Top Chef Abruzzo! - A Week in an Italian Cooking School (+ Rome)
Oct 10th, 2012, 11:46 AM
#22
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No problem johnny - I know jamikins asked for the website! 
jamikins and anyone else - since we're talking about the website, and I do know someone who is interested in this tour, this is not currently being offered through Groupon, but Massimo is offering a "Groupon-like" price for next year...and you can get it too! It's about the same as we paid last year with Groupon and helps him as well...a win-win situation! We might be going back next year - that's how much we loved this trip!
P.S. I don't work for Massimo!
jamikins and anyone else - since we're talking about the website, and I do know someone who is interested in this tour, this is not currently being offered through Groupon, but Massimo is offering a "Groupon-like" price for next year...and you can get it too! It's about the same as we paid last year with Groupon and helps him as well...a win-win situation! We might be going back next year - that's how much we loved this trip!
P.S. I don't work for Massimo!
Oct 10th, 2012, 12:11 PM
#23
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Kwren: I am so excited that you have begun the report!
I've been thinking about a trip to Abruzzo for a while now and this is just the ticket that I need to get me into full planning gear. True to form, my initial interest was sparked by food: recipe for "tonnarelli della perdonanza," and another for a soup of ceci beans with rosemary, tomato and saffron. (The latter is one that I make at least once a month in winter.)
I'm eager to see if you made either of those in your classes.
Anyway, enough of me...waiting for more!!!
Unfortunately, I am not on Facebook so could not see the photos; is there another way to post them here?
I've been thinking about a trip to Abruzzo for a while now and this is just the ticket that I need to get me into full planning gear. True to form, my initial interest was sparked by food: recipe for "tonnarelli della perdonanza," and another for a soup of ceci beans with rosemary, tomato and saffron. (The latter is one that I make at least once a month in winter.)
I'm eager to see if you made either of those in your classes.
Anyway, enough of me...waiting for more!!!
Unfortunately, I am not on Facebook so could not see the photos; is there another way to post them here?
Oct 10th, 2012, 12:49 PM
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Hi ekscrunchy - I was waiting for you to join in!
About the pix...hmmmmm. I'll have to see what I can figure out. I didn't know people would have to be on Facebook to see them since I listed them as public, but I guess that's better.
Anyone have suggestions for an (easy) way to post pictures? I have a lot of them and it's time-consuming to load onto some sites. I'll see what I can do eks!
About the pix...hmmmmm. I'll have to see what I can figure out. I didn't know people would have to be on Facebook to see them since I listed them as public, but I guess that's better.
Anyone have suggestions for an (easy) way to post pictures? I have a lot of them and it's time-consuming to load onto some sites. I'll see what I can do eks!
Oct 10th, 2012, 06:16 PM
#28
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Love your photos, kwern. We were in Montone, in Umbria, in June 2 years ago and happened upon an "infiorata" on a Sunday, which I think happens (at least) all over Umbria celebrating Corpus Christi. An amazing and marvelous sight to see the streets carpeted with flowers!
Nice report, looking forward to more.
Nice report, looking forward to more.
Oct 11th, 2012, 02:55 AM
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Monday, June 11 – "It’s the Leg!"
It was wonderful to wake up to church bells! We went down to a nice continental breakfast of fruit, yogurt and a homemade cake, OJ, tea, cappuchino, espresso, etc. and were soon off on our first excursion. We went to La Selvotta, an olive oil plant where we learned about the olive orchards, toured the equipment room and then had an olive oil tasting. This is not done like in the USA by dipping bread into a plate of oil. Oh no! That would mask the flavor! We were instructed to hold a little cup of the oil cupped in one hand with our other hand over the top to allow the warmth of our hands to release the vapors. Then you smell, swish the oil around in your mouth and drink it. It took a bit of getting used to the texture of olive oil in the mouth, but we really could taste differences between the different types. Most of us bought a variety of olive oils from the tiny office.
Next, it was back to Carunchio for a tour of the butcher’s shop, housed in a tiny old convent, which produces the local specialty, Ventricina sausage. We had a quick lesson on how it is made and seasoned (a pig’s bladder is stuffed with chopped pork, salt, a ground hot pepper seasoning made at the shop, and other seasonings), and walked through the coolers to view the different types of being cured. Finally we were led into a beautiful stone vaulted room with a long table set for a tasting! We were served a variety of breads, cheeses and 5 types of sausages, plus chiffi-chaffi (sp?), an old-fashioned quick hot salume meal cooked in olive oil and spice, traditionally made as a quick lunch by grandmas on pig-slaughtering and salume-making days. And of course there was wine – an enormous jug of it!
