Top Chef Abruzzo! - A Week in an Italian Cooking School (+ Rome)
Oct 14th, 2012, 06:44 AM
#42
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Wednesday, June 13 – Traboccho and Vasto: We’re Walking, we’re walking, we’re walking!
Today’s excursion started at 9:30 with the bus negotiating the hairpin curves down the side of the mountain. The worst one was at a sharp turn just at the sign to the cemetery. As the bus driver pulled back and forth to make that turn, I wondered if that sign was for the tourists who didn’t quite make it around that curve. I give props to the bus drivers who carried on very professionally with a busload of nervous tourists!
We drove by the seaside town of Vasto, where many locals go for vacation. The beach was neatly lined with a tight gridwork of umbrellas which are usually rented by the season. I could imagine quite the party with friends renting adjacent spots for the summer. Leaving Vasto, we quickly stopped at a wine coop, but as it wasn’t harvest season, there really wasn’t much to see other than some outside equipment used to test the grapes’ quality and other machines to grind them up. Not much of a stop to be honest, but we continued on up the Adriatic coastline to a small area of ancient fishing huts on stilts, the rocky Trabocchi Coast, dating back to the 18th century.
We walked out the crooked bridge built on piles, secured to rocks, to the small platform of our ancient fishing hut. Long wooden arms hold huge nets which could be dropped by a winch system as a school of fish swam by, thus quickly catching a good haul. Years ago, when a fisherman owned a traboccho, a fishing boat was unnecessary. They depended solely on their fishing from this platform. It was pretty interesting how times have changed. These huts aren’t used the original way now because fishing has been more industrialized and the coastline has changed, but they are protected now. No more can be built. It’s more of a Sunday hobby now for the owners. While there, we enjoyed socializing, having many toasts with the wine which suddenly appeared(!) and enjoyed the views and history lesson before heading back to Vasto for lunch at La Taverna, a local restaurant, and a walking tour of the town. We walked to a spot overlooking the beaches, past the Palazzo D’Avolos (now a museum) and its gardens, a castle and then had some time for a little (very little) shopping. Massimo tried to corral all of us through the walk by chanting, "we're walking, we're walking, we're walking", but it didn't always work.
I was guilty of not heeding the "we're walking" chant when we passed the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore. As our group was walking by, we heard beautiful haunting organ music from inside. I asked about going in and was told we couldn’t enter because there was a mass going on. Most of the group continued on, but I ran over to peek in between the doors and was surprised to see that the church was absolutely empty, yet filled with music! I went in and wandered around, enjoying the sounds and echos and the sunlight-filled interior and all of a sudden I saw one lone nun sitting alone at the organ, playing her heart out. I wished I could have sat there listening all day, but alas, the group had continued on ("we're walking, we're walking"), and I had to catch up. This, however, was one of those intimate moments that just stuck in my mind.
We got back to the palazzo in time for our rest period and were then offered a “light dinner”: puff pastry in chick pea sauce, lentil soup, salad, profiteroles and an after dinner drink. That was light? We were all stuffed! We then watched a video on Abruzzo in general and the cooking school in specific starring (who else) Massimo! You can see this well-done video here, on the right side of the page, although we especially enjoyed our viewing which included bloopers!
http://www.abruzzocibus.com/index.php
Today’s excursion started at 9:30 with the bus negotiating the hairpin curves down the side of the mountain. The worst one was at a sharp turn just at the sign to the cemetery. As the bus driver pulled back and forth to make that turn, I wondered if that sign was for the tourists who didn’t quite make it around that curve. I give props to the bus drivers who carried on very professionally with a busload of nervous tourists!
We drove by the seaside town of Vasto, where many locals go for vacation. The beach was neatly lined with a tight gridwork of umbrellas which are usually rented by the season. I could imagine quite the party with friends renting adjacent spots for the summer. Leaving Vasto, we quickly stopped at a wine coop, but as it wasn’t harvest season, there really wasn’t much to see other than some outside equipment used to test the grapes’ quality and other machines to grind them up. Not much of a stop to be honest, but we continued on up the Adriatic coastline to a small area of ancient fishing huts on stilts, the rocky Trabocchi Coast, dating back to the 18th century.
