Tag: breakfast

[Thoughts on the Table – 78] A Chat with Award-winning Author Andrew Cotto

Andrew Cotto is an award-winning American writer of Italian descent. His latest novel titled Cucina Tipica tells the fascinating adventure of a young American who falls in love with Tuscany and with the culture of its people. Naturally, food and wine end up setting the pace and become deeply entrenched in the story.

I was humbled to be contacted by Mr. Cotto who sent me a copy of the book for consideration as he thought it would fit with the theme of the podcast. After reading it, I couldn’t agree more! Please join us in this episode where we discuss the novel in its many aspects–from the significance of food in the Italian culture to the chemistry of taste, from culture shock and relocation to speaking a foreign language and what it does to interactions and introspection.

You can follow Andrew Cotto on andrewcotto.com as well as on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Cucina Tipica is available on Amazon.

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As an “appetizer” for the book, Andrew sent me a recap in the form of a Food and Wine Plot Menu with 24 tastes each corresponding to a food scene in the novel. Enjoy!

Cucina Tipica: An Italian Adventure
A Novel by Andrew Cotto

Food & Wine Plot Menu

Food and Wine Plot Menu

Novel Overview: Cucina Tipica is the story of a disheartened American who arrives in Italy on holiday and decides he never wants to leave. What follows is a wine-soaked, food-filled travel adventure about one man’s quest for an antiquated existence in the modern world.

Characters:
Jacoby Pines – a forlorn young American with a “golden palate” and hopes of redemption in Italy
Claire – a travel writer and Jacoby’s fiancee
Bill – a septuagenarian ex-pat from Texas and Jacoby’s wingman in the “adventure”
Paolo – Jacoby and Claire’s neighbor and landlord in the hills south of Florence near the village of Antella
Dolores – Claire’s “outrageous” English cousin and “Chiantishire” resident
Helen – An Aussie/English ex-pat and Florence museum guide

1st Taste:
Who: Jacoby and Claire
Where: Excelsior Palace Hotel – Rapallo, Italy
Food: Prosciutto, cheese, olives, dried lemons, fresh figs
Wine: Prosecco
Additional Notes: They ate with their hands and drank from the bottle, leaving stains and crumbs on the bed sheets, which Claire attempted to clear before removing her bikini bottom…

2nd Taste:
Who: Jacoby and Claire
Where: A “hole-in-the-wall” seafood osteria in Rapallo
Food: a basket of lightly fried calamari, shrimp, bream and whole anchovy seasoned with salt and lemon; pureed and garlicky fish soup; steamed prawns dipped in aioli; grilled sardines; plates of pasta with pesto and plates of pasta with clams
Wine: Carafes of Vermentino
Additional Notes: They shared the meal of seafood by the seaside in the Rapallo back alley as completely as possible, holding hands under and above the table, kissing frequently, filling each other’s glasses, and laughing throughout the two hours of slow and utter indulgence.

3rd Taste:
Who: Jacoby and Paolo
Where: The terrace behind Paolo’s villa featuring a wood-burning oven
Food: Handmade pizza with olives, anchovy fillets, and fresh basil; “Misto Arrosto” – a mixed roast of lamb, sausage, rabbit, liver in caul fat, guinea hen, halved-potatoes, heads of garlic, caramelized carrot and fennel.
Wine: “Local Chianti” – DOCG Colli Fiorentini, Grappa
Additional Notes: Jacoby felt as peaceful and inspired as he had in months. Maybe ever. The best two meals of his life had been had over the first two days in Italy. The country itself was more beautiful than pictures could capture. The people spoke a lovely language and wore elegant clothes. It was all good. And he wanted in.

