Day 11

This was one of my favorite days of the entire trip.  We happened to be in Italy at the same time as Brad’s mom and friends.  Their home base was in Turin, so we decided to meet up half way — for lunch at La Buca in Zibello.  So, back to Zibello (and culatello) we go!

La Buca was one of the best reviewed restaurants in the area. And it did not disappoint.  We were seated outside in the garden patio (as you can see, another sunny fall day in Italy) and the staff treated us wonderfully.

We were a party of 6, so the best part was that we got to order all the good stuff from the menu and shared!

Antipasti:  cured meats — spala, salami, culatello (no pictures but you get the idea after 11 days)

Primi:  (below)

Anolini with brodo (a classic E-R dish)

Tagliatelle with culatello

Secondi:  Boiled veal brisket, chicken cacciatore, sausage with zabaglione, pork shoulder wrapped in pig skin

Dulce:  Zuppa inglese, plum tart, semifreddo

The dulce cart!

Since we were only about an hour away from Parma, we headed there after lunch for a visit with the whole family.  It’s a lovely city.  Bustling and energetic but not hectic.  We sat down at an outdoor cafe that was attached to a book store, drink some delicious wine, people watched and caught up.  It was so nice to be able to meet up with family half way around the world!

Bustling streets of Parma

Me, Aunt Patti and Jenny

Mama Paulette took this picture of us in front of a flower shop. Probably my favorite picture of the trip.

That evening, after parting ways with the family, we drove the two hours back to Due Papaveri for another delicious meal whipped up by Charlotte and Luca. On the menu:

Antipasti: Egg flan with spinach

Primi: Risotto with cherry tomatoes

Secondi:  Pork shoulder with satay sauce with pepperonata (this was SO good that we got the recipe from Charlotte)

Dulce: Wild blueberry tart

Day 8

While we would not get the chance to properly dine at the Michelin-starred restaurant at ACP (didn’t have enough time and there were so many other great restaurants in this area), we did get to eat breakfast in the dining room both mornings.  It’s a stunning space.  Just check out the pictures!

This morning, we joined Giovanni at ACP for a tour of their farms, cheese factory and the Culatello caves.  Typically this is a bike tour as the farms are about 2km away from the hotel.  But since I do not know how to ride a bike (I know, lame, right?), we had to follow behind in our car.  It was pretty silly, but at least we didn’t have to go far.

The bikes — the gold ones are really neat looking

Brad and I in the car, following the bike tour.

Here are some great pictures from the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese production.

Each cheese is stamped with the date of production and the proper IDs. Only cheese made from this specific region can be called Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Cheese stacked high for aging — usually up to two years.

Draining water from the cheese.

Putting the cheese into the mold

After touring the cheese factory, we went to visit the black pigs that were breed exclusively for Culatello and other cured meats. The pigs were soooo smelly (they are pigs, after all).  I snapped a picture and ran out of there.

Giovanni then took us to the Culatello aging room.  This was the first step of the aging process, which was above ground.  Later, the meats would be moved to the underground caves for more aging.

Our tour guide Giovanni

Culatello di Zibello. Again, only Culatello made in this region can be called this. Also because it’s aged in a pig’s bladder, we are not able to bring this back to the U.S.

After the tour, it was almost lunch time.  We went to a nearby medieval town, Fontanella, and grab a pizza at Pizzeria Della Rocca.  It was quick and easy and pretty delicious.

The castle at Fontanella

We then drove to the village of Fidenza, a factory outlet destination.  Many people drive hours (and many bus tours) from Milan and Parma to shop here.  We were… not really impressed.  It reminded us of any old factory outlets in the U.S., and the prices weren’t cheap.

A shopping mall disguised as a “village”.

We headed back to ACP for the 2nd part of the Culatello tour.  We went below ground, under the hotel, to the caves for the final aging of the meat.

The damp river air that comes through this window provides the perfect climate for aging.