We walked out the crooked bridge built on piles, secured to rocks, to the small platform of our ancient fishing hut. Long wooden arms hold huge nets which could be dropped by a winch system as a school of fish swam by, thus quickly catching a good haul. Years ago, when a fisherman owned a traboccho, a fishing boat was unnecessary. They depended solely on their fishing from this platform. It was pretty interesting how times have changed. These huts aren’t used the original way now because fishing has been more industrialized and the coastline has changed, but they are protected now. No more can be built. It’s more of a Sunday hobby now for the owners. While there, we enjoyed socializing, having many toasts with the wine which suddenly appeared(!) and enjoyed the views and history lesson before heading back to Vasto for lunch at La Taverna, a local restaurant, and a walking tour of the town. We walked to a spot overlooking the beaches, past the Palazzo D’Avolos (now a museum) and its gardens, a castle and then had some time for a little (very little) shopping. Massimo tried to corral all of us through the walk by chanting, "we're walking, we're walking, we're walking", but it didn't always work.
I was guilty of not heeding the "we're walking" chant when we passed the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore. As our group was walking by, we heard beautiful haunting organ music from inside. I asked about going in and was told we couldn’t enter because there was a mass going on. Most of the group continued on, but I ran over to peek in between the doors and was surprised to see that the church was absolutely empty, yet filled with music! I went in and wandered around, enjoying the sounds and echos and the sunlight-filled interior and all of a sudden I saw one lone nun sitting alone at the organ, playing her heart out. I wished I could have sat there listening all day, but alas, the group had continued on ("we're walking, we're walking"), and I had to catch up. This, however, was one of those intimate moments that just stuck in my mind.
We got back to the palazzo in time for our rest period and were then offered a “light dinner”: puff pastry in chick pea sauce, lentil soup, salad, profiteroles and an after dinner drink. That was light? We were all stuffed! We then watched a video on Abruzzo in general and the cooking school in specific starring (who else) Massimo! You can see this well-done video here, on the right side of the page, although we especially enjoyed our viewing which included bloopers!
http://www.abruzzocibus.com/index.php
Oct 14th, 2012, 06:55 AM
#43
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I thought of another funny incident on the bus...on the way down once, we met up with a car coming up the hill towards us. The road was so narrow, we couldn't pass each other and since we were bigger, that other car had to back down the road until it could pull over. It paid to be the bigger vehicle!
Oct 15th, 2012, 12:58 PM
#44
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Here are my pictures for the olive oil plant, sausage shop, traboccho and Vasto:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater
Oct 15th, 2012, 02:28 PM
#45
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Thursday, June 14 – 'Not Enough Italian'
We started out cooking today (with my daughter sporting her snazzy chef's outfit from her cooking classes back home - the chefs and Massimo LOVED that!): Meatless “meatballs” (made with cheese and then cooked in a red and yellow pepper sauce) and then biscotti. Imagine 10 sets of hands rolling meatballs - it was quite a sight!!! All that took all morning, and then, since it was such a beautiful day, the men carried the long farm tables out of the kitchen to an area overlooking the gorgeous view of the rolling hills and other hilltowns. So beautiful! We ate and drank, a fennel salad prepared by the chefs, the cheese balls in the sauce and went through the biggest pile of biscotti I’ve ever seen. Of course there was plenty of wine and then Massimo served espresso. It was an incredible meal and setting.
We definitely needed a long walk today after that lunch and as we had nothing planned until 6:00, my husband and I, along with another friend, decided to walk all the way down the hill. We followed the path of the Flower Festival to the main square and saw a small church, Church of the Purgatorio. We entered and it was a sweet little church, more sparsely decorated than most of the other churches we’ve seen in Italy. There was also another flower picture in front of the alter, still vibrant in color and so detailed and beautiful.
We continued on down until, all of a sudden, we heard a cry from up above. We looked up and saw an old woman on a first floor balcony waving her arms at us and pointing down. We followed her hand and spied a single stocking lying on the ground. She was gesticulating madly, accompanied by a stream of Italian. We looked around and thought maybe she wanted us to hang the stocking on the door knob, but no, that only set her off more. We looked around, saw another door inside the garage, and decided to take the stocking up to her. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
She welcomed us into her kitchen, walking with a chair with tennis balls on its leg ends, and pointing at the chairs around the table, motioned for us to sit. We did, and she pulled out a carafe of wine and some cookies, and proceeded to serve us. It was amazing. We all tried to communicate, which was practically impossible given the language barrier, but we were able to determine that her name was Olga and with our limited Italian (helped by the book ‘Just Enough Italian’), she finally understood that we were from the USA, that winters were cold and summers hot. We were supposed to meet someone from the palazzo so sadly had to leave after 20 minutes, but she kept on saying ‘domani’, tomorrow. We hope she understood that we would be on an excursion the next day…she seemed so happy to have visitors. It was clearly a matter of ‘Not Enough Italian’!
