Are those chestnut dogs?

Ever since the days started getting cooler, the dogs and I have been taking walks during the week as long as it doesn't rain. These little passeggiate (walks) gradually lengthened to 4-mile distances and coincided with the abundance of falling ripe chestnuts, where people that we met along the way - cyclists, chestnut collectors, strollers like us - would generally greet us with a cheerful smile or buongiorno. Well a few days ago was the first time that a cyclist thought he'd get a little funny and the conversation went like this:

Funny man on a bicycle: Are those chestnut dogs?
Me: Yes
Funny man on a bicycle: No, they're pet dogs! (heh heh heh heh)

Mr-Funny-man-on-a-bicycle should have stuck around because every time we go for a walk, Mister B makes it his business to bring home at least one whole chestnut. I don't know what it is that drives him, but his penchant for all things thorny (remember the ear piercing?) or prickly has become a complete obsession. I've never been able to take a photo of him with a chestnut in his mouth until I remembered to bring along my cellphone today, and as it so happened, a trio of german motorbikers were taking a rest stop further ahead, oblivious to our approach while soaking up the sun. Mr. B paused in his usual *alert! danger ahead!* stance, not wanting to advance without proper precaution. Studying these pics, it's anything but a worried look by the expressions on his face.

Ah yes, I understand the language very well.

Those are my compatriots!

How to open a chestnut, dachshund-style

What he does with the chestnuts when he gets home is an almost frightening show of teeth, claws and loud crunching noises. And here I had been writing only about his biting human shins...

Perbureira: uncovering the secret

What is perbureira? Some say it's a soup of beans and lasagna noodles enriched with olive oil and raw garlic. Another might call it lasagne richly flavored with a sauce of beans with garlic, and lots of it. However it's thought of, this is a soup that I was very eager to tuck into at a trattoria in Piemonte. People rave about how delicious it is. It has its own weekend in the summer sagra circuit, with diehard fans standing in long lines for a portion in a cheap plastic bowl. What I'm about to share are pieces to a puzzle - make that a secret recipe kind of puzzle - that wouldn't have come together had I not spoken to a lady in a museum for masks.

Trattoria alla Rocca in Rocca Grimalda

A Slow Food listing, I had read nothing but positive reviews on this place where they serve traditional dishes in a simple yet refined atmosphere. When in Piemonte I always go for the mixed antipasti - the region is famous for its vast offerings of tasty bites (sorry, no photo). MotH had the tartare of Fassona beef (a piemontese breed) and followed up with a plate of stewed tripe and potatoes. I had that bowl of perbureira - beans, garlic and lasagne - but the surprising thing is that the soup itself didn't have any real garlicky flavor. I would venture to say that it was a little bit bland? Grated parmigiano and a tiny fragrant dish of finely chopped garlic in olive oil was served alongside it, allowing you to add as much as you wanted, or not. Apparently perbureira is so popular that each order comes out with a numbered marker - mine was the 4253rd serving in all the years that the trattoria has been open.

Sagra della Peirbuieira in Rocca Grimalda

Sagra della Peirbuieira - Rocca Grimalda
Last weekend in August

Camraderie must run the likes of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, and friendships must be tight like a pack of wolves because anyone familiar with beans and garlic will know that the combination of the two can be a real, ahem, blast. I wish I could say that I've been to this! The comments that I've come across are in unison on the garlic. Not so much on the organization. Lines are long, the wait takes forever, but at 32 years of celebrating every August it only proves how big this event has grown. The recipe for perbureira is a well-kept family secret — you won't find it in any cookbook or website and no outsider seems to have a clue. And yet a nice lady in town told me that there's a difference between family recipes and restaurant versions, and therein lies the answer. While every family cook has her own special touch (read: seasonings), it's not so much what goes in but how it's prepared. That nice lady said that when her mother made it, it was the best thing ever. I could see that we were on the verge of getting into a food discussion, and all I had to do was ask!

