Trento, Trentino Alto Adige

Wonder why I love Italy?!? Here is our latest short trip - Trento in the mountainous north-east. The first photo is the Piazza del Duomo. Notice the frescoed exterior walls of the building behind the fountain. The next is the same piazza at night from a different angle.

The famous painter Albrecht Durer painted this church.

The scenic views are taken on top of one of the hills behind the town and we are looking down over the city of Trento.

The view from our hotel window below - the church of Santa Maria - Hotel Accademia Vicolo Colico 4/6 38100 - TRENTO.

Below is the famous Christmas market in Trento - il Mercatino di Natale - where I purchased some speck from Alto Adige and the sweetest locally made copper frypan just the right size for one fried egg (maybe served with fresh shaved truffles - see below!!!!)

One of the recommendations from I ristoranti d'Italia from the fabulous Gambero Rosso gang- (http://www.gamberorosso.it/portale/Homepage/homepage) - is the restaurant/wine bar Lo Scrigno del Duomo which is housed in a frescoed very old building in the Piazza del Duomo (see top photo). We tried the local speciality canederli along with some local wines from Trentino (NOT Alto Adige) - a white varietal called nosiola and a red tereldego. Another recommendation which we tried was the Osteria Due Spade just behind the Piazza del Duomo. We nearly died over the roast pheasant breast with chestnuts accompanied by a, this time an Alto Adige wine, Pinot Nero riserva by Hofstatter.

White truffles in San Miniato, Tuscany

It's white truffle season in Italy and boy have I indulged!!
http://www.italianmade.com/foods/subcat29001.cfm



First off, we tasted (three times in Bologna in 3 different restaurants) Tagliolini all'uovo al Tartufo Bianco (fresh egg pasta with butter and shaved white truffle). That did it for me and so I had to find more fresh truffles (now I know how those truffle hunting dogs feel like). To my delight, Richard found an advert for a truffle festival in Tuscany. Perfect! The next week-end we jumped on a train to Firenze (1 hour in the Eurostar), a short regional ride from Firenze to San Miniato and a short bus-ride from there to the hill-top town of historic, picturesque, history and truffle infused, San Miniato (see photo).
As soon as we got off the bus we could smell the earthy delights - all we had to do was follow our nose and our increasingly gurgling stomachs in anticipation of the fungal delight.
Following the signs to the truffle festival, we discovered the stalls displaying mountains of the dirty tempters. However, we could not stop to look - we had to eat!!!

The discovery of the local hotel and restaurant:
Albergo Ristorante Miravalle*** Piazzetta del Castello, 3 - 56027 San Miniato (Pi)Tel. ++39.0571.418075 - ++39.0571.401015 Fax ++39.0571.401968
E-mail: info@albergomiravalle.com,
with its special truffle menu for 50 euro was worth the trip. I cannot begin to describe how superb it was. The menu consisted of a welcome glass of prosecco followed by a degustation of 5 starters, 3 first courses, 4 main courses and 2 dessert. We drank Antinori's Badia a Passignano with all courses except dessert which was accompanied by a muffato (on the house).
Finally, we waddled out of the restaurant and bought fresh truffles (15 grams for 30 euro), a truffle shaver and one litre of new season olive oil from the San Miniato hills before heading back to Firenze for a quick shop before catching the train to Bologna.
The festival is on every November during truffle season. It's on our agenda for next year. Don't miss it. Here's the menu:

MENU’ DEGUSTAZIONE TARTUFO BIANCO DELLE COLLINE SANMINIATESI

Mousse tiepida tartufata,
Bignolina calda alla fonduta di tartufo,
Crostini alla crema di mascarpone e lamelle di tartufo,
Sformatino di baccala’ e tartufo
Lonzino di cinta senese con lamelle di tartufo,

Tagliolini all’uovo con lamelle di tartufo,
Risotto carnaroli tartufato con scaglie di pecorino,
Crespella di farina di ceci farcita con ricotta di pecora, patate e tartufo,

Carpaccio di vitellone con scaglie di parmigiano e lamelle di tartufo,
Coniglio farcito con magro di manzo e tartufo,
Uovo con scaglie al tartufo,
Sformato di patate,

Sfogliatina al cioccolato su salsa di fragole,
Bavarese alla crema con frutti di bosco e lingua di gatto.

Stunning sanctuary and vista at San Luca, Bologna

A few weeks ago we walked up to San Luca from Bologna - a sanctuary on a hill about 5 km from Bologna. I didn't realise that 3.5 of those 5 were uphill!!! In fact, 3.5 km of covered porticos uphill doesn't sound so bad but it was an effort - especially when trying to pretend that it wasn't! We finally got there and the view was superb - but let's face it, once you're there - then what? You go back down. This photo was not taken by me.




The portici from the outside.....

















