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 sauté for 15 minutes, stirring every so often with a wooden spoon.  Add the meat and sauté 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.