Cial’edd in Dialect or Panzanella Salad to others

I love summer. I love tomatoes. I love bread. 

Cial'edd is one of my favorite dishes to assemble. I didn't say cook, because there is nothing to cook. One of the most simple preparations around.

Cut fresh, garden ripe tomatoes. Tear a handful of fresh basil. Use day-old bread and rip it into pieces. Add a hint of salt, a copious amount of olive oil, a dash of red wine vinegar, a few slices of Pecorino and toss the whole thing through. Wait about 10 minutes for the flavors to meld together and serve.

Welcome to summer!

Allesina Barolo Salumi

I've been down in Bakersfield more in the last few weeks than I have in the last few years. Good thing too, there's some good quality food in the the Southern San Joaquin Valley.

Luigi's Deli has been providing high-quality products to the people of Bakersfield for over a century. One of many products they carry is Allesina Salumi from San Luis Obispo. 

After my drive back to Fresno, I sliced right into this little jewel. The smell of the outside is classic salumi, a bit gamey, moldy, yeasty...old world, old school. The inside has a wonderful combination of flavor of fat, meat and spice. All balanced. Really wonderful product.

I've been eating Creminelli products recently and they are equally as good. But the real test will be to eat them side-by-side. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

8 Guests, 8 Courses, 8 Wines

It was such a pleasure to get into the kitchen with Chef Tommy Chavez again. It was a fun night, but certainly not an easy one. Everything was cooked to order and from scratch. I even baked fresh fennel bread for the event. Chef Tommy and I were challenged by the glass cook top (not induction), but it was 10 times easier to clean up after than a gas range. Otherwise, things moved quickly and smoothly.

Long-time friend John Marihart made sure our eight special guests always had their glasses filled, their plates cleared, stemware polished and of course, gave the kitchen feedback on how the evening was progressing. Special thanks to Falina Marihart for taking all the pictures that night, cleaning dishes, utencils, stemware, and tasting all of our food before it was sent out. Non-stop for everyone and everyone did their part to make sure our guests had a great evening.

For your viewing pleasure, we've attached a slide show below, a brief history of the evening in the kitchen.

We would like to thank everyone who was a part of a wonderful night of food, wine, and celebration. Here's the menu and the wines for the event (And yes, I favored some Dry Creek Valley reds that night, but I'm biased). The Gruet, the only non-California wine, was served because one of our guests has a special connection to New Mexico. I have links to all of the wines and the wineries in the menu below, just hover over the wine for the link.

CRAB CAKES

CREOLE MUSTARD BUTTER SAUCE, DRESSED GREENS

Gruet, New Mexico Blanc de Noirs NV

 ESCARGOT MAITRE’ D

GARLIC HERB BUTTER, GRILLED CROSTINI

Caymus 2010 Conundrum White

 BLACKENED BEEF

WHITE GRITS, TOMATILLO SALSA, FRESH LIME, CILANTRO

Caymus 2009 Conundrum Red

SPINACH SALAD

CANDIED PECANS, GOAT CHEESE, STRAWBERRIES, RUM VINAIGRETTE

Pine Ridge 2010 Chenin Blanc/Viognier

HAND-MADE RAVIOLI

RICOTTA, PROSCUITTO, PINE NUTS, GRANA, OLIVE OIL/BUTTER

Lago di Merlo 2009 Dry Creek Valley Sangiovese

CREOLE BBQ SALMON

SWEET POTATO PUREE, HOUSE MADE CREOLE BBQ SAUCE, GREEN BEANS

A. Rafanelli 2004 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel

FILET DIANE

COGNAC MUSHROOM SAUCE, BACON ROASTED POTATOES, CREAMED SPINACH

Mastro Scheidt 2007 Proprietor’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

TOMMY’S SIGNATURE BREAD PUDDING

WARM PRALINE SAUCE, BOURBON WHIPPED CREAM

Windwalker 2001 Orange Muscat

Bari, Italy meets Fresno, California

I’ve known Carmela Marziliano of Bella Pasta (and new restaurant The Steak House), for 20 years. Her family comes from the same region of Italy, Puglia, that my family hails. Not only the same region, but the same towns, Bari and Bisceglia.  Which means, Carmela cooks in a very similar fashion to the food I grew up with.

I recall, nearly 20 years ago, holding a wine tasting party in my parents garage. I think it was the first large scale tasting I’d ever thrown. Generally, I do all of the cooking when I throw a party. I don’t want to have my guests stress over making something. However, in typical Italian fashion, Carmela brought a huge tray of cured meats and cheeses from the Deli (Sam’s, duh). She didn’t have to, but she did. What could make me more happy than a tray of cured meats?! Almost nothing.

I visited Bella Pasta last week with friends John and Falina. When I arrived at the restaurant (a little late), I was warmly greeted by Carmela with a big "Ciao David". Truth be told, we haven’t seen each other in several years. But that doesn’t matter. It may sound cliché, but that Italian Connection often ignores time and space.

For those Cured Ham followers that care, I ordered the special of the evening, Italian meatloaf wrapped in bacon and stuffed with sausage, served with a side of penne pasta in gorgonzola cream. My portion of meatloaf was so large, I actually took half home! (My lunch the following day...meatloaf topped with tallegio.) I also sampled the classics, spaghetti and meatballs and gnocchi pomodoro which John and Falina ordered. We dined over a bottle of my Proprietor’s Reserve Cabernet, perfect with what we were having. 

After we finished dinner, Carmela returned to the table to see how our meal went. We all talked for probably another 45 minutes about all things Italian, wine, ricci (sea urchin), bread. Ricotta Forte came up. It’s a stinky and strong ricotta cheese favored in Puglia that takes some getting used to. I ate that cheese several times when I was staying in Locorotondo, Puglia, just outside of Bari.

A bit more about Ricotta Forte. Since nothing goes to waste, left-over ricotta is packed in salt and allowed to age outside in the shade for several days or it’s simply left to ripen without the salt pack where it can get creamy if you stir it regularly. Forget your United States health department sensibilities with regard to this cheese.

 

We talked making cheese, sausage, and curing our own salami; skills that seem to have been lost here in Fresno by far too many private citizens and restaurateurs, either because of regulations, the ease of bringing product in or simply forgotten.

It was a pleasure to catch up with Carmela. A lot is going on in her world and Fabian’s, her husband. They recently opened The Steak House at Clinton and Hwy 99. I wish them the best in all their pursuits.

Carmela and Fabian, tanti auguri, I migliori auguri.

Pasta Video with Taste Fresno and Fresno Bites

It was a real pleasure to make pasta with friends and fellow bloggers, Charles Ciapponi and Alisa Manjarrez. I thought it would be a good start to make two classics, ravioli and pappardelle. The attached video highlights the 3-hour instruction and meal (through the magic of video in 5 minutes) we all helped to create. The recipes for the pasta and the sauce can be found on the Taste Fresno Website or in the Mastro Scheidt Recipe Gallery

I'd like to give special props to Alisa for here delicate work on each ravioli. I understand that she has recently graduated to making panna cotta. 

In addition, Chuck made one of the finest ravioli doughs I've used since I left Italy. Wonderfully smooth and workable, this dough was perfect for our stuffed pasta.

Taste Fresno - Episode 26 Pasta 101 from NoNetwork.tv on Vimeo.

Special thanks also goes out to Enrique Meza for filming and editing this video. As far as I'm concerned, it's magical what Enrique did with the rough edit I saw. I will post some additional pictures in the Gallery taken by James Collier of Foie Gras and Flannel. James is another magician with his camera and lens. The picture of the flour dropping is pretty cool.