Continuing our walk, a car pulled up to us and the driver motioned us over…it was Massimo’s father and he told us to hop in for a personal tour of his vineyards. What fun! This day was certainly full of surprises! We enjoyed the tour and hearing a bit about why he purchased the palazzo and gave it to Massimo, some other family history and some about the grapes and the wine they make and serve to us every day. Sometimes chance encounters are so rewarding!
Back at the palazzo, it was time for a special event that Massimo had planned especially for our group. He had an opera singer friend that he brought in to sing for us in the courtyard. It was so emotional to be listening to traditional Italian opera songs in the Abruzzi hills surrounded by our new friends. Couldn’t have loved this more!
We ended the day with, what else, dinner! Pea soup (very smooth and creamy) with some little pastry puffs, beef with truffle sauce, cauliflower with the special paprika mixture from the butcher shop and finally, ‘Drunken Pear on the Mountain Nipple’ for dessert. I kid you not! Everything, as always, was delicious and it was another 5 star day!
We started out cooking today (with my daughter sporting her snazzy chef's outfit from her cooking classes back home - the chefs and Massimo LOVED that!): Meatless “meatballs” (made with cheese and then cooked in a red and yellow pepper sauce) and then biscotti. Imagine 10 sets of hands rolling meatballs - it was quite a sight!!! All that took all morning, and then, since it was such a beautiful day, the men carried the long farm tables out of the kitchen to an area overlooking the gorgeous view of the rolling hills and other hilltowns. So beautiful! We ate and drank, a fennel salad prepared by the chefs, the cheese balls in the sauce and went through the biggest pile of biscotti I’ve ever seen. Of course there was plenty of wine and then Massimo served espresso. It was an incredible meal and setting.
We definitely needed a long walk today after that lunch and as we had nothing planned until 6:00, my husband and I, along with another friend, decided to walk all the way down the hill. We followed the path of the Flower Festival to the main square and saw a small church, Church of the Purgatorio. We entered and it was a sweet little church, more sparsely decorated than most of the other churches we’ve seen in Italy. There was also another flower picture in front of the alter, still vibrant in color and so detailed and beautiful.
We continued on down until, all of a sudden, we heard a cry from up above. We looked up and saw an old woman on a first floor balcony waving her arms at us and pointing down. We followed her hand and spied a single stocking lying on the ground. She was gesticulating madly, accompanied by a stream of Italian. We looked around and thought maybe she wanted us to hang the stocking on the door knob, but no, that only set her off more. We looked around, saw another door inside the garage, and decided to take the stocking up to her. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
She welcomed us into her kitchen, walking with a chair with tennis balls on its leg ends, and pointing at the chairs around the table, motioned for us to sit. We did, and she pulled out a carafe of wine and some cookies, and proceeded to serve us. It was amazing. We all tried to communicate, which was practically impossible given the language barrier, but we were able to determine that her name was Olga and with our limited Italian (helped by the book ‘Just Enough Italian’), she finally understood that we were from the USA, that winters were cold and summers hot. We were supposed to meet someone from the palazzo so sadly had to leave after 20 minutes, but she kept on saying ‘domani’, tomorrow. We hope she understood that we would be on an excursion the next day…she seemed so happy to have visitors. It was clearly a matter of ‘Not Enough Italian’!
Continuing our walk, a car pulled up to us and the driver motioned us over…it was Massimo’s father and he told us to hop in for a personal tour of his vineyards. What fun! This day was certainly full of surprises! We enjoyed the tour and hearing a bit about why he purchased the palazzo and gave it to Massimo, some other family history and some about the grapes and the wine they make and serve to us every day. Sometimes chance encounters are so rewarding!
Back at the palazzo, it was time for a special event that Massimo had planned especially for our group. He had an opera singer friend that he brought in to sing for us in the courtyard. It was so emotional to be listening to traditional Italian opera songs in the Abruzzi hills surrounded by our new friends. Couldn’t have loved this more!
We ended the day with, what else, dinner! Pea soup (very smooth and creamy) with some little pastry puffs, beef with truffle sauce, cauliflower with the special paprika mixture from the butcher shop and finally, ‘Drunken Pear on the Mountain Nipple’ for dessert. I kid you not! Everything, as always, was delicious and it was another 5 star day!
Oct 16th, 2012, 07:00 AM
#46
‘Drunken Pear on the Mountain Nipple’ >>
you must give us the recipe for that - I'd love to serve it up at a dinner party [if I ever had dinner parties that is] just for the joy of using the name.
