The Sunny Kitchen - An Italian cook in Amsterdam

Italian cookery workshops for team building and company outings

Foto www.francescocavaliere.com

Here at Italian cooking school La Cucina del Sole in Amsterdam you can book a morning, afternoon or evening cookery session with your own group (lunch or dinner). Our cooking workshops are totally suitable for corporate events, team building, bachelor parties, staff meetings with an extra activity and family reunions.
How does it work? You choose a date according to your availability and that of the other participants, you book and you cook all together, after which you enjoy a wonderful, real Italian meal prepared with the best ingredients.

These cooking classes are ideally suited to serve as a company outing or team building activity. Everyone gets to know each other better while preparing a wonderful traditional Italian meal and enjoying together all the different dishes while drinking fine Italian wines. 
You can also decide to have a meeting first (with coffee/tea, fruit, drinks and snacks) and then a cooking session. Our cooking school is perfectly suitable for both activities.

Each workshop includes Italian snacks while cooking, ingredients, e-recipes to use at home too, 1 glass of Prosecco with nibbles on arrival, three glasses of wine or six glasses of alcohol-free "wine" (Amé), Italian beer, Italian mineral water, juices, coffee and tea.

The prices: € 75,00 p.p. (lunch) and € 89,00 p.p. (dinner) ex. VAT for companies.
For more info please look at the website or send us an e-mail.

La Cucina del Sole was founded in 2002 by Nicoletta Tavella, a cook and cooking teacher born and raised in Italy. Nicoletta is also a certified Sommelier and a cookbook writer. 

Why vegan wine does NOT exist

 

Lots of people care about the environment and the well-being of animals, and that's great, I'm definitely one of them.
When I was younger I managed to be completely vegetarian for one full year because of my love for all living creatures until one day I noticed that my body craved meat, so I had to start eating it again. I do believe in cravings as a signal of what my body needs so I tend to respect them.
Nowadays I eat smaller quantities of meat, and only of the organic type, so that I can still have the illusion of respecting the animals a little more (and yes, I know it's just an illusion because if I wanted to respect them 100% I would become a vegan...)
So all my admiration goes to vegans: they do something I'm not capable of doing in spite of how much I'd like to from a moral point of view.

RESPECT, dear vegans! I love the fact that you try as hard as you can to avoid anything that has been made with animal-derived products and that you succeed in doing that. Well, you do MOST TIMES.

Why not always? Because if you are wine lovers and buy vegan friendly wines you usually think you're consuming vegan wines while that's not the case.
I'm very sorry for you, my darling vegans, but vegan wine does NOT exist.
Usually wine that has been clarified with substances other than egg white, gelatine and casein (which are all animal originated substances) is labelled as "vegan" but people tend to forget all the little spiders and insects that are crushed together with the grapes when making the wine...
So I'm very sorry to drop the bomb but, as I said, vegan wine is just - lovely - animal-friendly wishful thinking. :)

Dear vegans, don't hate me for telling you this. I very much hope that after reading this post you'll still be drinking wine, otherwise you would also have to stop walking to avoid killing ants and other tiny critters! :)
So raise your glass to the well-being of all living creatures, enjoy a generous swig of wine made with good, vegan fining agents and don't worry too much about its "label"! 

 Your truth-loving Sommelier,

Nicoletta

P.S. the photo comes from this site

 

Handy tool for wine lovers

Seen yesterday at a wine tasting organized by Dutch importer Vinites: "My Wine Record", a cute and handy little wanna-have for everybody who wants to keep a journal of the good wines tasted during parties, meals at restaurants, drinks at wine bars et cetera.

It's a little black book with a cool and beautiful design (Dutch design!) and it contains special so-called Record Labels that allow you to remove bottle labels without having to soak them or steam them off.

You stick a transparent Record Label to the bottle label and after a short while both can be taken off the bottle together without tearing the wine label.
Then you can stick everything onto your "My Wine Record" booklet and have your "wine souvenir" for ever and ever!

