Olive Oil Cake with Vanilla Gelato and Balsamic Reduction

I'm not going to lie... I have been skeptical for a while on this one. I don't question many italian dishes. In fact, I don't really question anything Italian! My favorite foods, favorite wines, and my favorite men are all italian, which are pretty much the most important things in a girl's life.  Butttt, olive oil? In a cake? Meh.

Then I remembered a stop that Richard and I made while we were traveling through Modena, Italy. We were lucky enough to take a private tour of Villa San Donnino, where we learned about the process of making "Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale." At the end of our tour, we enjoyed a tasting of several different vinegars aged 6, 12, and 25 years. Needless to say, they were absolutely to die for. For our last tasting, we were served the 12 year balsamic drizzled on top of vanilla gelato. (Now you see where I am going with this....)

I have always loved balsamic vinegar, but having it on top of vanilla gelato it is a whole different ball game. This quickly became one of my favorite desserts, so while I was totally knocking this whole olive oil cake thing, I realized the following:

1. Gelato + Balsamic vinegar= delicious.
2. Olive oil + Balsamic vinegar= delicious.

Therefore..... yep. It's all happening.

This cake is not too sweet and perfectly tender. The olive oil contains natural emulsifiers, which improves the cakes moisture and texture. It is absolutely delicious on it's own, or amazing topped with fresh fruit, ice cream, or whipped cream. It can really be the perfect base for just about any topping! My only tip is to be patient, when I say to mix for 10 minutes, mix for the full 10 minutes. You will end up with a deliciously dense and extremely moist cake!

Torta all' Olio di Oliva

Ingredients:

8 tablespoon unsalted butter (1 stick) at room temperature

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or you can use only all purpose flour)

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil

1 cup 2% milk

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

To serve: 

Vanilla gelato 

Balsamic reduction

Method:

Grease an 8 inch cake pan and preheat your oven to 300 degrees with a rack placed in the middle. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar and whisk until light and fluffy,  about 10 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined. With the mixer running on medium speed, add the olive oil in a steady stream and then continue mixing for another 10 minutes. 

Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add one third of the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix to incorporate the ingredients. Then, add one third of the milk, followed by another third of the flour mixture. Mixing until just combined each time. Repeat this pattern until all ingredients are combined and then mix on medium speed for another 10 minutes. 

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 40 minutes or until the top is browned and the edges of the cake are starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. Transfer to a cooing rack and let cool. 

To serve, dust the cake with confectioner's sugar and cut into slices. I topped the cake with vanilla gelato and a balsamic reduction (or a balsamic glaze which can be purchased at most grocery stores if you do not want to make it your self.) This cake is also amazing with fresh fruit and whipped cream!

(Read more about our trip to Modena HERE.)

Fresh Pasta

Fresh, simple, homemade pasta. 
Quick and to the point...

Ingredients:

3 to 4 cups of flour

4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Method:

Mound 3 1/2 cups of the flour in the center of a large wooden cutting board. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs and the olive oil. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and oil and begin to incorporate the flour, starting with the inner rim of the well.

As you expand the well, keep pushing the flour up from the base of the mound to retain the well shape. The dough will come together when half of the flour is incorporated.

Start kneading the dough with both hands, using the palms of your hands. Once you have a cohesive mass, remove the dough from the board and scrape up and discard any leftover bits. Lightly reflour the board and continue kneading for 6 more minutes. The dough should be elastic and a little sticky. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Roll or shape as desired.

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt. Cook pasta about two minutes, drain, and serve with your favorite sauce!

Pork Cheeks with Balsamic and Onions (Guancialino di maiale all'aceto balsamico con composta di cipolle)

T.G.I.F! Do people still say that? Well I just did. Mind=blown?

Yesterday I finally got around to making a photo album for our trip to Italy (and one day soon I'll even finish retroactively blogging about it) and it got me reminiscing about the wonderful meals we had while we were there. One of my absolute favorite meals that we had was at a tiny place in Modena (actually pronounced Mode-a-nah), which is famous for balsamic vinegar (duh) and to die for cuisine.  I mean, absolutely, to die for... and that is saying a lot considering my taste buds were completely shot from the monster cold that I caught two days into our trip AND I was also in a post-halloween-in-Venice hungover (Lemon Drops have Vitamin C, right?). In fact, my cold-over was so bad that I almost avoided dinner all together! Thank God for my husband and his amazing immune system because, as much as I was ready for a hot bath and a cozy bed, Richard convinced me that I was pathetic and that the phrase "when in Rome" also applied in Modena.

