Festive Lunch – 1st January 2015 – Marathon, Attica, Greece

Today I rejoice the passage of time, culminating in the coming of the new year.

tree
It was a chilly day with wet snow, but it felt nice

 

There is no better way to do that but a festive lunch, where food and drinks will have almost equal weight and pleasure potential.

menu 1 January 2015

Festive Lunch Table
Festive Lunch Table

The menu draws from Germany, Georgia, Italy and France. Greece adds the traditional cake to finish the meal, and the salad.

Bruns Raucheraal - Smoked Eel
Bruns Raucheraal – Smoked Eel

Smoked eel is one of the delicacies I will never stop craving for.

My best man, Manolis, brought me a sealed package of two smoked eels produced by Aal-Bruns, a German specialist producer.

As if I knew, I cut the eel in small pieces.

Pairing the smoked eel with a wine was a challenge.

But not for very long.

Smoked Eel
Smoked Eel

The gentle knight from Alsace came through the door and brought the solution with him. Two bottles of wine I had purchased in the Metzger winery at the beginning of the 21st century.

Metzger, Gewurztraminer Pflinz 1997
Metzger, Gewurztraminer Pflinz 1997

A late vintage of Gewurztraminer Pflinz from Alsace, produced in 1997!

I opened the first bottle, full of curiosity: Could a white wine have lasted for almost 18 years?

As you can see in the photo, the golden color of the wine gave the first answer. But this is nothing compared to the taste. Heaven on Earth!

The almost oily wine with its sublime sweetness coats the mouth and prepares it for the infusion with the smoky taste of the eel that literally melts in it. A marriage made in heaven.

Smoked Eel
Smoked Eel

I offered to my guests two options for tasting the eel. Both had as support a rectangle of whole grain bread, the first with a touch of butter on it, and the second with a spoonful of mashed pickled cabbage, beetroot, chilli pepper, celery and garlic. I personally enjoyed both, starting with the butter and then going to the pickled mix.

Needless to say, some pieces were enjoyed on their own. In the absolute magnificence of their existence. The taste is so powerful that only a small piece can be truly appreciated and enjoyed without the human being overwhelmed.

Georgian piroshki with minced beef
Georgian piroshki with minced beef

The second appetizer was a small piroshki with minced beef, a variation of a Georgian recipe.

It is smooth and spicy and tasty, while the wrapping is an ultra light and thin crepe.

The piroshki were prepared by a good friend.

Osso Bucco
Osso Bucco

The terrain is now open for the arrival of the main course, which is veal osso bucco with risotto.

I cooked the veal in a mix of carrots, celery, onions, garlic and tomatoes.

Risotto di Ossi
Risotto di Ossi

The abundant liquid of the mix I used in the risotto, which I prepared with Arborio rice from Ca Rossa.

The wine to accompany the main dish came from Toscana.

Ciacci Piccolomini di Aragona, Brunello di Montalcino, 1998
Ciacci Piccolomini di Aragona, Brunello di Montalcino, 1998

Brunello di Montalcino, 1998, produced by Ciacci Piccolomini d’ Aragona.

I had purchased both bottles in the winery’s shop near Montalcino, in Tuscany back in 2003.

The first bottle of the 16 year old wine was moderately ok, most likely due to cork problems. Drinkable, but not as rich and full as the second bottle, which gave to all great pleasure.

The risotto was the king of the main dish. It had rich flavor with considerable depth, without any of the elements overpowering the others.

The veal was tender, tasty and the rich sauce accompanied it in the best possible way.

At the end of the meal we shared the traditional “Vassilopitta”, a light cake made with mahlepi (mahlab) spice. Absolutely divine in its simplicity.

sea

Happy New Year!

 

 

Red Meats of Italy – A selection – Part 1

All of a sudden, I decided to post some images of red meats and red meat dishes from Italy. I call this Part 1 as I expect there will be more in the future.

I start by stating that I am not a fan of red meat. In an average place I usually do not order red meat. I prefer to eat vegetables, or chicken, or even better, a nice sald with cheese!

But I am a fan of exceptional red meat and its by products, flavours and colours and juices.

And this is what I will try to post here, the red meat beyond, creations that take the primary material and tranform it to something that is and is not the original. Transformation and transfiguration.

All the items included in thepost are”classics”, ie they have been around for a lond time and are here to stay. No meteorites, no short-lived stars, only treats that cut across the years.

Culatello di Zimbello
Culatello di Zibello

I start with the Emperor of the Italian cured meats: Culatello di Zibello!

Storage Area
Storage Area

This is the storage area where Miriam Leonardi (owner of “Trattoria La Buca” in the small town of Zimbello) keeps her treasures.