4th Taste:
Who: Jacoby and Claire
Where: Comune di Norcia (Umbria)
Food: Porchetta sandwich for Jacoby; salad of wilted wild mushrooms atop bitter local greens for Claire
Drinks: Soft

5th Taste:
Who: Jacoby and Claire
Where: An elegant agriturismo in Le Marche
Food: Charcuterie plate of house-cured meats; silky thick noodles topped with black truffles; lamb roast; Pecorino cheese drizzled with honey
Wine: Rosso Piceno
Additional Notes: After dinner, they roamed the silent grounds and made love on a pool-side chaise lounge after skinny dipping in the cool water that rippled with shards of silver moonlight.

6th Taste:
Who: Jacoby and Claire
Where: The tiny piazza in Panzano-in-Chianti
Wine: Brunello di Montalcino
Additional Notes: Claire tucked into Jacoby’s side and put a foot up on the bench against the back of her leg. They silently swirled the wine and took small sips, staring at the valley beyond the village that burned gold with smoldering sunshine of a fading afternoon. Jacoby savored the apple smell of Claire’s radiant hair and the feel of her lithe body pressed into his. He thought that they, in that still pose, would make a great statue, like a modern Apollo and Daphne, frozen in marble so that their love would always last.

7th Taste:
Who: Jacoby, Claire, Dolores
Where: Restaurant in Panzano owned by a young butcher (inspired by the auspices of Dario Cecchini)
Food: Bistecca Fiorentina, uccellini in brodo (white beans with tomatoes in broth)
Wine: Vecchie Terre di Montefili – Chianti Classico
Additional Notes: The flavor of the beef was as profound and complex as any Jacoby had ever tasted. Steak in the States was bland, in need of sauce, but this simply-prepared choice cut was perfectly grilled – seared on the outside, rare and warm internally – helped by hints of lemon and rosemary and coarse salt while letting the flavor of the meat itself dominate. Amazing. Transcendental. Good f****** lord.

8th Taste:
Who: Jacoby, Claire, Dolores
Where: Terrace behind the barn where they lived on Paolo’s property
Food: Eggs with prosciutto and sage, bread
Wine: Prosecco
Additional Notes: Jacoby loved cooking for people, then sharing the meal and the mutual pleasure of being together. Eating the same food; drinking the same wine; everyone on the same stage. It was like sex when sex was good and mutual. What people called “making love.”

9th Taste:
Who: Jacoby, Claire, Dolores
Where: Mercato Centrale, Florence
Food: Margherita Pizza
Wine: Moralino di Scansano

10th Taste:
Who: Jacoby and Bill
Where: Hotel Floria-Zanobini, Antella
Food: Sausage and eggs with stewed tomatoes
Drink: Espresso
Additional Notes: “I’ve been an ex-pat for 35 years, and the only thing I miss about America is breakfast,” – Bill

11th Taste:
Who: Jacoby and Bill
Where: Hotel Floria-Zanobini
Food: Spring Minestrone (generous with pieces of artichoke, asparagus and carrots in a broth of pureed onions and leeks with a snap of garlic); fresh fettuccine with fava beans and Pecorino; rabbit loin wrapped in pancetta over polenta dotted with green olives
Drinks: Negroni, Chianti Colli Fiorentini, Grappa
Additional Notes: Bill and Jacoby ate and drank and spoke of their looming adventure into Florence proper, in search of a matriarch holed up in a palace marked by a cat statue. They laughed at their dim prospects, which were soothed by the magnificent meal and flowing wine.

12th Taste:
Who: Jacoby and Bill
Where: Florence, food stand near the Sant’Ambrogio market
Food: Lampredotto sandwiches
Wine: Chianti in plastic cups
Additional Notes: The aroma out of the stand was pungent; the sandwich warm in his hand, of tomato infused broth and hearty filling tucked between the bread. The taste was super savory to the bite, ample aromatics and a soft texture from the holy trinity of bread and filling and broth.

13th Taste:
Who: Jacoby, Bill, Helen
Where: Florence, a gazebo in Piazza Signoria
Wine: Prosecco
Additional Notes: “Why, yes. Yes, I would,” Helen said. “There’s few things I prefer more than a glass of Prosecco.”

