with Falanghina and was historically praised by the likes of Pliny, who declared it the best wine of his day. Others such as Virgil, Cicero, and Catullus held the wine in high regard as did the Czar of Russia and Gustav of Sweden.

Falerno del Massico vineyards

Text below adapted from: Del Canuto, Francesco et al., Il vino italiano, panorama vitivinicolo attraverso le denominazioni di origine, Associazione Italiana Sommeliers (Bertani & C.), Milano, 2010 (2002), fourth edition.

Recognized as DOC 1/3/89

Production Zone: includes the townships of Carinola, Cellole, Falciano del Massico, Mondragone and Sessa Aurunca, all in the province of Caserta.

Yield: max 10 tons per hectare

Aging Potential: whites 1-2 years, reds 5-6 years

Grape Varieties: WHITE Falanghina, 100%; minimum alcohol 11%
RED Aglianico 60-80%, Piedirosso 20-40%, Primitivo and/or Barbera max 20%, minimum alcohol 12.5, minimum AGING 14 months;
The wine can also have a varietal declaration only for Primitivo. In this case, it must be written on the label and the blend must be a minimum of 85% Primitivo with a maximum of 15% Aglianico, Piedirosso, and/or Barbera, minimum alcohol 13%, minimum AGING 14 months.

Other Types
Riserva: For Rosso and Primitivo, minimum alcohol 12.5%; must age for 26 months
Vecchio: can be used interchangeably with "Riserva," but only for Primitivo.

In Falerno del Massico, which is close to the dormant Roccamonfina volcano and the solid calcerous terrain of Mount Massico, there is a movement toward softer wines. This is true of the white and red based on Primitivo.

If properly vinified, Falerno del Massico rosso can be soft and structured with a complex aroma. These qualities make it particularly suited for meat dishes and aged cheeses.

Wine made primarily from Primitivo is highly structured as well, but extremely extracted and high in alcohol. This makes the wines perfect pairings for roasted meats, as well as meats prepared with sauces.

The whites are lighter and more acidic and are perfect with pasta and tomatoes, as well as other simple and aromatic dishes.

**Something fun I found whilst poking around the internets. I had to share it.

Asprinio

2010-11-15T12:00:00.004-06:00

Just an additional note on the history of the grape...as stated below, it is widely believed to come from the Pinot or Greco family, but some sources conclude otherwise. Some maintain that it comes from a wild native variety domesticated by the Etruscans living in Capua (a city in the province of Caserta). It has similar etymological origins as some of the primitive Lambruscos (Aspro and Cruet) and was cultivated in the same way (vines trained to live supports such as trees, in the case of Asprinio, poplar trees) as many of the Lambruscos from the Po River Valley. So there.

Text below adapted from: Del Canuto, Francesco et al., Il vino italiano, vitigni, enografia, e grastronomia regionale, Associazione Italiana Sommeliers (Bertani & C.), Milano, 2010 (2002), fourth edition.

Photo borrowed from YoungandFoodish.com (there's another great story about the alberata aversana, please click!)

Alternative Names: Olivese, Ragusano, Ragusano Bianco, Asprino, Uva Asprina

Historical Notes: Asprinio is an ancient grape variety that is believed to come from the Pinot or Greco family

Cultivation Zone: widely planted in the province of Caserta where excellent results are achieved, especially if the vines are trained ad alberata.**

Characteristics: average to small leaf that is smooth with 5 lobes; light green in color; Grape bunches are average in size, compact, long and conical, can produce or not produce wings. The grapes are on the larger side of average with a grey-green color and have an abundant bloom coating.

Ripening: end of September to beginning of October

Productivity: highly productive

Vigor: excellent

**Please click here to see the previous post which explains in greater detail what this type of vine training is.

Aversa DOC

2010-11-13T10:01:00.019-06:00

Aversa is one of the two places in Italy most famous for its Mozzarella di Bufala (Caserta is the other). And don't I know it. I ate my weight in the precious stuff during my time living between Ischia and Naples. There is absolutely nothing that can compare to a so-fresh-it's-warm ball of true water buffalo mozzarella oozing with milk. The milk of said beast is particularly high in fat, which means it is particularly delicious. No imitator can be tolerated after being ruined on the real thing. (Don't even try, upscale grocery store!)

Neapolitans are so proud (SO. PROUD.) to call this one of their many regional gifts to the world. A slice the size of a ham steak is but a snack, incapable of adding girth to the thighs of anyone and in fact, is nothing less than a nutritional miracle. Just ask any mamma italiana.

"A taste is worth more than 1000 words." Sure is.

Mozzarella in Carrozza (mozzarella in a carriage) is the name of a dish prepared like this: put a generous slice of fresh mozzarella between two slices of bread, dip it in flour and egg, then pan-fry. One can only imagine the crunch which gives way to the soft, fragrant and gooey interior. Mamma mia! And it just begs for a simple glass of high-acid, Aversa DOC. Enjoy.

Text below adapted from: Del Canuto, Francesco et al., Il vino italiano, panorama vitivinicolo attraverso le denominazioni di origine, Associazione Italiana Sommeliers (Bertani & C.), Milano, 2010 (2002), fourth edition.

Recognized as DOC 8/12/93

Production Zone: includes the townships of Aversa, Carinaro, Casal di Principe, Casaluce, Casapesanna, Cesa, Frignano, Gricignano di Aversa, Lusciano, Orta di Atella, Parete, San Cipriano d'Aversa, San Marcellino, Sant'Arpino, Succivo, Teverola, Trentola-Ducenta, Villa di Briano e Villa Literno, all in the province of Caserta; Giuliano in Campania, Qualiano e Sant'Antimo in the province of Naples

Yield: max 12 tons per hectare

Grape Variety: Asprinio, min 85%

Minimum alcohol: 10.5%

Aging potential: on average, 1 year

Other types
Spumante: made with 100% Asprinio with a minimum alcohol of 11%. In the case of vineyards trained using the "alberata aversana" style of vine training (an environmental and cultural contribution of the appellation), the yield cannot exceed 4 kilograms of grapes/sq meter of wall and 240 kg of grapes per plant, with a maximum number 50 plants per hectare
Alberata or Vigneti ad alberata: wines made in the Aversa appellation using grapes obtained from vineyards planted using the alberata aversana method must include Alberata or Vigneti ad Alberata on the label.
Also, Asprinio can precede the name of the appellation on the label, for example, Asprinio di Aversa DOC

The production area, which includes 22 townships in what used to be Liburia,** is identified by its Asprinio vineyards trained to poplar trees, which act as stakes or supports for the vines. This method of pruning creates large green walls that can reach up to 15 meters [roughly 45 ft] in height. This white grape variety, by name, reveals its distinction among other grapes--its intense acidity. If great care isn't taken in the vineyards and the winery, the acidity can become too aggressive.

The problem with most producers of this wine is that they source their grapes from growers and are therefore unable to intervene in the vineyards to help improve the quality of the end product.

This unique style vine training is of Etruscan origin. Although it is striking to behold, pruning is extremely difficult at the tops of the plants.

One producer of note is using canopy pruning, with more plants per hectare and lower grape yields. The result is a wine that, perhaps, doesn't reflect the tipicity of the grape variety in that the wine is less acidic. (In the debate over typicity vs. defect we risk a never-ending argument...) Without a doubt though, the wine is more enjoyable because it's softer. It is in this vein that the producer is aging some if his wine in 7, 10, and 15 hL oak barrels for 1 year. [Here we go again with the barriques!]

Although only humble results are obtained using the Charmat method, sparkling wine made from Asprinio is delightful as an aperitif. Still wine from the appellation pairs well with seafood salad, fish dishes, pizzas, calzones, and the famous mozzarella in carozza. [See intro]

Asprinio is also used in the production of passito (dried-grape wine) in the appellation Terre al Volturno IGT.

**Liburia is the ancient name for the area known today as Terra di Lavoro (Southern Lazio and Northern Campania). The Latin name is derived from the word Leborini who were an ancient tribe that inhabited the area. The modern name, Terra di Lavoro means "land of work."

Irpinia DOC

2010-11-07T15:00:00.004-06:00

As long as I lived in Campania, I was always intrigued by the areas of Irpinia and Sannio. They are rich with an ancient history of Oscans, Samnites, and Hirpini that I find fascinating. The mountains of Irpinia, set with pine trees and chestnuts are ones that I hope to have to opportunity to explore in depth sometime in the future with my DoBianchi.

Text below adapted from: Del Canuto, Francesco et al., Il vino italiano, panorama vitivinicolo attraverso le denominazioni di origine, Associazione Italiana Sommeliers (Bertani & C.), Milano, 2010 (2002), fourth edition.

DOC recognized 9/13/05

Production Zone: includes all areas adequate for grape growing in the province of Avellino.
Subzone: Campi Taurasini: includes all areas in the townships of Taurasi, Bonito, Castelfranci, Castelvetere sul Calore, Fontanarosa, Lapio, Luogosano, Mirabella Eclano, Montefalcione, Montemarano, Montemiletto, Paternopoli, Pietradifusi, Sant'Angelo all'Esca, San Magno sul Calore, Torre le Nocelle, Venticano, Gesualdo, Villamaina, Torella dei Lombardi, Grottaminarda, Melito Irpino, Nusco, and Chiusano San Domenico

Grape Varieties
WHITE: Greco 40-50%, Fiano 40-50%, others permitted up to 20%
[Varieties permitted on label are as follows]: (min 85%) Coda di Volpe, Falanghina, Fiano, Greco
Other types: Passito from Greco and Fiano with a minimum of 7 months aging and alcohol at 12.5%; Classic method** Spumante using Fiano and Greco with a min alcohol of 11.5% is released after 20 months from October 1st of the most recent harvest year.
RED: Aglianico min 70%, others permitted up to 30%
[Varieties permitted on label are as follows]: (min 85%) Aglianico, Sciascinoso, Piedirosso
SUBZONE Campi Taurasini: min 85% Aglianico
Other types: Rosato and novello (same as rosso); Passito and fortified made from a min 85% Aglianico, with a minimum of 7 months and 11 months aging, respectively

Aging Potential: whites 1-2 years; rosato, spumante, and novello 1 year; reds, passitos, and fortified 2-5 years

Campania has been awarded with a new DOC, the 17th in the region and the only DOC in the province of Avellino. Irpinia has always been a land rich in vineyards. The appellation is divided by the Apennine mountain range that runs from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Adratic Sea. Its land possesses a unique, mineral-rich volcanic soil. Because of this, and the climate which varies from one zone to the next, from its origins this appellation has been capable of producing the great wines long exalted by historians and poets alike.

Irpinia DOC, beyond having the task of raising awareness of the viticultural value of the appellation, also serves as an umbrella DOC for the three already recognized DOCGs of Taurasi, Greco di Tufo, and Fiano di Avellino.

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**Classic/Traditional Method (Metodo Classico, in Italian) or Methode Champenoise is the process by which fermented wine is placed in a bottle with added yeasts and sugar to induce a second fermentation. As the wine ferments, carbon dioxide is created. It is dissolved throughout the bottle and escapes, creating bubbles when the bottle is opened. This is quite labor intensive and results in a wine with much more complexity than one created using the Charmat Method (wherin 2nd fermentation takes place in large vats).

Aglianico

2010-11-06T12:00:00.002-05:00

Text below translated from: Del Canuto, Francesco et al., Il vino italiano, vitigni, enografia, e grastronomia regionale, Associazione Italiana Sommeliers (Bertani & C.), Milano, 2010 (2002), fourth edition.

Alternative names: Aglianicone, Guanico, Gesualdo, Uva Aglianica, Ellenico, Uva Nera
Clones: Femmina, Mascolino, San Severino, Zerpuloso

Aglianico is relatively homogenous but two basic families exist, one grown in the Taurasi area and the other grown in the area of Aglianico del Vulture. [Pronounced VOOL'-too-ray]

Historical notes: this grape variety originated in Magna Grecia, where it was already widely planted. The name is a corruption of ellenikon in Hellenic, which became Aglianico.**[!]

Cultivation Zone: Basilicata, Campania; Some is found in Apulia and Molise as well.

Characteristics: The leaf is smooth with 5 lobes that are opaque and dark green. The bunches are medium-sized, compact, cylindrical and coned. The grapes are round with thick skin. They have an intense blue color and a thick coating of bloom.***

Ripening: late, October 15th-November 10th

Productivity: abundant and consistent

Vigor: good

Aglianico produces wine with a ruby color with hints of garnet. With age, it tends toward brick red. The nose is intense with pronounced aromas of cherry preserves, plums, almonds, violets, spices, and suede. The flavor is rich and tannic, given to good structure and a very long finish.

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**If you missed it before, here's Jeremy P's research on the real origins of the grape name. Debunking happening daily over at DoBianchi!

***Bloom (pruina in Italian, in case you were curious) is the powdery substance on the skin of a grape. It contains protective waxes, bacteria, and yeast cells that are native to the vineyard. This substance is also found on the skin of blueberries.

Taurasi DOCG

2010-11-04T09:13:00.001-05:00

Even though I lived in Campania for nearly four and a half years, I didn't get to drink a ton of Taurasi. It was relatively expensive and I lived a pauper-ish existence. I'm sure that I've had more than even your average Northern Italian, but still, I am far from an expert. I did drink lots of Aglianico (Sannio DOC, Irpinia DOC, Taburno DOC, many IGTs) and Piedirosso though, but we'll get to that soon.

Here's what my DoBianchi said about the origins of the name Taurasi:
Btw, the toponym Taurasi is believed to be derived from the pre-Roman (probably Etruscan) taur[o] meaning mountain. One of the earliest documents mentioning the ancient village of Taurasi dates back to the 14th-century and there is also a mention inscribed in the sarcophagus of Scipio Barbatus (died 280 B.C.E.). The village sits above the valley of the Calore river at 398 meters a.s.l., hence the name.

That's so hot.

Text below translated from: Del Canuto, Francesco et al., Il vino italiano, panorama vitivinicolo attraverso le denominazioni di origine, Associazione Italiana Sommeliers (Bertani & C.), Milano, 2010 (2002), fourth edition.

DOCG recognized 3/11/93

Production Zone: including the townships of (only the the hilly areas with adequate sun exposure, and with the absolute exclusion of humid valley floors and shaded portions of land) Bonito, Castelfranci, Castelvetere sul Calore, Fontanarosa, Lapio, Luogosano, Mirabella Eclano, Montefalcione, Montemarano, Montemiletto, Paternopoli, Pietradefusi, Sant'Angelo all'Esca, San Mango sul Calore, Taurasi, Torre le Nocelle and Venticano, all in the province of Avellino.

Yield: Max 10 tons per hectare

Grape Variety: Aglianico**, min 85% [It does not list others permitted for the balance, but with a little research I've found that any non-aromatic red variety "permitted and recommended by the province of Avellino" is allowed. I imagine that there is Piedirosso, Barbera, maybe some Sciascinoso and probably others, but it can be 100% Aglianico.]

Minimum alcohol: 12%

Required Aging: minimum 37 months

Aging potential: on average 8-10 years***

Other types: Reserve--with a minimum alcohol content of 12.5% and required aging of 49 months

Excellent wine production in this area is a result of the perfect balance between climate, grape variety, and volcanic soil. Low yields and high-density planting along with attention in the vineyards and use of barrel aging guarantee a high-quality product. Most importantly, there are some emergent winemakers who, with a great deal of professionalism, are exploiting the great potential of Aglianico in this appellation.

The color of Taurasi, when released, is an intense garnet with a nose rich in red fruit preserves, black pepper, liquorice, minerality, and tobacco. Very structured with a long finish, this wine is dry and balanced with pronounced tannins. Taurasi goes well with grilled meats and roasts as along with wild game. It is particularly suited for wild boar and aged cheeses.
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In my next post I will translate the entry for aglianico from volume 2A of this series. This book lists all of the grape varieties of Italy alphabetically, with an informative entry on each. Woohoo!

