The Finest Blend of Taste & Technology

Sinking Our Teeth into the Big Apple

KeeperTeam — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:03:15 +0000

posted by AnnieP – Keeper Collection Team

Beginning Sunday March 21, 3 Keeper Collection Couples are taking a Spring Break together…but separate. For one week, we’ll be splitting up to take the New York restaurant scene by storm. Seven days + 6 people + 3 meals a day (at least!). While some may think it’s crazy to leave Austin during SxSW, we feel confident that we can make it worth-while. You may call it a “Restaurant Crawl” (with certainly a few Pubs in the mix), an Austinite’s NxNE Food Fest, or even the foodie version of the Amazing Race, but whatever you call it, it simply boils down to a lot of good food!

Since our tight knit group tends to live vicariously through each other anyways, we’ve done our best to ration the restaurants to attempt the seemingly impossible task of conquering the epicurean wonders of New York. Kinda like “I’ll give you Tuesday lunch at Babbo if you let me have Monday dinner at Sushi Yasuda”…“Deal!”

We’ll be hitting well known favorites like Le Bernadin and Momofuku, new hot spots in town like Nate Appleman’s Pulino’s Bar & Pizzeria, and some highly recommended new experiences for us like Marea and Locanda Verde. Please don’t be offended if we miss your favorite NYC cuisine – there just aren’t enough hours in the week – but on that note, if you have a “must try” suggestion, send it our way because we still have a few meal slots open!

Throughout the week, we’ll be twittering (#whereiskeeper) and Facebooking about all of our stops and taking as many pictures as possible, so be sure to follow us for the highlights. As time allows, we’ll be posting “reflections” on many of the restaurants here on the blog (I’m careful not to say “reviews” because we’re no experts – just some Texans who get an absurd amount of pleasure out of a great dining experience). We’ll share where we go, what we order, what we like/don’t like, what we drink, and anything else that seems fitting – plus some photos (where permitted). So Stay Tuned!

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Keeper Keeps it Interesting in the Test Kitchen

KeeperTeam — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:24:51 +0000

posted by Keeper Kitchen Test Chef

Does this look like a kitchen tool to you?

Here in the Keeper Kitchen we see- and taste! - a LOT of food. Did you know that we test the recipes in each cookbook before they are published? Because of this, we spend plenty of hours outside the kitchen scouring the aisles of the local grocery stores and markets for ingredients (we could probably navigate the aisles blindfolded by now). We have just about every cooking tool imaginable to the home cook, and a ridiculously well stocked pantry of spices and staples. Needless to say, we spend even more time inside the kitchen testing, and through this process we find plenty of hits, misses, adjustments, recommendations, revelations and “mmmmmmmmmm”s along the way. Now don’t get us wrong, we aren’t complaining because getting to cook this often ain’t a bad gig, but it does make for some interesting stories and hard work.

The taste combination we doubted but then loved the most?

Chef Monica Pope’s Beet Brownies – The beets threw us off a bit, but we stood corrected when they turned out to be the best brownies we’ve ever tasted! I guess that is why she gets invited to Top Chef Masters and not us!

Beet Brownies with Molasses Caramel Sauce & Meringue Pecans

The most difficult technique we’ve had to break down into steps for our subscribers?

Typically things like homemade pastas and gnocchis. Each chef has a slightly different method, but regardless, making these from scratch and shaping it into the different types is an involved process. It can be difficult to put something that requires so much work of the hands into concise but descriptive enough words for someone who may be trying it for the first time.

Homemade Gnocchi

The most interesting non-cooking challenge we’ve faced while recipe testing?

Resurrecting a chef’s defunct hard drive to retrieve some irreplaceable recipes! This was truly a test of getting the Taste from the Technology! The chef will remain unnamed, but we can promise that the cookbook is even better than before now that the rescued recipes are in it (see photo “evidence” at the begginning of this blog – can you guess which chef?).

For continued updates on the trials and tribulations in our test kitchen, follow us on Twitter and Facebook – you just may be inspired by something new that we uncover!