It must be that everyone on these tours asks about the cut of meat used for this particular type of sausage, and given that we were such a large group, all of a sudden the man was yelling, “It’s the leg, the leg, the LEG!” It was so funny and became our motto for the week.
Anyway, back to the palazzo for some free time (we worked off some of our jet lag at this point) and then our first cooking class at 5:00!
A bit of info about the palazzo. It was purchased by the owner’s father about 10 years ago and after a 5-year renovation, opened up as a hotel and cooking school. Massimo, the owner, had been in the US for college and then to get his MBA and finally worked in corporate America until deciding that he preferred running a cooking school mostly marketed to American and Canadian guests. He is warm and caring and couldn’t do enough to make us comfortable and happy. And his English is next to perfect. Anyway, part of the renovation included hand tiling the lower vaulted kitchen and eating areas in beautiful mosaic patterns. I saw Massimo’s Facebook pictures and he was he one placing the small tile shards on the walls. Anyone who might be going, take a look at the cathedral mosaic – there are some doors made of small pieces of wood instead of tile. The pizza oven was hand tiled as well.
So back to the cooking! The entire group met in kitchen and was welcomed by Chef Cheryle. Cheryle is actually from Philadelphia. She married an Italian man and has been living in Italy for about 25 years. One of the first things she said was that she hoped that she remembered all her English words (which she did). We were then presented with our own aprons embroidered AbruzzoCibus Cooking School Italia, the official name of Massimo’s company and a wonderful souvenir!
We started with little round zucchinis and filled them with a handmade breadcrumb and seasoned sausage mixture. We scooped. We chopped. We seasoned. We made crumbs! I got a lesson in handling a chef’s knife the way they do on cooking shows and was really able to chop quickly after that. I felt so professional! (The secret is in the proper knife.) While the zucchinis simmered in a homemade tomato sauce, we moved on to individual tiramisus. Chef Dino showed us how to get started then we all took over. Amazing how different 21 tiny tiramisus can all be – there were some very imaginative people in our group! Lastly, we made our appetizer - involtini – dressed arugula and cheese rolled in procuitto. Dinner took place in the kitchen after a break when some of us went out to explore the town’s steep pathways. We reconvened and all ate (and drank wine) around the kitchen’s old, long farm tables. We had prepared the meal, but it was served to us by the chefs.
Cooking here was a group affair. Everyone could cook and prepare as much or as little as they liked. Since we were a large group, there was plenty of food to be made. Our 18 year old daughter was with us, as I already mentioned, and as the only teenager, she was treated like a princess.
It was wonderful to wake up to church bells! We went down to a nice continental breakfast of fruit, yogurt and a homemade cake, OJ, tea, cappuchino, espresso, etc. and were soon off on our first excursion. We went to La Selvotta, an olive oil plant where we learned about the olive orchards, toured the equipment room and then had an olive oil tasting. This is not done like in the USA by dipping bread into a plate of oil. Oh no! That would mask the flavor! We were instructed to hold a little cup of the oil cupped in one hand with our other hand over the top to allow the warmth of our hands to release the vapors. Then you smell, swish the oil around in your mouth and drink it. It took a bit of getting used to the texture of olive oil in the mouth, but we really could taste differences between the different types. Most of us bought a variety of olive oils from the tiny office.
Next, it was back to Carunchio for a tour of the butcher’s shop, housed in a tiny old convent, which produces the local specialty, Ventricina sausage. We had a quick lesson on how it is made and seasoned (a pig’s bladder is stuffed with chopped pork, salt, a ground hot pepper seasoning made at the shop, and other seasonings), and walked through the coolers to view the different types of being cured. Finally we were led into a beautiful stone vaulted room with a long table set for a tasting! We were served a variety of breads, cheeses and 5 types of sausages, plus chiffi-chaffi (sp?), an old-fashioned quick hot salume meal cooked in olive oil and spice, traditionally made as a quick lunch by grandmas on pig-slaughtering and salume-making days. And of course there was wine – an enormous jug of it!
It must be that everyone on these tours asks about the cut of meat used for this particular type of sausage, and given that we were such a large group, all of a sudden the man was yelling, “It’s the leg, the leg, the LEG!” It was so funny and became our motto for the week.
Anyway, back to the palazzo for some free time (we worked off some of our jet lag at this point) and then our first cooking class at 5:00!
A bit of info about the palazzo. It was purchased by the owner’s father about 10 years ago and after a 5-year renovation, opened up as a hotel and cooking school. Massimo, the owner, had been in the US for college and then to get his MBA and finally worked in corporate America until deciding that he preferred running a cooking school mostly marketed to American and Canadian guests. He is warm and caring and couldn’t do enough to make us comfortable and happy. And his English is next to perfect. Anyway, part of the renovation included hand tiling the lower vaulted kitchen and eating areas in beautiful mosaic patterns. I saw Massimo’s Facebook pictures and he was he one placing the small tile shards on the walls. Anyone who might be going, take a look at the cathedral mosaic – there are some doors made of small pieces of wood instead of tile. The pizza oven was hand tiled as well.
