The weather is steadily getting colder here in New England and with Thanksgiving around the corner there are different foods showing up at the grocery store.  The summer fruits and veggies are gone and have made room for autumn foods and for me that means castagne (chestnuts.)  In Calabria they still have plenty of chestnut orchards and when we were there this past summer the chestnuts from last year still littered the ground as we foraged for wild mushrooms.

Chestnut trees here in the US used to be plentiful once but many were decimated by a chestnut blight over the last 100 years… I always wondered why there wasn’t a single chestnut tree on  “Chestnut Street” here in town.

I have fond memories of the castagne vendors this time of year in Italy.  They roast the chestnuts right on the street and the wonderful smell combined with the shop-lined cobblestone streets is a page out of a Charles Dickens book.  For 3000 lire (which I’m sure has become 3 Euro) you could get a mini paper bag with 10 warm chestnuts and eat them as you walk.

Most of the chestnuts in our local grocery stores come from Italy and E and I usually make them a few times a week… did I mention they go GREAT with wine?  Many of my non-Italian friends have never had chestnuts… which makes me wonder who’s eating all the “chestnuts roasting by an open fire” during the holidays??? Italians? (Bingo Crosbino?)

If your looking to impress your holiday guests this year… pick-up some chestnuts.  They are easy to make and delicious! This is what you need to do:

• pre-heat your oven at 350-375 degrees
• put a slit in each chestnut with a knife (otherwise they will explode in the oven)
• place the chestnuts on a baking sheet or pan and cook them for 40-50 minutes
• Serve with wine by a fire

In Calabrese we also call roasted chestnuts – ruselle

It’s not unusual to see old abandoned homes in southern Italy… so when we took a walk to see my uncle’s childhood home (not far from his own) I asked him who owned it and why it was abandoned.  The answer was that he did, along with his brothers and sisters.  It was left to them by their parents and since they all had either moved away or had homes of their own, they couldn’t decide what to do with it.  They had refused offers from business men, families and countless others because no one could agree.  I’m sure there are many similar stories all over Italy.  So what once was alive with voices and daily chores is now silent and overgrown… but if you look a little deeper, beauty still lives there.

I did a post on Italian doors a while back… but something else caught my eye this time around:  Fountains.  Fountains can be found all over Italy in many different styles and in many different places.  Some Italians find the fountain they think has the best tasting water and go back again and again to fill up bottles and jugs.  I went to a fountain in the mountains this past trip with my cousins that was about 45 minutes from their home… we passed plenty of fountains on the way that obviously didn’t have the quality drinking water they were looking for.

These fountains however, are the ones that dot cities and towns.  Most aren’t used very often anymore but I imagine people would actually come to these fountains for water once.  Even though they aren’t used as they once were, there’s a certain beauty to them. Don’t you think?

Feroleto Antico (CZ), Calabria

Feroleto Antico (CZ), Calabria

Pizzo Calabro (VV), Calabria

San Michele (CZ), Calabria

I remember washing my hands and drinking from the fountain above when I was a kid in my father’s hometown of San Michele.

Last year I posted on “Grispelle” and la Grispellissima festival that is held December 8th in Feroleto Antico, where my family is from in Calabria but I didn’t include a recipe… so here it is.  My family makes a fried potato-dough with and without anchovies every year at Christmas time: We call them grispelle & monacialli but they also have other names depending on where in Calabria you are from.  Grispelle are doughnut shaped without  anchovies and monacialli are small balls with anchovies inside.

Monacialli

Grispelle

What you’ll need:

• 5 pound bag of all-purpose flour
• 4-5 large potatoes (we use Idaho potatoes)
• Fresh yeast (about 2 oz)
• Salt
• Grated Parmigiano or Romano cheese
• Vegetable oil
• Canned anchovies in oil (for monacialli)

What you need to do: Peel your potatoes and boil them until they are soft enough to put through a potato ricer.  Once you have riced your potatoes, place them in a large bowl and add some of the water used to boil the potatoes.  Mix together until you have a thick potato/water mixture with no lumps (run your fingers through the water or strain the water to remove any potato chunks.) Let the potato water cool.   Place the yeast in a bowl of warm water breaking it up with your hands until it is completely dissolved and then add it to your potato water.  Now place your flour, salt and grated cheese in a large bowl and slowly add your potato water as needed to make your dough.  The dough should have a soft and fluffy consistency.

Potato Water

Let the dough rise for 1.5 – 2 hours.  We cover the bowl with a dish cloth and a blanket in order to keep the dough warm and speed up the process.  When the dough is ready it should be soft and airy.

Once your dough is ready, you’ll need to oil down a large area (table, counter top, etc.) with vegetable oil.  This is done so that the uncooked grispelle and monacialli don’t stick to the surface before you cook them as the dough is very sticky.  Also set aside a bowl of oil to dunk your hands in while working the dough.

