FOODS OF ITALY
CHRISTMAS COOKING IN FLORENCE

by Patricia Spirer

What was it about this year - that I�d been mugged in broad daylight in front of my house in early January, or that I�d had appendicitis in February (the doctors said I was either too young or too old for it, anyway not the �right age�, that my sister was diagnosed with lupus?

Whatever.� I made out the very large check to Giuliano Bugialli=s Foods of Italy for his special Cooking in Florence Christmas program.� With great trepidation I copied my passport, my credit cards, my hotel reservations, my plane tickets - something I=d never done before.� I considered my will.� I knew the plane would go down, I would be attacked by gypsies as I had in Paris years before, a bomb would explode in the airport.� What caused this fear I didn't know, hadn't I traveled across France speaking no French years ago?

Whatever.� A good friend took me to the airport and I was off to New York to fly Alitalia to Italy.

When my taxi crossed the bridge into old Florence, I fell in love with the Ponte Vecchio and with the city.� The hotel owners, the Ferragamo family, had recently redone the hotel in a soothing Asian decor.� My room, with double bed, color TV, a private safe, had Italian porcelain bathroom fixtures to die for.� And a towel warmer.� Jet-lagged, I slept.

AHi," said Giuliano crossing the hotel reception room to shake my hand the next afternoon.� He was short, dark, bearded, with twinkling eyes and a great welcoming smile.� Henry, his business partner, introduced himself next, as did the other Acooks and tasters@ (a husband of one cook, and a wife and a daughter of another) who straggled into the wine party.� After introductions, travel chat, and a glass of wine, the ten of us took taxis to a trattoria - the first of four meals Giuliano arranged for us in restaurants.

Next morning, we five Acooks� loaded into a van, and the driver drove fast to Giuliano�s restored Roman Baths building in Chianti, which housed his professional teaching kitchen, a wash-up room, bathrooms and three dining rooms, one with an open fire where he roasted the legendary Abistecca alla Fiorentina� for us.

Giuliano gave each of us recipes for the day on a clipboard, an apron, and a chair.� He told us what we would cook for the day beginning with pasta.�� Everyone would make pasta that day.� Giuliano demonstrated how to make it and circulated the pasta dough for us to feel after kneading it and again after passing it through the pasta machine.�

Giuliano, we were told by a repeat student, has been known to throw out a student�s unsatisfactory pasta and, indeed, he did throw out part of one student�s work.� At last success.� The pasta I made at home was stiff and brittle.� The pasta I made under Giuliano�s guidance was supple, smooth, and glorious.

For three days we chopped, stirred, and cooked.� We made pasta in brianco al pecorino toscano (spaghetti with pecorino/meat sauce), puddica (pizza with tomato pockets), bomboloni alla livornesi (Livorno-style deep fried pastry), polenta al mascarpone e tartufi (polenta with mascarpone and truffles), cinghiale o capretto al salmi (marinate boar cooked with aromatic herbs), and pasticcio di pasta alla maremmana (duck lasagne Maremmana style), to name a few.� With boundless energy and good humor, Giuliano guided us through almost 30 different dishes.� Not a stiff, self-important French chef is Giuliano, but an enthusiastic teacher coordinating the apt and the inept struggling to master a real professional kitchen and real Italian recipes.� Each day, he cooked us lunch while we cooked dinner.� He presented rebollito (reboiled soup), cheese and bread, a frittata and fantastic, succulent fried chicken.� Each evening, sated with sightseeing and relating stories of finding rare wines, the three tasters joined us for dinner.

Accidents happened -a finger cut, a duck left unattended on the flame and was rescued before burning, a pizza with tomato pockets forgotten while rising and never baked.

The work was exhilarating and tiring.� I said to another student while chopping celery, carrots, parsley, garlic, and onions very fine, I mean very fine, AI=m paying for this?��� �I was just thinking the same thing,� she replied.� Wednesday morning, we took a walking tour of Firenze with an excellent Italian tour guide who showed us statues and fountains, and the church of Santa Croce, where I arranged to buy and send a handmade, gilded green leather desk pad to my sister. We saw the Duomo and learned a great deal of history, and a few shopping tips, such as where to buy jewelry at good prices - not on the Ponte Vecchio.

Will I do it again?� I don=t know.� It�s expensive, but very good value, very organized and extremely comfortable, at the hotel, at the school, and on our trips.� But then too, perfect vacations are hard to duplicate.� Sometimes magic happens.� But again,� Giuliano�s ATraveling Course in Tuscany� (a week of cooking classes and day trips around Tuscany to explore the variety of cheeses, olive oils, cured meats produced and fish and game dishes from the area) sounds appealing.�� Am I glad I did it?� A resounding yes.� In fact, I�m thinking of renting an apartment for a month in Florence later this year.� And I must return to Lucca.� I also know that whenever I think of Florence, I will think of Henry, and the Italian history he taught me, and of Giuliano, a Florentine of Etruscan descent, an aristocrat, a scholar, the patriarch of his family, a teacher, and I hope a friend.