So back to the cooking! The entire group met in kitchen and was welcomed by Chef Cheryle. Cheryle is actually from Philadelphia. She married an Italian man and has been living in Italy for about 25 years. One of the first things she said was that she hoped that she remembered all her English words (which she did). We were then presented with our own aprons embroidered AbruzzoCibus Cooking School Italia, the official name of Massimo’s company and a wonderful souvenir!
We started with little round zucchinis and filled them with a handmade breadcrumb and seasoned sausage mixture. We scooped. We chopped. We seasoned. We made crumbs! I got a lesson in handling a chef’s knife the way they do on cooking shows and was really able to chop quickly after that. I felt so professional! (The secret is in the proper knife.) While the zucchinis simmered in a homemade tomato sauce, we moved on to individual tiramisus. Chef Dino showed us how to get started then we all took over. Amazing how different 21 tiny tiramisus can all be – there were some very imaginative people in our group! Lastly, we made our appetizer - involtini – dressed arugula and cheese rolled in procuitto. Dinner took place in the kitchen after a break when some of us went out to explore the town’s steep pathways. We reconvened and all ate (and drank wine) around the kitchen’s old, long farm tables. We had prepared the meal, but it was served to us by the chefs.
Cooking here was a group affair. Everyone could cook and prepare as much or as little as they liked. Since we were a large group, there was plenty of food to be made. Our 18 year old daughter was with us, as I already mentioned, and as the only teenager, she was treated like a princess.
Oct 11th, 2012, 12:31 PM
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Tuesday, June 12 – Pasta Extravaganza!
We had the perfect weather this week and it was wonderful to start the day with a walk through town before we got cooking. I’ve mentioned the main street that runs up the side of the town for cars and busses going to the palazzo and a few homes across from it, but other than that, the upper part of the mountain is composed of tiny steep paths and stairways running crookedly between a jumble of old stone houses. Now and then there was a modern light fixture attached to a wall, seemingly out of place above the old thick wooden doors, but other than that, it was like being in medieval times. We rarely saw another person walking around, certainly no other English-speaking people, although we did see a stooped little old lady trudging up the main road once, and also ran across a lizard and dog. ☺ Paths ended abruptly and we had to turn around, or they zig-zagged enough that we ended up where we started out. That was the fun of our walks! The architecture of the houses was always different and once we saw a little concrete block overpass leading to a front door. Single poppies grew here and there, potted plants rested on windowsills. Roofs were covered with stones to prevent the tiles from blowing off during high winds. I wasn’t sure those were such a great idea when I spotted a roof that had collapsed under their weight! The lower part of the town was a bit more modern (in comparison to the upper section, that is) with some ‘modern’ homes, roads and a playground. I saw one pharmacy and one small bar/café the week we were there. There were no souvenir stands or super stores, no movie theaters, no salons (that I saw). I asked where people did their food shopping and was told there was one tiny and expensive grocery in Carunchio for emergency purchases, but for a weekly shopping, residents drive to Vasto, a half an hour away. Certainly, anyone craving constant and exciting nightlife might not particularly enjoy this town, although with our dinners typically running from 8 – 10 pm following our busy days, most of us had no desire to do anything other than fall into bed. Today, we explored and got back in time to meet the group in the dining room for the Pasta Extravagana!
I’m getting hungry just thinking about writing this next section!
Back at the palazzo, our first lesson was handmade cavatelli pasta, taught by Cheryle. She demonstrated the perfect kneading technique, how to gauge the proper size of dough rope, and then we each took turns kneading and then using a gnocchi paddle to roll out tiny bits of pasta dough into their little ridged shapes. We made trays and trays of cavatelli! Next Dino demonstrated how to make an egg pasta without letting the egg break through the dam of the flour well. We kneaded and kneaded the heavy dough until it was silky smooth, and then cranked it through a pasta machine and placed each strip on a chitarra – a contraption of wires over which the stretched pasta is rolled to make the long spaghetti strands. We hung the pasta over the arms of a drying rack and also learned how to twirl it into bird nests for drying. It was a fun morning which ended with a lunch of our pastas: cavatelli with pomodoro sauce and spaghetti with pesto. We ended our meal watching the chefs blend a refreshing and delicious summer dessert: lemon sorbet, white wine and Limoncello …which I now make all the time.
