Are you an olive oil virgin? Do you really know your balsamic? Are you ready to move past your salad days (well, at least for these two great condiments!)?

Join Academia Barilla Italian Culinary Specialist and Iron Chef Judge Mario Rizzotti on Monday April 21 at the Grovewood Tavern and Wine Bar in Cleveland, Ohio, for an evening of deep insight and gourmet tasting where you will learn how to distinguish real Italian products from the fakes.

Participants will learn how to taste extra virgin olive oil and Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena the professional way. More to it, the ingredients are matched to a yummy 5-course dinner where you can experience the ingredients “in action”!

The ingrediends and dishes on the Grove Tavern menu:

100% Italian Unfiltered EVOO From Sicily, made from Cerasuola and Nocellara del Belice olives. Medium fruitiness, with very fresh aromas, showing strong undertones of green grass, pachino tomatoes and oregano.
Course One - Antipasto Salumi Misti and Mozzarella di Bufala drizzled with Academia Barilla 100% Unfiltered EVOO from Sicily.

Balsamic Must of Modena, aged 8 years The luscious aromas of the Modena grapes and the sophistication of barrel-aged vinegar blend into a unique product that contains all the richness of a Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena and the full-bodied texture of the honey-like grape must.
Course Two - Primo piatto Risotto with Amarone and radicchio, in Parmesan cup, drizzled with balsamic must, aged 8 years.

100% Italian EVOO From Italy, made from a blend of traditional Italian olive varietals. Delicate intensity, with fresh olive flavors and a well-rounded body.
3 year old Balsamic Vinegar of Modena From Modena, the aroma and flavor are tangy with hints of fruit and wood; rich and full of oak. The texture is thick, sweet and pungent.
Course Three - Insalata Insalata Tricolore – Belgian endive, radicchio and arugula, served with 100% Italian EVOO and 3 year old balsamic vinegar of Modena.

Chianti Jelly Artisinally produced. The condiment shows a delicate but intense aroma, without wine notes but rich in fragrance. On the palate it is delicate, non-alcoholic, fragranced, soft and with a rounded texture.
Toscano Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) From Tuscany, made from Moraiolo, Leccino, and Frantoio olives. Medium-strong intensity, showing aromas and flavors of herbs, artichoke, green pepper, and olive pulp.
Course Four - Carne Seared Lamb Chop with Chianti Jelly and drizzled with Toscano EVOO, accompanied with penne pasta with yellow squash and balsamic vinegar.

25 year old Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale This exclusive product comes from the ancient cellars in and around Modena. Its all-enveloping flavor and unmatched aroma depend on the meticulous selection of the best local grapes, and on the masterful ageing process which entails numerous transfers of vinegar to small barrels over the 25 year period. This most precious of elixirs shows an intense and captivating aroma and concentrated flavors, with a creamy, dense, remarkably rich texture.
Dessert DOLCE Vanilla gelato with fresh berries, drizzled with 25 year old Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale.

Interested? Then rush to make your reservation by calling +1 (216) 531-4900, as seating is limited and by reservation only. The dinner and tasting price is $40 per person (add wine pairings $24, tax and gratuity not included).

The address to the Grovewood Tavern is 17105 Grovewood Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44110. As usual, we provide you with a useful Google Map for your driving directions.

More Italian Easter recipes for your Easter Day menu. As we told you yesterday, the Easter Dove is one of they key symbols of the Italian Pasqua, both in religious iconography and in holiday food tradition.

Symbolizing both peace and the Holy Spirit, the Dove, has become the shape of the famous traditional Easter cake, Colomba Pasquale (Easter Dove), a classic dessert at any Easter meal in Italy. Here is the recipe for our Italian Food Lovers readers!

Ref: The source of the image above is Iginio Massari and Achille Zoia’s cookbook “Cresci - L’arte della pasta lievitata” (Grow - The art of baking dough), edited by Pavoni, and available at the Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library in Parma, Italy.

COLOMBA PASQUALE
(serves 8-10)

INGREDIENTS - for the dough

- 11.6 oz flour
- 1 oz yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 8 oz of lukewarm milk
- 3 oz butter
- 1.3 sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2.7 oz candy lemon zest finely minced
- 1/2 grated zest of fresh lemon

INGREDIENTS - for the syrup

- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons water

OTHER INGREDIENDS

- flour to the base
- margarine to grease aluminum foil
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 oz sifted powdered sugar
- 1.4 oz peeled almonds
- 2 raisins

PREPARATION

Preheat the oven to 360 °F

For the dough

Place the flour in a large bowl, forming it into a mound. Add the yeast, sugar, 4 oz of lukewarm milk in the middle of the mound and knead the dough.

