For a taste of these videos, take a look at How to Trim an Artichoke by Chef David Bull.  Chef Bull told the Keeper Team, “If you’re anything like me, the task of trimming artichokes is daunting and tedious.  From my experience in restaurants when I’ve had to trim cases of artichokes at once, here is a quick and simple technique to help you out.” This video, among others, can be found in Chef Bull’s Crisp Sea Scallop with Artichoke Ragout recipe. 

For other similar “how-to” videos and general recipe demo videos, check out recipes like Pan Seared Lobster with Citrus-Onion Confit, Beef Tartare with Fried Oysters, and Chocolate Almond Silk Tart.

Also, Bull’s Eye on Food is announcing the release of Chef Bull’s famous Pepperoni Soup (or as many people call it, “Pizza Soup”) recipe! The Empty Bowls event in Dallas benefiting the North Texas Food Bank was a huge success, raising a total of $164,102 in just two hours!  He prepared this soup for event attendees and was blown away by the response – so naturally, he wanted to share this Bull family recipe with his cookbook subscribers. Enjoy!

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Sunrise in Piedmont

Sunrise in Piedmont

We decided to take advantage of the entire time left, starting with a jaunt to Monforte for breakfast.  After breakfast we shopped and bought pasta, vinegar, wine, and confections. We had enough time to go to Barolo to find a shipping box for the lovely Barolo wines that we had selected to take home.  As we finished our shopping, we imagined our upcoming visit with Roberto Conterno, the winemaker and owner of Giacomo Conterno.  We were greeted by Roberto and his assistant, Erica, who would provide any needed translation.

View from Conterno

Our group of 5, including Russell Hone, Rusty Staub (of The Rusty Staub Foundation), and Peter Wasserman, were seated in the wine tasting library, where Roberto shared some magnificent wines, 2007 Barbera and 2005 Barolo from the bottle.    

Russell Hone and Rusty Staub get ready to enjoy the Conterno Tasting!

Rusty Staub and Roberto Conterno

Then we took a tour of the pristine wine cellar and had a cask tasting which included a 2002 Barolo that Roberto felt was one of the best ever for Conterno, despite the poor reputation of the vintage. 

Wine Cellar Tour and Tasting

For lunch we traveled to Serralunga where we had a simple and pleasing meal from the varied menu. We were impressed with the knowledgeable owner and good wines. 

Charcuterie Plate

Steak and Potatoes

Vitello Tonnato

Pasta with Broccoli

Sausage and Potatoes

Atichokes and Potatoes

After a tasty lunch Russell and Rusty went back to Villa Carita. The rest of the group , lead by Peter Wasserman, went to Alba to continue shopping.  We had a full car of lovey Italian products! After a long day we ended it by going to La Morra for our farewell dinner at the bistro. We had lots of laughs, great food, and good wines, holding on to great times in Piedmont.

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If you’ve been even slightly following the Austin foodie scene lately, you’ve surely noticed the trend in food trailers popping up all over the city, but lately, one trailer in particular has been getting quite a bit of attention – Odd Duck Farm to Trailer.  My little sister offered to treat me to a belated birthday dinner last night, and with my growing curiosity and endless strive to be an “in-the-know Austinite” (in addition to her college student lack of cash flow), Odd Duck seemed like an obvious choice for something new.  It soon proved to also be a fantastic choice! If you too are a self-proclaimed “in-the-know Austinites”, swing by Odd Duck soon – and for you out-of-towners, add it to your list of “Reasons to Visit Austin” (you know you have one!).

Odd Duck’s owner, Chef Bryce Gilmore, although experienced across the nation, is no stranger to Austin. His experience at restaurants like Z Tejas, Moonshine, and Wink (a personal Keeper Collection favorite!), Chef Gilmore seems to have honed his skills for knowing what Austinites want.  Using a wood burning grill and sous vide techniques, Chef Gilmore finds local sustainable ingredients to create a daily changing menu.  Yesterday’s menu consisted of a Grilled Romaine and Goat Cheese Ricotta Salad, Feta Creamed Brocolli, Creamy Cauliflower Soup, Coffee Porter Braised Pork, Duck Quesadilla, and a Pork Sandwich….well at least it did earlier in the day.  A word to the wise – don’t wait until an hour before closing to visit Odd Duck.  By the time we ordered, there were only 2 items left on the menu! I guess it’s a small price to pay for the freshness of these ingredients.

