The Auditorium of the Academia Barilla Culinary School in Parma, Italy, will host Gusti d’Autore (Author’s Tastes), three-days of evening events opening today, April 7, 2007, and presenting daily events until Wednesday April 9.

Gusti d’Autore is promoted by Academia Barilla in partnership with the City of Parma, and with the support of BIGAB, Academia Barilla’s Gastronomic Library.

The event proposes three days dedicated to Italian gastronomic culture. Each evening will see the participation of several VIPs of the “Italian food scene” who will discuss stories, curiosities and new culinary tendencies while hands-on culinary demos will take place in front of the public.

The first evening will be dedicated to discussing “Cucina Low-cost” (Low-cost cuisine), Tuesday evening will be stage to a culinary round table on “Tradizione e Innovazione” (Tradition and Innovation), while Wednesday, the closing night, will be a soirée dedicated to “Parma ieri, oggi e domani” (Parma yesterday, today and tomorrow).

All the guests participating to the three days event are Italian gourmet experts, ranging from gastronomy experts to food journalists and top Chefs:

• Camillo Langone, who writes about restaurants and literiture for several Italian newspapers (”Il Foglio”, “Il Giornale”, “La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno”, “Il Domenicale”, “Panorama”);
• Paolo Marchi (Cuisine), a chef “manqué” who has been writing food columns (”Cibi Divini”, “Affari di Gola”) for the daily newspaper “Il Giornale” in the last 12 years. Marchi is also founder and editor of “Identità Golose” (Gourmet Identities), an international congress of haute cuisine held in Milan every January.
• Luigi Cremona, a gastronomy lover from Cremona who cooperates with the italian Touring Club in the editing of many Restaurants and Wines Guides. Cremona is also the Director of the oenologic magazine “Spirito DiVino“, and has been awarded as “Journalist of the Year” at the 2007 Wine Oscars.
• Davide Cassi, a Professor a of Molecular Gastronomy and a member of the Italian Kitchen, is very keen on the science of cooking. Editor of several scientific texts in Statistical Mechanics, Cassi’s research concerns fractals, gastronomy and the scientific theory of graphs. In the last 15 years Cassi applied his research on physics of complex systems to gastronomy. Cassi directs the Laboratory of Food Science, the only facility of its kind in Italy, which develops and experiences, both scientifically and gastronomically, new cooking techniques. He also authored, with Chef Bocchia, the book “The estemporaneo ice cream and other inventions” (Il gelato estemporaneo e altre invenzioni gastronomiche), the first manual on molecular cooking.
• Andrea Grignaffini, cuisine academician, after working with Luigi Veronelli at L’Etichetta and being curator at Cose Buone Publishing for the last 10 years, today is the Creative Director at Spirito DiVino magazine. Italian pioneer in cigar journalism, he’s been part of the L’Espresso restaurant guidebook directive committee since 1998. He also works with Gazzetta di Parma newspaper and Tv Parma, while teaches Tasting methodology at Parma’s University of Gastronomic science.
• Massimo Bottura is the top Chef at Osteria La Francescana, a restaurant located in the historic center of downtown Modena. Awarded with 2 Michelin stars, Bottura makes large use of unusual flavors or ingredient combinations, creating recipes that are a journey through tradition, innovation and the unexpected. His formulas and dishes are made of classic and contemporary ingredients, let alone a combination of simple and complex cooking techniques. Always open to new interpretations of the Italian culinary art, he claims that “the important thing to me is to achieve a balance between form and color to captivate the eyes of the customers. Then comes the balance among texture, temperature and flavor to please the palate.”

The three gastronomic evenings will take place on April 7, 8 and 9, and will be open to the public between 9pm and 10.30pm with free entrance, and performed at the Auditorium of the Academia Barilla Culinary School at the Barilla Center, Largo Calamandrei, in Central Parma. Google Maps here below for easy driving directions.

Seating is limited, so reservations are highly recommended. Call +39 0521 264.060 or send an email at info@academiabarilla.it to book your seat at Gusti d’Autore.

Planning to be in Southern California this weekend? Then you shouldn’t miss the new event organized by Learn About Wine, the California-based organization dedicated to raise awareness on wine culture through tasting events, oenology workshops and other initiatives.

Academia Barilla has already joined Learn About Wine (LAW) in several gourmet occasions, and Academia Barilla Italian Culinary Specialist Francesco Zimone is already a “resident guest” at LAW events.

A couple of weeks ago Francesco Zimone hosted a gourmet food tasting demo at another LAW event at HD Buttercup, the hip Los Angeles furniture mall, where this picture has been taken.

