Dreamy Chocolate Easter Eggs

I sure hope the Easter Bunny finds his way here with one of these!

It's that time of the year again where not only are the spring flowers and buds starting to spring up, but  Italy has been hit and blanketed by a tidal wave of chocolate eggs of every persuasion. This area is known for its chocolate and this time of year chocolatiers are still hard at it. The eggs you find here are quite an art form and almost a shame to eat.

 

But most people manage to soldier on...

 

 It really is quite a sight.

 

Almost to beautiful to eat.....

well almost...

Then we have the colorful wrapped ones. They come in every size with trinkets for all, to amuse for a day or two till they fade into another memory of an Easter egg treasure from yet another year.

Torino's Toro

Recently I've been making a few trips to our provincial capital of Torino or Turin, the dialect name which most visitors know it by.  This stylie bull is the symbol of Torino and found adorning all manner of things. I found this interesting explanation of the origins of Torino's name on one of the city's site.

Turin: According to the legend, it was the Egyptian prince Phaethon to found the city of Taurina (around 1523 b.C., even earlier than Troy) where the Po meets the Dora, in honour of Api, an egyptian god having the features of a bull. Taurines, instead, a population having celtic-ligurian ancestors, established themselves here during the III century b.C. in a village called Taurasia, deriving from the indigenous word tauro, meaning mountain, transformed later into the symbol of a bull by analogy. Between 29 and 28 b.C. the Romans founded here the colony of Julia Augusta Taurinorum, subsequently shortened to Taurinorum, in order to indicate where the Taurines lived. This name was ultimately simplified to Taurinos, and, finally, to Turin. 

Torino never fails to offer up some interesting detail that I didn't know or haven''t seen before and this time was no exception. I've walked around Piazza San Carlo many a time and strolled past the historic and over the top, Torino Cafe without fully noticing the brass bull inlaid in the stone at the entrance to this cafe.

According to Fabrizio the thing to do is step on the brass b_ _ _ _ of this mighty beast for a bit of luck, at least that's what legend has it. It doesn't really surprise me as there is a wild boar sculpture in one of the piazze in Florence who has a similar legend and is quite shiny form all the rubbing. The same goes for the right breast of the Julliette statue in Verona as well. So now when you're doing the passeggiata around Torino on the Kings walk under the covered porticos and you come upon a brass bull, you'll know what to do.

Gofri and Il Mercatino delle Pulci

Everyone loves a bargain and Italians are no different. Towards the end of the Italian holidays in August, our neighbors in Perosa Argentina host an annual flea market every year. It's quite a large collection of vendors that meander through the town park and the town's side streets.

Everybody has something to sell of value or not, but certainly plenty to keep you interested and entertained for the day.

Something for all members of the family.

and budgets.

In a beautiful mountain setting it's hard to go wrong. They set up a large area for the kids to finger paint. If you wanted you could even work on your tan as well, just in case you didn't quite make it to the seaside, you don't have to be deprived while you are on your mountain holiday, especially this summer. It's been quite a scorcher a good portion of the summer. For those of you not in the know getting bronze is one of the favorite Italian past times of the summer and your Italian-ness and worth is totally measure by your bronze-ness factor. Woe is me, of the fair Irish coloring variety. I stick out like a...., yes you can fill in the rest of the saying.

And like any type of town celebration, it wouldn't be complete with out some type of festival fare, with the men folk showing off their cooking prowess like this good looking bunch shown here. (They asked me what television channel they were going to be on that night, little did they realize that they would go round the world, not merely the local nightly news!)
Our Chisone valley specialty is called Gofri (pronounced go-free). It's a crispy thin style waffle that is served hot off the irons, savory or sweet. The savory varieties usually include ham of the cooked or cured persuasion or local Toma cheeses and the sweet ones are slathered with marmalade or the perennial hands down favorite, Nutella. It is a delight not to be missed.
Recipe to follow shortly with a few more photos.

Gift Idea and Acciughe al Verde for the Seven Fishes Feast

Just reminder if you need a last minute gift that you don't have to wrap and ship and will make a difference in someones' life be sure and have a look at Mercy Corps' Mercy Kits!
Choose between food, health, or garden kits and others that help people help themselves. Today the 18th is the last day to insure a gift card arrives in time for the holidays, but you can choose this option all year long. You choose the amount you want to spend and the gift will keep on giving long after the holiday season.

On another note,
I hate to miss a party, so even though I am down to the deadline with little time to spare, I did put a little something together for Maryann of Finding la Dolce Vita, and Joe of Italyville's, Seven Fishes Feast. Do head over and sample all the delectable dishes there and pick up a few ideas and recipes for your holiday celebrations!