**PLEASE read DoBianchi's scholarly post on the origins of the name "aglianico." Very interesting stuff. That's my man!

***I know that many a Taurasi out there can gracefully age for much longer. I believe that the authors of this book are referring to an average example of the wine and its very average potential. I am but a translator.

Greco di Tufo DOCG

2010-11-03T09:30:00.004-05:00

Greco di Tufo is one of my fave whites from Southern Italy. It's fresh and zesty with minerality, which equals, in my book, absolutely delightful wine. Unfortunately, it's hard to find clean wines from Campania, at least in Texas. Maybe that will change. A girl can dream.

Text below translated from: del Canuto, Francesco et al., Il vino italiano, panorama vitivinicolo attraverso le denominazioni di origine, Associazione Italiana Sommeliers (Bertani & C.), Milano, 2010 (2002), fourth edition.

Recognized as a DOCG 7/18/03

image taken from http://caudium.myblog.it

Production Zone: including the townships of Altavilla Irpina, Chianche, Prato di Principato Ultra, Montefusco, Ptruro Irpino, Santa Paolina, Tufo and Torioni, all in the province of Avellino

Yield: max 10 tons per hectare

Grape Varieties: greco; coda di volpe is allowed up to 15%

Minimum alcohol: 11.5%

Aging Potential: within 1-3 years

The production zone for Greco di Tufo is in the heart of Irpinia.** In this region one finds sulfur mines, tufo quarries, and a land of vineyards alternating with forests.

Greco di Tufo is an appellation that is constantly improving with more modern techniques in the vineyard and in the winery. A bit of time spent in barrique will can also make this a wine of great potential.***

A young Greco di Tufo pairs well with raw shellfish, baked fish, dried pasta with vegetable sauces, spaghetti with squid ink or shellfish, and flavorful side dishes such as eggplants and broccoli raab (HAY!). When the wine is more mature and rich in personality, it can be paired with grilled mackerel, fish stew, and generally more elaborate dishes. The spumante, made in the Martinotti (Charmat) method, is also very pleasant, aromatic, and interesting.

**The name of the region, Irpinia, is taken from hirpus, the Oscan word for wolf. The Oscans were from Umbria and their language was the language of Southern Italy under the Roman republic. I pretty much ripped this from Wikipedia, so if you find this history as fascinating as I do, just mosey on over to the site to dig deeper. Or just ask my DoBianchi, he probably already has a doctorate in it.

***You must know that this was difficult to translate. I mean, as in gritting my teeth over the woodiness of it all. I, in no way support beating greco over the head with barrique and malolactic fermentation, but we all know that it is a trend in Italia (that NOT all follow!) to make a wine "important" by aging it in wood. You can see old rant here. I hope the trend will pass. Until then, I will.

Fiano di Avellino DOCG

2010-11-02T09:12:00.002-05:00

Before I get into the translation, I just want to mention that I don't like Italian tasting notes. I feel a blog post coming on, but I'll save that for later so that you don't accuse me of editorializing when I said that I wouldn't. Because the descriptors in the text do not convey the complexity of a good Fiano di Avellino, I have to add that I always found an intriguing herbaceous note in the wine reminding me of the pine forests that surround the area. In addition to citrus, there is typically a pronounced minerality. They can also be slightly nutty at times, but only the special ones. Just like us.

Text below translated from: del Canuto, Francesco et al., Il vino italiano, panorama vitivinicolo attraverso le denominazioni di origine, Associazione Italiana Sommeliers (Bertani & C.), Milano, 2010 (2002), fourth edition.

Recognized as a DOCG 8/5/03

Photo from newsposi.it

Production Zone: including the townships of Aiello del Sabato, Atripalda, Avellino, Candida, Capriglia Irpina, Cesinali, Contrada, Forino, Grottolella, Lapio, Manocalzati, Montefredane, Mercogliano, Montefalcione, Monforte Irpino, Ospedaletto d'Alpinolo, Parolise, Pratola Serra, Salza Irpina, San Michele di Serino, San Potito Ultra, Santa Lucia di Serino, Sant'Angelo a Scala, Santo Stefano del Sole, Sorbo Serpico and Summonte, all in the province of Avellino.

Yield: max 10 tons per hectare

Grape Varieties: fiano; also permitted up to 15%: greco bianco, coda di volpe, and/or trebbiano toscano

Minimum alcohol: 11.5%

Aging Potential: 1-4 years

Mention of APIANUM is permitted on the label as a reference to the origins of the grape name.**

Fiano di Avellino, taken from the eponymous grape variety, is one of the most distinguished wines of Campania. With time, the wine acquires depth and softness. Fiano is pale in color with an intense nose of fruit. Its balanced notes of citrus and acidity pair well with dishes such as spaghetti with fresh anchovies, grilled fish, seafood stew, baked fish, pizza, and calzones.

Some producers are late-harvesting as well as creating passitos, some are even using grapes affected with botrytis. These are still rare, but very interesting.

Sparkling wines made from Fiano using the Martinotti (Charmat) method are pleasant and zippy, and are perfect as an aperitif.

**It is commonly believed that the original name for Fiano was Apianum, derived from Vitis Apiana, which was a reference to the high sugar level of the grapes and the bees' attraction to them. (Ape, pronounced "AH-pay" is the Italian word for bee, derived from the Latin "Apis.") Vitigni d'Italia disputes this, claiming that the actual origin of the word is from Appiano which was a variety of apple grown in Apia (now Lapia) near Avellino. B'oh!

Campania

2010-11-01T11:35:00.001-05:00

Just a quick preface: When I begin each region, there will be a map (click on the map to get a better view) with an introduction listing red/white varieties commonly found, plus a list of DOCGs, DOCs, and IGTs. I will do straight translations without (but no promises) editorializing. Just the facts, signora.

Then, I will probably dedicate one post per appellation within the region. It should be straightforward. Here we begin with Campania because I lived there. I am not following the order of the book, but will stick to and finish a region once begun. Here we go! Now it's time to let my inner nerd wear its headgear in public.

Grape Varieties Suited for Cultivation in Campania

White grapes (among the most widely cultivated): falanghina, malvasia bianca di Candia, trebbiano Toscano, coda di volpe bianca, greco, asprinio bianco, biancolella, and malvasia bianca. Others: bellone, bombino bianco, chardonnay, fenile, forastera, ginestra, guarnaccia, montonico bianco, moscato bianco, pallagrello bianco, pepella, pinot bianco, riesling, riesling italico, ripolo, san lunardo, sylvaner verde, veltliner, and verdeca.
Grey**/Pink Grapes: pinot grigio and traminer aromatico
Red grapes (among the most widely cultivated): aglianico, barbera, sangiovese, piedirosso, montepulciano, merlot, greco nero, primitivo, and ciliegiolo. Others: aglianicone, aleatico, cabernet sauvignon, casavecchia, cesanese comune, lambrusco maestri, malvasia nera, pallagrello nero, pinot nero, sciascinoso, tronto, and uva di troia

The Wines of Campania
DOCG: Fiano di Avellino, Greco di Tufo, Taurasi
DOC: Aglianico del Taburno and Taburno, Aversa, Campi Flegrei, Capri, Castel San Lorenzo, Cilento, Costa d'Amalfi, Falerno del Massico, Galluccio, Guardia Sanframondi or Guardiolo, Irpinia, Ischia, Penisola Sorrentina, Sannio, Sant'Agata de' Goti or Sant'Agata dei Goti, Solopaca, Vesuvio
IGT: Beneventano, Campania, Colli di Salerno, Dugenta, Epomeo, Paestum, Pompeiano, Roccamonfina, Terre di Volturno

Del Canuto, Francesco et al., Il vino italiano, panorama vitivinicolo attraverso le denominazioni di origine, Associazione Italiana Sommeliers (Bertani & C.), Milano, 2010 (2002), fourth edition.

**In Italian, as well as other romance languages, red grapes can be referred to as black. So it is common to refer to "in between" grapes as grey as well as pink. For example, pinot grigio/gris (grey pinot) is named as such because its grapes have a brownish-pink skin.

Coming Up Next

2010-10-30T14:34:00.012-05:00

Il Vino Italiano: An Overview of Vineyards and Wine Through its Appellations (volume 2A)
Il Vino Italiano: Grape Varieties, Wine Descriptors, and Regional Gastronomy (volume 2B)

I have waited some time for these two books. My husband bought them for me for my birthday and I squealed like a 'tween when I opened the box from Italy.

These are the texts that accompany the 2nd level of the AIS (Associazione Italiana Sommelier) certification course. I took the first level in Naples in October and November of 2006, which were to be immediately followed by the 2nd course in December. In true Italian fashion, however, it was delayed. They started it up just as I was going home to Texas for my yearly extended visit in March, so I never got to finish.

I made a friend in the class, Lucia, who owned a "prodotti tipici" (local products) shop on the main street in Ischia Porto. She continued on with the course and upon my return, let me borrow the two books for a couple of months. What I discovered was a valuable reference source of all(-ish**) of the DOCGs, DOCs, and IGTs of Italy. Within each region's section was a complete list its appellations with all of the rules governing them (production zone, max yield, varieties, etc) along with a blurb about the wine. This was volume 2B.

2A had a list of all of the common grape varieties, their production zones, synonyms, historical notes and characteristics.

Fascinating, right...?

I surrendered the books to their proper owner, finished the Summer and Fall in Ischia, and returned home to Texas for good. (This is the part where I eventually met the DoBianchi of my dreams. He is practically an encyclopedia himself, wrapped in a casing of handsome, but I am determined to find something between these bindings that he doesn't know.)

I searched for the books in Italy, America, and the great wide Internets. The AIS site did not even have them for sale! Nor did anyone else for that matter.

Then one day this September, I decided I wouldn't let my grapeless search discourage me. I sat down and finally found them!! Jeremy P ordered them from an online Italian bookstore and here we are. (Jeremy is the brave one here, as I fear for the safe arrival of anything shipped from an Italian website.)

Did I mention that the entire course is in Italiano? Why wouldn't it be? But that's not a problem. I am going to translate it (mostly) for you because I NEED A PROJECT! And it will help me scour the rust off of my Italian.

So here starts my series. This is not for the easily bored, nor overly-critical. I just hope to spread the cheer that I experience by having access to this kind of information.

Buona lettura!

**So, calling any list of Italian DOCs and DOCGs "complete" can be a dubious declaration. The fact that different sources site different appellations and new ones come out all of the time lend to the confusion. To save the day, our friend, the Italian Wine Guy, has taken it as his duty to research and publish the most up-to-date and comprehensive list out there. Thanks Alfonso! That being said, the book that I am translating is in its fourth edition and was published this year (2010). Please see IWG's site for the latest news.

3 Dishes, 5 Meals, 1Crock-Pot

2010-05-08T09:38:00.002-05:00

I've always loved to cook. I find myself at home in the kitchen, but being a newlywed (another excuse to post a wedding pic!) with a well-stocked army of cookware has brought this whole domestic thing to another level.

Before I moved to Italy, I used to enjoy making a weekly menu with inspiration from my 5 food magazine subscriptions. (I pared them down to two--Fine Cooking and Cook's Illustrated.) I would plan the meals, usually 3, make a list, and go to the grocery store Sunday afternoons. It worked well, as I only really needed one other trip mid-week to replenish milk/wine supply. I saved money and had everything I needed when I got home from slaving over a hot 5th grade classroom all day.

The 3 meals with subsequent leftovers stretched the whole week and provided for a couple of lunches--to break the sandwich monotony.

Once living in Italy, starting in June 2003, I would make daily trips to the vegetable stand, bakery, and salumeria. Everything was incredibly fresh and bread went stale wonderfully quickly so it was the custom there to 'do the shopping' every morning.

Coming home after 4 and a half years presented some challenges with a hint of culture shock, so some adjustment was necessary. I've spent the last year and a half with my now husband shopping and meal-planning all willy-nilly. Dinner is decided sometime during the course of the day, with an after-work trip to the store for one meal resulting in a $50 hemorrhage.

Now that we're married, live under one roof, and have a much less chaotic existence, I decided it was time to get back to having a practical kitchen--well-planned, functional, and economic.

Here's where the Crock-Pot comes in. I thought it would be fun to have one week revolve around this timeless appliance, and really see what it was made of. Best of all, every evening, returning from a long work day just before 7, I had very little prep and dinner was on the table by 7:30.
Here's how it went...

Sunday, stock the pantry, make the Pork Chops:

You might have seen my last post about the pork chops (along with the in-serious-need-of-a-good-food-stylist pic) which were Sunday night's meal (no left-overs). It was perfect for a weekend day because it required a bit more pre-Crock cooking. No hurry, lazy Sunday indulgence with a hint of Law and Order.

Monday: Spicy Chicken Stew

I snagged this recipe from MyRecipes.com...click here to see it. This was a throw-everything-in-the-pot-and-close-the-lid type of dish. Satisfying, delicious, and healthy, it filled the house with a warm glow. It was very inexpensive too because I used a pack of chicken thighs. Being slow-braised for so long, the dark-meat-phobic wouldn't even tell the diff. After work, all I did was shred the chicken right in pot, chop some cilantro, and away we ate.

Tuesday: Spicy Chicken Stew Redux

Coming home close to 7, I took the stew from the fridge, added a little more broth into the saucepan and reheated. I washed and spun the head of lettuce from Sunday shopping, dressed half and left the other in the spinner. (The salad spinner, by the way, is a great storage environment for already cut and washed lettuce. It does take up a some room in the fridge but in mine, it's worth every bit of this valuable real-estate. Even delicate lettuce will stay fresh for right around 4 days. All that's left to do is dress--great time-saver.) Before bed, I put a pound of white beans to soak for the next morning.

Wednesday: Beans!

I love white beans and dark greens.** I could eat my weight in them. Whether it's chicory (only Italy, definitely can't find chicory in Texas), scarola (escarole), or kale, I'm all over it. It's so healthy and feels quite indulgent. I used the method found in Michele Scicolone's awesome cookbook, The Italian Slow Cooker. Just cover soaked beans in abundant water, add a bay-leaf, and cook on low for 6-7 hours. This took me 5 minutes in the morning before heading out the door. When I came home, I washed the escarole and sauteed it with some whole cloves of garlic while warming the beans in chicken broth. I only used a little bit of the cooking liquid because it was unsalted. These beans are a blank canvas and can be sassed up at will. When the escarole was cooked, I added it to beans and plated with a grinding of pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Again, I dressed the salad, set the table and we sat down to veggie nirvana. This dish is the ultimate comfort food and you will never know that it's so healthy.

Thursday: Beans and Escarole Encore

You get the routine by now, right? I reheated the beans with little broth like before. This time unfortunately, I totally pigged out on the escarole the night before so there was just a tiny bit left. I mixed in what was left, sliced up a few carrots to add to the last bit of lettuce, dressed and dinner was served.

I have to tell you that I thought I knew a creamy bean from a mealy one, but apparently I was wrong. These beans had the silkiest texture that I have ever experienced. All of that long, slow cooking really makes the difference. I was shopping at the regular grocery store where they didn't have cannellini beans (?), so I bought regular old white ones with no resulting complaints from the happy hubby department. (Not that he ever complains!)

There you have it, one very long post. My DoBianchi's been traveling so much and working so hard that our little routine has been knocked a bit off-kilter. But we'll get it back, he'll be home with me, and it will be delicious.

**A note on the greens: You might have a hard time finding escarole if you live outside of an urban area, so I would use kale. I don't love the super curly kind, I find it kind of bland. My favorite is the 'Lacinto Kale' with its long, black-green leaves. I make it like I make all other leafy greens, with a generous pour of olive oil heated in a pan with a couple of whole cloves of garlic. Tilt the pan so the cloves are bathing and bubbling in the oil. Throw the greens into the hot pan and quickly cover (it will hiss and spit, but it makes it taste better). Let this drama go on for a couple of minutes , stir and salt, and let the greens cook on medium-low until they're done. This takes a little longer with kale, a little less with broccoli rabe. Escarole takes a while to expel all of its water, but give it it's time, the flavor concentrates if you wilt it down right.