RECIPES FROM GIULIANO=S CLASSES

CINGHAIALE O CAPRETTO AL SALMI (MARINATED BOAR COOKED WITH AROMATIC HERBS)

(Serves 6)

2 pounds boneless boar or kid (goat) meat, any cut, or 4 pounds with bones, or 2 pounds boneless beef chuck
4 large sage leaves, fresh or preserved in salt
1 tablespoon rosemary leaves, fresh or preserved in salt
1 medium-size red onion, cleaned and quartered
2 medium-size carrots, scrapped and cut into pieces
2 stalks celery cut into pieces
2 large cloves garlic, peeled
5 cups dry red wine

To cook the meat:

4 ounces pancetta or prosciutto, in one piece
2 cup (4 ounces) sweet butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons capers in wine vinegar, drained
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold water
1/4 cup grappa or unflavored vodka

Cut the meat, with or without bones, into 2-inch pieces and place them in a medium-size crockery or glass bowl.� In another bowl mix together the sage, rosemary, onion, carrots, celery and garlic, then arrange all these over the meat, pour the wine over and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight.

Cut the pancetta or prosciutto into small pieces.� Place a medium-size casserole with the butter and oil over medium heat.

Meanwhile, drain the meat and vegetables, saving the wine.� Separate the meat from the vegetables and put it on a plate.� When butter in the casserole is melted, add the vegetables and pancetta, along with the capers, and saut� for 15 minutes, stirring every so often with a wooden spoon.� Add the meat and saut� on all sides for 10 minutes.� Start adding the marinating wine 1 cup at a time.� Each cup should be reduced before adding the next one, and the entire cooking period is about 1 hour.� Season with salt and pepper.� By the time the wine is all used, the meat should be cooked and tender.� Transfer it to a bowl, cover, and let stand until the sauce is finished.

Pass the remaining contents of the casserole through a food mill fitted with the disk with the smallest holes, into a bowl.� Return the sauce to the casserole and reduce over medium heat for 15 minutes, adding the dissolved mustard powder.� Mix very well.� Place the meat back in the casserole, add the grappa or vodka, and let cook for a final 10 minutes.� Serve hot with or without polenta.

Polenta for this type of dish is prepared with stone ground coarse cornmeal, preferably imported Italian.

POLENTA CON MASCARPONE E TARTUFI (POLENTA WITH MASCARPONE AND TRUFFLES)

Serves 8

1 medium sized fresh or canned white truffle
3 quarts homemade beef broth
coarse grained salt
1 pound fine stone-ground Italian yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) sweet butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
16 heaping tablespoons Mascarpone

If the truffle is fresh, clean it very carefully with a truffle brush to remove all the sand.

Heat the broth in a large pot over medium heat and when the broth comes to a boil, add coarse-grained salt to taste.� Then start pouring in the cornmeal in a very slow stream, stirring continuously with a flat wooden spoon.� Be sure to pour the cornmeal slowly and keep stirring, or the polenta will easily become very lumpy.� Stir slowly, without stopping, for 45 to 50 minutes from moment the last of the cornmeal was added to the pot.� If some lumps form, push them against the side of the pot to crush them with the spoon.

Use 2 tablespoons of butter to lightly butter 8 dinner plates.� Put 1 heaping tablespoon of Mascarpone in the center of each place.� Put the plates in the refrigerator until needed.

When the polenta is cooked, taste it for salt and pepper, add the remaining 8 tablespoons of Mascarpone, mix well, and then remove the pot from the heat.� Immediately ladle some of the polenta over the cheese on the prepared plates.� The polenta should cover the cheese completely.� Use a truffle cutter to slice the truffle over the polenta on the plates.� Serve immediately.

DOLCE AL CAFFE= COFFEE LIQUEUR CAKE

Serves 8

2 cup strong brewed coffee, preferably Italian espresso
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 extra-large eggs, separated
7 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 ounce blanched almonds
7 ounces shelled walnuts

For the coffee pastry cream:

4 extra-large egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) sweet butter
1/4 cup coffee liqueur
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon potato starch, not potato flour

For the glassa (glaze)

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons (1-1 2 ounces) sweet butter

In a small saucepan heat the coffee over medium heat until lukewarm.� Place the cocoa powder in a medium-sized bowl, then pour in the coffee, stir very well with a wooden spoon until the cocoa is completely dissolved, and let rest until cold (about 2 hour).� Place the egg yolks in a crockery or glass bowl, add 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar and stir very well with a wooden spoon until sugar is completely absorbed and the egg yolks turn a lighter color.� Add the cooled coffee-cocoa mixture, stir very well, then transfer contents of the bowl to a larger bowl and let stand until needed.

Using a food processor or blender, finely grind together the almonds, walnuts and the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar and add to the egg mixture.