Italy was by far the greatest trip I have ever taken. People say that a picture is worth a thousand words so I am going to try to pack this post with pictures and short descriptions. That way hopefully I can more easily convey the beauty of the food, drinks and great times we had. So without further ado..

Cooking at home:

One of my goals while in Italy was to try to buy good, local produce and meats to create dishes at our apartment. We stayed in the sweetest farm house surrounded by olive groves and it included a full kitchen with great outdoor seating. I plan to write a more detailed post on the recipes I created while there but for now here are some quick shots, as well as a picture of Blecci the terrier mix that took it upon herself to personally defend our honor every day. She would chase off the wild boar in the surrounding trees and then come back and sit with us as we ate, drank the local beer (birra) and took in the beauty of Montecatini Terme and Pescia. If you are planning a trip to Italy I do recommend looking into staying at a farm house. The Italians call them Agro Tourismos; it was quaint, clean and very charming to be able to come and go meeting with the owner in the evening and enjoying a glass of wine.

Lucca:

Aw Lucca. It has a big chunk of my heart. While there we enjoyed just a few small meals but the food that we did eat was excellent. This was our first day finally getting a charcuterie plate. I adore cured meats and was beyond excited to get to sit inside the walls amidst the huge cathedrals and their towers, just eating meat on bread. To me that is one of the worlds most perfect meals of course it was accompanied by pecorino and prosecco. The meats on the platter pictured are clockwise from the top of the picture: headcheese, prosciutto, salami, pancetta, copa, and wild boar salami. We then hit up the local taproom for some Italian microbrew. The beers we had were all either German style or American style and we truly enjoyed all of them. The beer was made even more enjoyable as we sat outside on the street people watching and chatting with fellow beer lovers around us. Besides great beer we also had great belinis, which is a glass of prosecco with peach juice. This is one of my new favorite combos, well I mean anything with prosecco is good to me but this one is great on a hot day. Also when you order a drink at a restaurant they often bring you a small snack with it. Here they brought us cheese puffs, taking our sophistication to a new level. Finish Lucca with the ever important gelato to end the day right.

Montecatini Alto (upper):

The bruschetta in Montecatini Alto made me rethink everything I thought I new about bruschetta and crostini. We chose two types: the first was bruschetta with lard and anchovies, thinly sliced peak season fresh tomatoes with warm lard and the salty crisp anchovies. It may not sound good but this was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. Anchovies aren’t like the ones we have in the U.S. these are lightly salty and just had a slight briney tang which cut the fat of the lard perfectly. The second we had was burrata and fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese with prosciutto, this was also incredible. The simplicity of the flavors all played well into each other and the cheeses melded well with the crisp bread. We had yet to have white wine on the trip and took this opportunity to partake, as the sun was beating down and we were in the mood for a cool drink. The flavor was light, sweet and crisp. It fulfilled our need and we truly enjoyed it with the bruschetta. That evening the great meals continued. We went back to the same restaurant because the town of Montecatini Alto is small and we enjoyed our meal at lunch so much we wanted to check out their dinner offerings. To start out our meal we had eggplant carbonara which was light, flavorful and delicious but the specialty in Montacatini Alto is the fried pizza dough and we were excited to give it a go. We had it with similar toppings to the bruschetta earlier in the day. Anchovies and lard on the first, the other prosciutto. Both had burrata and buffalo mozzarella underneath the fried dough. The crunchy, warm dough was divine! Now I’m like most people in that I am a big fan of fried goodness and this did not disappoint, the dough was soft but fully baked through, the outside was crisp and clung to the dough without just falling off, but more importantly they were not overly wet and oily. An all around win for me, plus I mean it’s fried pizza dough which is pretty hard to beat with such an exquisite view.

Florence:

We visited Florence for the day exploring through a walking tour with the group we were traveling with. They wanted to sit down and have lunch but I had read about an amazing tripe sandwich in Rick Steves’ book. We looked it up in our trusty guide books and ventured off. When we found the small cart Spencer and I ordered two of their sandwiches. The Lampredotto; which was tripe, salt, peppers, a bit of salsa verde and then the bread is dipped in the aus jus. The second sandwich we had was the panino al Bollito; this was the same basic ingredients as the Lampredotto but with brisket and a spicy sauce added. These two sandwiches were the best sandwiches I have ever tasted! To this day I still dream about the Bollito. The meat was so tender and had been slow cooking for so many hours that the flavors were intense and mingled perfectly. The bread was fresh and toasted so that the sandwich was still soft but didn’t get soggy. If you are like me the meat to sog ratio is important, I am not a fan of wet bread on wet meat and these were none of that. Though this was nothing fancy I felt like it was the best meal we could have gotten in Florence that day if not the best meal of the trip. So thanks Rick Steves. Do check out his guide books if you are planning a trip. If you live in the Seattle area you should visit his workshops in Edmonds. They are free.

 

Montepulciano:

This was our winery day. We drove through Tuscany to a small family owned winery called Santa Giulia. This was our first ever experience with the wine Brunello and Montepulciano Rosso. I do believe we were spoiled having tasted these wines for the first time here. The wine was incredible, but what made it the best ever was tasting it with the food prepared specifically to accompany the wine. The owners are a husband and wife, he works hard to make the wine and keep it up to the strict Italian standard they have for this style of wine. She makes the worlds best prosciutto. I mean so incredible I ate half the plate you see below. Don’t get me wrong the other cured meats were also above and beyond, but I will never forget that prosciutto and will forever be comparing all others to hers. This wasn’t all we had though I would have been perfectly comfortable with that. For 25 euro we had charcuterie plates with pecorino, an amazing lasagna prepared by the mother of the wine maker and a light dessert, not to mention the many bottles of wine. The best way I can describe the flavors is how Spencer described it: each bite of food with the wine tasted and smelled like the surrounding area. You could smell the wine growing while you were drinking it. Taste the acorns and grassy air in the meat as the pigs turned the soil up in the hills. It brought a whole new meaning to what grows together, goes together and it has inspired me ever since seeing and tasting it.

purchasing that free viagra prescription Males, who watch erotic clips online, are likely to practice hand practice. It is recommended by the viagra effects women healthcare experts to cure sexual weakness in men. This drug is generally taken around cheap cialis mastercard 1 prior hour sexual action; notwithstanding, it might be your grandma! Today the women that ride aren’t all young and wild. However, many men prefer going under natural check this site out buy levitra wholesale options.