Newlywed Couple Thoroughly Enjoying Registry Gifts (Austin, TX)

2010-03-22T08:32:00.009-05:00

As DoBianchi and I settle into our married life and adorable little house, we are absolutely in love with every single wedding gift we have received so far. Case in point: Crock Pot (thank you Uncle Ray and Aunt Gladys).

I suffered a slight scare the first time I used it. There was a faint electrical burning smell/smoke that almost sent me into post-registrum depression, but it went away and all is well. Crock Pot and I are getting along swimmingly now! I took one of my fave braised dishes and translated it to the slow cooker. (If you must now, I am an unabashedly enthusiastic braiser.)

I know it ain't much to look at, but it sure tastes good--just ask mah man. Since you can't discern brown from beige here, I'll tell you what it is: pork chops smothered with cabbage. I've been making chicken smothered with cabbage (pretty sure it was a recipe from Marcella Hazan) for quite a few years now, so changing one meat for another is simply a matter of mood.

And who doesn't love a pork chop? I don't not.

Here's what you do:
*Take four pork chops (in the four-pack they only had loin chops, center-cut or rib chops work just fine too) and brown 'em up good in the All-Clad 3 qt braise pan that yo' mamma and daddy gave you for Christmas. Place them in the bottom of the slow cooker.
*Take half of an onion, sliced, and brown slightly in the same pan. Add a couple of cloves of garlic when the onions are almost done. (You can throw everything in the pot raw, but your laziness will translate in the finished dish as a sigh of mediocrity :)
*Transfer onion/garlic to Crock Pot in a layer over chops.
*Deglaze the pan with a hit of white wine (in my case, whatever is left over from a week's worth of working in wine biz), enough to cover the pan. Scrape up yummy bits and let it reduce. Add about 3/4 cup of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Pour over contents of Pot. You don't want too much liquid because the cabbage will contribute to the juices.
*Add 1/2 head of chopped cabbage (you can throw in a whole head too if you like) on top of everything.
*Lower the hatch and let it ride on High for 4 hours (3 will work too, if you have less time), or around 6-7 on Low.

What you will witness when you open the lid is quite unattractive to behold (see photo above) but SO so good. All that's left to do is open a rich rose'...we love the Campirosa by Illuminati. It's a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Cerasuolo** DOC and shows lots of strawberry, cherry, raspberry and a surprising hint of lemon zest. There's still an ephemeral spritz in the '08 that balances the sweet caramelized cabbage and earthy pork perfectly. It's available around Austin, for sure at Mandola's, and surely elsewhere.

Buon appetito!

**Cerasuolo comes from the ancient Italian word ceraso, the same word that gives us ciliegia (cherry). It indicates the cherry-like nature of something.

(Definitely Not) Any Given Sunday: Our honeymoon visit with Giacosa

2010-03-16T07:28:00.012-05:00

As you all know by now, I went off and married my DoBianchi. We have so many things in common, but one of these is our passion for Italian wine. Luckily, Jeremy has a friend/collaborator named Franco Ziliani who not only shares this passion, but writes about it famously.

So strong is the wine geek factor between us, that we chose not to go off to some beautiful beach and laze around on our honeymoon, no no, we headed to the snow-white hills of the Langa (Piemonte: Barolo, Barbaresco). We also went to Montalcino, Bologna, and Rome, but those posts will come eventually.

Sunday morning, married one week, Feb 7 at 10:00 am: Appointment at Giacosa.

Franco met us downstairs at our B&B, Cascine delle Rose (Beautiful! Will post about this place soon) and off we drove to the village of Barolo.

Well, off we drove after a 30 minute effort to get Franco's car out of the snow...just look at my man and his braccio d'intellettuale! ;)

We were greeted by Giacosa's enologist Giorgio Lavagna, who said, "Bruno is here too, Bruna is in England." (Insert inner *squeal*) Jeremy and I shot each other an OMG glance as we followed Franco and Giorgio into the tasting room.

For detailed tasting notes of the loveliness that followed, please see Jeremy's comprehensive post here. I was on photography duty, Jeremy was on tasting notes duty. Tasting notes part 2 can be found here. Ever the fabulous writer my man is! If you are a fan of Giacosa you simply must take time to read both.

I have to say that I haven't seen such a beautiful parade of wines before me as I saw in those two days in Piemonte. That morning I smelled graphite, truffles, underbrush, tar, cherries, and flowers, all in an endless competition to jump first from the glass. Every one showing different manifestations of the land through Nebbiolo. What a display of the victory of nurture over nature! Environment influencing the predetermined genetic profile...there was Barolo and there was Barbaresco, different crus within each and different vintages....unique personalities, all of them. This is terroir at it's most compelling.

Bruno confessed that his fave Barbaresco was that of Asili. As we tasted the '07, he said, "Hm, you can smell Asili in this wine." Would I had so many encounters with this cru as to be able to find it under all of that complexity! Maybe one day.

As we finished the tasting, Giorgio invited us to lunch. Bruno sat stoically until we bid him farewell, when he said. "You are a lovely bride! I wish you many good things and much happiness." Thank you Bruno!

You shared your Sunday morning with us, thanks to Franco, and we will not forget.

We caravaned toward Alba and as we arrived at Enoclub, Giorgio said to the hostess, "Reservation for four, Giacosa."

Right this way.

Breaking News: Una Vera Pizza Napoletana spotted on Congress! And a tall glass of Piedirosso...

2010-02-27T10:38:00.011-06:00

This is cause for a celebration as far as I'm concerned. Last night, in the company of my DoBianchi, Julio, and wife Lauren, I managed to warm my heart by the fire of Quattro Gatti's beautiful wood-burning oven. (Click here for his take on the evening.)

I'm here to tell you that real Napoletana pizza (La Vera Pizza Napoletana) finally found its way to Austin and I could not be happier. I've now tasted 3 of the offerings and the crust is consistently tender but chewy, the toppings appropriately light for the foundation, and the mozzarella provides coverage at intervals, just like in Naples.

This is the Quattro Stagioni, or Four Seasons--DoBianchi's pick. IWG, you're going to love it!

The texture of the crust is, I think, the most important component in creating an authentic pizza. This is also the most difficult thing to find in the market 'round here. They got it right, alright.

Mine was the Montanara--a pizza "bianca" (no salsa) with fontina, prosciutto, arugula and Parmigiano Reggiano.

The prices on the wine list are more than fair, and if you want to pair that perfect pizza with another indigenous export, try the Mastroberardino Lacyrma Christi del Vesuvio Rosso DOC**. While the debate rages on about whether or not Italians pair wines or beer with pizza, I'll steal away and stick my nose in this glass of Vesuvio. It's 100% Piedirosso (Per'e'palummo in local dialect) and thankfully vinified with no oak to mask its freshness.

*Wine Digression*

The first time I smelled this wine at a trade tasting, I was immediately yanked back to Campania via sensory recall. I smelled that trademark pepper that dances about with whimsical bursts of strawberry and raspberry, against a background of something savory that I can never quite put my finger on, but it's ALWAYS there in this varietal. In my four and a half years between Naples and Ischia, Piedirosso was always around, and never disappointed me. This is the first time that I've seen such an authentic version, this side of the Atlantic and OMG, you have to try it. I feel a blog post comin' on about the Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio DOC, but the star of this post is Quattro Gatti's pizza, so stay tuned.

Owner Gianfranco Mastrangelo has done a mitzvah (as my DoBianchi would say) by showing the huddled masses of Austin what it's about. And it's about time.

L-R: The Pizzaiolo, server, and owner Gianfranco Mastrangelo.

Quattro Gatti
908 Congress Ave
Austin, Tx 78701

**In the DOC rosso, there's also an allowance for Sciascinoso and up to 20% of Aglianico. Will post with geekish enthusiasm on this DOC (as well as the bianco) soon.

Wedding Pics by the Nichols!

2010-02-13T18:16:00.003-06:00

My DoBianchi and I are back from a dreamy two weeks of wedding and honeymoon...returning to find some of the amazing photography of my friend Jennifer and her husband CJ. You might remember them from our engagement shoot, they are an immensely talented husband and wife photography team.

Jenn is an old friend, so she would have been invited anyway, but we are so proud and pleased to have had our most precious memories recorded by the likes of these two.

We will have more details, photos, honeymoon stories, etc coming up, but while we're catching up and trying to recalibrate our internal clocks, please enjoy not only our shoot but also the rest of the work displayed on their blog.

Just a sneaky peak...but you can click here to see more...

Thanks again Jenn and Ceej! WOW :)

Here we go!

2010-01-27T08:01:00.003-06:00

Jeremy P and I are leaving today for our wedding weekend. It has been so much fun being engaged, and now we're on to another adventure! We will be joined in La Jolla by family and friends, then we'll leave for Italy early next week.

I never could have imagined when I left Italy two years ago, that the next time I came back would be on my honeymoon! How things have changed since December 2007.

To my sweet DoBianchi: thank you for appearing out of blogspace, and taking me into a new life, I love you :)

Countdown to Cake (and our wedding)

2010-01-01T12:31:00.007-06:00

If there is one thing that I like more than cake, it's more cake.

That being said, one of the most fun aspects of wedding planning has been our collaboration (i.e. TASTING) with La Jolla's own jewel, Michele Coulon. Her desserts are beyond delicious and her cakes are proof that those of the wedding variety can be great.

Having attended so many weddings in my life, I am convinced that most couples don't give a hootin' holler about the cake. It's an important part of the ceremony, everyone expects it, yet most are entirely forgettable.

Lately, there has been a heightened awareness of wedding cake thanks to so many reality shows featuring fondant-covered creations. These shows have raised the standard of aesthetics and creativity, but have brought too much focus on the outside, while continuing to IGNORE the importance of what's underneath.

Round one, tracie b vs. cake

Michele has been a beacon, showing us that her cakes are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside. She will have nothing to do with fondant (take THAT all of you hipster-Betty-Paige-tattooed-reality-TV-cake-decorators!), but works magic with butter cream and molded white chocolate. All of her ingredients are organic and EVERYTHING is made from scratch--no mixes. I am a believer.

Round 2, she get's a little help from Jeremy P

We will have 3 tiers, 3 flavors. First (Gateau Aileen): Hot milk sponge cake layered with creme Chantilly and fresh berries. Second (Torte Lion Belge): Triple chocolate loveliness...chocolate cake layered with chocolate merengue and chocolate mousse AND chocolate cream. Third (Nathan's Lemon Cake): Dense organic lemon cake with delicate glaze, heart-breakingly subtle.

Oh, she's a trooper! Hang in there...

Check out her cake flavor menu here.

We're incorporating our colors and theme with robin's egg blue butter cream and red pomegranate shapes.

Couldn't you just die? Imagine our delight at having to taste through two trays of her cake flavors. They are all balanced, fresh and incredible, so choosing was tough, but we pulled through.

Victory! She made it! And definitely played favorites.

My sweet fiance' DoBianchi graciously let me take charge since I have the colossal sweet tooth in this union.

I will eat my way through that cake on our wedding day, dress be damned! I know she's going to make something beautiful for us, and you better believe we will be blogging it.

Oh yea, and she also has an incredible savory menu with a French Bistro bent, open for lunch. Go NOW. Yum.

With a little help from our friends

2009-12-20T10:45:00.007-06:00

You've seen the post about my friend Jennifer who is photographing our wedding, right? In almost every aspect of our planning, we've recruited loved ones to participate and it has made the experience richer and more special than we could have imagined.

We happen to have amazing and talented friends (I know I know, I said that already), and Lena is one of them. We met on a summer abroad program at Oxford in 1998 and have been in each other's lives ever since. (I was with her when she met her husband and I was in her wedding.)

We've shared so many good times...Lena is funny, smart, beautiful and is an incredible mother to their little one, who happens to share my birthday.

The girl is super crafty in a way that could put Martha Stewart to shame. She makes birth announcements, invitations, and various other stationery-centric things so when I asked her to make our wedding invitations, she enthusiastically said yes. (Thank you!) Knowing Lena's incredible eye for style, I knew we would have fun collaborating and was confident that she would take the image and the colors I had and make magic out of them.

Aren't they fantastic?

I just love the ribbon that holds in the R.S.V.P. envelope, the square shape with rounded corners, and the typeface that she chose. Lena, you outdid yourself!

Being engaged has been one of the most exciting experiences we've had. The planning and anticipation will soon transition into the wedding, an immensely special day in our lives. Having the announcement of our union made by the loving hands of one of my best friends is a memory that we will both treasure.

Thank you Lena, you are a dear friend!

Please send a Lettere, Maria

2009-12-01T07:57:00.002-06:00

Last weekend as Jeremy and I had the pleasure of lunching with Michele Scicolone at Keste' in New York, I came across the most unlikely but very familiar sparkling red wine.

Please read Jeremy's report on the food here, and his definitive essay answering the question on the pizza with wine or pizza with beer debate.

Although DoBianchi and I do love some Lambrusco, and its southern counterpart, Gragnano, this was neither. Imagine my surprise when I saw an open bottle of Lettere (pron. LEH-te-rey) open on the counter of Keste'! The dork in me squealed with delight, as this is such a rarity to see in the states. When I ordered it from the waiter (quite rudely, I gave my dining companions no other option) he insisted that I meant Gragnano. "No, Lettere" I said..."Gragnano...?" he responded.

Just look at those purple bubbles! How can you not want to dive in?

I got up, showed him the empty bottle, and successfully resisted the urge to explain the difference. He dug around the back of the refrigerator and found the last bottle. Whew.

It turns out that the Cantine Federiciane Gragnano supplier was out of stock, so they sent the Lettere in its stead. They are practically interchangeable, so it was a fluke that we stumbled upon this bit of Campania in Manhattan's West Village.

There is no better companion to pizza (besides beer) than a cool glass of fizzy red wine. All over Campania, Gragnano and Lettere are the pairings of choice for all types of pizza and panuozzi. They are fragrant, simple, and low in alcohol. The zesty bubbles make quick work of pizza dough and rich mozzarella without overwhelming the delicacy inherent in REAL pizza napoletana.

So, Gragnano and Lettere are two sub zones of the Penisola Sorrentina DOC and are named for the eponymous villages. (You can read a post I wrote about Gragnano almost 4 years ago here.)
The grapes allowed in both for 'rosso frizzante' are piedirosso (min 40%), sciascinoso (the local name for Olivella**) and/or aglianico (max 20%), and 'others' (max 40%).

View Larger Map

Drinking a Gragnano and a Lettere from the same producer can reveal a slight difference between the two, but they are equally delightful. One of my favorites from my days in Campania was Vini Iovine, though I'm sure they aren't available in Texas. Any adventurous Texan importers out there...?

Lettere is one of those rare pieces of southern Italian authenticity that one can occasionally find stateside. Along with Gragnano it is a wine that you simply must try, for the the sheer fun of it.

Well, I'll leave the etymological research of the name Lettere to my DoBianchi, but for now if you live in New York, go out and get some!

**The name olivello is a reference to the elongated shape of the grapes, similar to an olive. It is believed that there are two different types of olivello, one being sciascinoso, the other being true olivello. There is much more than a footnote to be done about this grape alone, not to mention the dialectical name for piedirosso. Stay tuned.

Tracie B and Jeremy P's "Gettin' Hitched" Photo Session

2009-11-15T10:32:00.001-06:00

Y'all know by now that Jeremy (DoBianchi) and I are engaged, right? I've fought the temptation to bore you with tales of frolicking about with my itchy trigger finger on a registry gun, obsessing over cake, and general wedding planning stories that I find fascinating...emphasis on the 'I.'

But this little bit has to be shared. My dear old friend Jennifer of the husband and wife wedding photography super duo The Nichols Studio (click here to see her faves from the session) is shooting our wedding. She and her husband CJ and are AMAZING at what they do. She is by far one the best that I've seen and we are honored that they agreed to come out to California and photograph this special moment in our lives.

Everyone has priorities in a wedding, I happen to think that the photographer has to be the best! Precious memories to be recorded cannot be entrusted to just anyone.

So, gushing aside...here are some of our faves, in no particular order.

You can see more of The Nichols Photography on their blog here, you can see some of their packages at their website here, and you can see their ADORABLE family photography here.

