May 10, 2010 | Appetizers, Snacks, Wine
I was cleaning out my purse the other day and came across a tiny scrap of paper, merely 2 inches wide and less than 4 inches tall, quite worn and crumbled. On one side it has this listed:
- crostini
- sheep’s ricotta w/ chive, EVOO, S/P
- fallone (pizza dough with greens)
- braseola con ruchetta
- potato flan
- speck (Alto Adige)
- garlic crostini w/ oil
- cacio o’chiato (Calabria)
- parm reg
- fontina val d’osta
- pecorino r
I was stumped for a moment trying to figure out why I had written this list down. While it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that it’s a list of Italian foods – including alot of great cheeses I might add – I couldn’t recall what it was. Here’s a bit of a clue: I did find these photos on my computer:
On the back of the piece of paper I found another list:
- sparkling sangiovese
- verdello (verdita)
- verminto
- garganega (like Soave) – veneto
- pinot blanco
- garganega
- sauvignon blanc
- valpolicella ripasso
- blend – Montepulciano d’Abruzzo – Barricadiero
- Montipulciano d’Abruzzo
- ” “
Again, not rocket science to figure out these are a list of wines, Italian at that (and a couple mis-spelled I might add). After a moment’s pause it came to me…
On the very last night of my last trip to Italy (in 2008, not the one I just got back from), we had a wine tasting party in a small local shop. The foods were created to pair with each of the wines, and in and of themselves were fabulous treats. The wines also in and of themselves were delicious, but exceptional when paired with the food. That’s kind of how they do it in Italy – regions created wines that complemented the foods of the region and the dishes that region developed over time. For me, finding the list was a light bulb moment that this could make for a really fun party. Recreate the foods and the wines on the list, match them up, invite over some friends for an evening on the patio (if you’re in the northern hemisphere like me) and have a little fun. That’s what I’m going to do now that I figured out what that scrap of paper in my purse was!
i just love to much italian foods because of italian spices and juicy sauces ~
italian foods are very tasty and most of their recipes are heart friendly too ;`;