14th Taste:
Who: Jacoby, Bill, Helen
Where: Florence, Il Teatro del Sale
Food: Gurguglione; artichoke sformato; polpettini; fried rabbit; zucchini stuffed with ground pork; roasted chicken & sausage with potatoes, flourless chocolate cake
Wine: House red, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
Additional Notes: There was nowhere else in the world Jacoby wished to be. This was his Grand Canyon. His Hawaii. Mount Everest or Disney World. His paradise was a theater-cafeteria-commissary, sharing a table with two people he hardly knew but liked immensely, full of possibilities, in a room full of shamelessly happy people.

15th Taste:
Who: Jacoby, Bill, Helen
Where: Florence, club Sriracha
Drinks: Negronis (many)

16th Taste:
Who: Jacoby
Where: The barn
Food: Steak & eggs
Additional Notes: Tears fell down Jacoby’s face as he continued to chew enough to swallow safely. The salt from the tears entering his mouth brightened the flavor, making it more clear what was happening even before Claire descended the stairs in the same clothes she wore before, a suitcase thumping beside her.

17th Taste:
Who: Jacoby
Where: Al fresco table at the cafe in Antella
Food: Ceci and bread
Wine: Chianti Colli Fiorentini
Additional Notes: “Ciao,” Jacoby called before tucking into his plate of oven-baked chickpeas that tasted as flavorful as anything he’d ever eaten, washing the legumes and bread down with the local red wine as he sat in the cool shadows of his own private dining terrace on a Friday night in a silent village as twilight settled upon him in what felt like the most important place in all of the world.

18th Taste:
Who: Jacoby
Where: Osteria in Pienza
Food: Pici with porcini; pappardelle with wild rabbit ragu
Wine: Argiano Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
Additional Notes: In a shaded osteria at the end of town, Jacoby couldn’t decide between two pastas… so he ordered both, taking the mushroom plate first, followed by the gamy second course, both washed down with separate, massive goblets of Vino Nobile, which he swirled and sipped with great delight.

19th Taste:
Who: Jacoby
Where: Enoteca la Fortezza, Montalcino
Food: A plate of Pecorino in three varieties
Wine: Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino (2007)
Additional Notes: When it was over, Jacoby felt a thread of sadness which he hoped to dash through the purchase of a case of the very wine he just drank.

20th Taste:
Who: Jacoby and Bill
Where: A cantinetta near Antella
Food: mixed antipasti; tagliatelle with porcini; roasted pork ribs; cantuccini…
Wine: Colli Fiorentini Riserva, …Vin Santo
Additional Notes: “That was incredible” Jacoby said. Bill made a face of modest expression and flicked a wrist in the air. “Cucina tipica,” he said.

21st Taste:
Who: Jacoby and Helen
Where: Lo Sprone Vinaino, Santo Spirito, Florence
Food: Cacio e Pepe; charred octopus & potatoes; roasted pigeon
Wine: Martinis (in the piazza out front), white wine (unnamed)

22nd Taste:
Who: Jacoby
Where: Hotel Floria-Zanobini
Food: Cinghiale ragu over polenta
Wine: Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino
Additional Notes: The meat was as tender as it was flavorful, filling his mouth with silky decadence buttressed by layers of flavor only attainable through days of preparation that precedes slow, slow cooking.

23rd Taste:
Who: Claire & Dolores
Where: Hotel Floria-Zanobini
Food: Cinghiale ragu over polenta
Wine: Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino
Additional Notes: “My f****** God!” Dolores’ voice shot from the kitchen. “This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted in my life!”
Jacoby and Claire cracked up and parted their hug.
“Bring it in here,” Jacoby called.
“No f****** way!” Dolores called back.

24th Taste (in absentia):
Who: Jacoby, Claire, Dolores, Bill
Where: The cantinetta near Antella
Food: To be determined
Wine: To be determined (lots guaranteed)
Additional Notes: “How’s the food?” Dolores asked Jacoby. “Decent?”
“Oh, it’s way better than decent,” Jacoby said. “More like typical.”