Dwindling Menu

So Pork Sandwich and Grilled Romaine and Goat Ricotta Salad it was.  We shared them both (keep reading and you’ll understand why such a light dinner) and they were both fantastic – a little slippery and messy to eat, but delicious if you don’t mind licking your fingers.  I believe the direct quote from my sister was “this is some good meat!” (with a pork-filled mouth of course – Mom would be proud).

Grilled Romaine with Goat Cheese Ricotta Salad and Poached Farm Egg

Pork Loin Sandwich on Ciabatta Bread

After we kindly negotiated who got which remaining scraps on our plates and washed them down (oh yeah, don’t forget to BYOB), my sister managed to surprise me with a birthday donut from the Gordoughs trailer right next door – candle and all!  Her selection was the Funky Monkey – one of their “Big. Fat. Donuts.” topped with grilled bananas (yum), cream cheese icing (yum), and brown sugar (double yum).

Birthday Funky Monkey

With a menu this long and with not a single item qualifying as “not really my style”, it’s gonna take a lot of hard work to make my way through the menu, but I think I’ll manage! I also hear TLC is making a visit to Gordough’s next Thursday (1/28) for a filming of American Eats.

All in all, for a casual birthday dinner on a budget (I think for the two of us, we walked away under $20), this little trailer stop proved to be a winner and will surely be revisited…Hopefully for lunch next time though with a full menu!

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Mauro Mascarello follows a long line of Mascarello winemakers.  He took the helm of this estate in 1967, both running the cellar and making his first vintage.

Mauro gave us a tour of his winery, noting that the building was formerly an icehouse before being converted to the Mascarello winery.  The icehouse construction provided the perfect conditions with great insulation for the wine cellars.  This was one of many unique items we saw at the winery.  There were old large bottles,

Large Bottles at Mascarello Winery

and a cask that his grandfather had commissioned specifically for the winery.

Old Unused Cask at Mascarello Winery

This cask was constructed in Slovenia, shipped in pieces to the winery and assembled onsite, as it would have been too big to get through the doors of the winery already assembled.  Some say this may be the largest cask in Italy, although it is currently not used for aging.

During the wine tasting, we noticed that Mauro, like most of the winemakers in the Piedmont area we visited, spoke very good French.  He treated us to a wonderful tasting of his various wines, including two different offerings of Dolcetto d’Alba, three different offerings of  Barbera d’Alba, a Langhe Nebiollo, and his unique 2001 Monprivato and 2001 Monprivato Ca d’Morissio Riserva.  One thing that Mauro did differently in his tasting than the other winemakers we had visited so far was to show us how beautifully his Dolcettos and Barberas evolve for two or three days after being opened.  He opened a Dolcetto and Barbera and served them alongside bottles of the same wines that had been opened a few days before.  This is an important exercise that he repeats with every vintage so he can see how these wines are evolving.  It became evident through this exercise that his pure winemaking style, combined with the location of his vineyards, makes his Dolcettos and Barberas beautiful wines to drink directly from the bottle in one evening or a glass at a time over several days.  In this tasting, Mauro shared several single-vineyard Dolcettos which were all lovely in their own unique way.

Wine Tasting at Mascarello with Mauro

After the tour and tasting, Mauro took us to lunch in a local restaurant.  After we all were seated, Mauro, the ever perfectionist, decided to go back to his winery as the restaurant didn’t have the particular wines  he wanted to serve us.  All made sure that he was left a taste of the beginning charcouterie. Upon his return, Russell Hone  told Mauro to started with lardo and salumi.  (In case you think that we are simply mispelling salami, what you may not know is that, in Italy, salumi is a general term for many different types of pork sausage.  Salami is a specific type which is encased before aging.)  Now, back to our lunch.  The lardo spread onto the bread almost like butter.