When completely incorporated, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place for 15 minutes so that the dough is puffy.

While the dough is rising, melt the butter in a small pan or microwave it in a microwave safe container. In another small bowl, beat the yolks with the sugar.

When the sugar is completely mixed with the yolks, add the melted butter to the mixture and mix. Add the mixture of the yolks, sugar and butter and the remaining milk and flour to the dough, and continue to knead vigorously until the dough is firm and compact, making sure it is not sticky.

Subsequently, add the fresh lemon zest and candied lemon to the dough, and form a ball. Set aside and let the dough rise for approximately 30 minutes in a warm place.

For the syrup

In a small pot, bring the 2 tablespoons of water and 2 tablespoons of sugar to a boil; remove from heat and let cool.

For the dough

When the dough is ready, divide it in half and make 2 rolls (approximately 7 to 8 inches in size). Shape each roll into a dove. You may also choose to place each roll in a dove-shaped mold.

Cover the dough and let each dove-shaped roll rise for about 20 to 30 minutes until each is double in size. When the dough is ready, brush the surface with the syrup mixture and sift the powdered sugar over the top. Top each dove-shaped roll with almonds, pressing them in slightly.

Add one raisin to each dove-shaped roll in order to make the eyes of the dove. To preserve the shape, wrap the cake with greased aluminum foil. Place the dove-shaped rolls in the preheated oven on the lower rack for 40 minutes.

When ready, gently remove the aluminum foil and allow the Colomba Pasquale cool before serving.

Buon Appetito and again Buona Pasqua from Academia Barilla!

We love Wikipedia, maybe not as much as we love Italian food, but we really think Wikipedia is a priceless resource for all the Internet users, including us. We referenced Wikipedia sources and articles several times in our blog posts, and also pointed a link or two to a couple of topics we asked you to explore more in-depth.

Last month, while browsing the popular online encyclopedia, we realized that their editorial team always welcomes new contributors in many area yet to be fully covered - one of which is Italian cuisine.

We couldn’t resist the call and started by creating a basic profile for Academia Barilla, before started experiencing the pleasure of online collaboration and contributing to an article we linked to in recent times, right before Christmas.

Remember the Zuppa Inglese recipe we published as part of our Christmas Recipe Series?

In that blog post we actually used part of Wikipedia knowledge, when reporting about the origins of the dessert’s name. In order to pay back for the knowledge we got, we decided to publish the complete recipe of the Zuppa Inglese dessert on the same Wikipedia page, so that other Web users will be able to find it easily in the future.

We will definitely contribute more and more to the Wikipedia, and we’ll let you know when we do - but don’t worry, we made a commitment on sharing our premium content with you at Italian Food Lovers before sharing it with everybody else, so we’ll always be blogging here before publishing everywhere else on the web! Stay tuned with us!

The 1st Monday of the month at Palmieri Ristorante, in Brentwood, Los Angeles, is turning into a classic night for both LA residents and traveling gourmands. We already blogged about the gourmet menus prepared by Chef Ottavio Palmieri, but the Chef’s creativity never stops, so you can enjoy every week new dishes and a new menu concept designed by the Sicilian Chef.

Academia Barilla partners Palmieri Ristorante for the Wine and food pairing nights, that feature creative and traditional dishes put together by Chef Palmieri, with the help of Academia Barilla gourmet ingredients, every first Monday of each month including today, February 4.

Check out today’s menu, with the dishes’ names in Sicilian:

Pani (breads)

Semolina and Sesame seed bread

Pi N’Cuminciari (starters)

Brusciuvia
Vegetable soup with Fava, Garbanzo and Pinto beans, lentils, peas
Drizzled with “Academia Barilla” Sicilian extra virgin olive oil

Carpacciu di Pisci Spada chi Finocchi e Aranci
Smoked Swordfish “ Carpaccio”; Fennel and Orange salad sprinkled with Academia Barilla Orange sea salt from Sicilia

Wine pairing: Donna Fugata Anthilia 2006

Primi Piatti (pasta entrees)

Involtini di Pasta chi Milinciani
Spaghetti, smoked mozzarella, tomato sauce, Almond-basil Pesto, wrapped around sliced eggplant and baked in the wood-burning oven