So, I pulled my self together and we found ourselves at Hostaria Carducci in the Centro Historico. This Hostaria is a charming little restaurant on a cobble street, off the beaten path, where the only traffic was locals zipping by on their bicycles and the only sound, other than Rich incessantly practicing his Italian, was the choir singing at the gorgeous church down the street. I know... sickeningly wonderful! Just like this restaurant, where the menu was small, the ambiance was perfect, and there were gallons of balsamico in every corner... And when I say balsamico, I do not mean balsamic vinegar, but "aceto balsamic traditzionale" which is NOT the same thing. Balsamico is to balsamic as truffles are to mushrooms. Balsamcio goes on everything from steak to vanilla gelato and strawberries... If you haven't had it, click the link above right this instant, learn about it, buy it, eat it... and thank me. And please, for the love of God, do not pour it into olive oil and dip your bread in it, or Italy will deport you.  

So, after a glass of wine and a liter or so of balsamico, I ordered "guancialino di maiale all'aceto balsamico con composta di cipolle..." I know, quite the mouthful. Let's try that again... I ordered "the pork cheeks in a balsamico and onion compote." Now, when I say that this is one of the best meals that I had in Italy, I am not kidding. The pork was melt in your mouth tender (which is ironic because it pretty much is pork mouth). The balsamico reduction was like caramel. And the onions were caramelized perfectly. I think that it actually took me over an hour to eat my meal that night because I spent 10 minutes savoring every bite. At the end of our meal, I actually asked the chef how it was prepared and he introduced me to a little technique called Sous Vide. Yup, for all of you comic book fans out there, this is the origin story for my sous vide. You know, the one my wonderful husband bought me for Christmas, which I can imagine was only for the sole purpose of recreating this dish. (You can read more about Sous Vide and what on earth it is HERE.)

So, you guessed it, this is my version of the sous vide guancialino di maiale all'aceto balsamico that I had in Modena. While they are very inexpensive, pork cheeks are not easy to find. If you are in Los Angeles, you can find them at Lindy and Grundy in West Hollywood or McCalls Meat & Fish Co. in Los Feliz (where they also have jambon iberico, the balsamico of ham.) If you are not fortunate enough to live near these wonderful butchers, you can cross your fingers and give your local butcher a call... but your grocery store definitely WILL NOT have it. And, since not everyone is fancy and can pull a sous vide out of their cabinet, you can find the braise version of this recipe below. You are very, very welcome. 

Sous Vide Method
Ingredients:
6 large pork cheeks, extra fat and cartilage removed
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
4 whole cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 cup of pearl onions, peeled
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (get the good stuff!)
1/2 cup chicken broth
Fresh parsley
Salt and pepper

Method:
Preheat the water bath to 176 degrees.

Place the pork cheeks and other ingredients into a vacuum sealed bag and place in the preheated water bath for 8 hours. 

Once cooked, keep the pork cheeks in the bag and place them in an ice bath to cool. Do not remove them from the bag until you are ready to serve. 

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, brown the onions for about 8 minutes or until caramelized. Add the balsamic vinegar and the wine and deglaze for a few minutes until reduced. 

Open the vacuum bag and add the cooked pork cheeks and the liquid from the bag to the skillet. Add the chicken stock. Gently simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the cheeks are cooked through and the sauce has reduced to a thick, sticky consistency. 

Adjust the seasoning, if needed. I served the guanciale with polenta and topped them with freshly chopped parsley. 

Braising Method
Ingredients:
6 large pork cheeks, extra fat and cartilage removed
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
4 whole cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 cup of pearl onions, peeled
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (get the good stuff!)
4 cups of chicken chicken broth
Fresh parsley
Salt and pepper

Method:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. 

In a medium sized dutch oven, heat the oil and brown the pork cheeks. Add the garlic, bay leaf, rosemary, and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook in the oven for 2 hours or until very tender. Set the cheeks aside. 

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, brown the onions for about 8 minutes or until caramelized. Add the balsamic vinegar and the wine and deglaze for a few minutes until reduced.

Add the cooked pork cheeks and the liquid from the bag to the skillet. Add the chicken stock. Gently simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the cheeks are cooked through and the sauce has reduced to a thick, sticky consistency. 

Adjust the seasoning, if needed. I served the guanciale with polenta and topped them with freshly chopped parsley. 

La Morra, Ti Amo (I Love You): Part 1.