END OF NOVEL.

[Thoughts on the Table – 74] Commercial vs. Domestic Kitchens and Italian Food Knowledge, with Simon Pagotto

Restaurateur and Italian food ambassador Simon Pagotto is back for another great chat!

In the first part of the episode, Simon talks about commercial kitchens and how they differ with respect to domestic kitchens. For instance, he discusses timing, the benefits of professional equipment, dealing with large quantities, and achieving a consistent product.

In the second part, Simon goes through a list of 12 questions he’s been asking other Italian food ambassadors to test their knowledge. You can read the question below, join our chat to hear my answers! Do you agree? 🙂

Questions for Italian food ambassadors

  1. What dairy is in a pasta Carbonara?
  2. Is chicken acceptable in a pasta and if not, why not?
  3. Is there a right way to eat spaghetti? Is the use of a spoon acceptable?
  4. Why do they call Parmigiano Reggiano the king of cheeses?
  5. What’s your favourite pizza excluding a Margherita?
  6. Name another rice dish that doesn’t have the words risotto, arancini or suppli in the name.
  7. Does the word Ragu belong to just one plate or place?
  8. Do you know of a seafood dish that is served with cheese, if so what is it?
  9. Do you consider an area of Italy food more pure than any others?
  10. Do have a favourite region for food and what makes that region so special to you?
  11. Do you know some of the other regions of food as well as your favourite region?
  12. (Optional) Have you ever had a slightly warmed (so the fat just goes clear) salami sandwich on bread with an egg fried in the fat? Or a googy egg (just boiled eggs mashed with olive oil, s & p and fresh chopped parsley) bruschetta for breakfast? No need to answer that one, just try it sometime. LOL.

If you missed it, check out Simon’s first episode here.

During the show, we mention several dishes including Canederli, Amatriciana, and Carbonara.

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Breakfast or Colazione?

Breakfast in Italy is called ‘prima colazione’, or simply ‘colazione’. It’s the first meal of the day and many say it’s the most important one too. However, North Americans and Italians have fundamental differences of opinions in what to eat for breakfast. The first main difference is that savory breakfast items are almost absent in most parts of Italy. You would never see an Italian eating bacon and eggs, or even a bagel, which is standard in North America – and these items don’t appear on restaurant menus either. Things are quite different on the sweet side as well: no cereals, no peanut butter, no pancakes, no waffles or scones. What do Italians eat for breakfast then?

These are the components of a typical Italian breakfast: ‘caffè latte’ (hot milk with coffee) with a baked product, such as:

  • Bread or toast (with unsalted butter and jam, or just jam);
  • ‘Fette biscottate’ (called rusk in English) (also with butter and/or jam);
  • Pastries (e.g. croissants) or cakes (e.g. brioches);
  • ‘Biscotti’ (generic name for cookies, but more like the Italian version of cereal), typically ‘frollini’ (butter shortbreads), usually dipped in the caffè latte.

Hot chocolate or plain black tea (with milk or lemon) is sometimes an alternative to coffee. Other options that are generally reserved for young children include milk with barley or malt coffee substitutes, or milk with cocoa powder.

Italians follow more rules in general as to when to eat what. A cappuccino, for instance, is a morning treat, it’s OK in the afternoon as an alternative to espresso during coffee breaks, but it’s definitely not a replacement for the after-dinner espresso. Everything has a purpose, and the espresso after a meal is meant to be one last strong punch of flavor – the delicate nuances of a cappuccino would be out of place, and the milk would be heavy on a full stomach.

In Italy, a small selection of cereals with milk or yogurt cater to the diet-conscious but aren’t very common. Fruit juices are quite popular, especially pear, apricot, peach, and apple. With the exception of citrus, Italian-style juices are generally thicker compared to their North American equivalents, are also sold in individual glass bottles (20 ml), and are sometimes considered a complete meal. Fresh squeezed orange juice is also well-liked, especially during winter.

