Verona offers information on events directly from its office located in the Arena square and through this useful link http://www.tourism.verona.it/_vti_g2_evHi.aspx?rpstry=31_
Follow this link http://www.arena.it/en-US/HOMEen.html for a full calendar on the summer opera season.
Carnival’s arriving…
This year March 8 marks both Women’s day and Mardi Gras.
Women’s day was decreed in 1910 in memory of 129 women workers who died in 1908 in a fire inside the factory after days of strike in which they had asked for better working conditions.
The carnival in Verona as we experience it nowadays roots back in medieval times: in 1531 after a big famine Tommaso Da Vico ordered to feed the people from the neighborhood of San Zeno, the poorest and most populated in Verona, bread, wine, flour and cheese on the Friday before Mardi Gras of every year. He also ordered the same to be done after his death. From then on that Friday is a day of celebration and feast; cooking special dishes like gnocchi and fritters is a special tradition on that day .
On the same day and on Mardi Gras Verona celebrates its carnival with long parades throughout the city; allegorical wagons are accurately prepared the months proceeding the event; the typical masks of all the neighborhoods of Verona will stroll in their lively costumes throwing candies and making jokes. In any Veronese table on that Friday gnocchi with tomato sauce will be served. Carnival fritters, called “galani” are sold in any bakers and café during the same period.
Here is my way to make these crispy and light carnival delicacies.
“GALANI” – CARNIVAL FRITTERS
Ingredients for making about 40 pieces
2 whole eggs
1 cup white unbleached flour
1,1/2 cup whole wheat plus extra for dusting
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of grappa
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
A pinch of salt
Oil for frying
Confectioner sugar
In a large bowl scramble the eggs with sugar, salt, grappa, cream and melted butter.
Incorporate the two flours as if you were making pasta.
Make a soft dough, yet not sticking to your hands. Add more flour if so.
Transfer dough to a floured board and knead until nice and smooth, about 8 minutes.
Wrap and let sit ½ hour or more.
Lay your surface with a table cloth, secure the pasta machine to one edge.
Take a small chunk of dough, sprinkle with flour and process through the gears, from thick all the way to the thinnest. Lay the strip on the table and cut diagonally with a serrated pasta cutter, into pieces about 2-3 inches long.
Meantime heat a large pot filled with peanut oil or extra virgin olive oil or a mixture of both (they are quite stable and have a high smoke point .
When the oil has reached 150° C, about 300° F. deep the pasta pieces and fry briefly, about a minute per side. Drain well. Proceed with the remaining pasta (you may need someone to help at this point). Sprinkle with abundant confectioner sugar and stack up on a tray.
“Galani” can keep fresh and edible up to 4 days but I assure that they will be gone immediately!
Enjoy!
REGIONAL COOKING NOW AVAILABE
Cooking Sicilian
The food from the island of Sicily is in my view is one of the best. It varies a lot like in any other region in Italy, depending on the vicinity to the sea, inland, mountain and so on. What’s better than pasta alla norma to start with or friselle, a specil bread soaked in water and vinegar and seasoned with anchiovies, fresh tomatoes and freh basil.
Not to mention Cassata siciliana made with fresh ricotta and candied fruit ( my favourite dessert for Easer), a Siclian Christmas delicacy.
Cuisine from Apulia
Apulia, Puglia located south east of Italy streteching down to Calabria all on the Adriatic sea, Ionio.
Preparations from Apulia have an impressive mark which is the wonderful olive oil of which the region is a great produce.
Pasta made only with semolina flour and water, like orecchiette is the most representative. It ingredients and fresh vegetble sauces make it a hit in any table.
In my last newsletter I mentioned meat tortellini which my family have been making for quite a while. It all started when my grandfather known to be a big eater , married a great cook, a woman coming from the eastern province of Verona.
My grandfather (from mom’s side), whose father was from a town near Trento and whose mother came from Austria, was born in Verona after the parents , living in the province of Trento came down to Verona to seek a better future. He became a plumber, the first having a shower in Verona and built a reasonable business in Verona, bore 5 children, three girls and two boys. We are talking about the last years of the 18th century first years of the 19th century.
My grandmother, the great cook, named Silvia, before marrying my grandfather had cooked for a noble family in the area. We don’t know where she got the recipe for meat tortellini but it resembles the traditional one you can find nowadays in many restaurants of the northern Italy
At last here’s the recipe
Meat tortellini
This recipe makes rich appetizing tortellini whose flavor is enhanced if cooked and served in good beef stalk. Alternatively a light red sauce or butter and sage will generate a good result. The richness of the filling comes form the variety of roasted meats, the prosciutto of Parma and the Parmesan. This recipes regards the filling, which, if in excess can be frozen and used at another time.
In a casserole sauté the pork, turkey and veal in olive oil with the chopped rosemary and sage turning the pieces often to brown evenly. Pour the wine and cook uncovered at medium heat until meats are cooked on the outside but medium on the inside, about 30 minutes. Leave aside to cool.
