copyright 2009, Maria Liberati

 A special thank you to everyone that braved the rain on Sunday and came to my appearance at the Great Grapes Event in Annapolis Maryland on Sunday, May 3rd.  The pasta dishes I made were especially for the Spring Season and as promised here are some suggestions for great whie wines to go with them  us for a wine pairing dinner on Wednesday, May 6th 

 Wednesday, May 6th, 7 PM- if you are in the Philadelphia area join me at Country Creek Winery in Telford, Pa. I will be making a 4 course authentic Italian sampler dinner and pairing it with 4 of their wines. Starting with crostini and Tuscan style bruschetta to risotto to chicken and a dessert course., all paired with reds and whites made there. A few places still left call 215-723-6516 to reserve your spot now

The Italians owe thanks to the Greeks, because if it weren’t for them, Italy probably wouldn’t have the luscious and ever-popular wines that it boasts today. When the Greeks settled in Italy centuries ago, they came bearing gifts of vines, hence the saying “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts”. Today Italy is one of the top-producing wine countries and we should especially make note of the fabulous white wines that grow from the Italian soil. In addition to thanking the Greeks, much credit is due to the conducive climate and geography of Italy. The Appenine Mountains run through Italy and the beautiful hot Mediterannean conditions at the bottom as well as the colder climate towards the Alps foster the production of the various grapes. There are 17 different white grape varieties in Italy which equate to dozens of different wines to enjoy.

Perhaps the most commonly used white wine variety in Italy is a blank wine known as Trebbiano. Trebbiano is one of the most-planted grapes in the world perhaps because of the fact that the grapes can be grown so close together, in turn producing many of them. In other words, more wine for your buck! Some of the well-known varieties to Americans are Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay. Pinot Grigio has had much success commercially since the 1970s even though it has been around for centuries in North-Eastern Italy. The Chardonnay in Italy is a bit leaner and crisper than the Chardonnay most of us are accustomed to, and has also been more popular in recent years.

Some lesser-known wines in Italy are often those specific to particular locations. On the Adriatic Coast, they are known for their Verdicchio. This lovely green-yellow tinted white wine holds delicate lemon and sea air aromas reminiscent of coastal Italy. Vernaccia, typically found in Tuscany and Sardinia, has a high acidity and is usually a dry, un-oaked wine. Vernaccia dates back to the 13th century, hence its name which is rooted to the Latin word vernaculus which means “native”. Tocai Friulano is usually light to medium bodied and has a crisp acidity to it but can also be seen as fuller-bodied jug wines.

These are some of the highlights of the fabulous white wines that Italy’s various regions have to offer. Stemming from the 17 types of , there ,are so many options to satisfy any Spring meal.

Join me at The Basic Art of Italian Cooking School in Italy

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June 4th-Join The Basic Art of Italian Cooking school for a Tuscan  Picnic cooking class at Foster’s Gourmet Hosuewares in Philadelphia. Call 215-923-0950 to register. $55 includes lesson and Tuscan picnic sampler dinner-4 courses.

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

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Italy has  always been considered the land of wine and rightly so. It was the Romans who further perfected wine for their use as a military strategy..great concept..no guns no ammunition….just use wine to conquer them.

Wine is so important and the perfecgt accompaniment to a great Italian meal. We have been including more and more wine pairings  in The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm Cooking Programs and visiting and tasting many wines here I wanted to post some interesting tips on wine and serving wines.

When you seeve more than one wine with a meal, since many of us today pair wines with each course of a meal, here is the correct progression form first to last wine:
The corrrect procedure is  so that the wine before the next wine does not over power its’ predecessor.

*Serve new wines before aged wines

*If you are serving both light and robust wines, start out with light ones and gradually progress to more robust wines

*If you are serving dry and sweet wines begin with the dry wines and progress to sweet ones

*If you are serving aromatic wines begin with least aromatic and end with most aromatic

*If you are serving white, rose and red wines begin with white then progress to rose then finish with reds

More on wines in my next posts..

For more great recipes get your copy of my best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at http://www.marialiberati.com

copyright, 2009, Maria Liberati, The Basic Art of Italian Cooking

 After our cooking program in a little town called Baschi, right outside of Orvieto (more on that tomorrow) and meeting with my good friends there Domenico and Paola at Borgo le Fontanile and Velia & Gianluca at La Champagnerie in Orvieto we headed for the Autostrada to continue our visit in Umbria..We headed in the direction of  Todi- to  a nearby little village called Sismano. A ‘piccolo paese’ of only 300 residents. Most of the land is still owned by a Contessa. part of the town is a beautiful natural reserve that has been preserved for truffles and hunting. Some of the old buildings are being renovated into private villas.

 As I was there to visit a friend of mine Susan Evans at her villa- La Veranda, once owned by an Italian Contessa. Susan is an American who fell in love with the beautiful scenery of Umbria. She is the real life version of the ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’ story of finding an old building and renovating it into a beautiful villa.

Needless to say my stay at La Veranda this weekend was wonderful…we  could only visitifor 2 days but they were filled with everything possible..cooking in the beautiful kitchen at La Veranda to relaxing outside and taking in the view of the Umbrian Hills on a warm January day to a walking tour of a natural reserve and a  view of wild cinghiale (boars)  to a tour of the castello of Sismano and its’ renovation  and getting a taste of local foods.

But my visit was also to map out the site of The Basic Art of Italian by Maria Liberati tm Cooking school.  La Veranda not only has a large open kitchen for the cooking classes but also a wood burning oven outside in the courtyard  perfect for cooking pizza, chicken, bread.  The setting is perfect for giving anyone an experience of eating outdoors in Umbria at night or under the Umbrian sun for an afternoon picnic.

The villa is a perfect way to experience living in a true Italian villa and getting the full experience of the beauty of not only cooking Italian food but eating at  home (and a beautiful one I might add)..

Our last lunch was held at on Osteria de la Posta..that was opened by a former postman (hence the name  ’de la posta’) that loved to cook. But while waiting for our lunch we were entertained with some history about the ‘Osterie de le Poste’ that were once typical places to be found throughout Italy. They were places that you would travel to in horse and carriage- to get your mail, send your mail and also get feed and water for your horses but also stop to have a meal. And sometimes ,yes, the mailman might also have been your chef…

Umbria is famous for Tartufi (truffles) my favorite dish this weekend there  was a plate of Fettucini al Tartufi.  This recipe is sometimes made with a pasta that is traditional to Umbria (known as Strangozzi) because there is an Umbrian legend connected to it.

Legend has it that during medieval times, in a castle in a town called Pissignano, the conqueror Barbarossa was there because he was planning to destroy Umbria. But legend has it that the cook in the castle served Barbarossa a plate of Strangozzi al Tartufo so good that it convinced him not to destroy Umbria (or something like that)…

Here is the recipe, but if you can’t find trufffles- use a drizzle of truffle oil to add some truffle flavor..

Fettucini al Tartufo

*1 lb of fresh fettucine pasta

*1 black truffle-(finely chopped)

*3 tblsps olive oil

* 1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

*1 clove garlic (whole)

Place extra  virgin olive oil in a saucepan and heat, place in cloves of garlic. Saute garlic till just about golden. Remove garlic. Place in chopped truffles and let saute for approx 3 minutes. Remove  from heat. Toss in cooked pasta. Serve with freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese.

And for a perfect accompaniment-serve with Orvieto Classico white wine.

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene

Maria

For more great recipes get your copy of the best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at http://www.marialiberati.com