Have fun browsing around! Thanks Jenn!

Sweeter Than a Birthday Cake

2009-10-12T18:18:00.002-05:00

Despite the fact that my birthday was Sunday, thanks to DoBianchi we've been celebrating since Friday. Coasting on the fumes of that feeling of entitlement we all get once a year, I am going to shamelessly brag about what an amazing fiance' my Jeremy is.

I need not use words to boast, I will simply share with you the video he made for me that accompanies the song that he wrote for me and produced on his humble little Mac.

Yes ladies, romance is alive and I have proof.

Thank you DoBianchi, I never knew a birthday could be so fun!

Paging Dr. Parzen

2009-09-16T07:34:00.005-05:00

Well just look at what my DoBianchi has gotten himself into. My fiance' Jeremy will be teaching a 6-class series on Italian wine at the Austin Wine Merchant, starting Tuesday October 6.

Please click here for details. Space is limited and seats are inexpensive so make your reservations today!

SO cute :)

Vino in Dialetto, Vino in Poesia

2009-09-07T09:09:00.005-05:00

Just last week, one last important bit of my Jeremy P's life was transferred to Austin. From his 10 years in New York, he had box upon box of books in storage, along with some pictures and his diplomas. We called a moving company and this precious stuff arrived safely.

Yesterday, as he opened every box I could hear "Oh wow!" or "Oh my God, I could barely live without this" or "Yes!"

Before long, I was sitting on the couch with a stack of books that he would bring, excited, one by one...usually some sort of ancient cookery or little books about wine or poetry, or poetry about wine.

(For Jeremy to do his DoBianchi thing, he needs his books, that scholar of mine.)

One of the gioelli that he found, knowing I would love it, was a little pink book of poems about wine in Neapolitan dialect:

Cantene', sto vino vuosto
e' di Puglia, 0 e' Calavrese
E' nu vino troppo tuosto
Unu surzo, e mm'ha pigliato

Comme fosse...mm'ha stunato
Ve veco 'int'a nu velo
Nun v'affiuro bona
Stu vino comme stona!
-------
This wine of yours,
is it from Puglia or is it Calabrese?
It's a very strong wine
One sip and it has me

It's as if...I'm in a daze
I see you through a veil
I can barely recognize you
This wine, it knocks me off my feet!
-------
Happy Labor Day! Please enjoy some wine.

In Vino Veritas, for Real

2009-07-19T11:56:00.007-05:00

Breaking news from Montalcino...

Italy's treasury department has named the 5 wineries found guilty of Merlot-ing their Brunello. Please read DoBianchi's summary of a report published today in Florence.

Evviva la tradizione!

Love Born in the Blogosphere, or How I met my DoBianchi

2009-07-15T06:45:00.005-05:00

Here's a story of two people who somehow managed to find each other in this big wide world (as Alice said) with a little help from Blogger and Wordpress. Read his version here.

Recently returned from my 4 and a half year stay in Italy, I started a new life in my old town, Austin. On March 17, 2008, I began my job in wine sales and was enjoying the ease with which one can "do things" in this country.

I spent a few months reconnecting with family and friends, helping me ease back into the different rhythm of life here. It was good! I was home! And happy.

And then it got better.

*cue going-back-in-time harp*

Over the previous year, I had visited a blog called DoBianchi, written by a musician-wine-guy-writer-Dr. Jeremy Parzen...who was this guy? I couldn't understand exactly what he did, or more specifically, how he did all of those things, but I liked his blog.

Last June, I had a conversation with my friend, mentor, and fellow wine blogger Alfonso Cevola (a.k.a. "Italian Wine Guy" whom I also met via blogging) about Jeremy. Alfonso had met him in January, becoming fast friends. I was intrigued, I asked, "What does he do? What is he like? People seem to hold him in such high esteem...WHAT IS HIS STORY, ALFONSO?!"

Actually, I was a little more discreet, but inside I was curious! Very.

After some not-so-gentle nudging at the hands of IWG, I joined Facebook (end of June, '08). Two weeks later, on July 15th, 2008, I got a very fateful friend request from Jeremy. I accepted right away and noticed that it was the day after his birthday. I wished him happy birthday and went straight to his blog. Read here what I found.

There was a post about his bday dinner, the wines they opened, and a very lonely comment section. I wished him happy birthday again, on the blog, the first to do so, thank you very much!

And then, it happened. Jeremy sent me an email. "Thanks for the comment at DoBianchi. Tracie B, I'm intrigued...what made you come back from Italy?"

I was flattered by his curiosity...I responded, and thus began our story.

One email a day quickly turned into 20. Twenty emails a day quickly turned into song dedications and mixed CDs in the mail and that turned into Jeremy flying from San Diego to Austin to meet me for the first time.

His visit was brief, but quite enough for me to know that I had found what I had always wanted. If you don't know, my Jeremy P is a kind, handsome, creative, intelligent, dynamic, interesting, musical, devoted guy.

AND he speaks Italian! Yes, we certainly share "an acute case of Italophilia," as he wrote in his first email.

After that initial visit at the end of August of last year, he went away for 5 weeks. I was under the impression that 5 weeks consisted of 35 days, always. But this 5 weeks lasted exactly an eternity.

The end of September came and his visit lasted a week--a week that lasted .073 seconds.

There was pining, pining, and more pining between trips, but he came back again every month. I went to visit San Diego once too. (F.Y.I.--Crying on a Southwest flight back home gets you a free drink from sympathetic attendants.)

Every time we had to part, my heart broke right down the middle, then into a million pieces. But on December 15th, 2008 my sweet DoBianchi drove his old Volvo across the country with all of his belongings. He came to Austin to live. He moved across the country for this country girl, can you believe that?

*back to the present*

That's the short version...it has now been a year and here are some of our special memories:

Me and 2B at Ginny's, his first time. We brought Premier Cru Chablis there that night!

Surprise tickets to the Willie concert in October for my birthday!

Lisini Riserva, Tracie vintage ('75)

Borgogno Riserva, Jeremy vintage

Xmas with my family

New Year's Eve

France! Nous Non Plus (Jeremy's Band) mini-tour

My first trip to San Francisco (with Kermit Lynch!)

Last weekend, having fun with my (our) family :) Isn't he handsome?

So you see, it's been a good year. Our story doesn't end, but now begins...on Saturday May 9th, this fairytale became even sweeter when that Jeremy P asked this Tracie B to marry him.

I said CERTO! Of course I will...it has been a stellar vintage, after all. He has made me the happiest Texana this world has ever seen and in January of next year, we will celebrate the best pairing yet.**

Here's to my DoBianchi! You jumped out of the computer screen and into my life with courage and purpose. So glad for the internet, and so glad that we were both just crazy enough to believe that love could happen, even in wine blogging.

**Sorry for the cringe-inducing wine-analogy cheesiness, but that's what love does to a girl.

Happy Birthday Jeremy!

2009-07-14T07:11:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time, not so many years ago, in a land far away from Texas, Jeremy was born. He grew up to be a kind, generous, sensitive, erudite and creative man. He lived here and he lived there, until one day he came to Texas to be with Tracie B.

Please stay tuned for our story tomorrow, the anniversary of the day we met.

Happy Birthday, 2B...can you believe on this day last year both of our lives were about to change...and we didn't even know it!

----------

Why do birds suddenly appear
Every time you are near?
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you.

Why do stars fall down from the sky
Every time you walk by?
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you.

On the day that you were born
The angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true
So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of gold
And starlight in your eyes of blue.

That is why all the girls in town
Follow you all around.
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you.

On the day that you were born
The angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true
So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of gold
And starlight in your eyes of blue.

That is why all the girls in town
Follow you all around.
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you.
Just like me (Just like me)
They long to be
Close to you.

Wahhhhhhhhhhh, close to you.

31 Days of Natural Wine, Day6

2009-06-24T07:16:00.006-05:00

A new post every day for a WHOLE MONTH! It can happen...

Please check out Cory's blog Saignee where he is doing a Series of 31 posts on natural wine. Today he is actually featuring the post I did on our February visit to the Joly winery.

Cory comes highly recommended by my DoBianchi (read his guest post here), who was so excited about Saignee that they met at Terroir in San Francisco during the Nous Non Plus California tour.

Tomorrow, the absolutely fabulous Alice Feiring (hi Alice!) will post, so make sure you tune in for that too.

Maybe the Mr. and Mrs. Saignee could come to Austin soon for a little Chablis and Chickens*#t Bingo? As DoBianchi likes to say, that would be blog-o-licious.

Learning to Deal: Fried Chicken and My Thoughts on Breadcrumbs

2009-06-10T09:00:00.005-05:00

Let me just start by saying that there is no excuse to use store-bought bread crumbs. They are SO easy to make as long as you have bread. And if the bread is fresh, as long as you have time to dry them out in the oven, let them cool completely, and grind it down in the food processor (that you surely own), you will never have to resort to industrial leftovers...

But what's a girl to do when her guy asks her ever so sweetly to make his favorite fried chicken for dinner? At 6:00 in the evening and she still had to go to the store? How could I say no? (My "fried chicken" is an Italian-style cotoletta di pollo, I use thinly-sliced** chicken breasts and bread them with flour-egg-breadcrumb coating.) The preferred contorni are mashed potatoes and some kind of leafy green, so you can imagine that this is no 30-minute meal.

An obvious solution would be to grab a pack of store-bought breadcrumbs (see first paragraph), but I had turned my back on them years ago after realizing that they all contained partially-hydrogenated oil. In a very Christopher Columbus moment I discovered Kikkoman Panko a few months ago and realized (joy!) that they have no P.H. oil on the ingredient list.

In any case, whether you make your own crumbs or buy them at the store, you can easily put a little sass in the frass by "doctoring them up," as my mom would say. Here's what you do:

Once your crumbs are processed, add lemon zest, fresh basil, fresh thyme, salt, pepper, and Parmiggiano-Reggiano and pulse until everything is ground (for the chicken in the first pic, I even used a spoonful of cornmeal--can't ignore the 'southern' in me). Last week I threw in a bit of lively tarragon that was in my fridge and it added a whole new level of aroma to the seasoned crumbs. The flavors of lemon and basil tend to whither a bit in the heat, so don't be shy--use a whole lemon's zest and a brazen handful of basil.

That's the secret, as for the rest (flour-egg-breadcrumb-FRY) you are all accomplished cooks and know exactly what to do!

And who doesn't love fried?

**From the "don't get me started" section of my blog: "thinly-sliced" is a foreign concept here in Austin. I was quite spoiled in Italy to find everything sliced to perfection--prosciutto, veal, pork, chicken breasts, turkey breasts--everything! The patience that I exercise when the butcher proudly shows me how carefully he cut the breast down to a one-half-inch thickness is grounds for canonization. The way that I cheer on the deli guy to cut my prosciutto better (come on, you CAN DO IT!) is a testament to my optimism, right Jeremy P? One day it will be better in Austin...it will! I have a dream, and in it, I can almost see you through the slice.

My Guest Blogger: DoBianchi's Take on Fresh Pasta

2009-05-01T08:48:00.000-05:00

To complete my pasta series with style (you can see part 1 here and part 2 here) I enlisted the help of my own resident smarty pants, Jeremy Parzen. In addition to having spent a number of years in Northern Italy, he has a doctorate in Italian Literature. His authoritative voice on all things pasta and Petrachan will impress you for sure...worked for me!

Take it away, DoBianchi...

I cannot conceal that when Tracie B asked me to guest blog at My Life Italian, I was thrilled. I mean, after all, who wouldn't be honored to contribute to the blog of the woman who wrote a line I wish I wrote, about happy vines she saw in Ischia: If I were a vine, I would grow here. Her innate gifts as a writer, her humor, honesty, and honed palate, and — above all — her insights and perspective into the "garden of Europe" — the bel paease — the fair country are what made me fall for her in the first place. The title of her blog alone still makes me melt. Hey, Tracie B, you had me at hello… Or should I say, ciao?

One of the fun things about our relationship and our shared Italophilia is how she lived in Southern Italy, while I lived in the North. When we talk together in Italian, it's a veritable Tower of Babel: she, the belle from Orange, Texas speaks with a rich, musical Neapolitan accent, and I, from San Diego, speak with a nasaly, sharp Veneto accent!

When she posted the other day about the preference and tradition of "dried pasta," pastasciutta, in Southern Italy, she suggested that I write something about the fresh pasta that prevails in Emilia. So, I wrote to my friend Dindo in Bologna, and asked him to take some photographs of his mother making the fresh pasta that she makes nearly every day.

It's not that people in the North don't eat dried pasta. As a matter of fact, the Emilians are very proud of their Barilla, which is based in their region. But fresh lasagne and tagliatelle reign supreme there, as do a wide variety of stuffed fresh pastas — ravioli, tortelli, tortellini, cappelletti, etc.

Historically, dried pasta has its origins in Southern Italy. In Maestro Martino's 15th-century cookbook The Art of Cooking (which I translated for University of California Press, 2005), he includes a recipe for a dried pasta that resemble today's fusilli. He calls it "Sicilian macaroni" and instructs the reader to dry it in the sun, adding that it can last for up to three years. It's very likely that the warmer temperatures of the South and the ventilation provided by the sea are among the factors that would make Gragnano near Naples the unrivalled center for the production of dried pasta by the mid-18th century.

In landlocked Emilia, humidity and colder temperatures are factors in a unique macroclimate that gives us a variety of culinary wonders, like Parmigiano Reggiano. Did you know, for example, that you can replicate the methods for making Parmigiano Reggiano elsewhere in the world, but it only gets that unique texture and consistency when made in the foggy, damp provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia (where the smell of pig poop is ubiquitous)?

There are other reasons why the Emilians still favor fresh pasta but the geography and climate alone are a big part of why fresh pasta prevails in the North.

Here is Signora Corradino's method for making garganelli, with ridges of course!

After you've rolled the pasta out, you cut it into squares.

Then you roll those around a wooden rod (this is similar to Maestro Martino's technique for Sicilian macaroni).

Then you make the ridges — so important in order for the sauce to penetrate the pasta — using a specially made pasta loom.

Weekly Wino: Oh What a Night

2009-04-26T10:39:00.015-05:00

A trip to Uncle Ace's is always a pleasure for Jeremy and me, where we are taken care of, cooked for, and forced to drink wine from the rich cellar of our mutual friend. We are more than happy to help him whittle down his supply of old wine, a worthy sacrifice for the guy who has affected such positive change in both of our lives.

After my workday was over, DoBianchi and I made the quick trek up I-35 with visions of 1968 Conterno Monfortino Riserva dancing in our heads. We were greeted by our (Galeotto) Alfonso and his SO Kim. Arriving at dinnertime, Kim had made a lovely little antipasto of herbed chevre on baby endive and paired with Loimer "Kamptal" Gruner Veltliner.

The chevre-y goodness paired perfectly with the dancing minerality of the Gruner.

The menu would be local, grass-fed T-bones and veggies to support the 1986 Mouton and star-of-the-night 1968 Barolo Monfortino by Giacomo Conterno. Despite the champion and expert effort of our very own sommy-somm Jeremy, the cork broke. I cannot imagine anyone getting that thing out intact.

No matter! There was no cork a-floatin' in my glass.

If you look at the label closely, you will see that it was aged in botti (huge neutral-wood vats) for a full decade before it was bottled. This wine was taken care of, raised with a loving hand, and left to nap peacefully in Alfonso's cellar.

This wine...aaahhhh. This wine...makes me go all wistful. It had that old Nebbiolo nose of cedar/sandalwood/suede with a hint of moist, leafy underbrush. If there were a to-do list for the expression tertiary aromas, we would have checked every one.

What no one expected was the acidity. This wine was ALIVE and not in the way that a forty year-old wine can be--explosion of taste and smell, only to burn out with an ephemeral last gasp--it HUNG OUT. It was in for the party and if we hadn't drained it in less than an hour, it would have drunk us under the table in a no-country-for-old-farts kind of way.

