Archive for December, 2009
Ciao Sicily! We will one day meet again…
Dec 9th
December 6.
We woke up to the sight of Mount Etna. Such a great view from our hotel room! After our quaint breakfast we headed back to Modica. Why? Because Sara’s mom invited us over for lunch and John COULD NOT pass up a chance to be in the same kitchen as an authentic Italian “nonna†(grandma). So, the ride there was much easier than the ride from Modica the night before. It took us a quick two hours (quick for me because I got a nap in on the way)
We pulled into her driveway and were so excited for this very unique experience. When we arrived at her house, she was in the process of making tagliatelle. While we spoke to her husband, Santo in their own kitchen, we brought them back to their days in Chicago. They had lived there for 25 years and really enjoyed the city. John was so excited to have this Sunday meal with them as a family and really looks forward to having Sunday lunch or dinner when we have our own family. I can’t express how intimate and special it was to spend this afternoon with such a generous, kind family. We met Francesca, Sara sister’s daughter and enjoyed an authentic Italian lunch of ravioli with ricotta cheese, tagliatelle, meatballs, pork belly, and her own chicken. Everything was perfect. After the enjoyable meal, we had desserts from her daughter’s pastry shop down the street. Before we left, I spent some time talking to Francesca who was too shy early in our visit to speak English. She has a passion for reading and showed us all the (very big) books she has read. She’s only 16 and has read bigger books than John and I have put together. I gave her an opportunity to practice her English since she doesn’t have a chance very often. I have a feeling that we will meet them all again in the future.
John and I were off just north of Modica- to Noto which is a baroque city. Very old and historic. We took great photos in the ancient streets and enjoyed gelato at what’s known as the “best ice cream shop in the world.†(says Lonely Planet) charming town. Quiet, and romantic. Oh yeah, and great gelato!
Next stop: Siracusa. Since our stop in Siracusa was just a few hours long, John decided we should go to the old town of Ortygia. It’s a really cute island that is way more posh than we expected. We felt totally underdressed walking around the cobblestone streets of Ortygia. Everyone was dressed in dresses, leather boots, and definitely had a different attitude than the other little towns we have visited in Sicily. We spent a lot of time walking down the very charming streets and checking out the expensive shops. I love getting lost with John. We didn’t know where we were walking but somehow it felt very safe. The crime level is so low in Sicily, you don’t really have to watch your back like you do in the US. We walked from one cobblestone road to the other and before we knew it, we had no idea where we were.
We did know one thing: dinner this night would be pizza since we hadn’t had pizza yet in the 10 days we have been in Sicily. Interestingly enough after walking around for a few hours, we stumbled upon our car. We decided to ask a local where we should find some pizza. We found two very nice older women who directed us to what would be the perfect pizzeria. I got a pizza with sausage, ricotta, and mozzerella, and John’s pizza had tuna, sweet onions, and a hard cooked egg.
Gas is expensive here!! It cost about 70 Euro to fill up a tank of Diesel fuel in our Mercedez. Right now, the dollar is equal to 1.60 Euro.
Very sad tomorrow will be our last day. Although very enjoyable, our vacation went too fast. Sicily will always hold a very special place in our hearts. John and I shared some incredible memories here, and I’m so fortunate to have the opportunity to travel with my favorite person in the whole world.
December 7.
John and I decided to watch the sunrise this morning. I took out my camera, with tripod and we set it up at approximately 6:55am. It wasn’t that difficult to wake up since it was our very last day here. After taking some cool shots of the sunrise with different exposures, it was, however, hard to stay awake. So, before we started our day for good, we took a quick nap.
Today was spent in the city of Taormina. Rumor has it, many celebrities spend time in this picturesque (I know, what city isn’t picturesque in Italy!?) I could see why celebrities would be drawn to this city up in the mountains. There were many expensive stores and everyone I saw was very put-together.