Lardo and Salumi Plate

This local restaurant is run by a husband and wife team and offers unique daily dishes.  The salad served for lunch had a fresh and distinctive flavor combination using local celery, pears, and cheese.

Celery, Pear, & Cheese Salad

Fresh tastes continued in the Risotto with Leeks, a dish of simple and clean flavors.  

Leek Risotto

As mentioned in previous Keeper Piedmont blogs, Vitello Tonato is a Piemontese classic dish.  At this quaint, local restaurant, they also had Vitello Tonato, but it was prepared very differently than any other version that The Keeper Team has tasted.  The chef prepared this classic dish with a lemon infused sauce, omitting the use of the traditional Tuna/Mayo base.  Everyone agreed that this clean, citrus version was a winner!

Lemon Infused Vitello Tonnato

While some in the group had Pasta with Meat Sauce next, others savored the Roasted Lamb Ribs with Winter Greens.

Lamb Ribs with Winter Greens

Mauro paired a Dolcetto,  Barbera, and  Barolo from his cellar for our lunch, with the wines pairing beautifully with the dishes.  The wines from Giuseppe Mascarello were clean and fresh just like the chef’s dishes and were loved by the group.

Mauro was a gracious host and apologized for having to leave before dessert for a previous commitment, but then surprised us by sending his wife back to the restaurant bearing gifts of wine.

The desserts were interesting, with the first unlike any we had eaten in the area.  It was a lightly Whipped Cream with Chocolate Sauce and Powdered Sugar.

Whipped Cream with Chocolate Sauce & Powdered Sugar

The second dessert was Poached Pears with a Light Caramel Sauce and Raisins.

Poached Pears with Caramel Sauce & Raisins

The Keeper Team looks forward to returning to our kitchen to pair Mascarello wines with some of our favorite dishes.  It was yet another wonderful day of food and wine in Piedmont.

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Chef David Bull Manicuring Shallots

Already a feature added to many recipes in their Interactive cookbooks, Chef David Bull; Chef Monica Pope; and Chef Paul Petersen (and many more!) will continue to add recipe videos to make your home cooking experience an even easier and more enjoyable experience.

If you are already a Keeper Cookbook user, check out the videos and come back here to let us know what you think! We love feedback!

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We found him to be extremely friendly and giving,  just like all of the winemakers we had met on this trip. We quickly realized this was a beautiful part of the Piedmont culture.

Today, we were told that our group would be having lunch at the home of Elio and Lucia Altare (for more about Elio Altare, see Piedmont Blog 2). Despite the fact that the nebbia had mostly cleared, we got a little lost finding their home on our first try. When we did find it, we were welcomed with open arms.

Elio and Lucia had planned and begun preparing a lunch for the entire group. We were pleased to learn that we could assist in some of the preparation so that we could learn some new local Piedmont dishes.  Before further lunch preparations would begin, we were offered and accepted to a tasting in the Altare tasting room.  This included wine and small food snacks of fresh hazelnuts from their favorite producer as well Elio’s favorite aged salumi.  Everyone in the group agreed they thought the hazelnuts were the best they had ever had, and all bought some to take home!

Piedmont Hazelnuts

After a lovely tasting of wines, it was time to get back into the kitchen for final food prep for lunch.  The food was exceptional. We started with raw vegetables in Bagna Cauda (hot bath) of oil, anchovies, and garlic. All the veggies were harvested that day from Elio’s garden: Jerusalem artichoke, cabbage, cauliflower (in the shape of broccoli), turnips, beets, fennel, and what we were told were called “cardemonts”, or stalky white spears, like celery. We also had red and yellow bell peppers from market.

Freshly Harvested Vegetables from Elio Altare's Garden

The Bagna Cauda sauce was served in individual containers with candles that kept the sauce “hot” for dipping.

Bagna Cauda

What a lovely assortment of fresh garden vegetables – we couldn’t wait to dip them in the sauce!

Bagna Cauda Assortment of Vegetbles

Next came Vitello Tonnato, which of course, had a homemade family recipe for the sauce.

Vitello Tonnato at Altare's

For most, this alone would be a big meal, but we still had more to come. Elio had allowed Russell to help get the Venison off the bone for serving.