La Morra is a quaint hilltop town overlooking the Piemonte region of Italy. If you're not familiar with Piemonte, this is where Barolo comes from. So, as you can imagine, it's quite a view. The food is to die for and the wine is so amazing I practically drowned myself in it (Fun fact, you can drown in as little as three inches of water, but you can safely drink liters and liters of wine). And one of the best parts about Piemonte, and Italy in general, minus Venice, is that if you can bring yourself to forgo the Barolo and imbibe some Nebbiolo, Barbaresco, or (Rich's personal favorite) Barbera, you can drink some amazing wine at unbelievably cheap prices. So, with all that in mind, this will be Part I of a II (possibly III) part series, because I don't even know where to start! I didn't even know it was possible to love a town so much. But it is. And I do. And now La Morra and I are married (Sorry Rich, I've taken on a mister.)

For starters, we stayed at the most beautiful hilltop Bed & Breakfast I've ever been to... In point of fact it's not just a bed & breakfast, but an aggroturismo (a working farm) called Bricco dei Cogni (bricco means hilltop in Italian.) And I'm not exaggerating when I say that this place seriously made me weak in the knees from the second we stepped through the front door. Our meals were perfect. The wine was to die for and in every direction you looked you could see rolling, picturesque, grape laden hills for kilometers and kilometers (That's what they call miles here). Upon our arrival we were greeted with wine and cheese (much like I imagine I will be greeted upon my arrival in heaven) and upon our departure we were given a bottle of the owner's private, family reserva, Barbera (more on that in part two).

I'm not being hyperbolic (thanks for that word, hubby) when I say that every restaurant, winery, and town that we visited deserves a song written about it (Rich tried. But I informed him "When the wine hits your lips, that's La Morra" is not so good). And if not a song, each town should have novel dedicated to it at the very least... But since I can't sing and I don't have the attention span to write a novel, I shall, instead, dedicate a whole blog post to each one. But since we just finished running around (and drinking our way through) Venice and now Parma & Modena are calling our names, I just can't bring myself to hole up in my hotel and write the in-depth posts that the restaurants and wineries of La Morra, Alba, Barolo, Barbaresco and Serralunga deserve. But I will. Soon. So, in the meantime, hopefully a few photos of our travels will do it justice!

Piemonte.

our official welcome to La Morra, courtesy of Bricco dei Cogni. 

barbaresco tasting.

truffle season. amen. 

white truffle pasta at BOVIO. To die for. 

breakfast at Bricco dei Cogni.

meat market.

truffle festival on Alba... much more to come about that.

I am in love with our little car.

grapes. grapes. grapes. 

serralunga. 

handwritten menu. absolutely wonderful food. 

a modest lunch.

Cinque Terre: Five Things About the Five Towns

Clever right? (I thought it was when I woke Rich up at 6am to tell him.) As my devoted reader(s) you've come to expect a certain level of adorable punnyness and this ginger would never leave you wanting more. Though, I'm sad to say, that is exactly what Cinque Terre did to us. Ok, ok.... some of you are going to GASP in disbelief that I could ever say anything mildly disparaging about the Cinque Terre, but I am going to be honest and say that the five towns, while beautiful, did leave us wanting a little more. As a disclaimer, Richard and I are not really beach people (unless it's 90 degrees and I have a pool boy bringing me an endless supply of pretty cocktails...) And I am definitely not a hiking enthusiast because, well, where are the cute outfits for that!? So, while the five towns did provide some ridiculously stunning views of the Italian Riviera, if you came to Italy for ridiculously cheap, amazing, food and wine these towns might not be the best fit for your itinerary. However, if you came to Italy to watch translucent German tourists melt in the mild afternoon sun on a mostly cloudy day, this IS the place for you!

That being said, we did manage to have a great time. And if you find yourself drawn to the Cinque Terre, here are the Five Things You Should Know About the Five Towns. 

1. Bring your fanny pack. Yup. Do it. Haven't used one in awhile? Well, one of the million tourists can certainly help you. Cinque Terre is super touristy. And while the French people shoving in front of you on the train might be a pain in the ass, this is the perfect town to make some super cool European friends in. Not all tourists are alike!

friends from france. 

2. EAT PESTO! Holy profanity... the pesto is wonderful. This is the one exception to my "don't go here for the amazing food rule." This is the Mecca of Pesto! So, eat it for every meal. Eat it on everything. Bring some back to your hotel and eat it there, too. And once you're full on pesto and the local "Cinque Terre D.O.C." white wine, you can stop at one of the many strobe light flashing bars blasting club music and start your own dance party.

pesto from Trattoria Dal Billy in Manarolo

3. You can't drive your car into the five towns, but they will happily charge you an arm and a leg for parking. I'm talking 25 euros for 24 hours. Yep, as steep as the hill you have to lug your luggage down to get to the sea. Solution? Find parking up on the coastal roads before you get to the top of town, catch a ride on "The Green Bus" (because it's eco friendly and painted green) for a few euros and you'll save yourself enough money to buy a whole lot of pasta!

