- Italian Winestyle
- Perugia, Umbria, Italy
- in this blog you will find, comments and photos from winery visit observations, tasting notes, restaurant reviews, food and wine pairings, cooking ideas, and Italian living experiences from an American who currently resides in Umbria, Italy.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Coniglio
Blog V Coniglio
Coniglio=rabbit
In Italian the word coniglio is used often to describe someone who is afraid, doesn’t have courage, or that they are stupid. Kind of like saying “you’re chicken” in English.
Coniglio all’aceto (rabbit cooked with vinegar), I found this recipe in one of my Italian cookbooks and it intrigued me. Now that I am writing it, it doesn’t sound too interesting, or good for that matter, but I had never heard of it and wanted to try it. It’s a traditional recipe from Chianti, and the reason for the vinegar marinate is to aid in sterilizing the meat.
Of course, the first time I made it I didn’t follow the directions, which implied 10 hours of marinating. I only marinated it for maybe an hour, but it turned out good.
The suggested pairing for the dish was a rosato (rosé) or a Lagrein. We tried it with both. The rosé I selected was a local Umbrian wine, called Bocca di Rosa (mouth of Rose), Rosato dell’Umbria from the Tabarrini winery in Montefalco. This is the latest trendy wine, made from 100% Sagrantino grapes. I believe that they are the first to make a rosé from Sagrantino grapes.
This type of wine was a good suggestion, because it’s got good acidity, and light tannicity, but unfortunately I didn’t care for the wine. It had a fake cherry flavor to it, which is normal in young, ready to drink wines, but I’m almost sure it’s what gave me a headache the morning after.
The second glass of wine was definitely more to my liking. St. Michael-Eppan, 2007 Lagrein from Sudtirol, Alto Adige in Northern Italy, an excellent choice. Nice body, not to heavy, not too light, aged to perfection, 13% alcohol, ideal for this dish.
Take II. This time I followed the rabbit recipe, did a 12 hour marinate, because that was when I was able to start cooking and thought 10 hours, another 2 won’t hurt, but…
In the end it was too vinegary, I thought. Graziano said it’s suppose to taste like that, but 8-10 hours marinate would have been better.
We paired our vinegary rabbit with a local wine from Lago Trasimeno (the Lake by the border of Tuscany here in Umbria). I selected an old favorite, Duca della Corgna, Divina Villa 2005 Trasimeno Gamay D.O.C. made from an international grape varietal . This too was an excellent choice, a little bit higher in alcohol content, 13,5% but still within the boundaries of the right balance. For the price of €7, you can’t go wrong with this wine, good quality, easy to drink and it’s a crowd pleaser.
I’m not sure if other people will like this dish, so I’m going to leave it off the menu for now, but if you have connections to fresh hunted rabbit, I would use this recipe because it’s easy (if you’re not in a hurry) and provides a safe meat handling procedure. If you buy rabbit from the butcher or market go for the legs only, because rabbit has really fine splintery bones that are unpleasant to deal with.
Coniglio=rabbit
In Italian the word coniglio is used often to describe someone who is afraid, doesn’t have courage, or that they are stupid. Kind of like saying “you’re chicken” in English.
Coniglio all’aceto (rabbit cooked with vinegar), I found this recipe in one of my Italian cookbooks and it intrigued me. Now that I am writing it, it doesn’t sound too interesting, or good for that matter, but I had never heard of it and wanted to try it. It’s a traditional recipe from Chianti, and the reason for the vinegar marinate is to aid in sterilizing the meat.
Of course, the first time I made it I didn’t follow the directions, which implied 10 hours of marinating. I only marinated it for maybe an hour, but it turned out good.
The suggested pairing for the dish was a rosato (rosé) or a Lagrein. We tried it with both. The rosé I selected was a local Umbrian wine, called Bocca di Rosa (mouth of Rose), Rosato dell’Umbria from the Tabarrini winery in Montefalco. This is the latest trendy wine, made from 100% Sagrantino grapes. I believe that they are the first to make a rosé from Sagrantino grapes.
This type of wine was a good suggestion, because it’s got good acidity, and light tannicity, but unfortunately I didn’t care for the wine. It had a fake cherry flavor to it, which is normal in young, ready to drink wines, but I’m almost sure it’s what gave me a headache the morning after.
The second glass of wine was definitely more to my liking. St. Michael-Eppan, 2007 Lagrein from Sudtirol, Alto Adige in Northern Italy, an excellent choice. Nice body, not to heavy, not too light, aged to perfection, 13% alcohol, ideal for this dish.
Take II. This time I followed the rabbit recipe, did a 12 hour marinate, because that was when I was able to start cooking and thought 10 hours, another 2 won’t hurt, but…
In the end it was too vinegary, I thought. Graziano said it’s suppose to taste like that, but 8-10 hours marinate would have been better.