Borlotti, garlic and lasagne soup

As a show of respect to the rocchesi (after all, it is their dish), the peirbuieira text in the image below is more like a watermark instead of the actual name of this soup. There are no additional seasonings other than salt & pepper; the garlic makes the mojo here. As the woman stated, it's how the soup is made, and the difference between home and restaurant is that in the latter, the soup itself is kept plain and served with a side dish of chopped garlic in olive oil. In this way it strikes a happy compromise between fans and non-fans of the stinking rose. The proper method would be to cook the beans WITH the garlic, and to cook fresh strips of lasagne IN the beans. If you calculated your spicchi d'aglio (garlic cloves) and added the just amount, what develops and turns out is an incredibly pungent and filling meal.

I'd like to add right now that garlic is no stranger to piemontese cuisine. Ever heard of the great bagna cauda? The season for that is upon us, and the recipe I'm giving for borlotti, garlic and lasagne soup is written in the manner in which that kind woman told me.

Soak the beans overnight in plenty of water [she mentioned borlotti]. Drain the following day and add to a pot with about 2 inches of water, along with several cloves of garlic [for a half pound of dried borlotti I added 6 fat cloves and also 1 cube for making vegetable broth]. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook until tender, adding water or broth as necessary. In the meantime, make a small batch of egg pasta, cut into wide strips and cut again into irregular pieces like maltagliati. When the beans are ready, remove about a cup and set aside. Puree the rest with an immersion blender. Add extra water/broth if need be to achieve the consistency that is neither too liquid nor porridge-like. Add the pasta and cook until done (it'll cook fast). Check seasonings with salt and pepper. Add the beans that were set aside and serve with grated parmigiano. At this point I don't think the dish needed any more garlic but for visual purposes and garlic-crazy fans, that extra kick of a raw bite was like a welcome punch in the mouth. Buon appetito!

Tomato Tuesday: Pane frattau

As the last entry for Tomato Tuesday, this very short recipe comes from the back of a box of pane carasau. A traditional sardinian flatbread, pane carasau is not something you typically purchase a few sheets at a time and it takes a few weeks for us to use up the contents, down to the final semi-stale rounds. I was somewhat surprised at the simplicity of this dish that I thought it would be a one-time deal and never again. Boy was I wrong! I should've known that with homemade tomato sauce and pecorino cheese, anything can taste great - especially when there's a poached egg sitting on top.

I've read that the word frattau means broken, and in fact, that's what you'll do to the sheets in order to fit them onto a plate (I use one whole circle per serving, breaking it into fourths). Tradition calls for plain tomato sauce but here I've used some leftover meat ragu. It's sort of like making a quickie lasagne when you've got the munchies but not the time. Breakfast, lunch, dinner...I've had this at all hours of the day. It's that good!

Pane frattau

Dip pieces of bread in hot salted water (or you can also use meat broth). Coat each layer with tomato sauce and grated pecorino, and top with one poached egg.

Chestnut season also means it's time for the “Törggelen”

Italy's fall season gets better and tastier as the days lapse by. Plump mushrooms, truffles, the grape harvest, chestnuts and now this, the period of the Törggelen. The term is derived from the latin verb torquere which means "to squeeze the grapes", and it is in this tradition of törggele/grape-pressing that the convivial atmosphere was born. In the northern reaches of Alto Adige, a perfect synchronization occurs when newly obtained mosto (grape must) and the chestnut harvest happen around the same time. Local Buschenschänke (country taverns) everywhere take advantage of this to celebrate the nuovo vino with chestnut roasts.

We've been to this part of Italy when it was blanketed in a pristine winter white, and while enchanting it may be, I have plenty reason to want to return when the landscape is colored in vivid orange and gold brilliance. Reason #1 - it's alpine gorgeous. Reasons #2, 3, 4 etc...the food. Speck (smoked ham), sauerkraut, boiled sausages, thick barley soups, pungent cheeses like graukäse....it's a gastronomical paradise! The bad and sad news is that there's no hope whatsoever of us doing chestnuts and Törggelen this year. The good news is that Gayle will be traveling to Italy for a European Autumn. I hope she tells all!

