Italy on a Plate - The Week in Italian Food: Nov 13, 2011

 

Welcome to this week in Italian food! On the menu in the recipes department are pumpkins, mushrooms, apples, pasta, risotto and a bye bye Berlusconi cocktail. Eating Italy is dominated this week with food stories and tips for the big cities of Rome, Florence, and Venice. There's also little tastes from Umbria and Barolo, and it all looks good. Enjoy and Buon Appetito!

 

 

 

My Choice for This Week's Top 10 Italian Food Recipes from Around the Web:

Suppli all'amatriciana (Italian Street Food) - Oh my, two great things in one; amatriciana sauce and fried rice balls - Un Dejeuner de Soleil (in French and Italian)

Farinata di Ceci - Manu's Menu

Pumpkin Risotto with Mushrooms and Toasted Pine Nuts - Lucullian Delights

Maccheroni alla Chitarra con Ragu d'Agnello (Lamb Ragu) - The Front Burner

Pumpkin Lasagne - Domenica for Leite's Culinaria

Risi e Bisi ~ Venetian Bliss - Aglio, Olio & Peperoncino

Peasant Food At Its Best: Tortelli ripieni di crema di marroni ai funghi (Chestnut puree tortelli with mushrooms) - The Florentine

Torta di Mele con olio, salvia e limone - (Apple cake with lemons, oliv oil & sage) and beautiful photos of Fall food and scenes - Z Tasty Life

Gratin Dolce di Zucca e Caramello (Sweet Butternut Squash Gratin with Caramel) - Volevo Fare Lo Chef

The Bye Bye Berlusconi Cocktail - Yes, Berlusconi has finally left! Elizabeth has a cocktail just for this celebration - Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome

 

 

Eating Italy:

Rome's Best Bus for Food - Great piece on how to use public transportation to get to all the great dining spots in Rome - Revealed Rome

Testaccio: A Taste of Rome - Emiko Davies

Sicilian Secrets in the Kitchen - Over a Tuscan Stove

Best Neighborhoods for Foodies in Florence - Nile Guide Florence

Wine Tasting in Rome with Vino Roma - Browsing Rome

Food Tours of Rome - Parla Food

Tuscan Comfort Food - At Home in Tuscany

Out of the Shadow of Barolo - New York Times

Chestnuts and Vino Novello: La Festa di San Martino in Umbria - Brigolante

Eating Venice - Insatiable Critic

Funghi Porcini - Italian Notebook

 

 

 

Upcoming Food and Wine Festivals in Italy:

Cioccoshow - November 16 to 20 - 7th annual chocolate festival in Bologna

Frantoi Aperti (Open Olive Mills) - October 29 to December 11 - Throughout Umbria olive oil mills are opening their doors and providing tastings to promote the olive oil of Umbria

November Porc - Every Weekend in November - The Strada del Culatello di Zibello Association hosts events in the area of Emilia-Romagna to celebrate cured meats of the area. Each weekend there will be some type of salami competition (the biggest, the heaviest, the longest, the "biggest chocolate") in a different city along with food stands, street markets and other entertainment

Festa del Torrone - November 18 - 20 - In Cremona, a festival to celebrate the candy that much of Northern Italy associates with Christmas

Showcolate - December 8 to 11 - Napoli - Chocolate Festival

Wine and Food Festivals in Emilia-Romagna - Autumn 2011 - A list, with links, to many of the food and wine events in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy

Events in Tuscany - Site listing many events throughout Tuscany, and not only food and wine

Events in the Langhe area of Piedmont - Site from the Alba Tourist office listing many festivals, mostly wine & food, happening in the Langhe area of Piedmont

 

 

 

Related Posts:

Food in Rome: Taste of Testaccio is Offal

Taste of Napoli - 15 Favorite Dishes for the Food Lover in Naples

The Dish from Rome: Coda alla Vaccinara (Braised Oxtail)

Best Picnic Spots and Picnic Fare in Rome

Eating My Way Through Venice: Cicchetti and Seafood Antipasto

Best Ways to Savor Venice

Cantucci - Biscotti from Tuscany

Cassatelle alla Siciliana (Sweet Fried Ravioli with Ricotta Cream Filling)

 

 

 

Comments

[Simona]

Very informative, as usual. If anybody is in Umbria this time of the year, I would recommend visiting a frantoio and tasting some olive oil over bruschetta: a simple pleasure rooted in tradition.

[Pat S]

Can you please tell me the recipe for that delicious looking pasta in the photo ? My stomach growls for it.
Lovely site, great post.
Pat
pvs@dmv.com

[Jozee]

Pat took the words right out of my mouth. That delicious looking pasta is what I am craving right now.

[Kathy]

Simona - Thank you, and I agree with you about visiting a frantoio (olive mill). Sadly, this trip I was in Italy this fall too early to experience a freshly pressed olive oil. (Also, in last week's Italy on a Plate post, there is a link to a frantoio visit in Umbria.)

Pat and Jozee - The photo is of rigatoni with la coda alla vaccinara, or braised oxtail ragu, from Capo di Ferro in Rome. I adapted a recipe based on the chef's instructions. After having it a few weeks ago at the Capo di Ferro in Rome (in Trastevere), I realized that they use a little bit more tomatoes than I have in the recipe. So, I would use 1 1/2 times the tomatoes in the recipe. They also don't strain the sauce and probably didn't reduce it as I do in my recipe. I would make those adjustments to the recipe and add cooked rigatoni to get it to look like the photo above. The recipe is here -
http://foodloversodyssey.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/09/the-dish-from-rome-italy-braised-oxtail-coda-alla-vaccinara.html

[Krista]

Mmm, I recognize that heavenly panna cotta! :-) Love the sounds of that Apple cake with lemons, oliv oil & sage too. :-)

[Tuula]

Ha ha ha, I love the idea of the bye bye Berlusconi cocktail, too funny :) Although I'm more interested in making that Pumpkin risotto - sounds to die for! Great post and gorgeous photos as always :)

[Paula]

I've made pumpkin risotto - it IS good (but I'll always love my nonna's risotto milanese best!).