....and from the inside. We're almost there.
















And the view from the top - mozza fiato (that's Italian for breathtaking)

Firenze, Davide and knock-offs

Ahhh, Firenze. So beautiful and charming (see the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio above and David's butt left) and sooooooo full of tourist groups!!!!
UGH!
I wish it wasn't so. After Bologna - tranquil, genteel, NO tourists (just a few full-time and part-time expats), the historic centre of Florence was like an open air museum.
Nevertheless, I will persist.
We are to return next week to discover quieter waters and eat and drink at the Marchesi Antinori and Marchesi de' Frescobaldi wine bars. Stay tuned.

And now for one of my pet hates - knock-offs! What is it with the EU that tolerates the plethora of immigrants displaying their copies - Gucci, D&G, Burberry and the list goes on - only for some to attempt to restrict imports from China to protect the incumbents. Now that's inconsistent.
No-one is going to believe you spent $2000 on a handbag when they see what kind of shoes you're wearing - it's inconsistent. And we wouldn't want to be that. What is the point? It's just another uniform.
Stay tuned for more pet hates.......

Godot Wine Store #2

The bad news.....After being so keen on Godot Wine Bar earlier - we have now discovered that it's closed down!!!
The good news.....They have another, better one where you can actually have a proper meal as well as the great selection of wines by the glass. Via Cartoleria 12 - the web address is the same.

Italian Made

Click on the title link to check out this great website on the food and wine of Italy. Much to explore.

My Palate loves Godot Wine Bar

Latest discovery is the Godot Wine Bar just off the Piazza Santo Stefano in Bologna (my favourite piazza). Wines by the glass that change weekly - sometimes daily. We are recently indulging in some fabulous whites and reds from Alto Adige. For instance, a Franz Haas Manna '03 - an interesting white blend as well as a crisp and perfumed Müller-Thurgau. You can have a simple dinner there but we have not yet. We have had a platter of affettati e formaggi with bread and grissini so the wine doesn't go straight to your head. YUM!

Here we are in Bologna!

Finally got a chance to update. We are now in beautiful Bologna in the region of Emilia Romagna in the north of Italy. We'll be here until February - a long sojourn with plenty of time to explore and partake in the delicious mountains of pasta fresca. This is the Piazza Santo Stefano - my favourite in Bologna. We take an aperitivo at the bar in this piazza.

Tsé and Longchamp

A quick update on our Longchamp excursion.
Well, our day at the races is over - what we lost in cash we made up for in calories at the generous brunch at Tse in the porte d'Auteuil in the 16th arrondisement.
We met our friends at noon at Tse and, for 20 euro a head, we had way too many carbs and saturated fat - but alot of fun - in a very cool restaurant designed by Jonathan Amat. We walked off the calories (dreamer, I know) through the Bois de Boulogne on our way to the hippodrome.
We didn't back a single winner but a few that placed.
The free area is the place to go if you don't want to be too precious about clothes, shoes and hats. It was very comfortable and surprisingly not crowded. The barriers only ever got about 2 deep. Large screens made watching the progress easy and food, drinks and bookmakers were on standby. Some were dressed up and others - like us - wore 'neat casual' attire.
Compared to some race meetings I've been to, the general atmosphere was very gentil.
A thoroughly recommended day out if you find yourself in Paris when the race is on.

Longchamp

This isn't really a food blog - but it is travel I s'pose.
We are off to Longchamp races tomorrow!!!! I'll let you know how the food was.

Le Gorille Blanc

Here are my thoughts on Le Gorille Blanc - a fabulous neighbourhood bistro in Paris near the Bon Marché that we hadn't tried before.
I didn't want to go because the name sounded silly but I was so very nicely surprised. The food was beautifully executed - not the overcooked plats you often have in Paris bistros. The service was very professional but also had the feel that you were in someone's private dining room. Very warm and welcoming.
To begin I had persillé de lapin - the gelatine was light and had that desirable lip-smacking quality you find in well-reduced meat stocks.
Richard had the terrine de champignons avec crème à l'ail. The terrine was superbly rich and flavoured with what I assumed were cèpes. I am going to make that one.
Next we both had the jarré de veau confit au miel et romarin with what I will call (because I don't know and didn't ask) terrine d'asperge. The delicate, honey sweet jus was light and lean and the terrine was loaded with fresh asparagus.
Finally, the tarte fine aux figues. An almost paper thin disc of pastry with thinly sliced fresh figs loaded and layered on top, baked and dusted with icing sugar. Simple perfection.
On the down side: the colour of the walls was a bit pastel yellow for my taste.
A bottle of Moulin à vent completed the meal. Total cost for two: 100 euro.

Welcome to my blog

Woke up this morning after a fabulous dinner wanting to share my thoughts on the food I love in Paris (and elsewhere for that matter - not least my own kitchen).