In the event of an error message, the video can be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=723GWlVDWC8

Sagra della Castagna, La Castagnata, Sagra del Marrone

Chestnut festivals...more than you can shake a stick at! With celebrations due to take place all over the peninsula, it's impossible to let the upcoming month of October go by without attending at least one sagra or festa of this humble "fruit of the mountain". And while it was my intention to to stay within the boundaries of northern Italy, a couple of events in Lazio and Tuscany look too good to go without mention on this blog. Naturally there will be so many local chestnut sagre within an hour's drive from where we live that it'll take a flip of the coin to decide. I'm shooting for one on each weekend.

Pusdosso, Valle Brembana - October 10th
Castagnata a Pusdosso
http://www.averara.provinciabergamasca.com/
Potatoes, boiled sausages, stracchino cheese, dessert and wine - all for 11€. Oh, and also roasted chestnuts. This really looks like a lot of fun (there's seats for only 250 so get there early or bring a picnic blanket to sit down on a grassy spot). While checking our hiking maps, I noticed a trail that leads to this little hamlet so what could be better than a short walk up the mountains and lots of hearty food afterwards?

Brallo di Pregola (Pv), Lombardy - October 17th
Sagra del Pane Casereccio e della Castagna
http://www.probrallo.net/brallo...
Roasted chestnuts and hearth-style bread baked in wood-burning ovens.

Coimo (Vb), Piemonte - 2nd Sunday in October
Castagnata Coimese
http://www.castagnata.com/
Aside from roasted chestnuts, the local pane nero/black bread and amiasc (a thin crepe-like pancake served with melted butter and salt) is served.

Alto Adige - 2nd half of October
Festa della Castagna
http://www.altoadige-suedtirol.it/prodotti_tipici/gastronomia/toerggelen/festa.php
Festive music, markets and more chestnuts. What especially caught my interest was the local krapfen pastry. Fried strips of pastry dough filled with sweetened chestnut paste.

Palazzuolo sul Senio (Fi), Tuscany - October 19, 17, 24, 31 (Sundays)
Sagra del Marrone e dei Frutti del Sottobosco
http://sagradelmarrone.blogspot.com/2010/05/sagra-del-marrone-e-dei-frutti-del.html
Not just your regular chestnut, but the Marrone del Mugello IGP. Frutti del sottobosco means all those delicious goodies hiding in the undergrowth...like local porcini mushrooms and truffles. Old orchard fruits and jams round out the celebrated autumn crops.

Soriano (Vt), Lazio - First 3 weekends in October
43rd Sagra delle Castagne | Manifestazione Storico Rievocativa
http://www.sagradellecastagne.com/
You need to see the website to fully comprehend the scope of this sagra which includes a historical reenactment complete with medieval costumes.

Norma (Lt), Lazio - October 30, 31
Sagra delle Castagne
http://www.sagradellecastagnenorma.com/
Culture, folklore, music and art come together to revive the simplicity of the past.

Sagra events in Italy: 'tis the season for chestnuts

Regular posting on this blog will probably get even worse as we sort out the usual internet inefficiencies (it happens at least once a year). In the meantime, I've been compiling a list for the most interesting, fun and food-involved chestnut festivals within reasonable distance from Lecco. October seems to spur on a whole new burst of celebrations and the craziest one I've discovered so far includes a a chicken race through the town's streets. I don't believe there are any losers, or at least there's no mention of a boiling cauldron for the slowpokes, but this should be a big laugh seeing people run around like chickens without heads, trying to get their birds to cross the finish line.

Tomato Tuesday: Fried Green Tomatoes w/Shrimp Remoulade

Again with the green tomatoes! Well I just had to, given the okay but unswaying results from last week's recipe that had me still sitting on the unripened tomato fence. I hate when that happens with food, when I can't decide if I like it or not (and believe you me, I like a whole lot of everything), and then inevitably need to try it again to be sure that my tastebuds weren't funnin' with me or something.