With your "My Wine Record" you can record all details about your favourite wines: red, white or rosé, where and when, with whom, the dish you enjoyed it with, types of grape, year, price and so forth.
Like this you'll always be able to remember those easy-to-forget details and keep a good record of your tastings.

It sounds like pure genius! It would be, if it always worked fine... I've tried it once with a bottle of Pinot Noir from Framingham's and it tore off only part of the label.
I guess it has to do with the different types of glue used for the labels. Hopefully the makers - Rogier van Camp en Mark van Elk - will find a good solution for that shortly.

In any case, I find this little gadget quite nice. If you don't have the whole label you can at least write down your own personal tasting notes on a stylish little notebook.

Visit the "My Wine Record" site here.

Great Italian habits: l'aperitivo (with recipe of Aurora sauce)

One of the great Italian habits I really miss when not in my country is the aperitivo: drinking something together with friends, colleagues or loved ones before lunch while nibbling on some good stuff .
In some places the aperitivo is almost elevated to a form of art: together with your drink, usually a glass of wine or Prosecco, you get different little bite-sized delicacies - gli stuzzichini in Italian - and you end up being full before even having lunch.

Bari in Puglia is one of those places and a few days ago I was enjoying an aperitivo with nobody less than my dad, whom I see just from time to time - living more than 2000 km far from each other does not improve regular enjoying the aperitivo together. ;)
The place was La Champagnerie (a bit of a pompous name but the place is quite nice). The address is via Roberto da Bari 99, in the city center and the prices are in the highest range (an espresso costs 2,50 euros while in normal bars it's about 0,70-0,80 cents).

A glass of Prosecco for my dad and a Pugliese white for me with lots of wonderful things to eat, from big Bella di Cerignola olives to focaccia with tomato and oregano, raw carrot sticks with Aurora sauce - terribly Eighties and yet still very nice in combination with the wonderful raw vegetables that Puglia produces, little canapés with tuna, salmon and fish eggs, salted peanuts and grana padano cheese blocks. All of the nice aperitivo bars in Bari serve a whole variety of finger-food, from tarallini to fried panzerottini and focaccia with potatoes.
Definitely a great habit, one that I really miss in Amsterdam where I live and that I merrily take on again when in Bari.
The only risk of such a habit is that you'll probably arrive home late, half-drunk and full-bellied while la mamma is waiting for you with lots of food that is getting cold. ;)

To enjoy a classic salsa Aurora at its best prepare some fresh, raw vegetables (celery, carrots, fennel) cut in chunks, wedges and big sticks and mix some mayonnaise (2/3), ketchup (1/3), a dash of cream, a splash of cognac - but I prefer it with good grappa - and a few drops of Tabasco. Dip generously and enjoy!

Click on the thumbnails to enlarge

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Calamaretti ripieni - stuffed baby squid

Calamari (squid) is not something I make regularly. The whole "creatures-of-the-sea" thing doesn't seem to be MY thing since in general I prefer to prepare meat or vegetarian dishes.
That's also why I included a whole "fishy chapter" to my cooking courses, so that I would finally have the chance to eat what I almost never cook at home. ;)

I found some beautiful fresh baby squid and thought it would be great to prepare it, also to show my cooking students how to clean it should they find themselves in need of doing that instead of buying it clean and frozen in a supermarket. You never know, you might end up on a desert island with lots of fresh shellfish and starve to death because you don't know how to prepare it! (or don't dare to, it can look quite intimidating...)

So here's a very simple and tasty recipe for baby squid. You can also buy bigger squid or even cuttlefish if you like, only the cooking time will be longer since their thicker meat needs a bit longer to get tender.
Instructions for cleaning the squid are also included in the recipe. The whole procedure sounds a bit messy but it's very rewarding. The pleasure of saying: "I cleaned these little monsters myself!" is absolutely priceless.

