andiamotrips - campania, italy with karen phillips

Il Ragù.  The classic Neapolitan pasta sauce that is served with the traditional family Sunday lunch.  So what was I doing in Gragnano on a late Saturday afternoon trying not one, not two, but three different ragu sauces?. I was attending a discussion on the big red  led by Maurizio Cortese   of Gazzetta Gastronomica.  Cortese began by quoting a popular film Sabato, Domenica, e Lunedi, starring Sofia Loren.  A classic which I have seen several times.  There is a scene in particular where Sofia is at the butcher shop one Saturday afternoon waiting to purchase the right cuts of meat for her traditional recipe.  A heated, and somewhat comical, debate begins between Sofia and the other housewives shopping for their recipe.  Which cuts to buy, which town has the true recipe, the best recipe etc. So here I was, the Chiostro di San Leone, with Cortese and three cooks who he had invited to share their stories, their ideas, and their sauces that Saturday late afternoon. First, Riccardo

Rocco Plati and Francesco Spagnuolo I pulled into Radici Resor t late Wednesday morning knowing good and well that Morabianca Ristorante was closed for the day.  But I wasn't concerned. Actually, it was perfect. Perfect because I had an appointment with Chef Francesco Spagnuolo .  I wanted to learn a bit about the prodotti tipici in the area and Francesco invited me to tag along with himself and Morabianca's Maitre D Rocco Plati on a shopping trip Irpinia style. Off to Venticano, about a 10 minute drive away.  Destination?   Ciarcia. . ..a prosciutto lovers heaven on earth.  I assumed this was just a large delicatessen, but as the doors opened, and the aroma of aged ham hit my nostrils, I knew I was in for something extraordinary.  3 floors of extraordinary and Nicola Ciarcia who gave us a tour of the facilities starting with the bottom floor. Spagnuolo and Ciarcia From where the pork enters, to where it exits, and every point in between.  And though this fac

'A Pasta was a 2 day event put on by Gazzetta Gastronomica.  I decided to divide this weekend celebrating the pasta from Gragnano (Na)  into three seperate blog posts. Ciao Giuseppe!  How are you? It was late afternoon when I arrived at the Chiostro di San Leone  in Gragnano, a small town about a half hour from Naples.   Giuseppe Di Martino  had flown in from Germany on his way back from Vancouver and Washington D.C. just a couple of hours earlier, but his face didn't show that he had been up for the last 24 hours. Giuseppe Di Martino Di Martino, owner of two pasta factories in Gragnano, is used to travelling the world talking about pasta and Gragnano.  On this particular afternoon, he was programmed to be the guest speaker in a small corner room  accompanied by a bag of  wheat, a bag of grain,  a bag of flour, and a bag of pasta. A small corner room with a soft gentle Gragnano breeze. He began by discussing the history of pasta making in Italy in general, dating

Lunchtime at Dolce e Salato is always an opportunity to try something delicious.  Like this savarin of rice and tomato sauce prepared by Chef Angelo Guida .  And after a few bites, I had to have the recipe.  The chef happily obliged. Ingredients: For the filling Carnaroli rice 1 kg, small peas 150 gr, 4 hard boiled eggs, grated Parmesan cheese 100 gr, mozzarella cheese 200 gr, breadcrumbs 200 gr   For the meatballs 300 gr of ground veal and beef, 150 gr of stale bread soaked in milk, 1 egg, grated Parmesan cheese, chopped parsley, clove garlic, minced.   For the ragu 200 g of tomato concentrate/paste, 1 liter of tomato sauce, 300 gr of onions, carrots and celery, 500 gr of pork ribs, 350 gr of crumbled sausage, 1 dl of olive oil, 1.5 dl of red wine, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper to taste   Procedure First prepare the ragu sauce by browning the mirepoix with the olive oil over low heat in a large pot. In another skillet, brown the pork sausage and  the pork ri

Yasmina Baouia I arrived the second hour of the second day.  The second day of a first of its kind course on cake design held at the Dolce and Salato Scuola di Cucina in Maddaloni (Ce). Yasmina Baouia of   Eating Art  was in Italy for the first time to show a full house her techniques modeling with marzipan.  When I arrived, you could of heard a pin drop.  Yasmina, from Serbia, is not fluent in Italian.  So she spoke in French and English, and used an interpreter every now and then.  But speaking wasn't necessary...Because Yasmina spoke with her hands... her talent... her patience... Baouia with cake designer Teresa Doria and her smile... Baouia with chef Peppe Daddio

This finger food was hard for me to resist . Chef Paolo Gramaglia of Ristorante President  in Pompei passed me the recipe. Ingredients for 4 people: -  1 large potato - juice of 1 large lemon - Anchovy sauce - Extra virgin olive q.b. -  1 octopus -  10 green beans - Salt and pepper to taste. Preparation: Boil and mash the potato, then whisk together with  extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and drops of anchovy sauce. Boil the octopus, put aside the tentacles and toss with the marinade of extra virgin olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper Boil the beans and toss with the marinade of extra virgin olive oil, lemon and salt . In a tall shot glass, place the cream of potato  in the center, place the octopus in plain view on top and garnish with green beans. Add drops of marinade and serve

Roberto Di Meo It was only last January when I put a face to the name.  I saw  Roberto Di Meo , president of Assoenologi Campania , a leading enologist association and one of the top winemakers in Campania, for the first time - in person. I was sitting in a small theater during Taurasi Vendemmia  2008  and Di Meo was there, discussing   Taurasi's macroareas, the climate, the terroir.  An informative evening that led me to present myself to Di Meo that evening at dinner.  The usual exchange of business cards and a silent promise to myself to visit his winery soon ish. .. A silent promise that I repeated in March when I stopped by Cantine Di Meo's booth in Verona at Vinitaly. Right after tasting Di Meo's Fiano Di Avellino...right after Di Meo mentioned that he had a couple of older vintages waiting in the vat back home in Salza Irpina.. So one late afternoon I went to fulfill that silent promise.  Contrada Coccovoni, 1.  Cantine Di Meo. I buzzed the gate... Ci