This recipe comes from the NPR site and is a complete turnaround from the delicate, sweet flavors of crab and trout in the previous FGT trials. A very bold and tangy remoulade sauce goes over everything which I can only guess is to give those polenta and panko-coated green slices some pizzazz. The only changes I made was to use whole-grain dijon mustard and to sub wasabi for the horseradish. The verdict? Sorry, but fried green tomatoes are just not... for me. Stay tuned next week for the final entry for Tomato Tuesday.

Da new Hawaii Five-O on September 20th

A little bit of pidgin english just had to slip out on this one, given that Hawaii is, after all, my home state. Looks like CBS picked not one, not two, but three lookers to replace the heartthrob role that Magnum P.I. once held. I wonder if they'll be running around driving Ferrari's? Hawaii and Italy, Italy and Hawaii... Yeah I could go for that!

September in the rain...and hail

It's days like these that remind me how important it is to walk the dogs when it's nice out. Getting hailed on can't be too pleasant (so glad we put up the hail netting to protect the garden), but getting to taste them is fun. I've seen both dogs eat snow but Mr B is the only one that likes crunching on ice balls. Crazy mutt.

It hailed for a solid 15 minutes at least.

Hail collected in pockets on the low end of the netting, with some hanging all the way to the ground.

Mmmmh...tasty.

Tomato Tuesday: Fried Green Tomatoes

It may be 19 long years since the movie came out, but I have to be truthful that the idea of fried green tomatoes has never appealed to me whatsoever. They taste better when ripe, ripe off the vine to be precise, and if I don't have to deal with unripened extras from the garden then why bother? That was until I read about an elegant dinner at Foodhoe's Foraging and swore that pomodori verdi fritti would end up on the table sooner than later.

The F.G.T. that Sandy had is an embellished dish several notches above the original concept in that it was served with crab sauce, green beans and trout in an interesting mix of delicate flavors. I have no idea how the sauce was done, so I just winged it and made a deglazing of shallots, olive oil and wine, threw in a couple tablespoons of butter and folded in the crab last. For the trout, I just picked up some fresh fillets and gently cooked them in butter.

The results don't compare to the inspiration yet I was surprised at how very light this dish tasted. Maybe it depends on the type of tomato used, but I detected no sour or acidic notes. It's still not something that I'd order off a menu (still prefer ripe tomatoes!) but at least I can say that I tried them once...unless something more compelling comes along.

This is what's in my fridge and on my kitchen counter right now...peaches coming in too.

Hiking the Dorsale del Triangolo Lariano from Brunate

This is probably the most popular itinerary for visitors who wish to hike and experience the altitudes above Lake Como in a day. The Dorsale Triangolo Lariano, a 30 km trail that begins from Brunate and runs the dorsal ridge to Bellagio, is a 2-day affair if covering it by foot. We managed a fourth of that distance in beautiful weather this past Saturday, completing a total of 15 km/9.3 miles going in and coming back. It was worth every step of the way.

The suggested route says to start from Como, reaching Brunate by way of the funicular tram (4.50€ adults, roundtrip). For those with wheels, the road to Brunate is narrow and winding, but it might be worth the drive up to nab a cheaper (or free) parking spot in town. Hourly rates for parking within the blue lines in Como have doubled since we last visited. It's now 1 euro per hour, with the rate skyrocketing up to 2.50€/hr in the lot next to the funicular station. We drove up to Brunate in the suv and parked for free.

View larger map

Google illustrates that A is where we parked; B is the end of public road access/last parking lot. It doesn't calculate anything beyond that. Commencing from Brunate's church square, the footpath takes on a multitude of names of which I've stuck in a slideshow with the rest of the images. No chance of ending up at Clooney's villa. The red X is where we called it a day and had lunch. The yellow dot to the right is Rifugio Bolettone. We were so close, yet so very far, and in the opinion of our doxie Mister B, completely out of our minds for even walking all this way. We reckon that he's the "gasoline-powered" out of the two - has more varoom in the motor but can't go far. Maddie on the other hand, is "diesel fuel" - she's the weaker in strength but can keep up no matter the distance, as long as we have plenty of water to top up her radiator.