Still enjoying your travels very much kwen. so much excitement, all by deciding to go out for a walk!
you must give us the recipe for that - I'd love to serve it up at a dinner party [if I ever had dinner parties that is] just for the joy of using the name.
Still enjoying your travels very much kwen. so much excitement, all by deciding to go out for a walk!
Oct 17th, 2012, 11:21 AM
#47
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I don't have a recipe for that one - we didn't make it ourselves, but I can tell you that it's a pear half poached in red wine and that's leaning (and this is the hard part) on some sort of creamy dessert. Not exactly a pannacotta (or maybe it was).
In any case, it was delicious, and certainly a fun name!
I'm glad you're enjoying the adventures, annhig. Only one more day in Carunchio. It's been fun reliving it!
In any case, it was delicious, and certainly a fun name!
I'm glad you're enjoying the adventures, annhig. Only one more day in Carunchio. It's been fun reliving it!
Oct 18th, 2012, 02:22 PM
#48
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Friday, June 15 – Mama Mia! That’s a lotta pizza!
Our last full day…how sad…but it was a full one!
We started out on an excursion to Agnone, an hour away. On the way, we wound across the valleys and through hilltowns, entered the truffle region, and then passed the dozens of wind turbines that I could see from my window. It was so exciting to see so many.
We arrived in Agnone and drove to the Fonderia Pontificia Marinelli (the Marinelli Bell Foundry) the factory which makes handmade bells for the Vatican. We enjoyed the video (in English) about the process, and then walked through the bell museum. Very interesting – I wish we could have had a bit more time there. Finally, we were lead into the workshop where a little old man played tunes on a row of increasingly sized bells. He really had to run to reach some of those bells.
Next, we walked over to the di Pasquo cheese shop where we tasted fresh mozzarella and had the chance to purchase Caciocavallo cheese to take home – both plain and truffle-flavored – as well as chocolate and other delicacies. Some of us visited the tiny food store, the Jolly Market, to the right of that shop and bought a few more items to bring back home.
We continued down the street to the Botega Vecchiarelli where a woman behind the counter was slicing up some fresh porchetta for Panini for all of us. We went to a nearby park where Massimo and Antonio appeared with baskets of the sandwiches and large bottles of Peroni beer. We were so Italian that day!
Next up was a tour of the di Pasquo factory. We watched the Caciocavallo (‘cheese on horseback’) cheese being made that day, although they also had racks of fresh ricotta which had recently been made as well. Machinery was used for the beginning stages of production – fermentation and stretching - but the last steps involved hand tying the cheese and forming its characteristic ‘head’. The cheese was called caciocavallo (cheese on horse) because it resembles the saddlebags thrown over the back of a horse. We were taken into the cooler where thousands of cheeses were ageing.
You can enjoy today's excursion for yourselves:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...7765993&type=3
Once we got back to the palazzo, Massimo set up a display of t-shirts, aprons and local food products that we could buy. We got some truffle-flavored salt , some marinated garlic, and some seasonings, but there were so many other things to choose from. The truffle salt was actually developed by Chef Dino and sold in the US through Dean and Deluca...for a much much higher price. It's sooooo delicious on our grilled steaks back home!
Our last dinner was pizza! We entered the kitchen to see an entire table of prepped toppings…grilled and roasted veggies, meats and local sausages, oils, cheeses, garlic, etc. Of course we made the dough, most of us taking turns with the kneading, but it was the slamming the dough as hard as possible against the table which really made an impression! This was such a fun evening since everyone had the chance to make their own pizza. We stretched our piece of dough and topped it any way we liked. It was put into the pizza oven, which was so high-tech that it was checked by lifting the edge of the pizza and shining a flishlight under it! Of course, while we waited, we consumed quite a bit of wine!!! Once each pizza was done, each was cut into tiny pieces so everyone could sample every one. It was a bittersweet evening. We were all partying, pizza and wine, a beautiful sunset, late night singing and dancing for some, but all were so sad to see the week come to a close. I ended my evening with a walk through the deserted streets around the palazzo and church. The perfect ending to a wonderful week!
Our last full day…how sad…but it was a full one!
We started out on an excursion to Agnone, an hour away. On the way, we wound across the valleys and through hilltowns, entered the truffle region, and then passed the dozens of wind turbines that I could see from my window. It was so exciting to see so many.
We arrived in Agnone and drove to the Fonderia Pontificia Marinelli (the Marinelli Bell Foundry) the factory which makes handmade bells for the Vatican. We enjoyed the video (in English) about the process, and then walked through the bell museum. Very interesting – I wish we could have had a bit more time there. Finally, we were lead into the workshop where a little old man played tunes on a row of increasingly sized bells. He really had to run to reach some of those bells.