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By Popular Demand – How to Trim an Artichoke & New Pepperoni Soup Recipe by Chef Bull!

KeeperTeam — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:07:07 +0000

Four new Bull’s Eye on Food recipes now feature instructional videos directly from Chef Bull’s cooking classes! If you weren’t able to attend his February cooking class, we’re now bringing the class to you through these videos thanks to the cooperation of Central Market Austin Cooking School! For those of you who were able to attend his class in person, the videos included in Bull’s Eye on Food are an on-demand refresher of all of the helpful tips and secrets you may have missed or forgotten.

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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Savoring Piedmont, Part 6

KeeperTeam — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:35:01 +0000

As we continue to savor the memories of our lovely trip to Piedmont, we realized we had not shared a few final days of our trip, so we must continue. Even though we were traveling in the winter, our next to last day started with a beautiful sunrise that was spectacular from every angle.

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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Hoppin’ on the Band”trailer” – Odd Duck Farm To Trailer & Gourdough’s

KeeperTeam — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:06:38 +0000

posted by AnnieP - Keeper Collection Team

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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The Amazement Continues – Keeper Collection visits Giuseppe Mascarello Winery

KeeperTeam — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:28:09 +0000

After breakfast in Barolo, The Keeper Team was excited to learn that they would go to the village of Monchiero to visit the winery and cellars of Giuseppe Mascarello.

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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Lights, Camera, Action! Keeper Coookbooks Introduce Recipe Videos!

KeeperTeam — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:29:12 +0000

The always evolving Keeper Collection has launched a new exciting feature! Keeper’s Cookbooks now include even more in-depth instruction with recipe videos, bringing our chefs into your kitchen to cook along with you. With these demonstration videos you can see exactly how steps are executed, just as the chef intended. For example, included in Bull’s Eye on Food Interactive Cookbook, Chef David Bull teaches you his technique for manicuring shallots, like in this video below (provided by Texas Monthly).

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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The Nebbia Comes & Goes for a Lovely Day with the Altares – Piedmont Part 4

KeeperTeam — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:30:30 +0000

The Keeper Team woke to a foggy, foggy morning, or what in Piedmont is called nebbia. The fog did not stop us from getting our morning coffee, this time not far from our Villa in the town of La Morra. We learned from our friend, Peter Wasserman, that there was a special chocolatier on a back street in Cherasco, so we were determined to find this artisan. It was a very small shop, but with an amazing array of chocolates. The owner enticed us with samples which were so delicious and a diverse selection. His generous offers of samples led us to buy a kilo for home, selected for us by the chocolatier.

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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Barolo and Fresh White Alba Truffles – Beautifully Paired Food and Wine in Piedmont

KeeperTeam — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:29:07 +0000

Starting the morning off with a caffeine fix is typical for the Keeper Team. While in Piedmont it was special to begin the day with a morning drive to the next village in Piedmont for espresso of choice, while being surrounded by the Alps along the way. Enjoying this panoramic view and knowing that there would be wine tastings and food pairings with Barolo Wine Masters was almost more than we could stand. So, Keeper took a deep breath, because we knew the adventure was just beginning.

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

including his blend of La Coste and Brunnate, and his other blend of Ravera and Cannubi San Lorenzo. We also tasted Beppe’s Langhe and the two 2005 Barolos out of bottle, as well as 2005 Barbera, Dolcetta, and Rocche.

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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A Magical Journey to Piedmont Italy – Part 2

KeeperTeam — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 09:10:06 +0000

Thanks to Russell Hone, we found ourselves staying at Villa Carita in La Morra, a small property owned and operated by a husband and wife, with majestic, breathtaking views of the Barolo valley. The spacious suites were a pleasant surprise. The unexpected “amenities” in the suite for the Keeper Team were no Wi-Fi, no phone, and no TV, but we did have heat for the December winter cold! This created a peace for the team that allowed us to get out of the typical American mode and truly appreciate the beauty of Piedmont that surrounded us.

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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