The Piadina - A Romagna Special Sandwich

 It seems there's no end of yummy sandwiches around the world. A special sandwich of the Romagna area of Emilia-Romagna is the Piadina flat-bread sandwich.

I was lucky enough to enjoy a Piadina lunch with two friends on a sunny afternoon at Mr. Dante restaurant on the Piazza del Popolo in Ravenna.

My sandwich had piadina bread, prosciutto, the unique Emillia-Romagna squacquerone fresh cheese, and arugula. I accompanied it with a glass of Albana Secca Emilia-Romagna DOCG white wine.

The squacquerone has a texture like yoghurt. It's nice, but not exciting. However, it worked perfectly with the prosciutto and arugula.

The sandwich and wine cost a total of about $17.05.

Enjoying lunch with two great friends made the experience even more special.

I had originally chosen a restaurant that had one of the very best ratings in Ravenna. Fortunately, it was closed when we got there. It was on a side street with little atmosphere.

Mr. Dante restaurant is undoubtedly named after Dante Alighieri, the iconic Italian poet, writer, and philosopher, who spent his final days in Ravenna.

The Foods & Wines of Emilia-Romagna

     I recently visited the Italian Region of Emilia-Romagna for the first time. Prior to preparing for the visit, I knew very little about the area except its reputation for prosciutto, parmesan cheese, and balsamic vinegar. I learned that it is a culinary paradise and also has nice wines.

    Below is a list of the foods and wines that I tried.  The list is intended to give you a sense of the culinary richness of the area.

 I really enjoyed most of them. The few that didn't turn me on were the very popular Cotoletta Alla Bolognese - Bolognese Veal Cutlet, Lasagna Sfoglia alla Bolognese, Squacquerone - a very fresh cheese with a yoghurt-like consistency, and Zuppa Inglese (English Soup) - a dessert. Perhaps I should have tried the cutlet and the lasagna at a second restaurant, but there were just too many foods to try.

    I plan to do postings about some of the meals in which I enjoyed these foods.

    I was surprised by the wines. Prior to this trip, the only wine type I knew about from the region was Lambrusco, a red wine that I find too sweet. I had many very pleasant reds, mostly Sangioveses, and a few whites and dessert wines.

    While I was there, I stayed in the capital of Bologna, but made day trips by train to Modena, Parma, Ravenna, and Padua (which is in the Veneto Region). I was joined by two friends. On the day trips, I tried local food and wine specialties - like the Piadina sandwich of Ravenna or wine from the Hills of Parma.

Foods & Wines Consumed

Balsamic Vinegar - Tour & Tasting at Villa San Donnino near Modena

- Tradizionale Extravecchio – aged 25 years

- Tradizionale Affinato – aged 12 years

- Nerone dressing – aged 6 years

- Bianco white dressing

- Jelly

Cheeses

- Grana Padana

- Parmiggiano Reggiano

- Pecorino

- Pecorino from Pienza

- Riviera

- Squacquerone

Prosciutto & Salumi (cured meats)

- Coppa di Parma IGP "Ferrari Cavalier Bruno"

- Culatello di Zibello DOP "Podere Cadassa" - Parma

- Leporati Parma prosciutto -  aged 28 months

- Mortadella

- Prosciutto

- Salame Felino IGP "Gran Riserva Cavalier Bruto Umberto Boschi" - Parma

- Salami

Breads

- Crescentina rolls

- Tigelle

- Torta fritta – Fried hollow bread – a Parma specialty

Appetizers

- Tortino di Parmigiana ai Porcini -  parmesan flan with porcini mushrooms

- Tortino di Verdure con Crema di Parmigiano Reggiano 24 mesi - vegetable flan in a fondue of 24-month-old parmesan cheese 

- Tortino di Zucchine au Fonduta di Parmigiano Reggiano 24 mesi e Glassa di Alceto Balsamico di Modena - mini zucchini flan with a fondue of 24-month aged Parmesan cheese

Pastas – Primi Piatti (There are primi piatti other than pastas, but I didn’t have any.)