The Feast of the Seven Fishes isn't generally celebrated up here in landlocked Piedmont, although fish is an important part of the Piemontese cuisine, especially anchovies. They are so very fond of them, fresh, marinate, fried and cooked in all sorts of dishes as that little subtle, or not, "je ne sais quois" element to the dish.
I found it peculiar that anchovies were such a frequent ingredient in so many of their regional dishes, especially as it it he main ingredient of the much beloved and somewhat revered, Bagna Cauda. We are 3 hours away form the coast, which is a heck of a lot closer to the coast than where I grew up, but I still was surprised by its popularity. When I came across the tale of salted anchovies arriving over the alps via the salt trail, it shed some historical light on the ardor of the locals for these small salty fish. As the tale goes, large barrels of generously salted anchovies were in actuality a lot more salt than anchovy. Salt was a such precious commodity back in the day and was quite heavily taxed by the state, that in true Italian fashion, clever people found a way to get more salt for less taxes paid. With an abundance of anchovy the addition of anchovy to many dishes came to be the norm. At least that is how the story was told to me.

Acciughe al Verde doesn't really go by a firm recipe, but there are a few tips.
You must use the best quality of anchovy that you can find. My in-laws, insist that it can only be salted anchovy. They are not fans of anchovy in jars, as they they say they aren't the true anchovy. They will use them in sauces where they will need to break down completely in the cooking, but not if they are going to retain their texture. I have to admit after having had my palate educated, I do agree with them as well. High quality, salted anchovy are a far cry from anything I have ever had that you buy in oil. I was never an anchovy fan until moving to Italy. I wrinkled my nose up as well, but once you have some done well, especially fresh ones, I think you might change your mind about this much maligned fish. Give them a go.

Acciughe al Verde

6 salted whole anchovies,
figure 1 -3 per person depending on your crowds ardour for them
2-3 garlic cloves, more if everyone is having them and loves garlic
fresh parsely, maybe a whole bunch
Extra virgin olive oil, a flavorful is nice

First clean your anchovies, by pulling the tail off and then run your knife or finger down the inside of the center of the fish pulling out the spine, keeping the two sides intact.

Place all of the fillets in a bowl and rinse a few times, ridding the rest of the odd bone or two left.
Let the fillets soak about an hour and rinse. If you let them soak too much or rinse them too thoroughly you lose some of the salty flavor that you want to keep.
Now place rinsed dry anchovies in a bowl.
Grate on a micro plane or mince very fine, you garlic into the anchovies.
Chop the parsley very fine and add.
Cover all with oil to make a nice saucy green mixture.
Adjust amounts as needed.
Cover and let sit overnight or up to three days.
Serve at room temperature, making sure to adjust garlic, parsley or salt as needed.
This sauce usually has a big garlic bite to it.
Best if everyone enjoys some at your dinner party for every one's sake!

Flower Frenzy Wednesday and a Pistachio Roulade

Wednesday's market was a riot of color and chrysanthemum display with a frenzy of shopping for bouquets or pots of mums. It had a different buzz to it in the market and had a holiday feel with out any sadness particularly involved. In fact it had more of a celebratory feel perhaps even life affirming, to be here and enjoying an autumn day out. Saturday was lovely weather and today is dreary, rainy, and cold. However my purchase of a small pot of golden asters surrounded by mini gourds and a couple of mini pumpkins add a colorful lift to a gray autumn day.

Yesterday was Il Giorgno dei Morti and today is Il Giorgno dei Santi.
Day of the Dead and All Saints day as they are more commonly know in English.
Two bank holiday days that this year falls on the weekend, so no one really got out of work, except that our regular Pinerolo market was held on Friday instead of Saturday, making for a confusing schedule for those of us who didn't grow up with such holidays. Halloween for most Americans, was a kids day for parties and an excuse for dressing up in lots of your parents old clothes or scarves and jewelry and extorting candy from your neighborhood.
Here in Italy, it is a day of taking colorful autumn flowers to the cemetery with your family and going to a special mass. Also it usually means lighting candles for your loved ones and generally remembering all that have passed on. It may also include eating out for a special meal as well. It is a time for marking the change of the seasons with the passing of loved ones as well as the end of the growing season and harvest time, and moving on into the winters quiet. Good rituals to make the transition of the natural rhythms of the year.
We had a birthday to celebrate, so we enjoyed a special meal and cake to mark the occasion.

A Pistachio Roulade with a coffee white chocolate cream filling. It was moist, colorful and a nice change of pace.

So, you see, I do on occasion, still make cakes. There was a time on my life where I made a lot of cakes. Now they are occasional and I think more of a special treat. Now it's on to the next cake, as it's my father in law's 70th birthday tomorrow. I have a special hazelnut cake in mind for him.