Russel Prepping the Venison

Great prepping Russell!

Not just one protein , but two – we had Bollito, or “boiled meat” (beef cheeks first, then shoulder meat), served with sauces of tomato/pepper/anchovy/herbs/oil.

Elio (with the Keeper Team assistance) roasted potatoes and onions wrapped in foil over coals in the kitchen fireplace.

Cooking Potatoes & Leeks Over the Altare Fire

He also roasted Porri (Leeks) the same way in the fireplace. The result was “perfecto” – crisp and char on the outside, yet that great “melt in your mouth” soft on the inside.

Potatoes & Leeks from the Fireplace

We enjoyed Altare wines from the cellar that paired beautifully with this family meal.

We finished with Pannatone (a traditional Italian Christmas Bread) and ’63 Porto, a great combination.

Panetone

Elio was kind to take us on a tour after lunch, starting with his garden, then his vineyards, his museum of antique farm tools, and finishing with the Altare cellar.   The cellar was beautiful, yet meticulous, as we would have imagined.  Along the way, he shared, with surprising and endearing candor, stories of his life and his philosophy.

What a lovely day we spent.  The Altares made us feel as if we were truly part of their family, and we will hold onto these special memories forever.

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After espresso in the village of Barolo, we went to visit Giuseppe Rinaldi  (known to his friends as “Beppe”).  Our friend Russell Hone of Le Serbet has known Beppe for years, and we were treated to a personal tour of the winery and a special tasting.  Beppe was quite entertaining, and his wines were lovely.  We tasted his 2006 Barolos out of cask,

Cask Tasting with Beppe Rinaldi

Rinaldi Tasting Room

Beppe was a rather colorful man, which made our tasting even more interesting.  He considers the telephone to be “like a terrorist”, and he rants about unwelcome intrusions whenever the phone rings.  We could relate as we did not want modern inventions  to intrude  on the time with Beppe.  As we were tasting, we nibbled on a 48 month cheese made by a friend of Beppe’s that owns every version of Masserati , including the Formula One model!  Two rather unique hobbies – aged Italian cheese and Masseratis!

Peter Wasserman Tasting with Rinaldi

After our morning tasting, we were told that we would be going to Enrico Scavino’s house for Sunday Family Lunch.  Upon arrival, we learned that the plans had changed, and we would be going to Ristorante Le Torri.

Ristorante Le Torri

Apparently, the large number of invitees (11) made a restaurant more practical.  Enrico (Paolo’s son) has solely headed up the domain until recently, but he has his daughter Elisa working front and center with him now.  Their sales manager is named Weston, and his family was also visiting from America.  We were excited to have the opportunity to learn from all of them about the wines of Scavino during this lunch.

We had a large table in our own private room at Ristorante Le Torri, and the Scavinos brought wines from their cellar.   We started with a Scavino white wine called Sorriso, which was a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Viognier – 60% Chardonnay and 20% each of the other two grapes.  Then we had a 1989 Bric del Fiasc from a 3 Liter bottle;  a 1.5 Liter of 1999 Carobric, which is a blend of Cannubi,  Rocche, and Bric del Fiasc;  a 2002 Barolo Bricco Ambrogio  (1.5 L);  and a 1999 Rocche dell’Annuziata (1.5 L) with dessert!

Paolo Scavino Wines

The Scavino team had selected the wines perfectly for the meal that was ahead for us to enjoy.

In addition to beautiful Scavino wines, Elisa Scavino guarded a Tupperware dish that contained 11 fresh white alba truffles – one for each of us to be shaved on our own individual egg dish.  Most of us thought they meant scrambled eggs, because we had not had the Piemontese version of eggs with truffles.  This was done by cracking an egg in a ceramic baking dish that had been coated with butter.  They baked the dish in the oven so that the white was cooked but the yolk was not.  The yolk was the brightest orange/red we had ever seen!  Each dish received a personal truffle, shaved professionally in front of each guest. 