Pasta ca’ Buttarga
Spaghetti with chili flakes, garlic and Academia Barilla Sicilian extra virgin olive oil, “Bottarga” and “Mollica”

Wine pairing: iGurrida Triumph Grenace 2002

Pisci (fish)

Involtini di Pisci Spada
Rolls Swordfish, “Piacentino Ennese”, bread crumbs, herbs, salmoriglio and caponata

Wine pairing: Sedaca 2005

Carni (meat)

Viteddu
Braised Veal medallion with eggplant, mozzarella, in a tomato and herbs sauce

Wine pairing: Tancredi Donna Fugata 2003

Cosi Duci (dessert)

Cannoli
Chest ”Mamma Dorotea” Tangy Orange flavored ricotta cheese and Pistacchios

Wine pairing: Ben-Rye 2006

Academia Barilla Italian Culinary specialist Francesco Zimone will be available on site for Italian culinary tips; ask him about the several ways to use the Academia Barilla Natural Sea Salts from Sicily, or other Academia Barilla products.

The dinner cover is $55.00 per person (+ tax & gratuity) and you’ll better book your table in advance by calling the Palmieri Restaurant at (310) 442-8446, as seats are limited.

The address is Palmieri Ristorante, 11650 San Vicente Blvd., Brentwood, Los Angeles CA - we provide a Google Map here below, so you can get accurate driving directions to the restaurant.

At the same time, we think at the traditions in Italian cuisine to propose you the recipes for two traditional desserts: Home-made Cantucci (almond cookies) with Vin Santo, and a Lemon Zest Ciambella.

HOME-MADE CANTUCCI
(a recipe by Chef Lorenzo Boni)
INGREDIENTS

- 4 1/2 cups flour
- 10 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 4 cups almonds, whole and unpeeled
- 2 cups Vin Santo wine, chilled

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 350º F. Cream butter and sugar together, add remaining ingredients (except for the almonds) and mix together making sure to not over-mix. Add almonds and hand mix with a wooden spoon.

Place dough in a large zip lock bag. Cut tip of bag 1-1/2-inch wide. Squeeze dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet, making a rope, about 1 1/2-inches wide. Makes about 8 ropes.

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven but leave the oven on.

Cool Cantucci on parchment paper lined baking sheet for about 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, approximately 10 minutes, cut into 3/8-inch diagonal slices on cutting board. Do not allow Cantucci to cool completely before you cut or they will crumble.

Place Cantucci slices on their side onto the baking sheet. Return to oven and bake another 15 minutes, or until crisp and golden in color.

Allow to cool and become crisp before serving. Dip Cantucci in additional chilled Vin Santo wine as the perfect ending to a fine meal.

WINE PAIRING TIPS

Cantucci are traditionally enjoyed dipped in Vin Santo, a traditional sweet but strong wine on its way to be a liquor. If you want to try one of the best Vin Santo around (and available on the US market), we suggest to try Ruffino “Serelle” Vin Santo.

LEMON ZEST CIAMBELLA
(a recipe by Chef Lorenzo Boni)

INGREDIENTS

- 2 lbs 3/4 oz flour
- 10 1/2 oz sugar
- 3 whole eggs
- 3 1/2 oz. butter
- 7 oz. baking powder
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped lemon zest
- milk, enough to thin
- 1/3 cup Marsala wine
- optional powdered sugar

PREPARATION

Preheat an oven, on convection to 375 F.

Weigh the ingredients. Begin by mixing the sugar and softened butter, add the eggs, and mix until combined well.

In a separate bowl mix the flour and the baking powder. Stir the flour mixture into the egg butter mixture to form a thick batter. Thin with the Marsala wine and a touch of milk.

Prepare a disposable plastic pastry bag by cutting a diagonal (biased) hole that when the batter is squeezed out will be about three inches wide. Pipe the dough/batter onto baking sheets with parchment paper.

Be sure to make individual cakes about 12 inches long, about 3 inches wide. Leave a 3 inch gap in between.

Place in the oven and bake until risen and slightly browned. About 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove the pans from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Once cool, sprinkle the top with powdered sugar for better results, then cut into a desired shape.

Serve with a glass of cold milk.

WINE PAIRING TIPS

Maybe a glass of cold milk instead?

=)

We hope you enjoyed our end-of the year gourmet menus for Christmas and New Tear’s Eve. Next year we will publish more and more recipes, Chef tips and culinary stories.

Happy 2008 to you all from the Academia Barilla Chefs Team!