John and I spent our very last day (In a long time) in Sicily just walking in and out of the cute streets. I did some last minute Xmas shopping, and we had a nice lunch at Maffei’s. We didn’t want to hit a spot that was too touristy- as this town can be, so we walked down a few side streets before finding Maffei’s. Lunch was good. I had farfalle with parmesan cream sauce with pistachio. (Yum!) John started with marinated anchovies, then had spaghetti with botarga, and finished with Sicilian style tuna dish with vinegar onions.
After walking off our lunch we headed back to Tenuta San Michele to pack (ew) and relax. Our flight is at 6am so we have to leave around 3am. We will be pulling an all-nighter (that is, until we hit the plane) and will arrive in Chicago around 10:30am. We will be stopping in Rome, and Washington D.C. on our route home.
Although sad to end this very amazing trip, I am trying to focus on how lucky we are to even have this opportunity. John told me tonight he feels so lucky to be able to share these special moments in such amazing places, with just me. Whether it’s Sicily, Dyer, IN, or Chicago- I feel so lucky to create moments everywhere in the world with John.
Thanks for being a part of our experience to Sicily. Here’s to many more!
Life Changing Ricotta.
Dec 9th
December 5.
Our day started by meeting Sara, who works for Francesco at the olive mill, in the center of Modica. At the end of the day yesterday, she offered to take to her uncle’s house who makes his own ricotta cheese. We would soon find out that this would be one of the most meaningful days in John’s culinary career. One even I won’t forget!
The next morning we met Sara, and our first stop was to meet her sister at the coffee and pastry shop she owns in Modica. They both grew up in Chicago so it was fun to talk about where they came from and the places they would hang out as kids. We also met their mother, Carmela. They all grew up right around the bowling center that I bowl at, Diversey River Bowl in downtown Chicago. We had a few very good pastries, and as we were leaving Sara’s mom invited us over to her house for Sunday lunch the following day. We had only talked to her for about ten minutes and were already invited into to her home to eat with her family….that’s how they roll down here in Modica. Obviously, we gladly accepted her offer (more on that later).
Then we were off to meet her Uncle, Salvatore (a common name here in Sicily). He lives in a farmhouse in the Modica countryside.  He starts the ricotta process very early in the morning so when we arrived in their home kitchen, he was in the process of ladeling the ricotta out of the big huge pot and into the little cups he would sell the cheese in.  While he was carefully ladeling the cheese so as not to break up the curds too much, they allowed us to try the still hot cheese with the homemade bread that Sara’s cousin made. I am not a cheese lover so I wasn’t sure how I would like it. It had a sweetness to it and it melted in your mouth. John couldn’t put into words how great it tasted and how he had never had anything like it.
He still makes it the really old fashioned way with a wood burning fire in a big pot and stirs it for hours. (not kidding). They allowed us to take photos and I urge all who are reading to check them out in the photoworks library when they are all uploaded.
The cheese comes from the cows on his land. He milks them EVERY morning at 5am. He makes the cheese every day and sells it in town. I asked how long had he made ricotta cheese and he said he had been making it since he was 9. He’s now 71. He has never had a vacation or had a day off, and this is the only job he has ever had. As it was described to me, the cows don’t understand the idea of a “vacation.† Someone has to milk them every single day.
Her uncle seemed very happy with his life. It was a very humbling (and even a little emotional) experience for both John and I. All he knows is making ricotta cheese… and it’s good enough for him.
Before leaving, we stopped to say hi to his cows, chickens, and a sheep with its baby. Â It was the coolest, most authentic family farm we have ever seen and are both so grateful for the experience.
Next stop was to Sara’s cousin’s farm. Her cousin has a more modern farm specializing in the production of Cacciocavallo Ragusano D.O.P. The first place we went on her farm was to the barn with her cows. She had the cutest baby cow, born just the night earlier. I have never seen a cow that young, and was really surprised at how big it actually was. It had hair, and could actually stand and wobble to walk. After tasting their specialty cheeses, we headed off to have lunch with Alessandro and Pierpaolo (from the Bonajuto chocolate shop we mentioned earlier).