Shaving Truffles on Eggs

Eggs with White Truffles

During our meal, Weston translated for Enrico, as his English is limited.  Elisa, Weston, and Enrico were such generous and gracious hosts.  We thought we were going to have the eggs first and then have 2 family style antipasti, which were to be Carne Crudo (beef tartare with 2 pieces of raw veal sausage) and Vitello Tonnato  (the traditional Piemontese thinly sliced veal with Tuna sauce).  But instead of serving these dishes family style, they brought a whole serving of each dish to each guest!  We had already ordered our Primi and Secundi, and we soon realized the large amount of food that was still to come!  The Primi dishes included Porcini Lasagna, Plin (which is pasta “packages” stuffed with meat and sage, cooked in butter), and Tajarine (the local area pasta cut into thin strips) with Porcini Sauce.  One of the Secundi dishes was Roasted Rabbit.

Roasted Rabbit

Dessert was Chocolate Ice Cream with Almond Biscuit and Poached Peach –

Chocolate Ice Cream with Almond Biscuit and Poached Peach

followed by a tray of 4 different finger desserts!

Finger Desserts

Thanks to the Scavinos for a lovely 3 hour lunch with beautifully crafted wines, delicious food, and new friends.   Thanks also to the talented Chef Maria Christina and her staff at Le Torri – we look forward to a future trip to the area when we can eat there again.

Ristorante Le Torri
Via Roma 10 | Castiglione Falletto, Savigliano, Italy
(+39) 0173 62849

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We met up with the rest of our group as it was time for our first dinner in La Morra.  Russell selected a locally, well-regarded restaurant, Osteria Veglio.  We were pleased and surprised to learn that one of Russell’s long-time close friends, Elio Altare, would be joining us for dinner.

Russell Hone and Elio Altare

The first white wine was a local Arneis wine and then 2008 Elio Altare Cinqueterre, a new white wine project for Altare.

The amuse came out and was a local speciality similar to a variation of American potato salad on a spoon!

Amuse Bouche - Potato Salad

We tried another local specialty as our Primi (appetizer), vegetables dipped in a hot anchovy sauce, called  “Bagna Cauda”.  This dish was so unique and tasty that the Keeper Team will try to recreate it!

Bagna Cauda

Another Primi was a form of Minestrone Soup, made with Barley.  It was a very soothing and comforting dish with layers of flavors.

Minestrone Soup

Secundi (Main dish/Entrée) was next for the team.  It all looked so good that we took small bites of each to savor the new tastes and flavors of the area. 

One dish was Braised Oxtail with Whipped Potatoes, which seemed similar in taste and texture to Osso Buco.

Braised Oxtail with Whipped Potatoes

Freshly shaved white truffles over homemade pasta is a must and was delicious with its purity and simplicity.

Pasta with Alba White Truffles

Another selection was lamb rack, which the Osteria said was from a whole, local lamb that had been delivered that day!  The restaurant  prepared individual dishes from all parts of the lamb.  It was different from New Zealand, Colorado, or Australian lamb.  It was less gamey and more tender.  This was served over white beans.

Lamb Rack

When in Italy, one pasta is not enough, so the Team could not resist the Agnolotti as an option – it was divine and a great choice.  The Keeper Team has tested a Chef Version of this for one of the Interactive Cookbooks, and we can tell you that this is a labor-intensive, time-consuming dish to prepare.  It is also well worth the effort.  These fresh pasta pockets, stuffed with spinach, were incredible – we had definitely arrived in the land of fresh pasta dishes.

Agnolotti

Of course, we wanted to pair our food with some beautiful Altare wine and the 2008 Elio Altare Dolcetto D’Alba was a perfect selection – thanks Elio!

Elio Altare

Elio also suggested that we try a 2004 Ravelli Barolo, Vielles Vignes.  Ravelli is a winemaker that we learned Elio had mentored.  The wine was lovely.

As if this wasn’t enough, Elio insisted that we try some desserts, and two were selected.  The first was a Barolo Poached Pear with Homemade Fresh Sweet Cream Ice Cream.

Barolo Poached Pears with Homemade Sweet Cream Ice Cream

 The second dessert was a Classic Panna Cotta- simple, light and perfect texture.

