Adventures in Tripe

First, I'll say that tripe is not a place it is a food.  Actually, it may very well be a place, but I've never heard of it and I wanted to be specific since the title could be misleading.  My adventure in tripe took place at a Slow Food dinner in Siena, Italy; near where I am living.  It just so happens that Italy is the birthplace of the Slow Food movement and it started in Rome in 1986 as a way to protest the opening of a McDonald's.  Over 20 years later, it has grown to have some 83,000 members in 122 countries.  My boss, Riccio, is a member and consequently, his membership gave me access to the dinner and my first experience with tripe.  Although, it is likely that I've eaten tripe in some form before the dinner.  Perhaps it was neatly disguised as scrapple, within a hot dog or sausage; or in the Pho at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant.  But this experience was actually enough to have my tingling with excitement and snapping pictures of the dishes as they arrived.  And I had plenty of picture taking to do as the food kept coming over the span of 3 and half hours.  The meal consisted only of beef tripe and several offal items.  The antipasto alone had stomach, white tripe and part of the udder.  We also enjoyed beef tongue, two different parts of the feet, two varieties of stomach (remember, cow's have four stomachs), and even parts of the female reproductive organs.  The offerings throughout the night were served both hot and cold.  We dined on boiled "mixed" tripe, centropelle (a stomach) soup and ravioli of lampredotto (another stomach).  I really had only one reservation as mealtime approached and that was the texture.  I'm very texturally sensitive when it comes to my food, but only the cold white tripe salad presented a challenge to me.  Everything was prepared very well and in some cases left me wanting more.  My favorite was the "lampredotto" variety featured on the small sandwich above.  It was incredibly tender and reminded me very much of thinly-sliced roast beef.  Curiously enough, I saw lampredotto being featured on a street vendor's food cart while in Florence and opted for something else.  Florence is quite famous for its lampredotto and now I know to partake on my next visit.  It was also a real pleasure to be part a such a large group of people who take food so seriously and embrace the local and regional traditions.  I left feeling very thankful for another unique Italian experience and a little over-stuffed.  The dinner was fun for me and my friends and we even joked that had they served us "tripamisu" (thanks Rusty) we would have delightfully eaten that too.

Food-Full Circle

In so many ways we are really disconnected from the food we eat.  Sure, we eat everyday and hopefully we enjoy what we eat.  But really, we are not connected to it.  We may not know how to grow it, raise it or cook it.  We may not be aware of the nutritional value or the harmful effects of our foods.  Many times we do not know from where in the world it comes or how safely it is produced.  Very few people get to actually know the farmer or the grower of the foods they purchase and eat.  

For a multitude of reasons I am really lucky to be having an experience in Italy.  One way in particular is to be a part of the full circle of food.  Here on the farm I am involved in every aspect of the animals we raise and the items we produce.  I have a hand in the birthing of piglets to the continued care and animal husbandry of them.  I help select the animals to be butchered, process the carcasses, spend hours making salumi and other cured products.  My hands then nurture the curing meats as they dry, age and develop their unique flavors.  And finally, I go to market once a month to interact with customers and  complete the circle of life, and death and food that sustains more life. After being accepted to this program, one of my goals was to complete this loop.  For over 20 years I've been involved with foodservice and food preparation in some way or form.  The impact of my Italian experience has been tremendous thus far and this is definitely the most connected I've been with my food and the processes involved in creating what we eat.  Remember, no matter how simple the food you're eating may appear, it's not simple at all.  In fact, it is, has been and continues to become more difficult everyday.  So I urge you, get connected in some way.  Plant it.  Cook it.  Read about it.  Ask about it.  Support farmers' markets.  At the very least, enjoy it and appreciate the full circle of food.....

Foodie in Firenze

There's no doubt about my love of food and also my desire to try new things.  Luckily I'm in Italy, a country that has taken its food very seriously for centuries and continues to keep those traditions alive today.  Nearly everyday I eat one, two, maybe ten foods that I've never had before.  Sometimes its something as simple as a perfectly ripe persimmon.  Other times it may be wild boar stew, cervo (venison) ragu, a local bread, or baba'.  Baba' is a typical dessert from Naples.  It consists of a spongy lightbulb-shaped cake, soaked in warm rum and served piping hot.  The flavors and textures were amazing as each bite presented new flavors of spicy rum, vanilla and apricot.  I slowly savored every mouthful while Tuscan friend commented on how I embraced each bite as if it was a completely brand new experience for me.  I recently enjoyed a 5 day festa (holiday) and had the chance to go to Firenze (Florence) with a dear friend visiting from the States.  She mirrored my approach to being in Italy; and that is to eat as often as you can and to eat whatever may be put in front of you.  These pictures show some of the edible highlights we enjoyed.  Hope they inspire you to try new things, food or otherwise, and chew slowly.  Savor life, don't devour it.....      

Dumpling; dummy...