For monacialli, grab a small piece of dough and stretch it flat in your hands, then add a whole anchovy fillet and wrap the anchovy with the dough (see video below.) Place the monacialli on your oily surface while you make others.  This will allow the dough to rise slightly before frying.

For grispelle, take a small piece of dough and poke a whole through the middle to create a doughnut shape and lay them on your oily surface while you make others.

Heat some vegetable oil in a large sauce or frying pan (use enough oil so that the grispelle and monacialli float while frying.)  Add your monacialli or grispelle and cook on both sides until golden brown.  Let cool and eat!

Grispelle are great on their own but you can also sprinkle sugar on them or dunk them in honey or maple syrup… as you can imagine, the kids love them this way.  I’m a monacialli kind of guy.  Whichever you prefer, enjoy and buon appetito!

PS – BUON ANNO A TUTTI!!

I’ve been saving this fantastic photo for the holidays…. the photo was submitted by Julie at Julie Richey Mosaics. Julie took this photo in Florence while living and studying there.  Fantastic Photo Julie and thanks for sharing!

So I managed to wipe out my entire hard drive last week… to add insult to injury, I have a back-up drive but never got around to hooking it up.  All my photos (that I didn’t upload to snapfish) including some of the “fantastic photos” I had yet to post (sorry) and much much more.  I also had several emails from readers that I hadn’t replied to, so my apologies to you if you wrote to me and I didn’t reply.  Damn you hard drive!  But life goes on.

After roasting my hard drive, we roasted and jarred some red peppers.  Here’s the link from last years post on how we roast our peppers. It’s a simple process that is time consuming but  well worth the effort!

From my inbox:

*Joe C. from New Jersey has a couple fig trees that have produced a whole lot of figs (lucky Joe!) and he’s looking for a fig jam recipe.  I don’t have one but maybe someone can help Joe out.

*Michele D. asks for the family sopressata recipe…. let’s not get crazy Miche.  How many times do I have to tell you… there are no recipes.

*The Debate continues… I’m talking about THE DEBATE – Sauce vs. Gravy.  Todd thinks Gravy is cRaZy and Stacy grew up using Gravy in Boston.

* “How to be a Good Italian Daughter” by Antoinette LaVecchia is playing in New York City.

One of the most unique and beautiful tourist attractions in Calabria in my opinion is, “la Chiesetta Di Piedigrotta” in Pizzo Calabro. Pizzo Calabro is a picturesque fishing town on the Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria and la Chiesetta Di Piedigrotta is actually located on the road into town on the SS 522, about 4km from the “Pizzo Calabro” exit off the Autostrada A3.

Legend has it that in the mid 1600s a ship was sailing off the coast of Pizzo Calabro with a crew of sailors when they encountered a violent storm.  The captain, sure that the ship would not survive the storm gathered his crew and prayed to the Madonna promising that if they survived the ordeal that they would build a church in her honor.  The ship was destroyed on the reef but the captain and crew reached the shore unharmed.  The sailors kept their promise and built an alter in an existing cave on the shore where local stone-cutters mining blocks of tufo (tuff or tufa) would take refuge from the rain.

Over the years, local artists and stone-cutters would continue to carve statues and scenes in the cave.  La Chiesetta Di Piedigrotta is carved entirely of tufo/tuff stone and is situated on the shore… high tides sometimes reach inside la Chiesetta.  It is an amazing site that shouldn’t be missed if you visit Calabria.  Entry to La Chiesetta Di Piedigrotta used to be free but they now charge 3 Euro.  Tickets can be purchased at the bar on the road above la Chiesetta (make sure to buy your tickets before walking down the long trail that leads to it!!)  For more information, visit the website www.chiesettadipiedigrotta.it

For other attractions in Calabria check out Cherrye’s post at My Bella Vita  Five Great Things to See in Calabria.

One of the best things about coming back from Italy is bringing back your favorite Italian snacks… mostly for yourself but also to share with others who have never tried them and get their feedback.  Here are some of my favorites Italian snacks that I brought back from my recent trip.

• Italian Nutella… you can find it here but not in the drinking glass package (and certainly not with Kung Fu Panda!)  How many Italian families have a cabinet full of Nutella glasses?
• Fonzies… if you haven’t had Fonzies, you don’t know what you’re missing. WARNING: more addictive than CRACK.
• Kinder – and all the chocolaty variations.. the hazelnut filled crunchy cookie ones are my favorite!
• Brasilena – The ONLY coffee soda worth drinking… it’s awesome! and only found in Calabria. I had to leave my six pack of glass bottles behind because it wouldn’t fit in my luggage.  DAMN YOU LUGGAGE!
• Guglielmo Coffee – my favorite espresso, also made in Calabria.
• Vecchio Amaro del Capo – an amaro from Capo Vaticano… delicious! especially when served ICE COLD.

What are some of your favorite snacks and brands from Italy?