This Barolo had LIFE and it had umami. I don't want to give more specific tasting notes because what was special was how this wine made us feel, transcending the material and bringing us into a soulful flex of admiration. I felt surprise, appreciation, lovely yummy, in the moment, in the glass, in love, in a state of being that was...together.

Pastasciutta Part 2: La Cottura

2009-04-18T10:51:00.011-05:00

Click here for Part 1.

La Cottura in Italian refers to "how you cook the pasta." Jeremy (my very own highly-paid Italian language expert) explained to me that there is no direct translation, when I asked him if there were another way to define this word without using an entire English phrase.

But there is no direct or "slavish" translation for this second important element in making a great plate of pasta. Much more simple, at the same time much easier to err, than it would seem.

The simplicity (and difficulty) in all of this is twofold.

1. Salting the water
2. Duration of boiling

For the first, many a cookbook would have you egregiously underseason your water. I use the word "season" because how you flavor the water translates to flavor enhancement of the pasta itself. In Italy, we can eat a fantastic primo piatto, but recreating that glory once home can leave even the best home cook scratching her head, wondering why she can't get that same intangible...umph.

One thing that I have seen over and over in my years in Italy is a generous flow of salt into the boiling pot. Taste your water; it should be just a bit less salty than the sea. This may seem like an exaggeration but I promise it will take the pasta itself from being a neutral vessel for the exaltation of your best sauce to a supporting role that takes the whole show over the top.

Second, please don't overcook your pasta. I said PLEASE DO NOT NOT NOT OVERCOOK THE PASTA! Did you hear me? Chewing on slightly undercooked pasta is preferable to the awful sensation of a rigatone that gives up too easily under the pressure of your teeth.

Besides the flavor of your sauce, you should really be enjoying a well seasoned spaghetto with the pleasant tactile sensation of pasta that is perfectly al dente. You want to feel, taste, and smell its presence underlining the fabulosity of your perfect ragu'.

To achieve this effortlessly, read the cooking time on your box of high quality dried pasta (remember lesson 1?) and drain it about 2 minutes short. There will be carry-over cooking as well as a bit more time in the pan with the condiment. (Please tell me that you stir your pasta in the pan with the sauce! Also important--must meld.)

Tell your guests to sit down and dig in when the plate hits the table because, honey, zee pasta waits-a for a-nobody!

Call Me Crazy

2009-04-15T08:18:00.007-05:00

But living in the Garden of Eatin' that was Italy didn't exorcise the taco-loving Texana out of me. Even the clams couldn't eclipse the burning in my heart that was my love for Mexican (Texican) food.

I always make nachos/quesadillas/tacos at home. I have convinced myself that I can make them healthy without a hint less of flavor, which is important because my metabolism cooperates less every day closer I get to 34. What I do is make a filling/topping that is versatile and, being forced to confess, I would say damn good.

My DoBianchi has asked me to post a recipe, inspired by our ritual equation of American Idol+nachos=love. I will do no such thing, as I am too willy-nilly with my filling to be precise, but I will tell you what I do and maybe you can too:

*One pound, maybe a bit more, of ground turkey or chicken breast. (HINT: when you can find it, ground chicken breast is quite a bit cheaper.)

*4-5 T of Chili powder, not the authentic New Mexican kind, but that Americanized spice mix. I like Fiesta...it's fancy.

*1 can of drained and rinsed (rinse please!) black beans. I like Progresso and Goya.

*Handful of frozen corn, fresh if you find yourself in the midst of Summer.

*A bunch of fresh baby spinach

*As much cilantro as you can stand to wash and cut, the more the better!

*2-3 limes, depending how juicy they are

*1 minced garlic clove and maybe 1/2 cup of finely diced onion.

1. Put the onion in a heated (mediumish) pan coated with olive oil, saute 5 minutes and add garlic until it becomes fragrant.
2. Add the bulk of the chili powder and stir with onion, garlic, and oil.
3. Add spinach and cook, and this is important, until the water is gone. Add ground meat and brown, putting the balance of chili powder in the mix.
4. Now that the meat is cooked, season to taste with salt and pepper, adding more chili powder if you're not feeling it.
5. Now it's time for the corn, stir it in until it's heated and seasoned. FOLD in the black beans, letting the spices penetrate without breaking them into mush.
NOTE: At this point, you want the mix to be free of running liquid, but not totally dry.
6. Take the pan off of the heat and go crazy with the lime juice and cilantro. Crazy! The lime juice is the secret that totally takes this over the top.

If you're making nachos, top some chips with the filling, low-fat refrieds too should you choose, and a moderate amount of ColbyJack cheese. (I SO know we're not Mexican anymore, but it's "inspired.") Throw them in the oven, melt, and top them with shredded cabbage and more cilantro. The cabbage is delicious, crunchy, and much more nutritious than mere lettuce.

Jeremy and I LOVE Herdez ranchera salsa. Goes great on top of the nachos!

If you make a little more of the mix, you'll have it on hand in the fridge to make quesadillas, tacos, or tostadas at will.

Whew! For all of my hard work, Jeremy surprised me with a bottle of Tempier Rose' (seems to be another emerging pattern, next week Tempier Blanc?), and you can read his thoughts here. It was lovely, very much in the same way as its Rouge sibling that I wrote about two weeks ago, but it's his turn, so go read it please.

My poor guy has to eat this at least on a weekly basis, constantly reminded by the leftovers, but he's still hangin' around so I guess our resident DoBianchi is a sucker for punishment! Who knew?

Now go get your Mex on! And feel good about it.

As if I weren't impressed before...

2009-04-14T08:15:00.003-05:00

...our Jeremy P (DoBianchi) dun' wrote him a book! Well, he translated it for Princeton Press. Can we get a big fat auguri? This Texana is so proud!

I mean, it's kind of a big deal :)

Blogication: To My Jeremy P

2009-04-13T09:22:00.004-05:00

I must interrupt the regular programming to post a pic of my sweety and me. I have to say that this has been the best part about coming home and a confirmation that I do have a bit of sense...

Thank you for coming to Austin DoBianchi! You've made life even sweeter :)

Weekly Wino: Tempo per Tempier? Indeed.

2009-04-01T09:00:00.004-05:00

I'll admit to being very excited about American Idol, but awkward performances and triumphant surprises made for a splendid evening over a glass of Tempier Bandol. My very own DoBianchi, was recently braggety-bragging about having drunk the famous Tempier Rose' that I have yet to taste. In his wisdom, to avoid seeing me take a long walk down pout street, my guy hastily opened a bottle the '05 Bandol Rouge last night.

Please visit here to git yerself a-learnin' about the Bandol appellation. I will not torture you with my clumsy and perfunctory version of history and percentages when my rested fingers can point you elsewhere. I'll just tell you that this Provencal beauty is mostly Mourvedre with some Cinsault, perhaps some other usual suspects. Maybe someone out there knows the recipe...? The Google gods granted me no such tech sheet in an admittedly brief search this morning.

I brought two cheeses home from Mandola's. The first was a Chevre, the second a Pecorino Sardo. I fully expected the former to pair with the aperitivo of bubbles and the latter with the Tempier. Instead, this wine seemed strong but SO delicate that the Pecorino overwhelmed it. The Chevre was, suprisingly, the perfect partner.

Who knew?

Aahh, now to the good stuff. The nose gave hints of earth and tar, supported by an undercurrent of black cherry liquorice. On top of the crust and the filling were sprinkles of anise, lavender, cedar, and eucalyptus. But what was new and MEMORABLE about this wine was the velvet softness that reminds me of the fresh, cool stroke of talcum powder on a warm summer day. It made my mouth water in the same way that natural minerality usually does, but this was not made of salt or stone, it was Baby Soft.

I could barely tear my nose away.

So when the performances were sub par, I retreated into my glass of babies and spice, thankful to Kermit Lynch for deliverance.

Keeping it Italian: 'A Past' Asciutt' Pt 1

2009-03-25T08:25:00.002-05:00

Misconception Americans have about Italian food #32b, Section 2:

Fresh pasta is superior/preferred to dried pasta, the latter being merely a convenient substitute for the unskilled and lazy.

Many times I have heard people say, "But fresh pasta is definitely better." Well, not exactly. I will start by saying that fresh pasta is a more Northern tradition, while dried pasta is a more Southerly thang.

The absolute Mecca for fresh pasta is without a doubt, Emilia-Romagna. That being said, all regions, no matter their Latitudinal persuasion, boast their own fresh pasta. (In Naples, they have eggless scialatielli, made with regular flour and water, typically dressed with frutti di mare...yum!)

Dried and fresh pasta have two very different but equally important uses. For example, no Italian in her right mind would EVER make a puttanesca with fresh pasta (click here to read DoBianchi's excellent history on this misunderstood sauce). On the other hand, who ever heard of dried ravioli? Spaghetti/penne with fresh tomatoes would not be the same without perfectly al dente, high-quality dried pasta.

Since I am a girl of the south, on both sides of the Atlantic, we'll concentrate on the latter. (In my series Keeping it Italian, we'll focus on how to get the good stuff right here at home.)

There are a few indicators of quality to help you navigate a grocery isle (stay away from anything that says "noodles" unless you're making Asian food, please.) The most important is the surface of the pasta, whatever shape it may be. It must-a to be ruvido (that means rough), not like sandpaper, but a bit like the fine side of a fingernail file. This helps the sauce adhere to the pasta, clinging to the hope of making your mouth happy.

Buy one of those bags of 79 cent "noodles" when you buy your good spaghetti. You'll feel the difference!

The second, which reveals itself only after cooking, is the integrity of the pasta. If it falls apart when you stir it with the sauce, it is too old. It may have been a fine bag of love in its prime, but it's a sign that your grocer isn't turning over his stock.

**Digression alert**
One more thing, and this is a personal preference, but I believe with my entire Texan being that all "cut" pasta (penne, ziti, rigatoni, etc) should be ridged, or rigata. There is nothing uglier than a plate of smooth penne, espesh when one or two are broken. Why have Lays when you can have Ruffles? Why would you forgo the extra fun of added texture for the flat and boring landscape of liscia (smooth)?

Back to business...

Must we spend 5-7 dollars a pound on Rustichella d'Abruzzo to get it right? Maybe. This is terrific pasta, but this starch's humble purpose in the kitchen becomes a luxury when it should be a nutritious and everyday option.

In most supermarkets you can find DeCecco, which is a fine product, though industrial, but I use it regularly. My favorite, however, is I SapORI di Napoli (this is a bit of a word-play, sapori means flavors, the capitalized ori is the plural of oro, which means gold). I found in this brand what I had been looking for since I returned from Italia. It's made in Caserta (just outside of Naples) and feels like a true artisan pasta.

Otherwise, Garofolo is great AND made in Gragnano. This Southern Italian town is home to panuozzi, eponymous fizzy red wine, and it is molto famous for its dried pasta...

Please stay tuned for Part 2 where we'll talk about cooking the pasta!

Weekly Wino: What the hell's wrong with Chardonnay?

2009-03-04T09:11:00.000-06:00

It's 100% Chardonnay, if you like that kind of thing.
--some guy working in a local wine bar, telling me about one of their sparkling wines

It never fails to surprise me when a "wine person" utters such nonsense. Can we please stop propagating the misguided idea that all Chardonnay is oaky and buttery and therefore bad? Please dismount the high horses, it only makes one seem ignorant to poo-poo an entire varietal for the unfortunate trends which have tainted this noble grape's reputation.

I guess this guy has never had a Chablis, more southerly Burgundy, or a Blanc de Blanc...? There are even some Chardonnays out of California that are fresh and clean, fermented in stainless steel and bottle-aged instead of barriqued.

The Chablis manifestation is where one should start to understand the truth of Chardonnay. It is usually naked, nervous, stripped of make-up and a hair dryer. But it has natural beauty which shines and delights even more because it's clean.

Still in Burgundy, but heading south, we might encounter some Côte de Beaune. This Chardonnay is a bit more voluptuous with its light touch of malo-lactic fermentation and kiss of oak. But eet ees zo French, done with elegance, destined for subtlety and long life.

Aaaaah, and Champagne. You know how I feel about bubbles. A good Blanc de Blanc (made with 100% Chardonnay) is an effervescent delight. Grapes are picked precociously, to maintain high acidity and low sugar, much like those spunky little gymnasts who remain tiny into adulthood to delight us with back-flips and perfect dismounts.

BUT...we wouldn't have a Weekly Wino without a wine, would we? The protagonist of this drama is a 2007 Côte de Lechet Chablis (premier cru) by Laurent Tribut. This wine is still a bit young, but its potential is clear and DoBianchi and I enjoyed it thoroughly on Valentine's Day. We will surely revisit this feminuccia in a year.

Tasting notes (let's go with a list, I have taken too much of your time already):

*Do you remember the Sprite "limon" from the 80s?
*strong minerality
*bit of hazelnut...or is that graphite?
*ultra tart pineapple
*if there were a crystal ball in this glass, I would see the future hint of cinnamon upon maturity
*apple peel

I encourage you to drink more Chardonnay and this one is a good place to start. Premier cru Chablis can be relatively inexpensive so go for it!

And if you are a wine professional, please speak responsibly because people do listen.

This wine is available locally at Austin Wine Merchant.

I Won!

2009-03-02T07:29:00.006-06:00

That's right, I done won me an award...an American Squirrel Wine Blog Award. Just look at that little guy!

Nominated and winning in the following categories:

Special Award for Time Elapsed between Posts: (Never thought my procrastination would be preceded by the hyphenated distinction "award-winning.")

Best Wine Blogs Pairing: my life italian and DoBianchi (This award was shared with my very own Jeremy Parzen. We actually met because of our blogs. This must be the first and best blog love story ever!)

So thank you Sgt. Sassafrass, I am honored.

Weekly Wino: Fresh from the Archives

2009-02-25T08:24:00.010-06:00

I Vini Paesani

I wrote this way back in May of 2006 when I was living in Italy. If ever you wanted a little slice of Italian life, you can taste here.

That translates as "country wine," but the meaning is closer to home-made wine. I want to talk about this part of Italian wine life because is exists and is very important to the common Italian.

There is a large market for these unlabeled bottles and they are consumed in many homes as the daily table wine. This bottle is of the more "professional" variety, as it is sold in a 750 ml bottle with a cork. Many times, il vino paesano is packaged in old glass water bottles, or even 1.5 liter plastic water bottles. You can see in the photo to the right, the "label" is handwritten and says Gragnano. Gragnano is a slightly sweet and very fizzy red made on the Sorrento Peninsula. If you've ever had a lambrusco amabile, you have an idea of what this tastes like.

The first time that I ever tried vino paesano, I was 22 years old and in Venice. I had lost myself in the winding streets and happened upon a wine store. Inside was a very rotund man with a beard and an apron, and he explained to me that the 9 HUGE straw-covered casks on display were fresh wines brought in from all over the Veneto. Fresh wines! I'd never heard of this. Enthusiastically I asked for a bottle, and he asked me if I had one for him to fill. Of course not! He went to the back, brought out an empty plastic water bottle (1.5 L) and filled it with red. At that time, I paid about 3 dollars (still being a student, this was a pleasant surprise), carried my bottle with me, and shared it with my friend and a rowdy group of Italians on the train back to Florence. It was wonderful because I had found a new wine experience.

By now, I have tried just about every local varietal in its paesano version. In Ischia, that would mean the having tried the less-common-on-the-mainland biancolella (white), per'e'palummo/piedirosso (red). AND, there have even been times when the "uvaggio," or varietal(s) was unknown, even to its contadino (farmer) winemaker.

Wherever in Italy wine is made, (everywhere!), you are sure to find a local paesano production of the regional wines. They are neither fabulous nor complex, and sure never to win any distinction. They can be too sour, too tannic, or even oxidized--but if you find the right supplier, they can also be delicious and fun and just the right compliment to that rabbit braised in a clay pot.

They are certainly not perfect, and one cannot expect the same wine that comes out of a bottle, but they are an experience worth having because to the farmer who makes them, they are a manifestation of his passion for the land, they are his own personal work of art, they are his pride in a bottle that his wife lovingly puts on the table every day for the family. These wines are a pure expression of the important part of Italian culture that takes what nature has given locally and turns it into a sacred familial ritual of eating well every day.