By the way, we all received packets of recipes for everything that we made, plus a few extra recipes for other things that the chefs made for us (but they wouldn’t share the secret recipe for the popovers from the first night – darn! - their specialty!) We were also able to purchase homemade chitarras (25 E), gnocchi paddles (5 E each - more expensive than the ones being sold at the Campo di Fiori market in Rome, but better in that the name of the school was burned into the back of each paddle), wooden rollingpins and drying racks.
What was nice about this trip was that as busy as we were, there was always down time. We had enough events to fill every day, but were never overwhelmed. It was the perfect mix for us.
Late afternoon brought our wine pairing class where we discussed the different characteristics of wines, then had various appetizers with our tasting: zucchini fritatta, a pastry with meat filling, bread grilled with olive oil and garlic, salume, proscuitto, cheese with honey, and eggplant parmesan, all served family style because at this point to be honest, we were all becoming family! We ended with a tasting of 3 after dinner drinks – Gentian, Grappa Bianca and Fernet. It was nice that each time we all met to eat, we all mixed it up to sit with different people and got to know just about everyone in the group.
We had the perfect weather this week and it was wonderful to start the day with a walk through town before we got cooking. I’ve mentioned the main street that runs up the side of the town for cars and busses going to the palazzo and a few homes across from it, but other than that, the upper part of the mountain is composed of tiny steep paths and stairways running crookedly between a jumble of old stone houses. Now and then there was a modern light fixture attached to a wall, seemingly out of place above the old thick wooden doors, but other than that, it was like being in medieval times. We rarely saw another person walking around, certainly no other English-speaking people, although we did see a stooped little old lady trudging up the main road once, and also ran across a lizard and dog. ☺ Paths ended abruptly and we had to turn around, or they zig-zagged enough that we ended up where we started out. That was the fun of our walks! The architecture of the houses was always different and once we saw a little concrete block overpass leading to a front door. Single poppies grew here and there, potted plants rested on windowsills. Roofs were covered with stones to prevent the tiles from blowing off during high winds. I wasn’t sure those were such a great idea when I spotted a roof that had collapsed under their weight! The lower part of the town was a bit more modern (in comparison to the upper section, that is) with some ‘modern’ homes, roads and a playground. I saw one pharmacy and one small bar/café the week we were there. There were no souvenir stands or super stores, no movie theaters, no salons (that I saw). I asked where people did their food shopping and was told there was one tiny and expensive grocery in Carunchio for emergency purchases, but for a weekly shopping, residents drive to Vasto, a half an hour away. Certainly, anyone craving constant and exciting nightlife might not particularly enjoy this town, although with our dinners typically running from 8 – 10 pm following our busy days, most of us had no desire to do anything other than fall into bed. Today, we explored and got back in time to meet the group in the dining room for the Pasta Extravagana!
I’m getting hungry just thinking about writing this next section!
Back at the palazzo, our first lesson was handmade cavatelli pasta, taught by Cheryle. She demonstrated the perfect kneading technique, how to gauge the proper size of dough rope, and then we each took turns kneading and then using a gnocchi paddle to roll out tiny bits of pasta dough into their little ridged shapes. We made trays and trays of cavatelli! Next Dino demonstrated how to make an egg pasta without letting the egg break through the dam of the flour well. We kneaded and kneaded the heavy dough until it was silky smooth, and then cranked it through a pasta machine and placed each strip on a chitarra – a contraption of wires over which the stretched pasta is rolled to make the long spaghetti strands. We hung the pasta over the arms of a drying rack and also learned how to twirl it into bird nests for drying. It was a fun morning which ended with a lunch of our pastas: cavatelli with pomodoro sauce and spaghetti with pesto. We ended our meal watching the chefs blend a refreshing and delicious summer dessert: lemon sorbet, white wine and Limoncello …which I now make all the time.
By the way, we all received packets of recipes for everything that we made, plus a few extra recipes for other things that the chefs made for us (but they wouldn’t share the secret recipe for the popovers from the first night – darn! - their specialty!) We were also able to purchase homemade chitarras (25 E), gnocchi paddles (5 E each - more expensive than the ones being sold at the Campo di Fiori market in Rome, but better in that the name of the school was burned into the back of each paddle), wooden rollingpins and drying racks.
What was nice about this trip was that as busy as we were, there was always down time. We had enough events to fill every day, but were never overwhelmed. It was the perfect mix for us.
Late afternoon brought our wine pairing class where we discussed the different characteristics of wines, then had various appetizers with our tasting: zucchini fritatta, a pastry with meat filling, bread grilled with olive oil and garlic, salume, proscuitto, cheese with honey, and eggplant parmesan, all served family style because at this point to be honest, we were all becoming family! We ended with a tasting of 3 after dinner drinks – Gentian, Grappa Bianca and Fernet. It was nice that each time we all met to eat, we all mixed it up to sit with different people and got to know just about everyone in the group.
