Cori Day Trip

    Temple of Hercules and Medieval bell tower

Of Wine and Lazio

    Cori is a small medieval town in Latina, which is a province of Lazio, in Italy.  Rome is also in the region of Lazio, and yet, unlike many parts of Italy, Lazio is one of the most forgotten regions of Italy.  Rome, a city of monuments, popes and politics, overwhelms Lazio, leaving towns like Cori to continue to evolve and watch time go by as they remain unchanged.  The towns of Lazio have a medieval facade, which often buries a pre-roman foundation.  Rome, too, was once a village,  that became an empire, which them fell to become another medieval village of Italy.  Cori is a town I want to keep my eye on. As a wine drinker, I have a deep fascination with the wines of Italy, and I especially love the "newer" style of Lazio winemaking.  In Cori, they are going back to their roots, rediscovering their indigenous grapes and making great and interesting wines at a very good price.  Cori, was once a town of Volsci, a Pre-Roman Italian civilization who were assimilated by the Romans by the 6th c. BCE.   The Romans were very good at assimilated cultures throughout the penninsula, and virtually eliminating any memory of the culture before.  Or so they thought.  You can still meet people who refer to themselves as Latini, Volsci, or Etruschi. Long ago, when Rome fell to Barbarians, People maintined their ancient heritage and remembered their roots.  The birth of the Middle Ages in Rome gave birth to what Italy is today, which is not so much the heir of homogenous Rome,  but a very diverse culture of hundreds of dialects, kitchens, and wine.  People went back to their roots in the middle ages.  They built their medieval towns on the ancient foundations that already existed.  They isolated themselves, and really, the only true link they had with each other was the Church.   This is why, when we visit these old stone towns upon hills, we travel back in time, to a pastoral Italy that is dying and going extinct.  Before the monuments of Rome, Italians were pastoral people, very much linked to the land, and soo they still are.  Cori is a fantastic example of Lazio being built on itself time and time again.  We walked through the town, visited the medieval alleys, saw the Roman gates, all built on top of Pre-Roman foundations.  The roots of the greatest Roman orator, Cicero, are Volscian.  His house was in the valley below Velletri, the capital of the Volscian league. 

    Trattoria Da Checco

 We decided to have lunch first.  Cori is about 45 km. south of Rome, so it was a lovely drive past the Castelli Romani through Velletri and down to the grassy fields of Cori.  We found this trattoria,  Trattoria Da Checco When we arrived, it was empty, but I suppose this is because we arrived earlier than the usual lunch hour for Italians.  One of the reasons I wanted to eat here is because they had a local wine list, including wines from the Carpineti cantina.  Marco Carpineti makes wonderfully rustic and organic wine all made with the indigenous grapes of the area.  

 

Capomole

     We ordered the Capomole.  Now, I don't usually carry around a wine notebook when I am having a casual lunch, but I wanted to make a note of this wine, because I really enjoyed it.  Luckily I had a tiny notebook that I used to scribble some tasting notes.  First, the color: we noted it was ruby red with a hint of garnet.  We both found the aromas intense and complex, a very earthy wine, with hints of clay and wet forrest.  We noted leather, dried red currants, with hints of wet grass and rosemary.  Underneath all that it had a very obvious note of licorice, which made sense when I read it was a blend that incuded the Montepulciano grape.  There was something I couldn't quite wrap my  nose around, it was a bitter and earthy aroma.  It made my mouth water and reminded me of sunshine and the fall in Tuscany.  It reminded me of youthful love and then sipping wine in a moldy wine cellar in Rome while snacking on porcini mushrooms. Then it came to me, black truffles!  In fact, it came to me in such a flash that I shouted to Ettore, Tartufi Neri!  While my nose was busy in the glass, I failed to notice that the trattoria had filled up, and it wasn't just Ettore and I anymore.  Oh well, for me, truffles are always something to get excited about!  I also noted a hint of pencil.  Why would I know this?  I am one of those anxious people that chews on pencils while listening to lectures.  I have known what pencils taste and smell like since I was a child in elementary school.   This was on the palate was very well rounded, mineral, dry and had lovely soft tannins.  It was warm on the palate, I didn't write it down, but I believe it was at least 13%.  For me, I didn't find it fresh enough.  The acidity for me was lower than I would have expected, but Ettore found the wine to be very fresh.   On this we differed.  Wine is, afterall, subjective, perhaps I had a cold.  This wine is made from a blend of Montepulciano, Nero Buono, and Cesanese grapes.  How very laziale!  Now, on to the food.... 

We both ordered antipasto verdure grigliate.  We each got a plate of grilled and marinated vegetables including eggplant, sundried tomatoes, artichoke, olives, and red peppers.  All were very fresh and delicious, though, I found them a bit on the oily side. 

Luckily they gave us enough of this rustic bread to clean up all the leftover olive oil in the plate! Hi Ettore!  :)

I ordered Cellitti con funghi porcini e zucchine for my first course  The pasta was incredible and prefectly al dente.  Cellitti is a water and flour pasta that is very easy to make at home.  It was all very fresh and flavorful, but, again, I found that they were a little heavy handed with the oil.  When I was almost finished and at the bottom of the bowl, the pasta was swimming in oil.  errrrrr...