Slicing machine
Slicing machine

When I saw this machine I thought that it only befits the marvelous culatello to have such a beauty for slicing it.

Salumi di Cremona
Salame artigianale tipico di Cremona
I tasted this beauty in “Caffe la Crepa”, in the small town of Isola Dovarese. It was juicy, almost sweet, and its texture allowed it to melt in the mouth. Apparently Cremona does not only produce the finest violins in the world! Soppressata
Soppressata
Soppressata
Dekicious “Soppressata” from the “il Latini” restaurant in Florence.
Filetto di maiale affumicato
Filetto di maiale affumicato
Smoked pork filet from “Locanda San Lorenzo”, in the small town of Puos d’Alpago, near Belluno, Veneto.
Lardo di colonnato con zucca
Lardo di Mora Romagnola con zucca
An excellent treat, from “Trattoria Amerigo dal 1934” in the small town of Savigno, near Bologna. Lardo is transparent, sweet, and it melts in your mouth leaving a sense of olive oil! The zucca is the well know paumpkin, that here is grainy, tasty, and providdes support to the heavenly taste of the lardo!
Selection of antipasti
Selection of antipasti

 

A selection of antipasti from the “Vino e Camino” Ristorante in Bracciano, near Rome.

 

Steak Tartere di Vitello
Steak Tartare di Vitello
This tartare steak  comes from the wineshop of Pallatino in Roma. It is served without egg and the other regular trimmings. Just lemon, pecorino and light greens. The meat taste was clear, fresh and the firm texture of it made the pleasure complete. I was afraid that it would be a rather boring dish, given the absence of taste enhancing materials that accompany a Steak Tartar. I was wrong! Top quality veal does not need anything more than just some lemon to cut the protein surge, and a light cheese to provide a salty stimulus to the palate.

 

Display of meats in Dario Cecchini's Macelleria
Display of meats in Dario Cecchini's Macelleria
This is part of the diaply in Dario Cecchini’s Macelleria in the small town of Panzano, near Firenze.
Renaissance Salame
Renaissance Salame
Dario’s shop is full of surprises, including this one!

 

Ramerino in culo
Ramerino in culo
Marinated beef cubes (it could be called beef sushi) served with rosemary, from the restaurant of Dario Cecchini, Solociccia, although Dario does not call it a restaurant, but the home of a butcher!
Bolitti
Bolitti
A selection of boiled meats with vegetable and herb sauces, prepared by the team of Amerigo dal 1934.
Porcini e fegato di vitello
Porcini e fegato di vitello
A divine combination, porcini mushrooms with tender ultra sweet calf’s liver, from “dal Pescatore”, in the Park of River Oglio.
Fiocco di Manzo
Fiocco di Manzo
Roast beef from Dario Cecchini’s restaurant.
Roast Pork
Roast Pork
Roast pork from Dario Cecchini’s Antica Macelleria in Panzano.
Animelle co i funghi
Animelle co i funghi

 

Sweetbreads with porcini mushrooms offered by Osteria di San Cesario, near Rome.

 

Bistecca Fiornetina
Bistecca Fiornetina
Glorious juicy bistecca from “il Latini” in Firenze.
Capello da prete di manzo
Capello da prete di manzo
Cappello da prete di manzo al barbera e polenta gialla belgrano! This is the full name of the dish offered by “dal Pescatore”.

Crassopoleio, Velvento, Polifitos, Greece

I visited the tavern in late April, during the Easter holiday.

This is a tavern in the central square of the very pleasant small town of Velvento, near Polifitos, in Greece. Its name in Greek means a place where they sell wine. This is not the only thing they do.They also sell food.

The tavern offers standard Greek cuisine dishes prepared with skill and fresh ingredients. This combined with the excellent selection of local bottled wines (we had a “Voyiatzis 2004 Red”) makes the meal a very good experience.

Some highlights of the dishes we tasted follows.

Fried green peppers, served with olive oil vinegar and garlic. A standard taste.

The stuffed vine leafs (Sarmades in the local dialect) were hearty, tasty and appetizing. In other parts of Greece they make them a lot smaller, with the emphasis being on the taste of the leafs, whereas here the emphasis is on the filling.

The pork knuckle was the best dish of the meal. Tender, juicy, tasty meat that was melting in your mouth, no knifes needed here!

The lamb was tender and tasty, but overshadowed by the pork. Under different circumstances, it would have been the star.

Overall, a place I will revisit.

Special thanks to Haris, who after two years in California has returned to his hometown and enjoys the life of the tavern.