As you can see, sweet things are the preference. This is the case almost everywhere in Italy, with the Alto Adige region being the most notable exception. In Alto Adige, also called Südtirol, the Austrian influence can clearly be seen in the tradition of having cheese, ham, and eggs for breakfast.

A somewhat limited savory presence can also be found in hotels. Italian hotels generally just offer an expanded version of a home breakfast, but with the possible addition of a sample of cold cuts and cheese, in line with what is internationally known as Continental Breakfast.

A truly Italian routine, however, is to go have breakfast in what Italians call a “bar”. These have very little in common with North American bars. Italian bars are essentially licensed coffee shops that typically serve espresso all day, breakfast in the morning, sandwiches and beer around lunch time, appetizers (called ‘aperitivi’), and long drinks near dinner, and are usually closed in the evening. Bars are extremely popular in Italy – in the big cities you can find them at every corner, and they are all different from one another being usually privately owned (there are no major chains). Bars’ consistent quality, contained prices, and prompt service make them the preferred choice for people who commute to work or to school – it takes less time to get breakfast in a bar than it does to have it at home, and most Italians would also find it more satisfying. Prompt service however comes with a caveat. The busier the place, the more you should know what you want to order before you go in – you don’t want a “no cappuccino for you!” reaction from the bartender. Cash payment is also much preferred because of its speed. Then, after you get served, you are supposed to step aside and consume your breakfast quickly, trying not to exasperate the server and patrons behind you (the fact that it is your turn to be served doesn’t buy you all the time that you want to choose your pastry or dawdle in the bar). Most bars even encourage a quick turnover by having high tables and no sit-down service. You can read more on the Italian Bar in this article.

Bar-style breakfast consists almost exclusively of what the Italians call ‘cappuccino’ and ‘brioche’. We’ve already talked about cappuccino, and its alternatives such as ‘latte macchiato’ (with more milk), coffee ‘macchiato’ (with less milk), or just plain espresso (with no milk at all). By “brioche”, Italians actually mean any kind of baked good, the most common of which is in fact a croissant (‘cornetto’ in Italian) and almost never an actual brioche. A croissant can be “empty” (‘vuoto’), or filled (e.g. with ‘crema pasticcera’ -pastry cream-, apricot jam, chocolate cream, whipped cream, apple filling, almond filling, etc.). Other breakfast pastries which are also usually filled are: ‘fagottino’ (the equivalent of the French ‘pain au chocolat‘, when filled with chocolate), ‘sfogliatina’ (puff pastry pockets), ‘bombolone’ (also called with its German name ‘krapfen‘, the equivalent of a filled donut), ‘girelle’ (twirls) with raisins. Savory croissants, with optional ham and/or cheese, can also be found, but are definitely far less in vogue than the sweet versions. Other savory options are ‘pizzette’ (small puff pastry pizzas, usually with tomato and mozzarella), but are quite hard to find.

In Italy, the maximum price of the main bar menu items is regulated by the law. This makes it so all bars tend to charge the same maximum amounts allowed. While not competing on prices, bars still compete on quality. Pastry shops that are also cafés (called ‘bar pasticceria’) generally offer higher standards for baked goods, compared to regular ‘bars’; this is especially true in small towns. In big cities the bars with the higher customers turnover often get their pastries delivered fresh from pastry shops even multiple times a day and the quality of their baked goods is excellent. Smaller bars instead often bake their croissants themselves (from an industrially made base), and while smelling fantastic because of the onsite baking their croissants are not as good (and sometimes are thought of as more buttery and harder to digest). Still, smaller bars make good business in small towns where the competition is less, still providing a service to their customers.

In conclusion, breakfast is for the Italians a brief yet dear parenthesis in the morning. Even on weekends and holidays people generally don’t go out for sit-down breakfasts. In fact, there are no ‘all day breakfast’ places in Italy (though it’s definitely possible to have a cappuccino all day, it’s uncommon to see people have a croissant in the afternoon, so much so that bars tend to run out of pastries early and don’t replenish). As a result, breakfast in Italy is not necessarily a moment of social aggregation; it’s at most a meet-up point for 2 or 3 individuals.