Altitude climbed: 630 meters, more or less.
Time: 4 hours on the ascent, 3 hours on the return.
Map: Kompass 91 - Lago di Como and Lago di Lugano

Sagra del Corzetto

As if Napoleon's victorious chicken dish wasn't enough, it turned into an even better weekend for sagre in Piemonte last Saturday and Sunday when I caught sight of this poster for the Sagra del Corzetto in Pasturana. Corzetti is a pasta from Liguria and there are 2 types: one that is shaped like a flat disc and textured with a stamped design, and another that takes on the shape of the figure 8. Wikipedia has a description here, and even if by tradition it is a ligurian dish, the round type of corzetti is no stranger on a piemontese menu where the borders of Piemonte and Liguria meet.

As it turned out, this is the first sagra where we went in for one thing and split! No drinks, no secondo, nada, and I laugh while thinking back to the incredulous look on the guy's face when he took our single order for corzetti. Is that all??! We weren't going to tell him that we already had other plans for lunch and if you don't mind, we're here for a “corzetti tasting”.

It was served with meat ragu and a good sprinkle of parmigiano but you could also choose w/butter and sage. I've bought dried corzetti pasta at the supermarket before but this...this was FANTASTIC. Fresh pasta never fails to delight the tastebuds. The silky, thin discs danced the hula in my mouth compared to noodle pasta, that more or less, manages to feel like a tangled mess (albeit a delicious one). My photo simply does not do corzetti proper and this slideshow on Flickr illustrates how very beautiful it is to make and to eat.

This sagra gets top marks in great organization and for being the 37th edition, only proves that practice does make perfect. At the entrance, 2 tables held stacks of check-the-box type of menus. You check what/how many items, pay at the cashier, take a seat at the communal tables and wait for someone to come and fill your order.

The video below is an interview with a local craftsman that still makes the traditional wooden stamps for corzetti. Watch how corzetti gets it's unique stamp. The following is the recipe that he gives for the pasta dough: 600 grams flour, 3 eggs, a knob of butter, a handful of parmigiano, a glass of water and a pinch of salt.

In the event of an error message, the video can be viewed here:
http://youtu.be/RtsuVMBLRkI

Sagra of the Galletto and Pollo alla Marengo

Chicken, eggs and some crayfish. I can just imagine the little man sitting down to this meal after defeating the Austrians in the Battle of Marengo. Vive la France!

It only makes sense then, that a celebration for Chicken Marengo/Pollo alla Marengo comes hosted in a location where french and austrians troops fought centuries ago. I've known about this sagra for several years but we were never able to time things right and drive to Piemonte on the first weekend of September when this feast occurs. Just 10 miles south of the province of Alessandria, Bosco Marengo is a dot on the map, but I am so glad we finally got to experience this. We arrived a few minutes before the food stands opened at 7:30pm, where a small crowd had already gathered around the order booth. The sagra is very well organized in that you take your receipt, sit at any one of the long communal tables, and a server comes to fill your order. All of our plates appeared in front of us within a matter of minutes. Here's a photo of the menu.

Clockwise from top left: vegetarian antipasto (roasted bell peppers, bruschetta, beans w/tuna???), agnolotti al vino (pasta in wine...yum), grilled galletto (like a cornish hen), agnolotti al culo nudo (naked ass agnolotti!). There's a limited amount of seating and late arrivals had to wait until diners cleared out so get there early. The evening ends with music and dancing - a good way to burn off any calories from all the great food to be had.

I'd like to point out that mosquitoes didn't miss a chance to join the party. If you don't like being dinner, bring some repellent. Overheard among the chit chat: ‘the sagra begins just around the time when the mosquitoes start coming in.’