- Anolini in brodo di manzo e cappone - Anolini pasta in beef & capon broth with parmesan cheese

- Balanzoni in crema di Parmigiano con Granella di Pistacchio - Balanzoni pasta in parmesan cream sauce with chopped pistacchios

- Cappellacci alla carbona  con guanciale croccante -  cheese & egg ravioli with crispy bacon

- Gramigna alla Salsiccia – Gramigna pasta with sausage

- Lasagna Sfoglia alla Bolognese

- Passatelli in Brodo - hand-made passatelli pasta in broth

- Passatelli with prosciutto

- Tagliatelle al Ragu

- Tagliatelle con salsiccia brasata al sangiovese e squacquerone -  tagliatelle with sausage braised in sangiovese & squacquerone

- Tortellini alla crema di Parmigiano -  meat-filled tortellini with parmesan cream sauce

- Tortellini alla moda di Bologna con burro e julienne di prosciutto di Parma - Bologna-style tortellini with butter and Parma ham julienne

- Tortellini in brodo di Capone - Home-made tortellini in capon broth with parmesan cheese to sprinkle

- Tortellini tradizionali, crema di zafferano e prosciutto di Parma croccante - tortellini with a saffron cream sauce and crispy Parma ham

-Tortelloni (not tortellini) ripieni di zucca alla Crema di Parmigiano - tortelloni filled with butternut squash in parmesan cream sauce

- Tortelloni di Zucca con funghi porcini e olio di tartufo  -  butternut squash-filled Tortelloni with porcini mushrooms and truffle oil

Main Dishes – Secondi Piatti

- Cotolette alla Bolognese – Bologna veal cutlet

Sandwiches

- Crescentina sandwich - fried bread with grilled porchetta ham and potato croquette, caramelized onions, & hand melted provolone cheese

- Piadina with Parma ham, squacquerone, and arugula – a Ravenna specialty made with Piadina bread

Side Dishes – Contorni

- Cicoria Saltata in Padella - Sauteed chicory

- Friggione - traditional bologna dish of stewed onions and tomatoes. Incredible!

Desserts

- Gelato con Amarena -  gelato with black cherries

- Semifreddo al Pistacchio con Caramello Salato - Pistacchio semifreddo

- Tenerina di Cioccolato -  a local type of chocolate cake with a sweet mascarpone cheese

- Torta di Riso - chocolate rice cake

- Tortino di Cioccolato fondente -  a dark chocolate flan

- Zabaglione & Sbrisolona 

- Zuppa Inglese

Wine

- Albana Secca Emilia-Romagna DOCG white

- Anino Pignoletto

- Ca' Grande Sangiovese Superiore

- Cavariol Colli Bolognesi Bologna Rosso

- Finitum Cantine Zuffa Colli d'Imola Sangiovese Superiore

- La Furha del Basino Sangiovese Superiore

- Passerino (dessert wine)

- Mastalsò Romagna DOC Sangiovese Superiore

- Monte dei Vigni (Mountain of Vines), a Colli di Parma (Parma Hills) red - 75% Sangiovese and 25% Bonarda grapes

- Rubicaia Romagna Sangiovese

- Santodeno Sangiovese Appassimento

- Tenuta la Viola, il Columbarone Sangiovese Superiore from Emilia-Romagna

- Tenuta Nasano Sancaberlot (Sangiovese, cabernet sauvignon, merlot)

- Torre Ca Bianca Colli Bolognesi Rosso

- Umberto Cesari Moma Sangiovese - Cabernet Sauvignon from nearby Castel San Pietro Terme

- Vittorio Romagna Sangiovese Superiore

After-Dinner Drinks

- Limoncello

- Nocino – a nut liqueur

 

Simply Delicious Cream of Celery Soup

This cream of celery soup is extremely easy and very tasty. It requires just a little chopping. I posted a similar recipe about seven years ago. This one is a bit better and makes fewer servings - three to four instead of six. I also added an ingredient that I thought made it even better - pancetta.

The catalyst for making this soup was to use up celery left over from making potato salad. It was so tasty, I pigged out and had two servings with the rest of my dinner.

Even the most inexperienced cook should be able to produce excellent results with this recipe. I found it at  https://www.daringgourmet.com/homemade-cream-celery-soup/. If you have time, I suggest reading the whole article at that site. As that article explains, you can also use this soup as a base for other soup recipes that call for cream of celery soup.

Here's my version of the recipe:

Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup yellow onion finely chopped (1 small onion)
- 2 cups finely chopped celery (5 large ribs)
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup all-purpose, unbleached flour
- 1 & 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 & 1/2 cups whole milk (or richer taste by using some combination of milk and cream or half & half. I used 3/4 cup light milk and 3/4 cup half & half because that's what was in the refrigerator.)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped panchetta (I used the Publix chopped.)

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or heavy stock pot over medium-high heat and cook the onions, celery, panchetta, and garlic until soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes. 