I don't eat out often in America and so far that trend continues in Italy.  I'm lucky because the food at the farm has been great so far; this is Italy after all.  I've been blessed to be here during the holidays when food is the centerpiece of so much.  We often have potlucks where the whole farm community gets together to share food and friendship.  We even prepared a Christmas Eve dinner of traditional American holiday ingredients and items.  However, I did dine out yesterday when I travelled to Cortona.  Cortona is an ancient city near the border of  Umbria on the eastern slopes of Tuscany.  It is said to be one of Italy's oldest towns with origins to the 4th century BC.  It is a typical fortified, Tuscan hilltop town with serpentine streets and spectacular 2-mile views in nearly all directions.  I visited with some other Americans here at the farm who have been coming to Italy for nearly a decade.  Their intimate knowledge of Cortona was to my benefit when they chose a favorite restaurant.  La Grotta opens at noon, and we were the first customers of the day.  The restaurant competition in Italy is intense as nearly all of them keep their prices affordable, without sacrificing the details of service and decor.  With so much to choose from I went with the item that struck me first.  The dish I had was gnocchi of ricotta and spinach with a truffle sauce.  It was perfectly prepared and I savored every bite.  As it turns out, gnocchi is just Italian for dumpling and does not have to be made with potatoes.  Although potato gnocchi is the most common, we often associate gnocchi as strictly potato pasta in American.  Details like this are often lost when one culture incorporates words, techniques, foods or traditions from another culture.  Hope your brain enjoys this dish of knowledge as much as I enjoyed the actual gnocchi..... 

Representin' VA

Like a lot of people who work with food, I was inspired by my mother.  I have very fond memories of helping her in the kitchen at a young age.  So young in fact that I recall standing on a chair just to gain a view of the contents of the mixing bowl.  I think baking with kids is a great way to allow them to help in the kitchen and gain some real knowledge of math and measuring.  It's safer than cooking because you are generally removed from the heat source and have a limited need for knives.  Plus, what better way to clean a spatula or bowl than by a child's tongue licking it?  Now, as I spend most of my life away from my mom and her kitchen, she sends the goodies to me.  This holiday was no exception as I received my Christmas cookies on the 23rd.  This holiday in Europe marks the 3rd continent, including Antarctica, on which I have received my gift of homemade cookies from Virginia.  I can't always be home for the holidays, but my mom always discovers a way for home to be with me.  For Christmas I attended a homemade meal of gnocchi and ragu at a local Italian's home.  I was proud to offer the platter of my mom's homemade treats as a dessert offering.  The guests were amazed at how fresh the sweets were after having traveled from Virginia.  That's a credit to my mom's packaging ability.  They were even more amazed at how good the cookies and peanut butter fudge tasted.  Those compliments honor my mother's ability at the cutting board or in front of the stove.  Mom, thanks for the inspiration and a special thanks for the box of goodies!

How to shave a pig...a dead one that is

So this week I had my intimate introduction to proper Italian butchering and salumi processing. And what an introduction it was! Because of my slow learning curve and the timely fashion of dealing with dead animals I worked 54 hours out of 78 hours; including a 19 hour marathon. I can't really begin to explain how much I learned in that time frame. The pigs arrived slaughtered and cleaned, but the rest was up to us. I worked primarily under the farm's butcher Riccio, but Piero, the master butcher who used to work here, showed up to help as well. I actually caught myself just watching Piero work at times. He is a master and I don't use that term lightly either. His motions were so precise and fluid that they inspire me. Riccio has worked with three different master butchers and is incorporating ideas and techniques from all to create his own program. Some methods don't change and are very traditional. It is an honor for me to be included in the making of these products that we will feature at the market tomorrow and in the future. The processing is divided into two types of meat/salami; fresh and aged. The aged products require very special care and handling since time, temperature and humidity are the components that create the desired flavor and texture. We make proscuitto, and two types of aged salumi in addition to cappicola. The fresh division includes real soppresatta, ribs, liver, spleen, pork chops and fresh sausage. We use a combination of pig and cow intestines for our salumi depending on the type. Despite the stages of exhaustion I endured, the process was amazing. I am actually looking forward to the next time so I can learn even more and apply what I already know. But, the best part of course is eating the results of our labor. Yum!

Let me see your salami!

Thought I'd share my new favorite spot in Italy.  I found it while strolling through Siena the other day.  Siena is the closest city to me, only 20 minutes by car.  The old part of the city is a labyrinth of narrow alleys and corridors.  It was actually designed to confuse enemy invaders and I imagine it is still working to disorient tourists.  

I'm standing in front of a salumi shop; the bike is merely a decoration.  Given my fondness for food, I could not resist.  The aroma of the curing meats and cheeses was intoxicating.  I witnessed new shapes and sizes of salumi, all handcrafted on the premises.  I chose the cingahle (ching-ga-lay) proscuitto and a local young pecorino cheese.  The cingahle is the local wild boar and is used in nearly all the same manners as we (Americans) use pork.  The Italians have a long and rich history of wild boar hunting and actually bred some of the bull terrier dogs to aid in controlling the fierce beast before administering the death-blow.  Needless to say it was truly delicious.  I used my elementary Italian to explain to the young butcher that I am living on a nearby farm and learning to make salumi.  Despite this intimate connection we shared around curing meat, we would not allow pictures to be taken inside.  Sorry, you're stuck with me and the shop window....