Many famous chefs kept their own Culatello here

Here is Alain Ducasse’s Culatello

The caves are so cool looking

  

This evening, we dined at Hosteria Da Ivan.  From our research, this was one of the very best restaurants in this region.  And Ivan, the owner and host, was supposed to be a real character.  We walked into the restaurant and met Ivan right away.  He was incredibly friendly and gracious.  He spoke very little English and we spoke very little Italian, but somehow we carried on chatting for awhile and laughing.

Here we also finally got to taste our first Culatello.  To be honest, after all of the hype, I was a little let down by it.  It was good — salty and a little funky, but I personally still preferred a good Proscuitto di Parma over it.

Most of this is Culatello, with a little Spala and Proscuitto di Parma mixed in.

Incredibly pillowy soft cheese tortellini

Pasta with tomatoes, anchovies and peppers. YUM.

For main course, we ordered something with the word “carne” in it, as we couldn’t figure out the full translation. It turned out to be raw steak tar tar! It was quite delicious, but this was one of those situations where if we didn’t have an adventurous palate, it might have turned into a disaster!

After dinner, Ivan invited us to see his private wine/cheese/meat cellar.  It was very cool, and really nice of him to spend the time with us.  All in all, this was the most memorable meal of this trip (at least for me).

Day 7

Bye bye Le Marche.  Hello Emilia-Romanga!

It’s sad to leave this beautiful region but we were excited to head to the culinary center of Italy… and to finally taste Culatello. This also marked our longest drive — just under 4 hours.  We stopped for lunch at a service station right off of the autostrada.  It was somewhat comforting that Italian service stations looked just like ones at home.  There was even a Burger King!  We, thankfully, did not have to resort to the BK.  We grabbed sandwiches at the Autogrill.  Pretty decent for a pit stop.

It was amazing how quickly the scenery changed.  We went from rolling hills to fields that were as flat as the eye could see. During the drive on the autostrada, we passed by some of the main towns of Emilia-Romagna — Parma, Modena, Bologna — all of which we would backtrack and visit in the following days.  Just from the autostrada, it was clear that E-R is a wealthier region than Le Marche– the houses grander and more preserved, the fields and farms more manicured and well-tended.

Antica Corta Pallavicina, our home for the next two days, was located right by the Po River.  After being at the remote countryside for the past week, it was a nice change of pace to be in a more suburban area.  Wifi and cell service was strong!

ACP is a beautifully restored old castle with a Michelin-star restaurant with a famous chef Massimo Spigaroli.  The service was excellent but a bit formal.  It definitely felt like we were at a luxury hotel vs. someone’s home.

The entrance to ACP

Beautiful lettuce growing at the ACP farm

A very lovely spread to welcome us to the hotel

After settling in, we took a short 10 minute walk to the Po River.  It was quite nice.  The warm and humid climate created from its proximity to the river is the reason why this region is primed for curing delicious meats.

Po River. On the other side is Lombardi.

That night for dinner, we had our only big miss of the trip.   We weren’t super hungry, and knowing that we had a few big meals planned ahead of us, we headed to a neighborhood restaurant, Alle Roncole.  When we arrived, the restaurant was practically empty with the exception of one other table finishing the their meal.  Within a few minutes, the other table got up to leave.  We paid no notice, and continued to peruse the menu and chat… until we realized that we’d been sitting there for almost 20 minutes and no one had even come to fill our water glasses! The music had also stopped.  Another 10 minutes went by and we were sure that they’d forgotten about us.  Not wanting to cause a scene… we continued to sit there, getting hungrier by the minute.

After a full 30 minutes, the chef cracked open the door to the dining room and caught Brad in his line of sight.  All of a sudden, a waitress ran over to us, apologizing profusely and flustered.  YES THEY DID FORGET ABOUT US!!!  After she took our order, the rest of the meal arrived quickly.  And I did have my first Tagliatelli al Ragu … but the meal was pretty forgettable (pun intended).

My first Tagliatelli al Ragu. But certainly not the best.

While this meal was not spectacular, we have so many more great meals to come.  So it was all OK.