4. Take the train. There is a train that runs to each of the five towns all day long. For 12 euros you can get an unlimited pass for 24 hours. Just make sure to validate your train ticket at the station (there are little machines everywhere) before getting on the train or else you can get fined 50 euros per person! Or if you had the forethought to get beautiful eyelash extensions before the trip so you wouldn't have to put on mascara every day, you can bat those bad boys coyly at the curmudgeonly train conductor so he'll only fine you five euros per person (which is still $13.50 for nothing!). Again, that could buy you a while lot of pasta!

5. Did I mention to eat the pesto? Just making sure that I made that clear......
Take in the sights. If you are a hiker, hike one of the stunning paths that leads to each of the towns. If you are not, walk up to the top of the town and just take it in. The view is breathtaking. Don't, however, plan on doing the "Via Dell' Amore" with your lover. It was destroyed in the storm (like my high hopes for the Cinque Terre) and still being repaired.

6. I know I said 5, but this one is the most important, especially for gingers. TAKE LOTS OF PHOTOS. Your mother (and mother-in-law) will thank you!

the view from our apartment at La Scogliera. 

nothing fancy, but the best view in town. If you're

going to stay in the Cinque Terre, STAY HERE!!!

riomaggiore

the first of the five towns and where we called home for 36 hours.

the scenery... oh, the scenery.

 Monterosso al Mare. the biggest (and most resort-like) of the five towns.

the view from Trattoria dal Billy, where we had lunch in Manarola. 

It was a small restaurant tucked into the side of the cliff with...you guessed it... amazing pesto.

strolling through Monterosso. be sure to bring walking shoes.

find a cliff, buy a bottle of vino, and call it an afternoon.

(ps the green window behind me was our room!)

homemade canolis from Paolo, the owner of our apartment. 

absolutely to die for. If you don't believe me that you

should stay there, just ask TripAdvisor.com

So as you can see from the photos, while it wasn't my favorite place in Italy, there are definitely at least five good reasons to make a trip to the five towns. If you've got a few extra days in your itinerary and can't bring yourself to go to more free Barolo tastings in Piemonte (which is something that will never, and I mean never, happen to me!) then it might be worth it to pencil in a day or two in Cinque Terre.

Buon Giorno!

One stop in Philly, a quick trip in NYC, an 8 hour red eye flight over seas, and a very confusing drive through Rome later... we are FINALLY in Tuscany! We're staying at the beautiful, rustic Poggio Etrusco, an organic olive farm, in Montepulciano and I think it's safe to say that the last 24 hours have left me rather speechless both from jet lag and from the incredible amount food and wine I have already managed to consume.

We had our first dinner in Italy at the quaint (but Michellen approved) Otseria La Porta in Monticchello last night... a small, walled, stone, medieval town famous for it's Sangiovese grapes and TO DIE for Brunello. Dinner made me want to cry it was so delicious. We had a salad of local porcini mushrooms tossed in olive oil and parmesan cheese, followed by a course of fresh ricotta and some jam (that I don't know what it was made out of), but I don't really care because it was divine. Rich had a pasta called Pici, which is rolled by hand, in an osobucco ragu that made me thankful I am not a vegetarian when we travel. I had ravioli maremmani con crema di mascarpone e tartufo fresco. Yes, a mouthful (both in name and in serving size). That long Italian phrase I won't try to type again is a Ravioli stuffed with fresh ricotta and spinach in a light mascarpone sauce with the most delicious shaved black truffles I have ever had. (Note: When Rich shaves = bad. When truffle shave = good.)

And don't get me started the wine. 15 euro for the best bottle of Rosso di Montalcino I've ever tasted. That's all I even have to say about that.

This morning we woke up and took a stroll through the hills and vineyards surrounding our little poggio. We met some horses, some dogs, and had a long conversation discussing whether or not we should cancel our flights home (sorry, Meg...)

It is perfect here. If you don't believe me... here's proof.

being greeted with a glass of local sangiovese

 resident chickens                                           Poggio Etrusco

this is my dream kitchen

the owner of our bed and breakfast is also a chef and cookbook author, and has

 my dream life, so obviously this is coming home with us... you're welcome, Marco. 

our room 

inside the walls of Monticchello

 

rosso di montalcino

fresh ricotta with the yet to be identified jam

local porcini salad with shaved parmesan

 from closest to farthest: my meal (named above), Rich's meal (named above)

and Rich's arm, anxiously waiting to eat while I took this photo

 he is the most handsome. yay for Europe beard.

breakfast at Poggio Etrsuco

 farm fresh eggs

strolling through the Tuscan hills that surround Poggio Etrusco