2. Add flour and cook for another minute.

3. Add chicken broth and milk/cream. Stir until the mixture is smooth.

4. Increase the heat and bring it to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining ingredients, and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Bleu Provence, Naples, FL - Great Food and an Amazing Wine List

A special friend and I recently had dinner at Bleu Provence (https://www.bleuprovencenaples.com/), a remarkable restaurant in Naples, FL. Not only are the food, atmosphere, and service terrific, but its wine selection and service are so good that, since 2015, it has been a winner of Wine Spectator's Grand Award, which is awarded to only 100 restaurants world wide.

We sat out on the back patio, with its very romantic atmosphere. It was partially bordered by trees and was covered.

We both had the three-course, $35 early dining menu, and a nice red wine.

The three-course meal consists of an appetizer, a main dish, and dessert. The dishes we had were all delicious.

When I started perusing the wine list to find a wine, I was very surprised at how lengthy it was. I had only seen wine lists so large at a few restaurants in my life. most notably at Antica Bottega del Vino in Verona, Italy, and at Bern's Steak House in Tampa.

Our superb waiter explained that Bleu Provence was a 2019 winner of Wine Spectator's Grand Award. When I checked the appropriate edition of Wine Spectator at home, I read that Bleu Provence, with nearly 4,000 wine selections, had received the Grand Award every year since 2015. There are only four Florida restaurants who received that award in 2019 - Bern's in Tampa, one in Palm Beach, and one in West Palm Beach.

The appetizer my friend chose was salmon marinated in citrus vinaigrette, and served with strawberries and vinaigrette. Not only was it tasty, but the serving size was generous.

My appetizer was Provençal Soup served with gruyère cheese, rouille sauce, and croutons.

We chose the same wonderful Duck Leg Confit as a main dish. It had an orange and Grand Marnier demi-glace, and was served with Mango Fries and Sweet Potatoes gratin.

For dessert, we both enjoyed the Lemon Tart Meringue.

The wine I chose was a 2015 Barruol Tiercerolles, Crozes-Hermitage Syrah from the northern Rhône. It was excellent.

The Early Dining Menu is only available from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday.

After our meal, Alex took us to visit the very impressive wine cellar.

The restaurant has been in the Crayton Cove area of Naples since 1999. The owners, Lysielle and Jacques Cariot, operate the restaurant with their three sons. They are from Provence.

During normal times, I highly recommend reservations.

Bha! Bha! Persian Bistro in Naples, FL - Wow!

I recently discovered a terrific Persian bistro in Naples, FL. In searching the Internet for a restaurant where I could treat a special friend (and myself), I ran across Bha! Bha! Persian Bistro (https://bhabhabistro.com/), which had over 4,000 mostly five-star reviews on OpenTable, TripAdvisor, Google, and Yelp. It had a great menu which was a mix of traditional Persian dishes and innovative Persian dishes. On that menu, I found four Persian dishes that protagonist Javad “Josh” Shirazi in my novel Team Triad; A Nuclear Spy Hunt – Iran had prepared as a special dinner for his wife and himself.

The experience at the Bistro exceeded all my expectations. Every bite was superb; the atmosphere was excellent; and our server Cayan provided impeccable service.

My friend and I shared an appetizer of Kashke Bademjun, an eggplant dip with lavash bread. There are two versions of this dish. The one on the menu had sliced eggplant. However, when I showed Cayan the Kindle page of my novel which described the dish I wanted, he realized I would not be getting the correct dish. He immediately went and fixed the problem. The dish was great.

My friend’s main course was an evening special - lamb shank, which was tender and delicious. It was so large that she had enough to take home for another meal. I think the sauce was a Mediterranean tomato sauce.

My main dish was Duck Fesenjune (Khoreshte Fesenjun) in a pomegranate-walnut sauce with a mango sauce accent and topped with caramelized dried fruit. In Iran, this traditional dish was originally made with duck. It is now often made with chicken. It was fantastic. I have made it with chicken several times, and was happy to learn that my preparation was in the ball park.

The duck dish came with a side of saffron-topped white rice. However, I also ordered a side of Polo ba Tahdig, which I think bistro calls Tahdik. It is a type of rice in which the bottom of the pot caramelized the rice to a crispy golden brown.

We also shared a side of Mast o Khiyar, a cucumber-yoghurt dip/salad it bears some similarities to Greek Tzatziki and Lebanese cucumber-yoghurt dip. It was flavored with dill. I loved it.