Surrounding Montecatini Terme (lower):

We ventured out of Montecatini Terme to the hillsides surrounding and stumbled upon a small restaurant for lunch. I wish I could recall the name because the view was insanely gorgeous which just seems to be the M.O. in Italy and the food turned out to be amazing. I speak some basic Italian so this was helpful because the owners spoke very little English. We spoke briefly and fumbled a bit but in the end ordered the pre-set menu. The menu consisted of a charcuterie plate (prosciutto, salami, copa, wild boar salami and pancetta) , appetizer plate (crostini with beef, pickled garlic, artichoke hearts), tortellini with ragu, pappardelle with wild boar, mushroom risotto, two liters of wine and Limoncello to finish all for 20 euro a person. There were four of us and we were filled up for pretty much the whole rest of the day. While we were sitting we watched doves fly along the hilltops around the tower in town and took in the winding road we had just driven up to arrive here. We were most excited to try the boar because the hillsides are known for making delicious pastas and salamis from their wild pig neighbors. All of the dishes were incredible but we loved the boar. The taste was clean, meaty, not overly fatty and rich. We have been inspired since coming back to try to find some boar from our area and make use of such a delicious wild resource.

 

Volterra:

Volterra was a great day trip. We parked in the parking lot under the city and walked around looking in the alabaster shops and taking in the long history this city has. After finding a few items to bring home we stopped in a wine bar with bras hanging from the ceiling La Vena di Vino. We ordered the tasting of wine from the region. The bartender described them as “super Tuscan wines” and each one were by his standards the finest. We enjoyed the wine, the company and the ambiance. As we drank the men inside cheered on their soccer team and danced in the street. This bar stays open long after the other shops in Volterra close and if you want to party Volterra style this is the place to do it. Of the five wines we tasted we most liked the Brunello. This wine was shaping up to be a heavy hitter and a new favorite for us humble beer coinsures, bold yet not overpowering or too heavy. That’s the one hiccup I have always had when trying to get more into wine. I just don’t enjoy big bold reds, the brunello seemed to be the answer. The flavors balance well, its not too acidic and I don’t immediately get that terrible wine head ache. The Rosso di Montelpuciano we had was also good. Made from the same grapes (strictly sangiovese grapes) as the brunello, it has a similar flavor but is even lighter and almost fruitier. We learned earlier in the trip that these two wines pair best with a pork product. the Brunello with something with more body like a lasagna and the Rosso di Montepulciano with cured pork like salami and prosciutto. We also had a chianti and a red blend but they aren’t worth writing home about. We brought a bottle of Brunello back to the farm house to enjoy the rest of the evening with Blecci sitting under the stars on our patio.

 

Cinque Terre – Vernazza

Aw Cinque Terre you have another big chunk of my heart. The sea has always felt like home to me. Seattle has the sound, so when we made it to the coast the rush of salt air was so comfortable and exciting. We arrived in Monterosso in the early morning and did the first portion of the hike to Vernazza. The hike was hard and though I had my knee brace on and a sturdy walking stick we had to take it slow. When we made it to Vernazza we immediately jumped into the water to cool off then we did what any logical person would do, we went for drinks and lunch. The Five Lands are known for many things, but we were taken most by their seafood. We decide on the Belforte restaurant, ordered a few items to share and of course a bottle of white wine from the region or Vino dela Cinque Terre. The Belforte is perched in the rocks over the sea. The view was absolutely incredible. As we ate we watched cliff divers glide into the water just a few hundred feet from our table. To share we order an antipasti misto plate of anchovies. These anchovies were the best I have ever had, unapologetically an anchovy. Though many have an aversion to them because in the states they are a sad shell of their fresh counterparts, in Cinque Terre they are usually the days catch and prepared perfectly. The plate consisted of lightly fried, pickled, and sautéed and served over tomatoes, with fresh olive oil and capers. I loved every bite of anchovy on that plate and would happily order it again. Along with the antipasti misto we also ordered a large seafood stew to share. Really more of a vat of pure seafood if you ask me. Filled to the brim with everything from eel and mussels to octopus and prawns. Everything was super fresh and scrumptious. We finished with a dish that Cinque Terre is famous for.. Trofie pasta with pesto. Indescribable is the best way I can describe the pesto. Though I will try a bit harder for the words. The pasta was designed for pesto so the noodle grabs on to the sauce. It was perfectly cooked, not crunchy or soggy. The pesto was light, oily and had the most intense basil flavor. It was the perfect way to end the meal. Needless to say we were full up and ready to head back to our room in Monterosso. For 6 euro each we took a 5 minute ferry ride back which was a relief considering the hike there took us about two and a half hours. When we got back we took another dip in that cool Mediterranean Sea water and then walked in Old Town Monterosso searching for the perfect lemon spritz. We did find it ironically in an American bar. The rest of the evening we laughed and made plans to venture back by train to Montecatini. It was the perfect end to an amazing food adventure and I feel we Crusch’d It .