They took us to a really great local restaurant with a young chef who is the friend of both Alessandro and Pierpaolo. Once again, we didn’t see a menu. He cooked 5 courses for us and each were spot on. It was a very impressive meal with great conversation and company. Although Alessandro doesn’t speak English, we were able to communicate well with him- even if it was through Pierpaolo. Really fun time!
It was about 5pm, and we were off to Santa Venerina. We didn’t know how long it would take, but knew it would be at least 2 hours. Turned out to be 3 because a highway we needed to take was closed, and Mariella (aka Garmin) decided to take us the long way through the winding mountains instead of along the coast. It was actually a pretty scary ride and one that was better at night, so we couldn’t see how far up we were on the mountains. Although there are no street lights, the reflectors on the side of the road were very helpful. (let me just say thank you for high beams!!).
It took us 3 hours to get to our hotel: Tenuta San Michele in Santa Venerina, which is RIGHT beside Mount Etna and just south of Taormina. We couldn’t see the active volcano but were excited to see it the next morning. We had a great dinner at the hotel and met all the nice employees. Our room was really great..very high wood log ceilings, a spacious bathroom and very comfy bed. It’s been an adventure travelling from hotel to hotel not exactly knowing what to expect. Some hotel rooms have been better than others. Just a quick thanks to Mariella (not the GPS but the inspiration for us naming our GPS Mariella) from Hidden Treasures of Italy. I highly suggest that if anyone is planning any trip in any part of Italy, that they go through this agency. She set up an incredible itinerary and made sure we had everything we needed. (www.hiddentreasuresofitaly.com)
So this is where almonds come from!
Dec 8th
Dec 4
Hey everyone, it’s John, and it’s my turn again. Today started off looking a little gloomy and rainy outside. We decided to check out of our agriturismo in Piazza Armerina this morning (one day early) since we would be spending the entire day and most of the evening about 2.5 hours away in the southeastern part of Sicily.
We started off the day by driving to Pozzallo, a small resort town on the southeast coast. Here, we were meeting Francesco’s brother, Salvatore. We arrived a little earlier than expected, so I wandered into a very small Pescheria (fish shop), to take a few pictures of that morning’s catch. They had a very small amount of beautiful fresh anchovies, sardines and sea bass, and very politely made conversation with me…in Italian of course. It was good practice and they were very friendly…as everyone is here apparently.
When Salvatore arrived, we followed him to his family’s olive mill just outside of town. This is where they bring the olives after harvest to press them and make the oil, blend the different oils, and bottle them. They also make oil for local residents who bring in their own olives for pressing (did we mention that there are olive trees everywhere??!!).   Neither of us had ever been to a mill before so it was very interesting to see the process involved in the production of olive oil. It is an ingredient that I use so regularly in my kitchen, so I was inspired to really understand how it is made, especially from someone as passionate as Salvatore. Sara, who works at the mill, also accompanied us on our tour and acted as our translator. They both explained each step of the olive oil production process while showing us the machinery involved and exactly how it works. Everything is so clean and the monitoring of each step is so precise.
They harvested all of their olives just a few weeks ago and pressed them all into oil already, but the smell of fresh olives was still very prevalent in the mill. They took us into a room containing five enormous stainless steel vats with all of the new oil that was just pressed. Each vat contained the oil of a single variety of olive (FYI, there are around 300 olive varieties that grow in Sicily). They grow and press three types of olives (Nocellara de Belice, Moresca and Verdese), and make two different oil blends…the Due Sicilie and Riserva, both of which we sell at Panozzo’s.
During our tour of the mill, we also noticed a few workers packaging almond flour from the almonds that also grow on the Padova family farm. Salvatore was kind enough to give us a taste of their almond flour (it’s just pure, finely ground almonds), and actually gave us a bag to take home with us…come over for cookies when we get back!