These wines are the bare, simple truth of the vine, brought to fermented life by the hand that has worked his land for generations. It is local, rustic, and Italian; it is a way to get closer to the real culture, and for that, it is special.

Loire Valley Part Deux: Our Queasy Quarts de Chaume Drive-By

2009-02-22T09:11:00.019-06:00

As only I am capable of, on our second day of of touring the Loire Valley, I managed to score some sort of first-class stomach funk.

After the Joly winery tour on day one, we drove into Rochefort to find the hotel that Virginie booked for us. Driving through the town square, my eyes immediately spotted a sign that read "Chaume." Jeremy and I had already decided to visit one more town/winery on the way back to Paris the next day--we were thinking more along the lines of Chinon. But seeing Chaume, as in !!OMG-Quarts-du-Chaume!!, changed my mind.

Quarts de Chaume AOC, if you don't know, is one of those revelatory dessert wine appellations. Esoteric and obscure though it may be, it is definitely worth the hunt. Let me take you back in time...

August 2008: Jeremy came to Austin to visit me for the first time. On his second and last day, I cooked dinner. He had never tasted a Quarts de Chaume before. I bought a half-bottle of Baumard from Austin Wine Merchant. It was incredibly memorable and now sentimental.

**Cue back to present-day LOIRE and my excessive rambling.**

So, Quarts de Chaume is produced entirely with botrytized Chenin Blanc grapes. It has that characteristic botrytis nose, but the chosen varietal lends such an incredible minerality and nervous acidity that its perfect balance of sugar and acid with that salty sprinkle of terroir-driven mineral will make you FORGET about ever wanting a Sauternes. Semillion just can't deliver what Chenin can. We had the '05, so I can only imagine how wonderfully this wine would age.

The land area for this AOC is roughly 70 acres, and the maximum yields are appropriately low.

After all of this raving about QdC, I have to say that it was the very last thing I could stomach under the relentless wave of nausea that hit me on day 2. I asked Jeremy to very gently drive me through the undulating vineyards on curvy roads so that I could at least see what I was missing while trying not to leave a bit of myself in the terroir.

The village of Chaume consists of exactly 3 adjacent houses, a man with dark hair, and a horse. Driving through the vineyards, it was clear that the vines were all quite old (40-50 years, at least), many of them head-trained. These kinds of vines were a pleasantly ubiquitous site that may lose something in the transition from reality to digital image. I trust that some of you out there may appreciate it, nonetheless.

It was quite the dream fulfilled being able to poke around this favored corner of the Loire Valley. The air was clean and crisp, much like the wines, and the villages were absolutely charming.

I love good values from regions overshadowed by flashier, more expensive wines from regions famous for being famous. While a good Quarts de Chaume may not be what most consider cheap at $35ish per half-bottle, it offers a product that has more soul and class in its recently-released-375 mLs than an average Sauternes could ever hope to offer, even after 10 years in the bottle. Not that the latter has no merit--we all know that a great Sauternes can be quite thrilling--but a truly great one is simply cost-prohibitive for most of us.

Locally, Baumard Quarts de Chaume, 2005 is available at Austin Wine Merchant. Run, don't walk!

Loire Valley and the Nicolas Joly Winery

2009-02-18T00:00:00.002-06:00

Holy vache, did Jeremy Parzen and I have a good ol' time in France! His band, Nous Non Plus, had a 5-gig tour in France and New York, so I offered my services as number #1 groupie and tagged along. I'll blog about the music later, but the priority here is our 24 hour wine jaunt to the Loire Valley. Each of us alone is quite wine geeky, put us together in a couple and there was no place to go but Savennières.

After a fantastic display of my very own signature badgering, Jeremy agreed to take me. It was a toss-up between Chablis and Savennières...so we decided the first winery to respond would be our destination.

Virginie, Nicolas Joly's daughter responded right away, no doubt thanks to Mr. DoBianchi.

It was rainy and cool, and the plains of the Parisian periphery slowly gave way to the rolling hills surrounding our destination. Arriving in Angers, we abandoned the autostrada for the smaller roads leading to the wine country where there were signs reading Bouchemaine, La Pointe, and Epiré.

The sky started to clear upon our arrival at the Joly property. We were greeted by the young, energetic, and super-knowledgeable Virginie who wasted no time in pouring us wine.

The first wine was the Le Vieux Clos, which is their entry-level Savennières AOC, though all of the grapes are estate-grown. Jeremy asked her if this one was exported to the states, because neither of us had heard of this particular bottling. She explained that for some reason, the importer thought that the word "vieux" wouldn't be appreciated in the States, so this one is known as "Les Clos Sacrés" in the USA. The soil composition under these vines is entirely sandy, and some of the clusters are naturally infected with botrytis.

**Just a break for explanation here...it is very often erroneously reported that Joly's wines are oxidized. This just ain't true, for the love of biodynamic bacchus! All of his wines are botrytized, to varying degrees, which gives them that unctuous honeyed nose, and later the golden color that could be easily mistaken for oxidation.**

Anyway, wine #2 was the mid-level Clos de la Bergerie from the Roche-aux-Moines AOC. The vines from this vineyard grow in about 30 cm of sand before they have the strain of brown slate. There is more botrytis, and the vines are just a bit older. That pic to the right is the Bergerie vineyard cooling under a fitfully shining sunset.

Wine #3...drum roll please...was the Coulée de Serrant AOC. This vineyard is composed entirely of brown slate and is planted on a steep slope. The word Coulée refers to a small valley,** and Serrant is the name of a castle nearby, whose inhabitants donated much of the funds to plant the vineyards many many years ago. The Joly family purchased the entire estate in the 60s, and the Coulée de Serrant appellation is exclusive to this property (that's it in the pic below). Look ma, our very own AOC! Can you imagine? (BTW--Clos de la Bergerie is shared among 5ish producers.)

Virginie patiently answered ALL of our questions (we were quite the curious duo), and explained that the most important aspect of her father's wines is the foundation of minerality, which the brown slate supports. Chenin Blanc (my favorite white varietal), in my experience, has a characteristic nuttiness supported by don't-mess-with-me-while-I'm-getting-ready acidity.

Speaking of, the line-up was from the '07 vintage which is SO not ready to be drunk yet. It nearly split my tongue in two with its bracing acidity. Not to say that the wines weren't fantastic! They just need to hang out in their bottles for a bit. Two things give wine endurance to age: tannin and acid. The latter is the reason that Joly's wines, as well as most other Savennières/Chenin-based wines, are so incredibly long-lived.

There was an interesting twist to our tasting, though. All of the wines had been open since Saturday (we were there on a Thursday) and they were still alive! Many claim that Joly's wines should be decanted for as long before drinking. We were quite surprised when she shared this info with us at the end of the tasting.

BUT, there were TWO bottles of Coulée de Serrant on the table. The second, she disclosed, had been open for a few hours. There was a difference. The 5-day-old Coulée was still very vibrant, but the fresher bottle showed more umph and fruit, the complexity was more apparent. (Brooklynguy did a post on these wines with a similar experiment.)

Still reading? Thanks Mom! Here are some more images from the visit and our muddy stroll 'round the vineyards:That's Virginie practicing patience avec moi in the aging room. They use their barrels for many years, keeping the wood from ruining the wine with its scene-stealing presence.

It's my partner in wine crime...isn't he adorable? And just look at that chicken crossing the road! Don't you want to make a yolk?

That is a gnarly old Chenin Blanc vine, 80-90 years old, to be inexact. There are a couple of rows of these at the bottom of the Coulée de Serrant hill. They use them for cuttings, as they are "so used to growing in this terroir." They produce a couple of clusters every year, though, which go into the CdS mix. Wow. I hope you know that I risked a soggy muddy bottom climbing up the hill to take this picture...the things we do for love!

So that's it (really?!) for the Savennières tour. We had a blast and we are grateful to Virginie for putting up with us and being such a great host!

Stay tuned for Loire Valley Part Deux: Our Queasy Quartes-du-Chaume Drive-by...

**Info provided by Virginie, and she knows everything!

Weekly Wino: Best Bubbles Under 15 Bucks

2009-02-15T16:06:00.009-06:00

Who loves bubbles? I do I do! I'm sure you do too. Who loves Champagne-Method-Chenin-Blanc-based-Loire-Valley bubbles UNDER FIFTEEN BUCKS?

Who doesn't?

Nowadays, it's hard to find anything decent under $15, much less high-quality sparkling wine. I am here to testify that it IS possible.

Can I get an AMEN?

That wine is today's special value--Chateau Moncontour Sparkling Vouvray Brut, '06. This wine is made from 100% Chenin Blanc (this girl loves CB), with second fermentation in the bottle (Traditional/Classic/Champagne Method), which lends complexity to an already sassy varietal.

The nose is nutty (thank you Chenin!) and yeasty, with a heart of apricot and citrus. The creamy heavy mouthfeel gains levity from the most elegant little bubbles. This is one of the best values around. I've had some other sparkling Vouvrays, but none has come so close to being this damn good.

This wine is super food-friendly, something that could accompany almost anything, but pair this with a bit of prosciutto, and you'll find yourself in hog heaven.

The Loire Valley is generally a place to go for great values, but when it comes to bubbly, you can't beat it, not even with a stick.

Chateau Moncontour Sparkling Vouvray Brut is available in Austin at VinoVino, Grapevine Market, Central Market, and Whole Foods where it should cost about 14 dollars.

Now go on, y'all have some shopping to do!

Please tune in on Wednesday when I will be posting about the Loire Valley and our visit to the Nicolas Joly winery. Woohoo!

La Tour d'Argent

2009-02-12T08:33:00.004-06:00

That's my man Jeremy P, also known as DoBianchi, perusing the wine selection at one fay-miss Parisian restaurant. They emphasized that they had only French wine. (Of course! Maybe someone tried to order Opus One last week...?)

That has to be the heaviest wine "list" I HAVE EVER SEEN, and that's just the White Zin selection!

But seriously folks...

French Quoted

2009-02-10T11:22:00.003-06:00

"3 rivers run through Lyon: the Rhone, the Saone, and Beaujolais!"

--Our friendly taxi driver in Lyon, referring to the quantity of Beaujolais consumed by the locals.

Suino Divino

2009-01-31T16:27:00.004-06:00

Mamma mia, look at that pork! Just a little preview of blog posts to come while Jeremy and I are on the road. This was taken at our wonderful little lunch courtesy of Salumeria Rosi in Manhattan's upper west side.

We are now at JFK airport, waiting to board our flight to Paris where good times (and great eats) are sure to be had on the road with Jeremy's band, Nous Non Plus.

I'll be updating regularly (shut up! I swear I'll try), so stay tuned...

à bientôt :)

Weekly Wino: Bea(ta)

2009-01-07T20:41:00.006-06:00

Cloves
Orange peel
Earth
Savory, salty minerality
Deep, complex citrus
Tannins
Grechetto
Sauvignon
Malvasia
Chardonnay
Garganega (that's gar-GA-ne-ga)
Natural

Mouth. Watering.

Paolo Bea Santa Chiara

Thanks DoBianchi!

Available locally at VinoVino

Return of the Weekly Wino

2008-12-22T21:07:00.007-06:00

Sometimes you have a wine that's good, and sometimes you have a wine that really grabs your attention. But when that wine costs less than twenty bucks, it gets in your face and squeezes your cheeks like an obnoxious aunt.

That recent one for me is a Pecorino from Le Marche that my partner in wine crime, Do Bianchi (a.k.a. Jeremy Parzen) brought to me from a store in California. The producer is Clara Marcelli, and it's called Irata from the Offida D.O.C. Pecorino is a white varietal which is indigenous to Le Marche. It is, however, found all over central Italy.

The origin of the name comes from pecora, which means sheep, and the -ino at the end is a diminutive. Pecorino, apparently, was the preferred snack of some very lucky sheep indeed.

I love a good story about a forgotten varietal (Italy is full of them!), abandoned to be found growing wild in someone's backyard. Pecorino has such a history, rediscovered as it was almost 10 years ago.

As for the wine, its color is a very golden yellow (only a 2007, must be characteristic of this varietal), and the nose is rich with gingered mustard, beeswax, Meyer lemon, spice, and totally savory minerality. It is this last trait, in fact, that makes this wine so incredibly addictive. It functions very much like the burst of pineapple acidity on an Al Pastor taco, or the squeeze of lime on a fish taco...oh, now you know what I mean!

Italy has a uniquely fascinating wealth of indigenous varietals. There is always more to discover if we can get away from the Cabernet-ed, Merlot-ed "Supers." Often, wines made from autocthonous grapes represent some of the best values around, and if you're game for an adventure, this is a great place to start.

For the love of legumes!

2008-12-05T08:21:00.006-06:00

It's getting cold out there, and I think that we are all thinking about eating steaming bowls of steaming things. So what's better than a big bowl of beans and pasta?

(Sorry about the recycling, but were you really reading my blog back in '06?)

Didn't think so, now get in that kitchen!
__________

January 26, 2006
In just 8 days I will be back in the land of pasta. A place that knows no Atkins, speaks of no "carbs," and has no South Beach. This is a magical land where good boys and girls must eat a plate of pasta every day, lest they throw whole digestive tracts into an uproar.

Yes, I am speaking of Italy. This is the country where I have frequently been asked with an astounded curiosity, "Tracie, is it true that in America you eat without bread?" Well, be afraid no more! Eat your pasta and eat it with beans! OH carbs upon carbs of delight!!

In my previous post, I mentioned a very typical winter dish, pasta e fagioli (pronounced fah-JOH-lee). I'm not talkin' about the one you used to eat on your high school dates at The Olive Garden. (Oh shut up, you know you did!)

This is the real deal. It's delicious, home-made, and will make you want to live in Italy. I'm not going to give a recipe, just a concept. In Italy, or in my experience in the south, all members of the legume family get the same treatment. Every pot starts with a "soffritto" of carrot, celery, and onion (about 1:1:2). They also throw in a few cherry tomatoes, a healthy dose of olive oil (do I need to specify extra virgin?) and let it all cook down and get a bit caramelized.

Now here is where I insert my Texan ignorance of the Italian law. I throw in some garlic too. (Don't tell Italy, it would faint from the idea of aromatic overkill if it knew that I made something with onion AND garlic! BUT, everybody loves it.) Besides, garlic is good for you. You can also put some pancetta in the soffrito, but that's optional.

After it's been cooked down, add enough water (or chicken broth if you want) to cover your beans by a few inches. Let it all cook until the beans are tender, and add salt to taste. (You can make a big batch and refrigerate or freeze what you don't use now.) And please, for the love of the patron saint of the Italian Kitchen, don't try this with canned beans, it will not taste the same. Although the cooking time is long for beans, the active time is quite small. Don't be afraid...

At this point, it's time for the pasta. Let's talk about pasta. The Italians I know are very persnickety about which pasta goes with what. (And by "persnickety," I mean dogmatic, specific, and inflexible.) In Naples, pasta e fagioli is generally eaten with the mixed-cut pasta, although I have seen it with the short tubes in other parts of Italy. These 2 suggestions go for pasta with cannellini beans. If you were making pasta con le lenticchie (pasta with lentils, yum), you would probably use ditalini. Or if you were to make pasta con ceci (pasta with chickpeas, my favorite), and you were from Naples, you would probably use broken fettucine or spaghetti, but I am a rebel and use the short tubes mentioned above. They are much more fun to eat and every now and then, a chickpea gets stuck inside a tube. Che sfizio! There is nothing more fun than that.

(NOTE: This is the only time when breaking long pasta would be even remotely acceptable! And it must be broken into 2 inch pieces for goodness sake.)

Whatever you choose, put it in the boiling pot with the beans (one box is good for 4 people) and make sure that there is enough liquid to cover the pasta and beans by about an inch or 2. Now all you have to do is keep stirring until the pasta is cooked, al dente please, and plate it. Drizzle a little olive oil on top, throw on a little parsley, and cover it all with some Parmigiano Reggiano.

Are you in heaven yet?

