We will have a function at L'Opera on August 24 featuring the dishes of Paolo's Mamma Anna paired with wines from our cellar. The menu and wines are as follows:
Il Menu’ de’ la mi mamma
Maremma culinary feast
To Start
Crostino ai fegatini
Crusty bread drizzled in double boiled Capon broth topped with chicken liver ragu’. There isn’t any Maremma’s meal that doesn’t start with crostini ai fegatini. This dish seems to date back to the Etruscans, the ancestry of today Maremma
Crostino con le acciughe sottopesto
Crusty bread topped with special DOP French butter (Butter is the only thing that my mom did not put but I am not going to tell her) and anchovies marinated with garlic, chili, olive oil and parsley. I do have only two comfort foods: Anchovies and butter and, possibly my first choice: Paris’s Pain Poilane toasted bread with fresh foie gras, Szechuan pepper and a glass of Sauternes.
Champagne Duval-Leroy Brut Reserve
Soup
Pappa al Pomodoro
Thick fresh tomato, bread and basil soup. Dated more than 200 years ago after the tomatoes were brought to Italy from the Americas via Spain, it has been a subject for movies and songs. Originally a soup to recycle the expensive unsalted bread.
Pasta
Tortelli alla Maremmana
Homemade ravioli filled with Ricotta cheese and fresh spinach in a rustic meat sauce. For the dismay of my mother the meat sauce or Ragu’ originated from France “ragout” and the first mention in any Italian cookbooks is from the end of the 17th century by chef Alberto Alvisi for Barnaba Chiaramonti Bishop of Imola and then Pope Pio VII
Barone Ricasoli Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2013
Fish Course
Baccala’ alla Maremmana
Norwegian Bacalao sauteed in tomato, onions, capers and olive sauce with creamy mashed potatoes. Bacalao or Stockfish originated in the northern part of Norway mainly in the Lofoten Islands and made its way to Italy in the 1500th during the Italian Marine Republics as one of the main sources of trade with the Northern Countries. It became a staple in Italy thanks to the fact that was easily transportable and was the right choice during the counter-reform (Controriforma) of the church that prohibited the eating of meat in certain days. Interestingly Norway provided the staple for the Italian to stick to Catholicism while all the Northern European countries shifted to Protestantism.
Chapoutier Chante-Alouette Hermitage Blanc 2012
Meat Course
Composition of:
Coniglio in porchetta con lardo di Colonnata e patate in padella
Deboned rabbit filled with Lardo di colonnata and Maremman spices served with pot roasted potatoes. Originally (around the 1500th) meant for stuffed pigs it became very popular in the Marche region and then all over Italy as it was easier to prepare and easier to fit in household’s ovens. We have the first mention of the lardo (Pig’s lard) of Colonnata, a town near the marble city of Carrara, in the 15th century by Michelangelo that used to buy after selecting the best piece of Marble for his next creation. The lard is still made in the same way as before inside Marble pits covered with rosemary, marine salt and other spices and then an alternately layers of lards and spices.
Antinori Guado al Tasso 2013
Cinghiale alla Maremmana
Slow Chianti braised imported wild boar in thick tomato sauce with olives. Impossible to trace the origins of the wild boar (cinghiale) in Maremma but we do know that the cinghiale sauce (sugo di cinghiale) was a staple for the butteri (Italian Cowboys) yes, Maremma still has Cowboys that attend cows and train wild horses a tradition that date back to the Etruscans. Interestingly on the 8th of March 1890 there was an equestrian meeting between the visiting Buffalo Bill and the butteri. The Butteri were praised for winning most of the equestrians’ games. I guess that was the birth of the Italian spaghetti western ☺
Mastrojanni Brunello di Montalcino 2015
What: Wine-paired dinner
When: 6:30 PM, Saturday, August 24, 2024
Where: L'Opera BGC
Assessment: P 7600.00 for members, P 7900.00 for guests
Attire: Smart Casual
Deadline: Reservations and cancellations should be in by 12 Noon, Thursday, August 22, 2024. Reservations made and not cancelled by the deadline must be paid.
Reservations: Please make your reservations with Alda Navarro at
internationalwine.foodsociety@gmail.com.
Payment: Please make your cheques payable to any of the 3 named individuals below:
Luciano Nesi
Julius C. Labrador, Jr.
Alfredo Z. Pio de Roda III
Please make your payments by depositing directly to the Society's account at BPI Bel-Air Polaris Branch C/A 3075-8213-35. Please provide proof of payment by email to Alda at
internationalwine.foodsociety@gmail.com with your name clearly written. Do not hand any payments to the individuals named above to avoid the inadvertent mixing of personal and Society funds. We regret that at this time, Alda is unable to accept checks as she is not in Manila regularly. We encourage everyone to please make your payments before the function to avoid any misunderstandings.