We then took a drive to the farm where they grow the olives for their oils. It’s just outside a small town a little north of Pozzallo called Ispica, where Salvatore and Francesco were born. They are in the process of restoring the original San Basilio farmhouse that has been standing on this property since their family started the farm back in 1888…it’s going to look amazing. We saw the olive trees that grow the Moresca and Verdese varieties, which are indigenous to the Ispica area (Nocellara de Belice come from a different region of Sicily called Castelvetrano (southwest)…in case you were wondering.
We then followed Salvatore and Sara through more of the beautiful countryside to an area about five minutes away where they have their almond trees. Their almonds are very famous, unique, and very expensive. The almonds had already been harvested during the summer, but there were still a few remaining on the trees. Salvatore cracked a couple open (yes, almonds actually have shells and don’t grow inside the plastic bags in which we usually find them in grocery stores). I’ve never tasted an almond directly off the tree before (I don’t think Dee has either), so this was pretty special. It’s really inspiring to see the passion and pride that Salvatore has for his products…it’s a large reason why the quality is so high and the products are so well respected.
At this point we were pretty hungry (or at least I was), so our tour guides led us to a small restaurant that they recommended for lunch in a small town called Rosolini. They had to return to work so they couldn’t join us, but Dee and I enjoyed a nice lunch (just the two of us again) of local cured meats, octopus salad, and spaghetti with clams.
(continued by Diandra…)
After lunch, John and I went to pick up our special glass art from our new friend and glass artist, Alessandro Di Rosa. John and I always like to pick up a piece of art from every country we experience together. This trip we got a very cool glass art piece that I can’t wait to put in our house! We also picked up some great Christmas gifts for our friends. His gallery is so great and to meet and talk to the person who created such great art was a very cool experience.  I know we will know Alessandro for a long time to come. Maybe I’ll even collaborate in the future to create some glass art of my own!  We weren’t sure which hotel we would stay at tonight so we asked Alessandro for ideas. Of course he knew someone connected to a hotel in Modica. (everyone knows everyone here in this town of 45,000) He didn’t just suggest a hotel for us to stay at, he literally drove us there. This is something we have seen throughout our trip in Sicily. The people here are not only friendly- they go out of their way to show you the way.
We checked into Hotel Isula Relax which was very close to his studio. We were able to relax for a few hours in our very nice room before heading to our biggest dinner of our vacation. Dinner would be at Duomo, Sicily’s only two star Michelin restaurant. The chef, Ciccio Sultano, is a friend of Alessandro and in fact, uses his glass plates for some of his dishes. Ciccio is also a good friend of Francesco’s (Francesco was kind enough to call him and make the reservation for us). I’m telling you- everyone knows everyone!
John was so excited to experience the fine dining of Duomo. Located in Ragusa Ibla (lower Ragusa) the drive there was not an easy one. Winding roads in the mountains is a theme we have seen throughout the trip. When Mariella (we named our GPS) finally got us to Duomo, we realized why it was called Duomo. Duomo is Italian word for church and the church that the restaurant was next to was magnificent. After walking down 43 steps to get to Duomo restaurant- we were ready to eat!
And, eat we did. Much like La Madia, the meal was very intense. We had about 10 courses- all which were equally impressive. Most Sicilian cooking is rustic- so it was interesting to see how the chef stayed true to Sicilian flavors and ingredients, but reinterpreted them in modern and creative ways. John was VERY impressed with the wine pairings for each dish. He felt that they couldn’t compliment each dish better. A lot of small regionally specific grapes varieties that John had never heard of. The staff at Duomo was nice enough to give John a DVD on the way out highlighting the chef and his works.
After dinner we decided to meet Alessandro at the bar that he owns, Hemingway, in Modica. This is a very well known bar and we even discovered it in our Sicily guide book! He has owned this bar for about 6 years and it is a hotspot in Modica. We met some of his friends there and enjoyed a couple after dinner drinks.
A very full day in Sicily! I feel like I’m really learning a lot about this culture- and loving every second of it.