My Life Italian?

2008-11-04T06:24:00.010-06:00

I miss my blog, but I've had a little trouble finding its direction since I came back home. One of the largest items stuck in my writing craw has been the title.

This title promises stories of a girl finding her way in a new country, eating and drinking in the heart (my heart) of the culinary world. I'd hate to mislead, but I've decided to leave it alone, for this is the blog that tells the story of the formation of my current life. I'm back in Texas, adjusting to the American way after four and half years in my surrogate country, and trying to figure how to keep it Italian--how to have the best of both worlds.

This post by Italian Wine Guy shows that I'm not alone on such a journey.

So this is my new theme, my new direction. I am here to preach the delights of taking risks and leaving all behind to chase a dream, but I know (believe me) how hard this is, and downright impractical for all but the nuttiest of us. I'd like to find the best way to keep a little Italiano in our American lives, how to find what we need right here at home to satisfy that craving that I know, for so many of us, will never go away.

L'inizio

2008-09-02T00:02:00.001-05:00

One night recently, a friend asked me what was the wine--that one, that inspired me along this path. Thinking about it, I've noticed that a lot of people have these passionate tales of a revelatory Barolo or Burgundy (or in his case, a Spatburgunder). It's all very romantic to have a such a beautiful story, or some one-word answer with a respectable D/AOC attached.

For me though, there wasn't one wine that turned the key that opened the door to this technicolor world. I didn't have such a tidy response. There was just a beginning, the first steps of a journey.

It's funny, but white zinfandel was my first wine, though I didn't stay there for long. My active curiosity quickly (and thankfully) swept me along on a current of new places and better wines.

My love for wine is one manifestation of this curiosita', a theme that has also led me away from home and back again. To me, wine has always been a stained-glass window to the world, a way to touch another culture and understand it's eno-gastronomic traditions; a way to travel that is much more visceral than vicarious. (Such a gift!)

Of course there have been special players along the way, wines which have made my ears perk...wines which have sent shivers down my spine...wines that stayed with me long after their ephemeral physical selves were poured and drunk.

Those have been special. But when asked to explain where my love of wine comes from, I have to say that it is the taste of an exotic place, connection with foreign geography right in my own home, and perhaps most thrillingly of all, there is always something to learn.

And for the thirsty ones out there like me, that's the key. What's yours?

Not Again

2008-08-31T15:07:00.005-05:00

What the hell, Gustav? While you're all headin' toward my hometown, all I can think is, am I gonna have to kick some hurricane ass?

'Cause I totally will.

I hope everyone will be ok...please leave if you have to. My door is open.

Overheard at Texsomm

2008-08-17T18:51:00.003-05:00

Me: Oh, that's way too extracted.

Other: No it's not!

Me: Yes it is.

Other: No it's not!

Would you expect anthing less than such brilliant banter from a group of wine people?

Breaking news from Texas Sommelier Conference

2008-08-17T10:55:00.004-05:00

I just might be blogging today and tomorrow. I've tasked mahself with bringing you the latest gossip from this crazy group of enophiles.

Stay tuned...

Lo Ammetto

2008-07-27T12:00:00.008-05:00

Look to the right of your screen. Can you guess what's different?

That's right, I changed the "location" in my profile. I've been so neglectful of this blog that it didn't even occur to me how confusing this all could seem. Not that I have any new readers, I still (thankfully) see a lot of you from the old days in the old country.

But, I came home in December, so I guess July is the right time for reckoning. There you go, I'm here. The summary will have to stay the same for a while, as will the blog itself.

I'll eventually change it, but for now my state of inertia will continue to masquerade as laziness.

Works for me!

Porco Mio

2008-07-20T23:21:00.005-05:00

I know we are in pien'estate (full-on Summer) but I tailored my dinner to the wine that I wanted to drink. For me, this, or the reverse, is a regular occurrence. (Rarely do I go willy-nilly and not consider the interaction of the two (non-living) things I love the most.)

So I braised some pork chops (winter fare)! You must understand that the Chinon was staring at me--glaring, in that French sort of way that says, "Dare not consume me with a Summery salad."

Being easily intimidated by glaring inanimate objects, I lit my burners in a hurry.

Note to all: Smothered pork chops + Chinon = Sweet, sweet dreams

Buonanotte!

Il Dubbio

2008-07-03T00:10:00.004-05:00

That means doubt. I've been so happy to be back, but after a few weeks of 100+ temps and no beach in sight, I'm questioning the sanity in trading one South for another.

Is there any way to have it all? I'm SO open to suggestions.

Signed,
Tempted in Texas

http://www.ischiaonline.it/ischia.php?pag=WCAS04&sez=WEBCAM&langiol=EN&mysty=blue

Meet My Inner Nerd

2008-05-25T11:42:00.012-05:00

Today I saw a story about a scandal in Italian winemaking.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, the short of it is this. SCANDAL No. 1: some Southern Italian producers of bulk wine were found to have added harmful acids to their product, SCANDAL No. 2: Brunello Di Montalcino producers were caught breaking their own D.O.C.G. rules by adding international varietals to make their wines more "palatable" to the American consumer (i.e. more fruit, more extract, less acidity, etc).

Relative to the addition of harmful acids, subversively stepping outside of a well-respected disciplina to make a wine more "palatable" is certainly less important. Scandal No. 1 has obvious implications, but some of you out there may wonder why the hell some of our panties are in a knot about No. 2. I'll tell you what, undies are a-twistin' because what's at stake here is tradition and truth.

I know that money is a powerful motivator, but I'm terrified that we're going to lose our wines that have a sense of place.

Examples?

1. The old-school Chiantis that are hard to enjoy out of the context of a meal (but what they do with braciole!)
2. The nebbiolo from the Valtellina that is dignified in its austerity and wholly a product of its unique environment, but may be a little too "thin" in the eyes of its Parker-educated beholder;
3. A fresh greco di tufo that DOES NOT NEED, for the love of God, to undergo malolactic fermentation
4. Dolcetto that shouldn't cost 60 dollars a bottle be what it is SUPPOSED to be (fresh, lively, and acidic), and appreciated as such

This maledetto palate doesn't want Brunello, and the powers that be have, unfortunately, responded. This palate wants a fruit bomb that tastes like every other highly extracted generic fruit bomb that may be labeled as cab/merlot/shiraz, etc. Does this palate ask for pinot grigio? Yep, but what it really wants is pinot grigio that tastes like new world chardonnay.

Seeing Italians who are typically so proud of their culture and traditions eschewing them in chase of marketability is a sad, sad thing.

At this point, you may call me naive, if you wish.

And here is where you should feel free to call me dramatic:

When I hear of producers shamelessly adding harmful substances to cheap wine, I view it as an acute symptom of an unscrupulous means to financial gain. But when I hear of Brunello di Montalcino producers changing their wine composition to please the international palate, I view it as an emergent symptom of chronic and augmenting greed/fear that could potentially erase all originality and placeful-ness (new word...watch out Webster!) and leave us with wine that tastes the same, no matter where it comes from.

Have some integrity, people! Didn't their mammas tell them that they should never try to be something they're not?

I am certainly not standing in judgment of those who want these modern-style wines nor am I suggesting that tastes should change across the board. I just hope that we will always have a choice between modern and traditional, and that centuries of wine-making wisdom that give all of us a peek into foreign earth and culture not be swept under the rug in the name of market viability.

If, at this point, you've labeled me both naive and dramatic, I don't care. My torch is burning and I can't help but carry it.

Trust, I Must

2008-03-11T18:37:00.004-05:00

Wow. I've discovered an entire blogging community of courageous people leaving their lives to find new ones in Italy. It's been wonderful to find that element out there of (mostly) women who are ready to make the great trade of the familiar for the unknown. Reading through these blogs lately, I find myself in an emotional conflict--I just can't believe that my life in Italy...my dream, that tenacious itch that needed scratchin', shall we say...has come to an end. Even to admit that in writing is a bit frightening.

Though reading about these folks who are pioneering this modern American diaspora definitely inspires a bit of incredulous blues-sangin' nostalgia in me, I remember this: I chose to come home for a reason, just as I chose to leave almost 5 years ago. Today I have my own new trails to blaze--they may be old beginnings, but they are new starts to a remodeled life, nonetheless.

This current version of myself, created by a crazy 27 year-old who left everything to chase her passion across the ocean with a backpack and an empty Austin apartment, has turned 32 and is ready to get what she finally knows she wants.

That (not-so) silly 27 year-old gave a gift of an unforgettable experience to me. One that has enriched me and given me peace and a DESIRE to be still, for a while anyway. She gave me permission to be home and enjoy family, friends, and hopefully success.

She trusted her heart then, as I'm trying to trust it now. She brought me back home. I want to be home.

And for that I tell her thank you.

Part 2?

2008-03-09T17:49:00.001-05:00

Well so much for "catching up." Forgive me for deciding not to recite every boring reason for my absence. Let's just say that I came home with so many recent good times at my back that I was reminded why leaving is so damn hard.

I closed Italy with the very same person who helped me open it. I let go of dying relationships, some with people, others with places. I thought I would return to Italy to live, but knew I wouldn't.

Please don't ask me what this all means because I'll have to tell you that my life is no longer Italian. But...I'm on to a new adventure.

You coming?

Bittersweet

2007-11-29T11:11:00.000-06:00

"I'm leaving on a jet plane...
...don't know when I'll be back again..."

So much to tell, sorry I haven't, but I'll be back.

A presto

Tracie, you are too...

2007-06-29T06:00:00.002-05:00

precisa: preh-CHEE-suh (adj) precise; for most Southern Italians, one of the most annoying qualities a human being can posses

I have quite a bit to catch up on. Maybe if I were a bit more precise, or simply owned a computer, I would have let you in on all of my little secrets by now.

I want to bring up this topic, because I've had the "precisa" discussion with many an Italian, many an Italian with his or her own unique sense of the passage of time.

Precisa, it turns out, seems to be one of the qualities that created such ill will between my last boss and me, that I will not be working at the yacht marina this year. I thought that arriving to work on time, and leaving on time were perfectly acceptable--perhaps even desirable qualities to have in an employee, but just in case I forget from time to time that I am living in a very different culture, something like precisa comes along to remind me.

I had a discussion last year on my last day of work with the boss's girlfriend (the girl who created our positions of yacht marina hostesses), and she confided to me that maybe if I hadn't left at precisely 8 pm every evening (never did it without asking if boss wanted me to stay), or maybe if I had just let one or two of those overtime hours slide when I scored a good tip (I was making at the MOST, 800 euro a month, but for two months I was making 400-600), that maybe things would have all gone more smoothly.

Right, maybe if I hadn't religiously written down every extra hour and half-hour (I made 10 euro an hour for overtime) that I was owed, someone may have been able to rip me off and wouldn't that have been fantastic?!! For them?!!

I may not be the sharpest tool in that thar shed, but I sure know when I'm swimming with sharks I'll kick their bums if they try to bite me.

So that brings me to my present status. As I was waiting to hear from the same people and whether or not I would have the same job (I should have chewed up that pride better before I swallowed it), my old friend Pierpaolo who owns the wine bar offered me a job. Ex boss and girlfriend finally told me that they hired another girl and that they weren't sure...whatever. I happily accepted the job at the wine bar, and couldn't be more pleased.

Now I have turned my life upside-down and my usual routine inside-out to accommodate my new work schedule. I'm not used to keeping late hours, but since I've accepted the brief change of lifestyle, I'm actually having fun. We have lots of English-speaking tourists who come to the enoteca and are genuinely curious about wine.

I am sleeping shamefully late (I mean, what sane girl can get out of her of bed before noon when she has worked until 1 the previous morning?). Getting out of bed I open my windows to the seagulls and take hours to get ready while listening to my new CDs. Sometimes, I go to the beach down the street, but that requires an earlier wake-up time, so my risk of remaining a mozzarella all summer is dangerously high. I spend no money on neither food nor wine, since my wining and dining takes place at work. I miss my kitchen, but it's just for the summer.

Being precisa has, in a way, shaped my short-term destiny and has put me in a work atmosphere where I am surrounded by good friends and opportunities to be more active in my wine education so things are definitely working out for the best.

There's another chapter to this incredibly tedious catch-up story which will explain my brief visit to Positano to see Nicki, but I'll get back to that soon...

Space Invader

2007-06-28T11:31:00.000-05:00

I had to come all the way Positano just to use Nicky's computer...

Italians Quoted #7

2007-05-28T06:25:00.000-05:00

Ciao Tracie..come stai...everything ok in Texas? You really need to get some sun.

--every single tan-obsessed Italian (pretty much covers the entire population) since I've returned

It's still May, and I'm already being harassed. It must be very easy to to get that late-August tan so soon when all you have to do during the day is drink espresso and smoke cigarettes.

As for me and my mozzarella, we gotta go to work. A presto...

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Childhood

2007-05-12T10:52:00.000-05:00

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Look at my 3 sweet nipoti! And little Tobey there in the middle of his sweet big brother and sister looks like he already knows that his childhood is going to be good.

It's That Time Again

2007-05-09T12:47:00.000-05:00

I'm going back to Italy today and I want to share an image with you that shows you why...I'll miss my family, but I'll be back in Texas. For now though, I'm off to enjoy another beautiful clam-filled summer on my island. See you there!

Talking in Texan, Lesson Four

2007-05-07T16:57:00.000-05:00

We are moving along at a neck breaking pace. I believe that y'all can handle these intense lessons just faahn, so let's move along, shall we?

I'mona: pronounced, ahmOWNa, lazily drawlin' in place of, "I'm going to."

Weensdee: meaning Wednesday, pronounced "Weensdee" (In Texas our other days of the week are Mundee, Toosdee, Thuuursdee, Frahdee, Saturdee, and fahnly, Sundee.)

Contextual example: I'mona go back thar ta It-lee on Weensdee, y'onna (do you want to) come? What about yer mamanem?

Well, I will be headin' on back to It-lee Weensdee, much to the dismay of my mamanem, but I'll missem (and here's another straight from my grandmother) "lahk aw gitout."

And if you weren't sure, that means a lot.

Happy Birthday Mom

2007-05-05T16:31:00.000-05:00

So today is my mom's *%th birthday and this is the first time in years that I've been lucky enough to spend it with her. I wanted to post earlier with a picture of her, my sister, and me, but getting photo approval from the 3 of us would have been a miracle on the scale of organizing world peace.

I was faced with clenched-teeth threats such as, "I BETTER not find this on your blog tomorrow." Even the hint of death by Big Sister never fails to intimidate me.

If we had just taken one more, I'm sure that we would have looked like three luscious super models. Unfortunately, the home-made coconut cake staring at my dad through the camera lens turned him into an impatient 2 year-old with a world class sugar jones.

Oh well.

Happy birthday anyway, Mom. I love you :)

Ain't That the Truth

2007-05-02T18:27:00.001-05:00

This is a brief exchange that took place between a student and me as I was looking over his shoulder at some recent prom pictures.

me: Is that the prom queen?

student: No.

me: Oh, I thought that was her because she's wearing a tiara.

student: No ma'am, they just all think they're queens.

And you know he's right :)

Very Smart and Totally Sincere Student Quoted

2007-05-01T20:27:00.000-05:00

Very Smart and Totally Sincere Student: Are you our sub(stitute teacher)?

Me: Yes

Very Smart and Totally Sincere Student: You're too pretty to be a sub.

Me: Well...thank you! Flattery will get you everywhere.

See? This girl is smart, if not a bit myopic. Maybe this gig isn't so bad...

...HA! Gotcha.

Talking in Texan, Lesson Three

2007-04-28T22:43:00.000-05:00

After last week's challenging footnote, I hope you're ready to move on. Here we go!

boll: boil, pronounced...well, "boll"
contextual example: We done ate 'bout 200 pounds of bolled crawfeesh thuther day.

thuther: the other, pronounced "thuuuuhther "
contextual example: (you may also see the example for boll)
Person A: You wont thiswin?
Person B: No, I wont thutherwin.

Do you smell that? I think my spell-checker is burning...