La Cattedrale Vegetale

Although we live in a neighboring province with its own prealpine beauty, the Bergamasc Alps is beginning to feel like a home away from home with each successive visit to this paradise. Individual communities stage a number of local events and celebrations that I've been made more aware of just recently, so it was a special morning in Plassa (fraction of Oltre il Colle) this past Saturday when we were present for the inauguration of the Cattedrale Vegetale, a vegetal cathedral that was created as an expression of land art.

Begun in 2008 by italian artist Giuliano Mauri, the cathedral encompasses a total of 5 naves and 42 columns. Constructed with fir timber and branches of chestnut and hazelnut, each column contains a young beech tree that will eventually take the place of its natural "cage" when time and the elements have eroded the structure away. To my surprise I discovered that this is not the only living cathedral that Mauri has done. In the hamlet of Valsugana, Trento, his craftsmanship is already displaying leafy growth (last photo at the bottom).

Event organizers had a wealth of info on footpaths within the surrounding area so I see this as just the beginning for a push toward ecotourism. This (maniola jurtina - Meadow Brown) played a small but important role in a ‘Today I fly’ butterfly release. It is one of the species found in the Sentiero delle Farfalle or Trail of the Butterflies.

Informational links:
La Cattedrale Vegetale - Parco delle Orobie (italian)
Arte Sella in Valsugana (english)

Photo credit: Obliot, Arte Sella - Cattedrale Vegetale / CC-BY

Tomato Tuesday: Macaroni Cheese

A simple serving of mac and cheese at the high school cafeteria meant nothing but yuk when I was growing up, and despite the famous blue box with bold yellow font, american macaroni and cheese was never an island favorite. It is macaroni salad that graces the tables at family gatherings and luaus, and without a doubt once satisfied carbo-cravings of Obama himself.

Like everyone else with a kitchen garden, peak tomato season came, went, and continues to hang on for some. I've used them in making tomato sauce, pizza sauce, stuffed, stewed, dried, into omelettes, salads, sandwiches and salsa, but I'm still looking for ways to use up the rest that have taken over my fridge and countertop space. Don't even suggest that I give some away - I did - and it was only the red ones which I knew wouldn't raise any questioning eyebrows. Me growing Roma's, San Marzano's or Cuor di Bue's? Not a chance, because I'm too stuck on my heirlooms, especially the "blacks" which while beautiful to behold in their unique characteristics, can be on this side of fugly to the tomato uninitiated.

Cheddah mo' bettah

Satisfying the craving for familiar foods isn't always an easy task because certain ingredients are simply hard to come by. For this reason I keep my eyeballs wide open on grocery day, and you can imagine the girlie squeals when I found english cheddar at a store called Bennet. Mature and extra mature...let's see, I think in the states that means sharp and extra sharp? Who cares, I was just so damn happy that I got one of each, knowing that they'd both be gone in less than a week (heck, I even took a bite while we were driving back home).

The first thing that I was set on cooking was chicken enchiladas, taking the idea for Emeril's easy enchilada sauce and incorporating my own homemade tomato sauce in the process. Fortunately I can find things like bottled jalapeno peppers, california-type olives, fresh cilantro and thick greek yogurt (instead of sour cream), but enchiladas are complete only when there's cheddar or monterey jack or both. As for the macaroni cheese...well, shall I just presume that the Brits like pomodori on their macaroni pie? The recipe on Cathedral City's website calls for sun blushed tomatoes...brilliant. That oughtta knock off a measly half pound in the veggie bin. Pictured below: last night's dinner and the many ways to kill a tomato. Pictured at the very top: this morning's (9:30am) brunch. Stay tuned next week for more Tomato Tuesday.

Note on the sauce: in the comments of Emeril's recipe, a cook stated the use of chocolate and a few other spices in her adaptation. I followed her cue, giving the sauce a more oaxacan influence.

Doggie ear piercing gone bad

Still very much a puppy in his antics, size and attitude, that "look" above is the one Mister B gives me when he's not in agreement with whatever I've done. Actually, he doesn't even look at me, but stares into space or at a blank wall.