We paired our vinegary rabbit with a local wine from Lago Trasimeno (the Lake by the border of Tuscany here in Umbria). I selected an old favorite, Duca della Corgna, Divina Villa 2005 Trasimeno Gamay D.O.C. made from an international grape varietal . This too was an excellent choice, a little bit higher in alcohol content, 13,5% but still within the boundaries of the right balance. For the price of €7, you can’t go wrong with this wine, good quality, easy to drink and it’s a crowd pleaser.
I’m not sure if other people will like this dish, so I’m going to leave it off the menu for now, but if you have connections to fresh hunted rabbit, I would use this recipe because it’s easy (if you’re not in a hurry) and provides a safe meat handling procedure. If you buy rabbit from the butcher or market go for the legs only, because rabbit has really fine splintery bones that are unpleasant to deal with.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
muffins
Muffins
I have to say that anytime I ask an Italian what American food they like, the answer is always hands down “I muuufffin”. The way they pronounce it is hysterical! And they get this warm and cuddly smile on their faces when they say it. It’s really cute.
So, I have finally made them and you wouldn’t believe how many compliments they got!
It took me a while to get around to making them, because I had to compile all the stuff necessary to make them.
The big muffin tin was acquired some time ago, then the paper muffin cups, which sat unopened for about a year, made by some German company, then last week the final inspiration…the mini muffin tray! Oh and my favorite new cooking magazine had a spread under the weekend section, on, you know it, muffins! They titled it “Piccole delizie per tutti i giorni”. They of course had some Italianized versions of the recipe like Muffin al prosciutto e piselli and Muffin al grana (like Parmesan cheese).
Couldn’t find the blueberries, so I opted for some seasonal fruit. Made one batch with orange zest and the other apple & cinnamon.
They were mainly for my Australian friend Margaret, who came for the weekend. Unlike me she is very rigorous about her eating habits and only had, maybe one. That left us with more than 2 dozen muffins left. I sent about 15 to work with Graziano, and his colleagues said that wasn’t enough, and asked if I would take personal orders.
Violetta, a girl who helps me keep my house clean, ate 2 or 3 and was happy. I sent her home with 6 for the family. She said her oldest son ate them all, as soon as she picked him up from school.
I gave 4 to Cesare, my neighbor who I have nicknamed the Rebel. He didn’t say anything about them though. He’s kind of a man’s man & wouldn’t want to fess up to liking sweets.
I gave 4 to Daniella & her father Giovanni, my chatty neighbors. She instantly wolfed down one right on the spot in front of me, and said “sono buoni”, with her mouth full. The next day she asked for the recipe. Thank god it’s already in Italian!
Graziano had the last muffin this morning, so now they are gone.
So if you ever want to make friends in Italy, make muffins!
I have to say that anytime I ask an Italian what American food they like, the answer is always hands down “I muuufffin”. The way they pronounce it is hysterical! And they get this warm and cuddly smile on their faces when they say it. It’s really cute.
So, I have finally made them and you wouldn’t believe how many compliments they got!
It took me a while to get around to making them, because I had to compile all the stuff necessary to make them.
The big muffin tin was acquired some time ago, then the paper muffin cups, which sat unopened for about a year, made by some German company, then last week the final inspiration…the mini muffin tray! Oh and my favorite new cooking magazine had a spread under the weekend section, on, you know it, muffins! They titled it “Piccole delizie per tutti i giorni”. They of course had some Italianized versions of the recipe like Muffin al prosciutto e piselli and Muffin al grana (like Parmesan cheese).
Couldn’t find the blueberries, so I opted for some seasonal fruit. Made one batch with orange zest and the other apple & cinnamon.
They were mainly for my Australian friend Margaret, who came for the weekend. Unlike me she is very rigorous about her eating habits and only had, maybe one. That left us with more than 2 dozen muffins left. I sent about 15 to work with Graziano, and his colleagues said that wasn’t enough, and asked if I would take personal orders.
Violetta, a girl who helps me keep my house clean, ate 2 or 3 and was happy. I sent her home with 6 for the family. She said her oldest son ate them all, as soon as she picked him up from school.
I gave 4 to Cesare, my neighbor who I have nicknamed the Rebel. He didn’t say anything about them though. He’s kind of a man’s man & wouldn’t want to fess up to liking sweets.
I gave 4 to Daniella & her father Giovanni, my chatty neighbors. She instantly wolfed down one right on the spot in front of me, and said “sono buoni”, with her mouth full. The next day she asked for the recipe. Thank god it’s already in Italian!
Graziano had the last muffin this morning, so now they are gone.
So if you ever want to make friends in Italy, make muffins!
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