 

For my second course I ordered fresh porcini mushrooms.  They were amazing.  They had the perfect consistency and firmness, they were cooked to perfection, with just the right amount of oil, salt, parsley and red pepper.  They had a nice soft bitterness that I quite enjoyed with the the wine. 

I also ordered grilled radicchio.  Talk about BITTER.  It was so delicious I was practically licking the plate when I was done.  Wikipedia defines radicchio as follows:  Radicchio is a leaf chicory (Cichorium intybus, Asteraceae), sometimes known as Italian chicory. It is grown as a leaf vegetable which usually has white-veined red leaves. It has a bitter and spicy taste, which mellows when it is grilled or roasted.  YUM.  It was bitter and it overpowered the wine.  Luckily we had pretty much finished the bottle off before the radicchio.

 We decided to have a walk around the town, which was pretty much a ghost town built on a hill with stones.  I love these old doors. 

The Temple of Hercules

     It was just fantastic to walk through Cori and see the old temples with Christian churches built into them.  Our trip ended with a drive down the hill to the winery Marco Carpineti where we tasted a few more wines and bought a case to go home with.  Unfortunately they had sold  every single bottle of white wine!  I have had their whites and they are lovely.  Mr. Carpineti was a very gracious host.  He spent ample time with us explaining their organic vineyards, introducing us to the enologist, describing their methods and philosophy, and letting us taste some wines.  He also had some very nice cats(what can I say, I am a sucker for kitties!).  Carpineti incorporates old winemaking with the new, using sound and sustainable practices on the land which has produced wine for thousands of years. 

If you are interested in an enogastronomic day tour from Rome, contact Antiqua Tours

Free Movies & Documentaries - Earthlings (2003)

Free Movies & Documentaries - Earthlings (2003)

If you are still not a vegan, why not? A brief moment of personal pleasure means a lifetime of suffering for another sentient being. Start 2010 with compassion in your heart and soul. Watch this film and ask yourself why you are not vegan NOW.

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Vegans, don’t be afraid of the title, this soup is 100% animal product free. That being said, it was a very rich and creamy soup without any addition of soy creamers or soy milk. I love asparagus because it has a lovely savory and bitter taste. It is a very difficult food to pair a wine to, but I find a nice herbal and mineral New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc can work, they often have notes of fresh asparagus as well.

You will need a pressure cooker, OR you will have to cook this for a longer amount of time. Also, you will need a hand held blender, OR go through the trouble of transferring the soup to a blender.

Ingredients

500g of fresh asparagus (or the nice little pack you buy in the store already measures)

6 large russet potatoes peeled and cut into large cubes

2 tbsp of olive oil

1 liter of vegetarian broth

1 vegetarian bouillon cube

1 tbsp course sea salt

Splash of white wine

Directions

Put all of the ingredients into the pressure cooker. Slow cook on low pressure for about 1.5 hours. Release the pressure and open the pressure cooker. In the pot with handheld blender, blend all the ingredients until it makes a smooth creamy texture. If you need to add more water, do so, or if your soup is still quite watery, boil in the pot without adding pressure, just leave it open and let it reduce on a medium simmer, stirring regularly. I like mine very thick.
Pour in bowls and serve with a thick rustic bread.

For garnish, if you want to be fancy, put two roasted pieces of asparagus on top of the soup for each bowl.
You could also make this in a slow cooker, but I would reduce the amount of liquid as it does not reduce at all. When you get home after a long day on low on the slow cooker, you would blend it and either reduce the liquid with a medium simmer, or add more water. Make sure to check the salt for your own personal taste.

Enjoy with a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

I don’t have photos of the soup because honestly, “cream of…” soups don’t photograph well.

If you want to be crazy and add more flavor, try roasting the asparagus first. Check out my Asparagus Risotto recipe for directions on roasting.

http://thecompassionatehedonist1.blogspot.com/2009/03/risotto-agli-aspargi-al-forno.html

Totally Truffled Thanksgiving

Totally Truffled Thanksgiving brought pure joy to my heart.

Palazzo Massimo

Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme By Sarah May Grunwald

One of my favorite places to visit in Rome is the not to be missed Palazzo Massimo alle Terme. It houses the world's most important collection of Roman antiquities, and it is one of the least trafficked museums of its caliber. Another way to avoid the nightmare of the Vatican!! It is also in a convenient location, just steps away from the main train station, but also steps away from the Exedra, which has a darling rooftop bar for your post museum cocktail.

Palazzo Massimo is what all museums should strive to be like. The collection itself is stellar, but the ambience of the place is really its greatest asset. As well, it is a totally feasible 3 hour trip, that won't make you say, "Oh, I wish I could have more time there." The collection ranges from 5th c B.C. bronzes, Republican era portraits, religious iconography, gorgeous mosaics, Imperial era frescoes and portraits, and even a nuministic collection for all you coin lovers. The collection also has continuity, which helps you along, even when you think you have reached the point where you can't look at another piece of marble; there is always something more interesting around the corner that puts the pieces of the Roman puzzle together, like the museum is telling you a story.