Next, we walked over to the di Pasquo cheese shop where we tasted fresh mozzarella and had the chance to purchase Caciocavallo cheese to take home – both plain and truffle-flavored – as well as chocolate and other delicacies. Some of us visited the tiny food store, the Jolly Market, to the right of that shop and bought a few more items to bring back home.
We continued down the street to the Botega Vecchiarelli where a woman behind the counter was slicing up some fresh porchetta for Panini for all of us. We went to a nearby park where Massimo and Antonio appeared with baskets of the sandwiches and large bottles of Peroni beer. We were so Italian that day!
Next up was a tour of the di Pasquo factory. We watched the Caciocavallo (‘cheese on horseback’) cheese being made that day, although they also had racks of fresh ricotta which had recently been made as well. Machinery was used for the beginning stages of production – fermentation and stretching - but the last steps involved hand tying the cheese and forming its characteristic ‘head’. The cheese was called caciocavallo (cheese on horse) because it resembles the saddlebags thrown over the back of a horse. We were taken into the cooler where thousands of cheeses were ageing.
You can enjoy today's excursion for yourselves:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...7765993&type=3
Once we got back to the palazzo, Massimo set up a display of t-shirts, aprons and local food products that we could buy. We got some truffle-flavored salt , some marinated garlic, and some seasonings, but there were so many other things to choose from. The truffle salt was actually developed by Chef Dino and sold in the US through Dean and Deluca...for a much much higher price. It's sooooo delicious on our grilled steaks back home!
Our last dinner was pizza! We entered the kitchen to see an entire table of prepped toppings…grilled and roasted veggies, meats and local sausages, oils, cheeses, garlic, etc. Of course we made the dough, most of us taking turns with the kneading, but it was the slamming the dough as hard as possible against the table which really made an impression! This was such a fun evening since everyone had the chance to make their own pizza. We stretched our piece of dough and topped it any way we liked. It was put into the pizza oven, which was so high-tech that it was checked by lifting the edge of the pizza and shining a flishlight under it! Of course, while we waited, we consumed quite a bit of wine!!! Once each pizza was done, each was cut into tiny pieces so everyone could sample every one. It was a bittersweet evening. We were all partying, pizza and wine, a beautiful sunset, late night singing and dancing for some, but all were so sad to see the week come to a close. I ended my evening with a walk through the deserted streets around the palazzo and church. The perfect ending to a wonderful week!
Oct 19th, 2012, 05:35 AM
#49
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Here are the best pictures: All our cooking, eating and drinking pictures - the reason for the trip!
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...7765993&type=3
Next up: a summary of what we did in Rome
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...7765993&type=3
Next up: a summary of what we did in Rome
Oct 19th, 2012, 06:43 AM
#51
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Just curious jamikins...can you see my pictures?
We have some discount coupons for a week for next year so we're thinking of going back in the fall. Some of us have talked to the owner and the last time I heard from him, he said he was working on a new itinerary for repeat guests...or new ones. He said he'd offer both so people could choose. I hope he can put it together. The coupon price is as good as the Groupon price...we couldn't resist last year and can't resist now!
We have some discount coupons for a week for next year so we're thinking of going back in the fall. Some of us have talked to the owner and the last time I heard from him, he said he was working on a new itinerary for repeat guests...or new ones. He said he'd offer both so people could choose. I hope he can put it together. The coupon price is as good as the Groupon price...we couldn't resist last year and can't resist now!
Oct 19th, 2012, 12:10 PM
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Does anyone know a quick way to move them from facebook to somewhere else? It took forever to get them there so if I could transfer an album at a time that would be wonderful. I just don't know what that would be. I' m open to suggestions.
Nov 17th, 2012, 01:30 PM
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Well, I haven't done the Picasa - sorry, my time got away from me - but I wanted to say that we're going back!!! We just let Massimo know that we'll be back next September for Abruzzo, Part 2!!! New itinerary, new recipes put together with Massimo for repeats, or for newbies. johnnyomalley is going back too! So excited! 
Nov 17th, 2012, 02:03 PM
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kwren, that was really interesting, thank you. I have been interested in Abruzzo since meeting a young woman from there who has been living here in my town for the last 2 years, and it looks as beautiful as she has said.
I just did a wonderful cooking course in Tuscany and now am intrigued by the possibility of doing this one some day!
I just did a wonderful cooking course in Tuscany and now am intrigued by the possibility of doing this one some day!
