Month: June 2023

Wine weekend in Verona

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The Nestlé wine club organised a 3-day wine tasting trip in Verona, in the Soave and Valpolicella region. We left early by train on Friday morning and came back late on Sunday night. It was a 3-day wine, food and sightseeing fest.

On Friday, we had lunch at Locanda ai Capitelli and visited the Pieropan vineyard. The food was excellent, the wine was OK, though the vineyard is beautiful. We had dinner at our Hotel, le Muse, and that was excellent. I have discovered the joys of risotto made with Amarone and proper eggplant parmigiana.

Travel

Locanda ai Capitelli

Pieropan

Saturday, we visited Tenute Ugolini, where we spent a relaxing 5h visiting the vineyards (gorgeous!) and having a wine pairing meal on a shady terrace overlooking the vines. The wines were already a notch above what we tasted on the previous day but, IMHO, a bit overpriced. The final tasting was at Azienda Farina, and that was the crown jewel of the visit. Their wines were superb, and we’re paired with some of the best cheese and charcuterie I’ve had in recent memory. We got to sign our names to a cask – they do that with some visitors. That night, we had a buffet dinner at the hotel, paired with some of the wines we’d bought previously.

Tenute Ugolini

Farina

Buffet at Le Muse

Sunday was a guided visit in Verona, very pretty town, with lunch (homemade tagliatelle with truffles and mushrooms) and gelato. We had a bit of free time to explore, then headed for the train station. I managed to buy some of the cheese we’d eaten the day before, a sharp cheese matured in Amarone. We had an impromptu apero on the train with the meat, bread and cheese I’d bought because the dining car ran out of food, but that was still a really good time. At one point, we were chatting about absinthe and counterfeit money with the train controller.

Verona

Train

By happy circumstance, the train was stopping in Morges so I had an easy way home. Finally got home around midnight, where I was greeted by a very happy Byron and a very tired Katy, so we all went to bed.

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[recipe] Triple chocolate brownies

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Nonstick vegetable oil spray or unsalted butter, room temperature
60g all-purpose flour
50g Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4tsp. Morton kosher salt
115g unsalted butter
115g dark chocolate, preferably 70%, broken into pieces
250g granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
115g milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375F/190C/170C fan. Lightly coat a metal 8×8″ baking pan with nonstick vegetable oil spray or unsalted butter, room temperature, then line with parchment paper, leaving generous overhang on 2 sides. Lightly coat parchment with nonstick spray.

Whisk all-purpose flour, cocoa powder and kosher salt in a small bowl to combine.

Combine unsalted butter and dark chocolate in a medium metal bowl set over a large saucepan of barely simmering water (bottom of bowl should not be touching water). Heat, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and smooth, about 5 minutes.

Whisk in granulated sugar, then add 3 large eggs one at a time, whisking very vigorously between additions. Once all eggs are incorporated, continue to whisk 1 minute more. Remove bowl from heat and whisk in vanilla extract, then whisk in dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, stir in milk chocolate chips. Scrape batter into prepared pan; smooth surface.

Bake brownies until set across top and a tester inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 27–30 minutes. Let cool in pan at least 30 minutes, preferably in refrigerator, before cutting into 12 pieces.

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[recipe] Potato rosti quiche

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For the base:
butter or oil, for greasing the tin
2 large white potato, unpeeled (650g)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
3 tsp onion granules
40g plain flour
1 medium egg, plus another for brushing
For the filling:

3 medium eggs
150ml whole milk
150g mature Cheddar cheese, grated
a small handful of fresh chives
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C. Start by generously greasing a 24cm round tart tin or pie dish, preferably not loose-bottomed as this will save us from any leakages.

Grate the potatoes and squeeze out any excess moisture. Pop the potato into a bowl along with the salt, paprika, onion and flour and mix really well, making sure it is all evenly distributed. Add the egg and mix through well – you should have a mixture that is well coated and clumps together.

Tip the mixture out into the dish and using the back of a spoon press tightly into the base and sides. Bake for 25–30 minutes.

Take the dish out and using the back of a spoon press the mixture into the base and sides again. Brush the base and sides with the egg, generously filling in any gaps that might be there and any gaps that might not be. Return to the oven for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling by adding the eggs, cheese and milk to a jug and whisking till well blended.

Take the tart shell out. Pour the mixture straight in, sprinkle over the chives and add a sprinkling of salt and a generous sprinkling of pepper. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes till the centre is just wobbly.

Leave to cool for about 30 minutes, allowing the eggy custard mix to set, then take out, slice and it is ready to eat.

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