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Ciao tutti!
The new 2011 Olive Oil is showing up around. Buy it
and start using it! Are you still hanging on to oil from 2009 (or last year)? Time to use it up as it doesn't last 'forever'. Costco has their Kirkland brand Tuscan olive oil in 1 liter green bottles from the 2011 harvest.
Gina had successful classes at Culinaria Cooking School in January. Here's an article that was written by an attendee along with pictures! Capital Cooking Show article
Hope it inspires you this winter to do your own handmade pasta and remember your time in Italy (or here) with us. Serve the Kale bruschetta as an antipasto before your pasta!
Buon appetito!
Gina and Mary
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Olive Oil Tasting this Saturday
Gina and Mary will be at the Italian Club of Dallas on Saturday afternoon Feb 4th conducting an olive oil tasting. For all those who still don't know what to do when faced with a wall of olive oil or who just want to get a better understanding of what a really good olive oil should taste like, come on out. 
Gina's favorite antipasto this winter has been bruschetta with sauteed kale drizzled with great Tuscan extra virgin olive oil. It doesn't even taste like it's good for you, but it is! Hope to see you there.
To sign up, click here.
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Verdure all' Olio (winter greens w/ olive oil)
This side dish is both easy and delicious and an excellent way to quickly prepare nutritious winter greens such as kale, swiss chard, spinach and rapini. Look for lacinato kale, what the Tuscans call "black cabbage"; it's common in winter gardens in Tuscany and very high in nutrients.
1 large bunch of greens, washed and chopped
1 large garlic clove
sea salt
olive oil
Heat a large saut� pan with some water, salt, garlic and the chopped greens and cover. Cook until the greens are soft and done, remove from heat and add a generous drizzle of good olive oil. Toast slices of heavy country bread and very lightly rub with a garlic clove then drizzle with olive oil. Pile the steamed kale on top and enjoy.
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Artisanal pasta from Gragnano
When I teach people how to make fresh pasta, using eggs and soft flour, I often get the comment "fresh pasta is so wonderful, I'll never eat that hard boxed pasta again!" But fresh pasta is only one note in the symphony of Italian cuisine. Pastasciutta, that dried, boxed, semolina-and-water pasta from southern Italy, plays an important part at the Italian table and is in no way second fiddle to egg-based pasta from the north.
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