Calamaretti ripieni (stuffed baby squid)

Serves 10-12

Ingredients:                     

1-2 little calamari (squid) p.p.
6 spoons capers
800 gr. canned peeled tomatoes with their juice
fresh or dried oregano
e.v. olive oil
12 spoons breadcrumbs
100 gr black olives
fresh flat-leaf parsley
5 cloves of garlic
salt
black pepper and a few dried red hot chili peppers

Carefully remove the tentacles and the innards (guts) of the squids (everything should come out at once when you remove the guts inserting one or more fingers inside the body of the squid and pulling gently). If the translucent “quill” remains inside, pull it out to remove it. Wash the squids and remove their skin rubbing them with your fingers while washing them.

Cut off the eyes and the “beak”, discard and keep the tentacles.

Finely chop the tentacles and fry them in a bit of olive oil with a pinch of salt. Add the breadcrumbs, the chopped olives, the capers and 3 finely chopped garlic cloves. Mix well from time to time until everything is nicely cooked. Season with oregano, salt and pepper.

Stuff the squid with this mixture and seal with a toothpick.

Add some olive oil in a frying pan plus 2 peeled and crushed garlic cloves and the chopped peeled tomatoes and leave to simmer for a while.

Lay the squid in the sauce, add a few chili peppers if you like, cover with a lid and leave to gently simmer until the squid is ready and yet still moist and tender.

Garnish with finely chopped parsley and serve immediately.

The wine pairing I've chosen for this strongly flavoured dish is a Greco di Tufo 2008 from Vesevo drunk not too cold - around 12°C - so that all the aromas of this intense white wine can express themselves at their very best.
I love wines from the Campania region because they're so mineral and full of character thanks to the volcanic nature of the territorio, the soil the grapes grow on. This Greco di tufo is made with 100% Greco grapes (for this DOCG wine the quantity of Greco grapes has to be at least 85% , with 15% max of typically local coda di volpe).  









 

Bubbles to fall in love with, NO Valentine involved

Last night I fell in love.

Not with a guy - the one who's gonna steal my hart still hasn't shown up yet, at least not that I know - but with a lovely and lively Blanc de Blancs, a 2004 made by Californian wine house Gloria Ferrer in the Carneros region (Sonoma).
What a palette of flavors for the palate! What a fantastic progression of sensations on my tongue and taste buds! Just like French kissing with a VERY good kisser, but then the California way. And with a hint of Spain, since the "Gloria Ferrer" house belongs to the Freixenet family, world renowned cavas producers from Catalonia.
It's been love at first kiss... uh, sip, no doubt about it.
Too bad it's going to stay a one-night stand, at least for the time being, since this wonderful wine doesn't seem to be available in the Netherlands yet. It was a lucky shot, one of those that happen just from time to time, like when you meet a guy whom you think is TOO young and TOO handsome to want to date YOU and yet he DOES date you. ;)  

Lucky shot or not, I guess we could all learn from the French, as far as dealing with bubbles on a regular basis is concerned. That means that bubbles should ALWAYS be in our fridges, just like they usually are in lots of French homes, and not only when there's something to celebrate. What the heck, if I feel like drinking bubbles I always find something to celebrate! (as if I needed an excuse to pop a cork...) Having that special bottle in my fridge, for example. Ain't THAT a great reason already?
This particular bottle, though, was not laying in the wine rack of my own beautiful vintage  looking red Smeg but in my friend Pascal's little silver coolthing. He is French - bien sûr - and always serves champagne or other sparkling wines to his friends as apéritif before dinner as he did last night. This time he opened for us a very special bottle he personally brought from the States not so long ago. And how much am I thanking him now for doing that? A LOT, since I hadn't had fantastic bubbles with such a great personality as these in quite some time. 