The lack of savory options in the Italian breakfast also originates other interesting differences between Italy and North America. One difference is that for the Italians eggs are totally a lunch option (as the main or the second course). Another difference is that in Italy there is absolutely nothing like North American brunch; being the Italian breakfast so different from lunch, the two don’t mix: after sleeping in on weekends Italians may just decide to skip breakfast altogether and have their Sunday’s lasagna!

Espresso Myths

What’s Espresso?

Espresso is what you get if you order a coffee (‘un caffè’) in any Italian café (or ‘Bar’ as Italians call them). Home-made coffee generally isn’t espresso, it’s a short coffee made with a stove-top machine called ‘Caffettiera’ (either ‘Moka’ or ‘Napoletana’). More recently, however, electric espresso machines have appeared in many Italian households.

Italians truly love their coffee and enjoy it several times a day: for breakfast (usually in the form of a ‘Cappuccino’, see below), at break, after lunch, and after dinner. However, most Italians drink single shots – saving the double (or ‘doppio’) for “extreme needs” to wake up (though these days people probably prefer energy drinks). In North America, double is more common.

The difference between an espresso and a coffee made with a Moka is the fact that an espresso machine quickly squeezes pressurized hot water through compressed finely ground coffee, whereas a Moka gently pushes the water through a smaller quantity of mildly compressed coffee. The difference made by the espresso maker is in the remarkable added creaminess and intensity.

Most Italians take their coffees with one or two teaspoons of sugar, some add cold milk or cream. If you add steamed milk to espresso, you get a Caffè Macchiato (not a Machiatto) – which literally means marked or stained coffee (coffee marked/stained with milk). If you add more steamed milk, you get a Cappuccino (not a Capuccino) – which literally means small cap. If you instead add espresso to a glass of steamed milk, then you get a ‘Latte Macchiato’ – which means marked/stained milk (milk marked/stained with coffee). ‘Caffè Latte’ is instead normally any warm milk (including steamed) with any type of coffee (including the regular home-style coffee). ‘Latte’ alone in Italy simply means cold milk.

Espresso Fails

Now, let’s focus on what can go wrong outside of Italy. Here are a few hints that your espresso experience is likely not going to be authentic:
1) If you enter a café, order an espresso, and the attendant (or ‘Barista’) asks you: “For here or to go?”
2) If you hear the attendant operate the grinder dispenser lever more than once for a single or twice for a double (or for two singles).
3) If you get your espresso cup filled up to the top.
4) If your espresso is lukewarm.
5) If your cappuccino is extra hot and the foam is heaping.

Here are some explanations:
1) Nobody in Italy would ask you if you want your espresso “to go”. Espresso to go exists served in special cups with a lid, but it’s very uncommon. An espresso takes 5 minutes at most to drink, generally while standing at the bar and would get cold if consumed any later.
2) The grinder has a dispenser that produces the exact amount of coffee for a single shot. Since quantity is extremely important for the end result, it’s not something that you want to mess with (too much coffee would give a thick cream that would come out so slowly to get cold before you have a chance to drink it; too little coffee would give a lighter tasting coffee without any creaminess). The dispenser operates correctly only when filled with freshly ground coffee; if almost empty, then you’ll have to bang on the lever to get every last bit out, losing control of the quantity.
3) Espresso cups are small, but this doesn’t mean that they have to be filled up to the rim. Perhaps, in North America, the customers might complain saying that they paid for a full cup, but about half is what Italians expect. Espresso cups are either made of thick ceramic and preheated, or thin ceramic, or even glass.
4) Properly made espresso (e.g. in preheated cups) is very hot.
5) ‘Cappuccino’ in Italy is normally not served as hot since the microfoam insulates the drink from the environment, keeping it at the right, sipping temperature. Proper cappuccino foam has small bubbles and looks like cream, not like beaten egg whites!