For dessert to celebrate my friend’s birthday, Cayan brought a dish of Persian rice pudding, which was part of the Team Triad dinner. We both enjoyed it.

The wine I chose to accompany our meal was a 2016 Zenato Alanera red Veronese. It is reliably good. I would like to have ordered one of the wines from the Persian Darioush Winery in the Napa Valley, but their wines are a bit expensive for my taste.

We sat outside at a table on one side of the restaurant. It was very private. It was a bit chilly outside, but the heaters next to our table eliminated the chill.

The bistro is located at 865 5^th Ave in South Naples. We found parking right behind the restaurant.

I can’t wait to return and savor other dishes on the menu. I will definitely request Cayan as our server.

Simple & Tasty Prosciutto, Avocado, Greens, & Feta Salad

I created this simple and tasty salad to accompany a flat bread pizza I made for a family dinner. I initially planned to make a terrific-sounding fresh fig and prosciutto salad I found on-line at https://www.purewow.com/recipes/prosciutto-fig-salad-board. However, when I couldn't get fresh figs, I ended up changing four of the major ingredients. This recipe serves four, but can easily be scaled up or down.

Ingredients
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
- 6 ounces mixed arugula, watercress, kale & spinach (Publix sells this mixture)
- 2 ripe avocados, sliced. (There are great on-line videos for avocado-slicing techniques.)
- 3-4 ounces of thinly slide prosciutto torn into pieces
- 2 tbsps chopped sweet peppers (Publix sells a chopped sweet pepper mixture.)
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preparation
1. Stir lemon juice, EVOO, mustard, salt, & pepper in a small bowl.

2. Place greens on a salad board.

3. Top greens with avocado, prosciutto, peppers, and feta

4. Set bowl of dressing next to salad for diners' use.

A Delicious Persian Meal

For a recent dinner with friends, I decided to serve a (mostly) Persian meal. I was delighted with the results. 

The three principal dishes were Persian:
- Cucumber salad (Salad-e Shirazi)
- Chicken Pomegranate Stew (Khoresh-e Fesenjan)
- Bottom-of-the-Pot Rice (Polo ba Tahdig)

Dessert was Baklava, which is served from the Balkans and Greece all the way to Central Asia.

(I refer to the main dishes in this posting as Persian rather than Iranian because there are a number of different ethnic groups and cuisines in Iran.)

I love the cucumber salad, which is very simple to make, and would go beautifully with a wide variety of dishes. It contains cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, and herbs. Its dressing is fresh lime juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. I used small, seedless cucumbers from a nearby Middle Eastern store. I followed the recipe I found at: 
https://www.goodfood.com.au/recipes/salade-shirazi-persian-cucumber-tomato-and-onion-salad-20190617-h1fg57. Of the herb possibilities suggested in the recipe, I chose fresh parsley and dried mint.

The Chicken Pomegranate stew contains chicken breast or thighs (I used thighs), pomegranate molasses, walnut paste, onions, sugar, chicken stock, and a variety of spices. The pomegranate molasses is available on Amazon. I purchased the Al Wadi brand from Lebanon. This syrup is widely used throughout the Middle East. The walnut paste is made by crushing toasted walnuts in a food processor. This dish is delicious the first day, BUT is much more flavorful the next day. I followed the recipe I found at: 
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/fesenjan_persian_chicken_stew_with_walnut_and_pomegranate_sauce/ It took me about four hours to make. 
(Not in the photo below are the pomegranate arils I added as garnish before serving.) It ain't purty, but it shore is yummy!

Khoresh-e Fesenjan

The Persians have several unique rice dishes. One is Polo ba Tahdig, which is extremely popular. A main feature is that it has caramelized rice or slices of potato or bread at the bottom and is topped with saffron rice when served. I tried one recipe a few months ago, and was not successful. However, this time I found a recipe with a very clear video explanation. It worked great. The recipe can be found at:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/240606/persian-rice/

Polo ba Tahdig

The pastries I served were pistachio baklava, walnut baklava, and "birds nest" from Beirut Bakery (http://beirutbakery.net/) in Livonia, Michigan. They were incredible. Beirut Bakery makes the best baklava I've had, and I've had lots. The bakery came close to shipping the delivery on the wrong day. Fortunately, I phoned them to make sure the order had been shipped.

The wines I served were 2018 Martin Ray Chardonnay from the Sonoma Coast, Poggio Antico's 2015 Madre Tuscan red from Montalcino, and 2016 Davey Family Shiraz from McLaren Vale,