The best way to feel this continuity is the start at the top floor and work your way down. In this way you will see the most important artistic treasures, and, if you feel up to it, have time for that very interesting coin collection in the vaults in the basement. This is a very important piece of advice, because honestly, the museum is very quiet and the students that work there are not going to go out of their way to remind you to see the hermaphrodite or Livia's frescoes.

This collection, more than any other in Rome, demonstrates the highly polychromatic world the Romans lived in, not only indicated in the gorgeous frescoes that have been placed here, but in the mosaics and statues. Romans idealized the human form, as did the Greeks before them, in fact, the Romans had Greek sculptors working in Rome to create this masterpieces often copies from Greek originals. If we evaluate Roman art to give us a clear picture of roman life and ideals, what we know is that they were in fact very different to us in the day to day life.

They idealized lithe male gods, and fertile looking goddesses in the human form. They lived in a polychromatic world, which could almost be bordering on Technicolor to our eyes. As a warrior nation, sexuality was considered not only natural but of the utmost importance. The human form was not one of shame, but a form to celebrate, and idealized by sculpting the Gods and Goddesses as beautiful ideal men and women. To our eyes, Roman art can seem almost too upfront and straightforward. They did not hide sexuality or truths. A great example is the sculpture of the sleeping hermaphrodite, the child of Hermes and Aphrodite, who seems to be playing peek-a-boo with the audience. On one had she is all woman, with curves and breasts like an idealized woman, on the other side; you have the sexual organs of a man. Causing the viewer to question what exactly does gender identity mean? Nevertheless, the Romans lived in a war machine. A militaristic regime, and there was no mistaking to them who were the men and who were the woman. While one could play with gender and sexuality in the arts, a man's duty was to serve Rome, and a woman's was to serve man.

You could easily get hot looking at so many muscular and gorgeous men! They will make you look at your own man, and wonder if he could possibly start doing some sit-ups to strengthen up those abs so you can role play ancient roman myths in bed. Who were the artists' models, we wonder? And why don't men look like that, and why isn't the modern ideal of woman more like the healthy version the Romans had? Don't get too worked up, though, because you can't take a break. There is no café for a quick caffeine fix, so come prepared. Have a good lunch and an espresso before visiting

Insalata di finocchio e clementine

Insalata di finocchio e clementine

Fennel and Clementine Salad

This is one of my favorite salads to make in the fall. I don’t know about you, but I always find citrus to be especially welcome in the colder months. It is like the earth is reminding me of the spring and summer to come.

This is a very easy salad to make.

Ingredients
1 large fennel bulb
5 small Clementine or mandarin oranges
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Olive oil

Directions

Slice or dice the fennel bulb into small pieces
Peel the Clementine and segment, cut each segment in half
Throw them all into a salad bowl, pour about ½ cup of olive oil, pinch of sea salt and black pepper to taste, mix well, and garnish with fennel leaves.

This pairs nicely with a Sauvignon Blanc from the north, or New Zealand

The Best Bruschetta in the World

The Best Bruschetta in the World

I don’t like to brag, but, I live in a town which is famous throughout Italy for two things. The first is the Infiorata, and the second is the Pane di Genzano. The bread of Genzano is one of the first in Europe to have a name place designation. That means it cannot be duplicated anywhere else, because it can only be made in Genzano, by Genzanese bread makers, using a specific set of ingredients. However, this posting is not a lesson on bread making, but on how to make the most delicious bruschetta with the bread that is available. Genzano’s crusty, fragrant, and enticing bread is perfect for bruschetta. Oh, and by the way, it is pronounced BRU-sKet-tah. NOT brushhhedda.

You only need a few simple ingredients to make it correctly

Ingredients

½ loaf of a very crusty Italian bread

10 diced cherry tomatoes

2-3 chopped fresh basil leaves

1 clove of garlic and a fork

Coarse Sea Salt, crushed

Olive oil

Directions:

1. First, you'll need to start out with a half loaf of good, crusty, Italian bread.

Chop/dice 10 cherry tomatoes and in a small bowl, mix together with fresh basil leaves(about 3, chopped) and some crush coarse sea salt(about a pinch)

Slice the bread into 1.5cm slices, and then slice those in half. Put in your broiler, wood fired oven, stove at high heat(about 180C) until lightly toasted.Take the one clove of garlic, peel in and slice off both ends. Stick one end into a fork, and let the other sliced side lightly brush against each piece of bruschetta
Put them all on a serving plate, drizzle olive oil over them and then sprinkle your sea salt over each piece.On half of the slices you will add the tomato/basil mix, and the other half you will leave with olive and sea salt.

Drink with a lovely glass of local Frascati

I learned this from the most traditional kitchens of Genzano, places like Carceri, Pellicione, Tigellino, and of course La Cucina di Mamma di Ettore