This 100% Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs (the French definition indicates a méthode traditionelle made with this variety of grape only) with its appealing straw yellow hue is zesty, slightly and extremely pleasantly tart with a fantastic citrusy explosion after the first taste. The bubbles also bring up the sweet smell and flavor of bread crust that makes me think of DAMN GOOD bread, mouth-watering, crunchy and golden brown outside with a moist, soft "heart". And the end notes... wow. I close my eyes and taste tarragon and star anise, first just subtle hints and then fuller and warmer, with a lovely sweet and fruity aftertaste that calls for more. What a marvelous combination of aromas! And that paired to the "round" taste of the Chard without the - sometimes too - obvious characteristics of this very eclectic grape.  
The somehow bigger bubbles typical of some Spanish cavas - bigger compared to those of lots of other sparkling wines made with the traditional method - are the only thing that makes me link this wine with its Catalonian Freixenet brothers. For the rest, this wonderful liquid gold has its very unique "signature" that makes me wish I could lay my hands on more bottles VERY soon...

Now, to compensate for not having another bottle of this gorgeous B de B to accompany tonight's dinner, I want a date.
Be warned: I won't go for anything less than an outrageously handsome younger guy.

Sommelier, at last! :)

Last Wednesday I passed my Sommelier exam with AIS, the Italian Sommelier Association (Associazione Italiana Sommelier) in the Hilton hotel in Amsterdam, together with 7 colleagues.
Congratulations Jacqueline, Iris, Beppe, Gabrielle, Emanuele, Davide, Mariette and myself! :)

And my huge THANK YOU to all the wonderful AIS teachers who guided us from February to December through this very intensive phase in our lives!

Last day of the sommelier course

Today last day of a wonderful, wonderful, WONDERFUL course held by the Italian Sommelier Association at the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam.

We started last February (time really flies when you're having fun!) and ended today with a didactic lunch at Roberto's, Hilton's Italian restaurant, during which we tasted different courses with different wines and exercised a bit with analyzing, deconstructing, describing and most of all enjoying all the combinations. What a great way to end the course. :)

A big "thank you!" to all of my teachers including the great Eddy Furlan (here in the pictures with us) and to all of my co-students for the laughs, the friendship, the innumerable coffees together, the many wonderful dinners and lunches and the great inspiration!

And thanks to Beppe Quiroli for the Roero Arneis pic. :)

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The beauty of the Tuscan wine season

Back to Tuscany for another culinary holiday at my friends' Cristina and Michael beautiful agriturismo "Il Cantastorie".

With one of the best excursions for a wine lover like me: a wine maker in the Montalbano area, the Azienda Agricola Betti in Quarrata.
I felt like a very happy bunny there, totally in my element among the trucks full of grapes, the busy people and the beautiful, intense and pleasantly intoxicating smell of freshly crushed grapes. :)
And I saw my very first crusher-stemmer (a genial machine that removes the stems from the grapes and crushes them practically at the same time) in action! (see movies here and here)

The wine tasting with lunch that followed was another great experience that made the beautiful day even more glorious!

After that took with me a bottle of Prunideo, Betti's best wine made with 90% rigorously hand-harvested Sangiovese and 10% Cabernet, and drunk it for dinner tonight with Michael and Cristina. A great, robust  wine with 12 months in oak to give it even more character.
If you happen to find a bottle somewhere, don't leave it on the shelf, oh no... ;)

Bounty of grapes!

A verrrry happy bunny :)

The beauty of agricultural Tuscany...

From here to infinity...

The crushed grapes are pumped into the steel containers to undergo the fermentation

Men at work (manually mixing the grapes to ensure full color and aroma's)

The cellar

Ready for the wine tasting

Organic wine not better? I chirp to differ

For those who can read the Italian language and love beautiful natural images here is a very moving photo series shot in an Italian vineyard (Cascina Corte of Alessandro Barosi in Dogliani, Piemonte) where blackbirds have returned to make their nests after years that they were not appearing anymore. It seems like in the old times this was a very common thing to see, sigh...

Nowadays this is very rare due to the modern cultivation and harvesting methodes that disturb these beautiful birds in their daily routines.

So long live natural and organic wine making!