Foresaken

2007-04-25T22:51:00.001-05:00

I've entered what appears to be Hell, and upon its foreboding office door in pubescing script are the words "substitute teach in your local high school!" I feel that I must have conducted cruel scientific experiments on innocent third-world children in my past life, because I seem to be paying off some wicked karma...

...nasty 9th grade karma that cusses like a seasoned sailor who's been ripped off by a one-legged hooker.

Tobelicious

2007-04-23T00:47:00.000-05:00

...he puts 'dem girls on ROCKROCK.

Just in case you have missed seeing pictures of my family (HA), here are some more more pics of our growing little Tobey.

Ahwaddawaddababycutiepie! Aaahwaddawaddababycutiepie! Oh yes he is! Oh yes he is! (Shut up. If you were holding that little chunky boy you wouldn't be able to control yourself either.)

LOOK at those delicious cheeks! You know you wanna to pinch 'em.

Didn't you always hate the aunt that did that to you? Now I understand. Totally.

Isn't he getting big? The Tober (that's my niece's nickname for him--kid'll never figure what his name is) has gained about 2 pounds in 10 days, and just for moral support, so have I!

That's what I call being a dedicated aunt.

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Steps

2007-04-18T23:07:00.000-05:00

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Going...going...gone.

I took this picture out of the window of the "office" of the yacht marina where I worked last summer. Some people have all the fun, and I just bet that summering on a yacht helps tremendously, don't you think?

Talking in Texan, Lesson Two

2007-04-18T15:30:00.000-05:00

So I hope that y'all have been practicing your new Texan vocabulary. Now that we have muhskeetas under our belts, let's learn some compound words.

mamanim: (noun, plural and/or singular) mom and them, as in your mother, or sometimes used to refer to one's entire family

Contextual Example:
Nephew: Uncle Ricky, can I have a coke?
Uncle: I don't know Brady, you better ask your mamanim.
Nephew: She said yes.
Uncle: Alright, what kahnyouwont (kind you want)?

Charmin', idn't** it?

**idn't: (contraction) meaning "is not", pronounced "idnt," soft on the d, and dropping the t. Sorry folks, stay with me. We have entered some complex, muhskeeta-filled dialectical territory here.

The Weekly Whine-o

2007-04-16T16:12:00.000-05:00

Well you know it is nice when magazines like In Style attempt to educate the masses on anything wine-related, but I think that somebody in the research department needs to be scolded by a Frenchman.

Wow, Sancerre is a varietal? That's what you deserve for getting your wine info from a fashion magazine...that I will totally forgive if they put Reese Witherspoon on the next cover.

In the next issue they will try to convince us that Barolo is a varietal that means nebbiolo in English. Are you buyin' it?

**Post-publication: I realized that it may be helpful if I explained the mistake instead of simply making fun of it. I just assume that everyone out there knows more about wine than me, but just in case that isn't true, I'll explain myself. Sancerre is found in the eastern Loire Valley in the northern half of France and is famous for its Sauvignon Blanc. Although there is a small production of red and rose' (made from the varietals pinot noir and gamay), what you will find in the U.S. is mostly their minerally, herby, and utterly sassy whites. As with most wines produced in the old world, the region (Sancerre) is synonymous with the varietal (Sauvignon Blanc) or varietal blend. This came from the wisdom of centuries of wine producing experience. Many wines were made from indigenous grapes, which were naturally well-suited for their respective environments, which meant that there was no need to state the varietal on the bottle because it was all just understood. Now that's my kind of philosophy.

Talking in Texan, Lesson One

2007-04-12T11:32:00.000-05:00

I've spoken to y'all before about how Italians pronounce our English words and now that I'm home visiting I would like to share with you how we Texans (Southeast, at least) like to pronounce our English words. This is the first in a series of vocabulary lessons that will have you speaking of the old republic like a true native.

Lesson #1

muhskeetahs: more commonly recognized as mosquitoes

Contextual example: "Well you jist cain't watch the game with awthese muhskeetas!"

See how easy it is!

My Mom Quoted #1

2007-04-09T10:02:00.000-05:00

"Hey Ricky, try this cheese. It tastes like throw-up, but it's good."

--Mom trying (not-so-convincingly, I must say) to get my uncle to taste the Gruyere.

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Clean

2007-04-07T09:29:00.000-05:00

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I just bet that I'm not the only one with an image like this. It's painfully crooked but as I've proven time after time, I'm no pro. This is a picture of Naples and everything on that line is destined to be hammered by a ferocious steam iron. Even the underwear.

Watch out! You could be next...

Reunited

2007-04-04T17:47:00.000-05:00

...and it feels so good."

I went to Austin last week. I lived there from 1995 until 2003, when I left for Italy. I love that city, but most of all I love the tacos. My friend woke me up Wednesday morning uttering the most beautiful words I've heard since someone taught me how to pronounce prosciutto:

"Tracie, I brought you some Taco Shack."

This, if you don't already know, is one thing I miss when I'm in Italy. And she showed up with a box of carne guisada, eggsbeansandcheese, sausageandegg, and...my all-time favorite:

POTATO.
AND.
CHORIZO.

With just a little bit of fresh and spicy salsa it's enough to make your stomach wonder what it ever did to deserve such a rude awakening, while making yo' mouth wonder what it ever did to deserve such pleasure.

And what could be more exciting than such sensory ambivalence? I don't know! Well, maybe I do. Whatever.

"We both are so excited 'cause we're-UH reunited hey hey..."

It's a Southern Thing

2007-03-25T00:07:00.000-05:00

Mom: Do you want me to bring you a Coke?

Sister: Yeah.

Mom: What kind?

Sister: Dr. Pepper.

If you followed that, your Texanocity is officially confirmed.

He is SUCH an attention hog

2007-03-22T20:02:00.000-05:00

Tobey Reed! 3/21/07, 7 lbs. 8 oz, 18.5 inches long (The metric system is SO overrated)

Proud siblings :)

Sshhh! Tobey-wan Kenobe is sleeping! (I couldn't help it. You know with an aunt like me, he doesn't stand a chance.)

Finally

2007-03-21T10:03:00.001-05:00

My nephew will make his debut today! I went to the obstetrician yesterday with my sis and they found out that the stubborn little bugger was ready jump out feet first, so cesarean it is. We scheduled it for one-o-clock today and I couldn't be happier.

My sister is extremely disappointed that she will not have to live through yet another excruciating natural labor and delivery, which makes her about one sandwich short of a picnic if you ask me. Despite her high hopes for hours of pushing a large object through a small area, things will proceed surgically and we will see our new little guy this evening.

A domani!

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Drink

2007-03-17T10:48:00.000-05:00

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Before you ask, that round thing is an ice bucket. Here's the post that contained this picture and just happened to be the very first in my not-so-consistent series called The Weekly Wino. Ci vediamo lunedi'...

What a Forecast

2007-03-15T05:45:00.000-05:00

I was reading my March horoscope and here is a little snippet of my near future:

"...Uranus will be close to the Sun this month.."

Makes me want to say OUCH!

You knew this would happen

2007-03-12T22:51:00.000-05:00

Yes, you knew that I couldn't resist writing about my sister's most adorable children, being that I'm here and all. On the way home from the airport the other day, my 5 year-old nephew Brady dropped another philosophical nugget (see the first one here), and it went like this:

Misty (my sister, talking to me): Brady is such a cut-up! You should see him...

Brady: Mama, if you make people laugh, they like you...really!

(Us laughing)

Brady: You know, if you tell 'em a joke, they'll be your friends.

You can't argue with that, can you? I knew I liked him for a reason...

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Architecture

2007-03-10T02:46:00.000-06:00

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Village church on the top of Mount Epomeo, Ischia

Sana e Salva

2007-03-08T16:50:00.000-06:00

I'm home! Despite being hassled by my own country's passport control, I made it out of the airport and into the hugs of my whole family.

Thanks for the well wishes, and I'll be back tomorrow :)

Sunday Sunset

2007-03-05T02:00:00.000-06:00

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

--San Francesco Beach, Ischia

As I fly into my sunrise to go back home, I want you to enjoy a sunset from one of my favorite places in Ischia, so turn on the volume and listen to the waves. See you on the other side :)

Virtual no longer

2007-03-01T03:47:00.000-06:00

Look! Can you guess who is smiling beside me? Did you guess yet?

Yes, it's the one and only nyc/caribbean ragazza. I've been reading her blog for about a year now, and I suggest you do the same. She is in Rome for a week and decided to head down to Napoli to see what all of the fuss is about. Ms. Arlene was able fit a pizza into her carefully plotted sightseeing schedule, but I mercilessly commandeered her remaining 5 hours in the city.

While we ate our pizze, the restaurant turned over at least 3 times. We were there so long, in fact, that the waitress brought the bill to us, unsolicited. (If any of you have ever been to Italy, you know that you must harangue the servers for the bill because it is considered rude to bring it to the table without the customer's request. )

After being pried out of our very warm seats, we went for a walk. Arlene and I were so busy yapping that we ended up walking to Sicily without even realizing it. Yes, I'm exaggerating a bit, but it is fair to say that we both earned our pizza calories.

Don't we look happy in that picture? The island in the background is Capri, for your information. We suffered a long photo shoot attempting to satisfy our ferocious vanities. All of her shots were good, but I think the flash was overkill. Even our images needed sunglasses to protect us from my mid-winter luminescence.

Despite my aching retinas, I had a great time. I would have been happy walking about while speaking English with any old female, but nyc went beyond the call of duty and was just so darn cute, smart, and accomplished that meeting her made my day.

Hope to see you again, Arlene!

Come si dice "hoochie?"

2007-02-28T05:00:00.000-06:00

Would you go to church dressed like this? Maybe Playboy has a new "Brides" issue...

You can take the girl out of Texas...

2007-02-26T10:59:00.000-06:00

...but you best have a cold margarita waitin' for her when she comes to visit.

What I'm trying to say, is...I'm-a comin' home! Woohoo! I finally got my ticket and I'll be visiting the great state of Texas from March 5th to May 10th.

What this means for you, dear reader, is that I'll have a nice, warm computer at my disposal 24 hours a day. I just might start blogging again. I'll also be able to stalk all of my blog friends on a regular basis like a good girl.

I can't wait to see my sister's legendary belly. She has said that she is feeling some contractions already, but Misty, cross 'dem legs, girl. I'll be home in just one short week and I expect that baby to wait for me.

You know what the best part of it is? I'll be packing flimsy summery things which means MORE ROOM FOR SHOES! Isn't that fantastic?

You've been put on alert, Tex-Mex. Watch out, 'cause here I come.

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Soft

2007-02-24T02:42:00.000-06:00

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Sorry for the repeat. I have no access to my database of pictures, so flowers it is! This photo is from an old post with not one but two--TWO recipes for fiori di zucca, or squash flowers. 'Tis not the season yet, but 'twill be before long for these yummy edibles. The best thing about the fiori is that when fried using the "pastetta," their crunchy exterior gives way to a warm, devastatingly soft interior.

Who's hungry?

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Antique

2007-02-17T02:42:00.000-06:00

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This here turret is one of many of the Castello Maschio Angoino (its official name is Castel Nuovo). The castle was built in 1266.

If that ain't antique, then the Pope's a-sellin' the Pill.

Weekly Wino: February 16th

2007-02-16T14:07:00.002-06:00

I have taken on a new and exciting project. Every week (more or less, you know me by now), I will tackle a wine D.O.C., D.O.C.G, or IGT that I have never tried, or don't remember trying, as the case may be. My sommelier class is on indefinite hold, so I've decided to take matters into my own hands. There's no time like the present, so let's start with this fun little jewel made just south of Napoli.

I've heard about this wine for quite some time. Although Marisa Cuomo may be more famous for her treatment of falanghina (which I have yet to try), I had a mean piece of meat waiting for me at dinner, so Furore Rosso it was. This is a blend of aglianico and piedirosso (piedirosso means "red feet," and this grape is locally called per'e'palummo, or dove's feet) and it carries the Costa d'Amalfi D.O.C. **

I must admit that upon trying Furore Rosso, I was surprised by the lack of tannins that I would normally expect from an aglianico-based wine. The fact that this wine was a young'n' (2005) had me waiting for the typical youthful aglianico tongue-lashing. Instead, I found a nose full of bright cherries, a bit of spice, and an ever-so-soft hint of tannins and youthful acidity.

There was a very tempting bowl of very dark, very fried eggplant on the table. I had my doubts about such a pairing, but this wine was perfect. So good that it also made another helping find its way into my mouth, followed by my thighs, but the trip was well funded by my pure excitement of this surprising symbiosis.

It wasn't until I went in search of the producer's website for a link that I found out why the profile spoke more of piedirosso than aglianico. Its proportions are 70% the former and 30% the latter. HA! My mouth didn't lie to me after all. I am, by now, used to the piedirossos of Ischia and Campania just a bit more north and the beautiful Costiera Amalfitana. As a family, this grape does carry a trademark (cherries! raspberries! pepper! spritz and sass!). Being mixed with just a bit of aglianico (instead of the other way around) it turned into a more a mature expression of itself, taking tannins from the aglianico, but never losing its inner child.

Marisa Cuomo produces a mere 4000 cases per year and the vineyards tenaciously cling to steep hillsides that enjoy a spectacular view of the sea (click here to enjoy the view yourselves). This wine is available in limited quantities in America and should cost around $20. Go find it, fry up some eggplant, and let the wine work its magic.

**Costa d'Amalfi D.O.C. Rosso allows a minimum of 40% piedirosso and a maximum of 60% aglianico and/or sciascinoso. There is a further allowance of "other" red grapes at a maximum of 40%.

The End of the Affair

2007-02-14T06:22:00.001-06:00

Call me silly if you must for being so irritated by such a trivial thing, but some things to me are sacred, and one of these things is food...good food, and quality products. This is one reason that I moved to Italy. I can regularly find the best produce IN THE WORLD and not have to commit my firstborn child to pay for it.

But today, I had a very unwelcome surprise. I wanted to make chocolate truffles. They are very simple and delicious, and because of this simplicity, they require good chocolate, good cream, and real butter. I found good chocolate. I found real butter. Now I must breathe, because this is where it gets ugly.

I am used to being appalled by certain things that I see here in Italy (littering, car seat-less babies, etc), but never would I ever have imagined that this feeling would be a reaction to something food-related.

I needed UNSWEETENED heavy cream. Guess what I found. I was given a box of sweetened cream. Please don't call me dramatic. The worst is yet to come.

Upon further inspection, I found that there was no cream in the cream. I found that it was made from vegetable fat and had more chemicals than a can of Aqua Net hairspray. This is where I should hear a gasp of horror from the audience. If you're not gasping quite horribly yet, just look at that label. Would you allow that into your body? Ew.

My fire was further fueled by the insistence that this was cream and it was to be whipped. "But I don't want to whip it," I said, "and if I did, I wouldn't whip that." It was useless to explain my recipe and that I wasn't even sure if chocolate would melt in this product or if it would just explode upon heating and murder me with toxic fumes. Had I tried to explain that I wanted to make a ganache, the wasted breath would have been enough to make me faint right there next to the cauliflower.

After trying 3 stores, I gave up. I walked back home with short, angry strides, trying to understand how such an atrocious product could be served lovingly to children in a country where quality food is a sacred, Italy-given right. I even asked a sweet old lady, only to be assured that she has always used that, and it's great for whipping.

You may call me picky, but for me, this is impossible and unacceptable and I would rather give give up chocolate for life than eat Hopla'. Italy is the uncontested epicenter of culinary integrity for me and today I suffered a bit of disappointment. This is not the kind behavior I would expect of my surrogate country.

Maybe I'll find some real cream tomorrow. If not, I will be forced to telekinetically pout away all the Hopla' in Naples, and no one will ever be forced to eat "vegetable fat product" again.

Now there's a happy ending.

Le Palme

2007-02-13T09:25:00.000-06:00

Winter palm...

...summer palm

(You may remember the summer one from a previous post, there are some other Ischia pictures if you want to see them.) It won't be long before that sun is peeking through fronds again, and I'll be right there to bask in it.