His story:

What happened?? Well, I was, you knows, out there doing security in mine, ehh...I mean, your yard when this peg-legged parrot comes swooping in and tried to carry me off by my ear. I bit his shin like how I bite everbody else's shin and he flew away.

What really went on:

While barking at a passerby on the shortcut through the woods, Mr. B's ear became caught on a thorn in rose bushes that edge our lawn. It was a serious enough cut that he was literally bleeding everywhere when he shook those dangling doxie ears. Flappa-flappa-flap! Splatters all over the terrace, the kitchen floor, the area carpet, my shirt, my face! At first I couldn't tell where the heck the bleeding was coming from, so I put him in the bathtub, and like figuring out the leak in a bicycle tire, sprayed him with water until I found the injury. It took 3 bandages - the first one came right off when he went flappa-flappa-flappa-flap! - and then he gave me grief for holding him down while I attached the rest one by one.

This happened 2 weeks ago. The bandages have already been removed, but he still runs into the rose bushes as if nothing bad ever happened.

Hiking in Val Vertova

We really couldn't have asked for more on this particular outing. The trail in Val Vertova is full of beautiful scenes like this, where you have the option of taking it easy all the way to the end or stopping in an idyllic spot to soak up the sun. I've never seen perfectly tanned boobs in full display until this hike, but with such an inviting environment, why the heck not?

View larger map

To get to the starting point: from Vertova, follow Via Cinque Martini until località Lacni. Instead of following the right bend in the road, take the left for about 300 meters until the parking lot (B). If it's full, space is available at the headquarters of Gruppo Alpinistico Vertovese (GAV) a hundred meters going back and across the stream (A), but only if the gates are open. It takes about an hour to reach the end of the trail. For a challenge, head up the n.527 that climbs the left just before reaching the end. It quickly leads back down to the river then continues into drier terrain up the mountain to the encampment of Bivacco Testa.

Greetings from Switzerland

I've been meaning to share this postcard that I received in the mail almost 2 weeks ago from TK of cyclingwalkingeating as she tours Europe. The Bernina Express, often affectionately regarded as the little red train is something that MotH has mentioned on several occasions, but we have never gotten past the discussing to the actual going. Something to do with if we can bring doggies along for the ride and if so, what it would entail.

Anyway, TK's thoughtful gesture (sorry we missed you in Milan!) triggered a quick search on flickr because I had never heard of Zermatt which she had written on the back. The world can be a big place, but when you put 2 and 2 together and realize that the location of the "real" Matterhorn is not too far from where you live (4 hours by car, closer than Rome!), it makes you laugh and think that hey, “It's A Small World After All!”

The Matterhorn at Zermatt, Switzerland

Photo credit: Martha de Jong-Lantink, Zermatt, Zwitserland, jan. 2010 / CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0

The Matterhorn at Disneyland

Photo credit: Averain, The Matterhorn at Disneyland / CC-BY

Festa degli Scarpinòcc

Parre (Val Seriana, Bergamo) - each year a celebration of these uniquely shaped ravioli takes place on the 3rd weekend in August, but it was only a few months back that I learned of this local specialty. What are scarpinòcc (skar-pee-nohtch), you might wonder. The name comes from the similarity of the pasta shape to traditional footwear (scarpe = shoes) worn long ago by the villagers of Parre. The resemblance is much more apparent before cooking, but try to imagine the felt or leather type of shoe with a slightly upturned toe and you'll get the idea. Filled with a mixture of grated grana cheese, breadcrumbs, garlic, herbs, butter, milk, eggs and spices, this lean “magro” dish - considered as such for the absence of meat - is then enriched with a generous douse of melted butter and cheese.

A long queue for the pasta had already formed under the tent when we arrived, so this is where I fess up to taking the easy way out (that line was so long!) and found my plate of rich carbs elsewhere. Down the street a small restaurant advertised scarpinòcc "their way" and they had plenty of table space to kick back and relax. It was cheese and butter-licious!

Edit...

...just realized that this makes the 50th entry since August 2006 to experience and write about 100 Ways to Celebrate Italy!