Meantime in a bowl add the Parmesan, nutmeg salt and pepper.
Grind he cold meats and the prosciutto in a meat grinder adding the juice with the garlic and herbs. Grind twice since the meat need to be fine.
Transfer to the bowl and mix in with the other ingredients. Adjust salt and pepper
Prepare the pasta dough and roll out the first piece to the thinnest level.
Lay the pasta strip on the tablecloth and proceed with filling it.
Place a teaspoon of filling on the edge of the strip, distanced about 1″ from each other.
Lift the opposite edge and bring it over so that the filling is totally enclosed into the pasta
Press on the edge to secure sealing. Trim off all excessive pasta with a pasta cutter
Cut each piece individually and check that all sides are well sealed and no air remains in by pressing all around it with fingertips.
Prepare abeef stock ahead of time.
Cook in stock from 3-5 minutes or until al dente. Serve in their stock sprinkled by more parmesan cheese.
lernatively lift genly from the stock and serve with a light sauce.
Buon appetito!
Luisa’s got a new kitchen!
Last October a renewal has started at Luisa’s estate. The main work has been done at ground floor; there is now a large brand new kitchen where there was once a studio and in the studio there is a livingroom-diningroom. The fireplace (sic…) has been replaced by a wood burner, but a beautiful one! There are now wooden floors alternated by pebble-like patches made of white marble, a creation of Luisa.
There is a new en-suite bathroom at the first floor into the green room (triple bedroom)
And, of course a large patio for al fresco lunch and where it’s possible to see the sunset.
(source: Poynter Online)
Two weeks away from work. I fear that for too many of today’s newsroom managers, that kind of getaway is more likely to be related to hospitalization than to vacation. Even for those of us who teach journalists at Poynter, a two-week holiday is a blessing.
I was blessed in May. As my oldest son Noah graduated from Indiana University, my husband Neil dreamed up an extraordinary trip for the family. He identified that rare slice of time: a two-week window in which two college students and their working parents were free to travel. We chose Italy, a place the adults had seen but the boys had yet to visit.
Neil was the leader on this adventure. He’s an experienced international traveler who has a gift for planning. He navigates easily across languages, currencies and cultures. He rarely gets lost. When he does, he doesn’t consider it a crisis, just a fun critical thinking challenge.
Neil’s travel philosophy is the lesson I want to share with you. He has always told our sons that to get the most out of travel, they need three attributes. They should be:
I like that, probably because they are also the qualities of good journalists. I think we put all three into practice on this trip.
 Neil Jaehnert
At a half-day cooking class in a villa near Verona, Luisa Zecchinato taught us to make bruschetta and ravioli.
|
Curious: We wanted to learn more about Italian food, so we had dinner in the home of a Cesarina in Bologna. Cesarines are part of Italy’s Home Food movement, local women who know and love regional recipes passed down through generations. They open their homes to guests who want to experience authentic recipes and local products. We also took a half-day cooking class in a villa near Verona, where our teacher Luisa Zecchinato taught us to make bruschetta and ravioli like we’d never enjoyed before. We learned a key Italian culinary philosophy: The pasta is the star, not the sauce.
Tireless: We walked as many 10 miles a day. Hop on, hop off bus tours are a great way to see city sights with guided commentary, but the best part is the hop off. Armed with maps, we wandered through narrow streets and explored churches, shops, trattorias, and those gelaterias Italians adore. I’m certain there are more gelato shops in Italy than Starbucks in any U.S. city. We climbed stairs and hills. We returned to some spots after dark, hoping they’d provide the kind of breathtaking shot we captured on our last night in Florence.
 Neil Jaehnert
This was taken our last night in Florence, Italy.
|
Non-judgmental: Nope, they don’t offer Thousand Island or Ranch dressing for your insalata mista (mixed salad) in Italy and don’t plan to. Yes, some stores close for several hours each afternoon and you’ll have to deal with it. Yes, you have to ask for the check at an Italian restaurant or you’ll grow old waiting for them to bring it. Yes, they’ve restricted indoor smoking in public places but wow, those Italians love to light up everywhere else. Hey, it’s their country. You’re the guest. Live, learn, and keep your judgment in check. Exception: the taxi driver taking us to the Rome airport really shouldn’t have been text messaging while driving 145 kilometers (90 miles) per hour, but I had to admire his dexterity.
I had my Flip camera with me on the trip, looking for ideas to bring home for SuperVision. On a beautiful day in Verona, I talked with our culinary coach Luisa Zecchinato about her teaching technique. She believes in having maximum participation from her students. That’s smart. Adults tend to like hands-on, practical learning, whether it’s manicotti or multimedia. Leaders in today’s pressure-cooker newsrooms may enjoy her laid-back approach to learning and life:
I hope you find time for your own version of work/pasta balance in your busy life as a manager. Whether it’s two weeks in Italy or down time closer to home, charging your batteries can keep you sharp. Maybe even curious, tireless and non-judgmental.
Subscribe to our E-mail Newsletter!