Panna Cotta

 The entire night, food and company, was pretty amazing as we knew that we had made new life-long friends.  How could this trip get any better?  We had a feeling that the magic had only just begun!

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Was this Osteria the real thing?  Oh yes, the menu was announced in Italian by our server – no written menus in this local gem!  Peter was excited to hear that they had the Piemontese staple Vitello Tonnato (thinly sliced cooked veal with a tuna/mayo sauce), as his goal was to find the best in the area.  No better time to start us on tasting this dish than at our first dining adventure.  We chose two other starters to share, Carne Crudo, which in this case was finely chopped (by hand) raw beef patty with Parmesan shavings,  and another dish of sausage with dark sauce on fried polenta cake.  The Keeper Team was off to a great start, as all three were very tasty.  Of course, we had to select a local Piemontese wine to pair with the food.  We started with a great producer in the area, Elio Altare.  Caffe’ Osteria Umberto  had the 2008 Elio Altare Langhe Nebbiolo, a very nice wine for under $25 US dollars!  Suddenly, we realized that, in the excitement of seeing the amazing architecture, the welcome by the servers at the Osteria Umberto, and the initial food presentation, the Keeper Camera Crew had fallen down on the job and missed the pictures to share.  You will have to trust us that the food both looked and tasted good.  The “clean plate club” showed up again.

As the portions were large, we decided to order smaller portions and eat family style.  The next dish was  Fresh Tagliatelle with Ragu.  Notice the very light, almost scant amount of sauce – this was perfect, as it did not overpower  the fresh, very thin homemade pasta.

Tagliatelle with Ragu

The second dish was a fresh risotto with pomegranate.  This was very unique, with a clean and fresh taste and pink color.  The rice almost had its own citrus flavor.

Risotto with Pomegranite

 Our main dishes included a pork shank, braised in a mixture of finely chopped vegetables (carrots and onions mostly).  The bone had been sawed lengthwise, and we each got a small spoonful of bone marrow to taste.

Pork Shank

Another main dish was Roasted Whole Quail in a Marsala wine sauce – very simple, with no stuffing or accompaniments, but moist and flavorful.

Roasted Quail

We had no room for dessert, but the team got the first of many espressi, which proved to be a delicious conclusion.  There is really nothing like coffee/espresso/cappuccino in Italy! Our adventure into Piemontese food and wine had just begun and we were off to a super start!

Caffe’ Osteria Umberto Ferrero Teresio Bar

Via Vittorio Emanuel 82

12062

Cherasco

Ph. 0172489065

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Keith Hildebrandt's Deconstructed Chicken Cacciatore

As all three of the judges noted, each contestant created drastically different versions of each recipe, which made the judging exceptionally challenging. Despite the stiff competition between the contestants, the three best dishes certainly stood out, and both Keeper Collection and The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas are very proud of 3 the acclaimed winners! We also want to give a special thank you for the commitment, cooperation, creativity, and above all, the magnificent attitudes of all nine finalists. In addition to the three winners, Alysha Cable (of World Beat Cuisine), Trysh Gonzales and Eli Ollinger (of The Art Institute of Austin) Steve Crisler (of Chefs Creative), Tonni Hinojosa (of HinoSpices™ Rio Grande Catering), and Maite Palma (a graduate of the Hospitality & Culinary Education program at Collin College) were carefully selected as finalists among numerous applicants.  Their dishes—and dedication—deserve high praise. Everyone who attended the event would agree that each contestant brought his or her own unique spice to the night!

Keeper Collection, LLC and The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas would also like to recognize Jon Pluskota and his Audio-Visual Team from the Art Institute of Austin for their hard work and organization that was vital in capturing the entire event on film. We can’t wait to release the footage! In addition, we want to thank the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center for providing such a state-of-the-art setting for Chefs Under Fire.

Thank you to everyone who contributed in making Chefs Under Fire a flaming success! After all, the dedication, support, and enthusiasm of everyone involved is what truly fueled the night’s flame.

Did you attend Chefs Under Fire?  Comment here to let us know what you thought!

For those of you who didn’t get to attend Chefs Under Fire, check out these great photos from John of Austin and Austin Food Journal’s recap of the event!

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