Next Saturday April 5 Francesco Zimone and some of the top gourmet specialties from Academia Barilla will be also delighting the palates of the crowd of visitors of Malibu Wine Classic, another event promoted by Learn About Wine.

The 5th Annual Malibu Wine Classic Charity Event returns to Malibu on the grounds of the Malibu Civic Center, in the heart of Malibu, LA, California, Saturday, April 5, 2008.

The Malibu Wine Classic showcases the most highly regarded Californian wineries from Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, combined with top Malibu and Los Angeles area restaurants. Academia Barilla and Italian Culinary Specialist Francesco Zimone will be offering free tasting samples of Italian gourmet food products from the Academia Barilla range of gastronomic specialties.

The Afternoon Grand Tasting featuring tasting portions from 60 top selected wineries and over a dozen restaurants and gourmet purveyors such as Academia Barilla, will take place in the courtyard setting of the Malibu Civic Center overlooking Santa Monica Bay, and benefits Childhelp®, an organization ranked by Town&Country Magazine as a Top 10 children’s charity in the USA. A portion of the purchase price ($50) is a tax-deductible charitable donation to Childhelp®, a national children’s charity.

Opening time is noon until 5pm, with public advance purchase tickets available for $79 per person calling +1 (310) 451-7600. More info is also available at the Malibu Wine Classic website.

The address to the Malibu Wine Classic event is: Malibu Civic Center, 23555 Civic Center Way - Malibu, California 90265. For full driving directions please refer to the Google Map here above.

On-site parking at the Malibu Civic Center is available for $5, Valet parking for $8. Remember that, by law, no children or minors are permitted at the event - sorry!

Say buongiorno again to Chef Matteo Carboni of the Academia Barilla Culinary School, who’s back on Italian food Lovers to introduce the Ingredient of the Month for the month of March ending today: the sunny, Mediterranean eggplant (aubergine for our readers in the UK and Australia).

Today Chef Matteo Carboni will show not only how to cut an eggplant in thin slices, but also how to make a perfect and easy finger food dish in few minutes, with the help of few other ingredients: extra virgin olive oil (Academia Barilla’s Monti Iblei, of course), grated Pecorino cheese (try Academia Barilla’s Pecorinos from Tuscany or Sardinia for an authentic Italian flavor) and Prosciutto di Parma.

Add chives as final touch for presentation, and a arucula salad on a side, and you have the perfect antipasto.

Check out the video recipe!

Chef Carboni first slices the eggplants, then spread some extra virgin olive oil on both sides of each slice before grilling them for two minutes max on a pre-heated grill.

While the eggplant slices are still hot off the grill, Chef Carboni sprinkles some grated Pecorino cheeses, then pairs the slice with a slice of Prosciutto di Parma, and carefully roll them together, using chives to secure each roll, adding a final touch of flavor and presentation.

CHEF TIPS:

Serve it with an arucula salad (rocket salad) on a side, adding just some Italian extra virgin olive oil and Balsamic Must of Modena aged 8 years, like the one you can find at the Academia Barilla online store.

Today we have another yummy pasta recipe from the Academia Barilla Culinary School, an easy recipe for a delicious gourmet pasta, Tagliatelle with cream of walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, olives and prosciutto di Parma.

Ref: The source of the image above is the already quoted Marianne Paquin’s cookbook “La cucina degli innamorati” (Lover’s Cuisine), edited by Fabbri Editori, and available at the Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library in Parma, Italy.

Ready to cook? Print this recipe or take the laptop with you to the kitchen, we are ready to go!

TAGLIATELLE WITH CREAM OF WALNUTS, HAZELNUTS, PISTACHIOS, OLIVES AND PROSCIUTTO DI PARMA
(serves 2)

INGREDIENTS

- 1/2 lb fresh tagliatelle
- 2 slices of Academia Barilla Prosciutto di Parma
- 4 walnuts
- 8 peeled hazelnuts
- 12 peeled pistachios
- 8 green olives (without the pit)
- 7 tablespoons of cream
- 2 tablespoons Academia Barilla Riviera Ligure DOP extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION

Preparation time - 10 minutes
Cooking time - 10 minutes

Chop the walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios and olives together. Cut the slices of Academia Barilla Prosciutto di Parma into strips.

Stir the cream, Academia Barilla Riviera Ligure DOP extra virgin olive oil, mixture of chopped nuts, salt and pepper into the serving plate.

Cook the Tagliatelle in salted boiling water. When ready (check the cooking time on package), drain the pasta and pour it in the serving dish, stir gently and add the Academia Barilla Prosciutto di Parma strips. Serve immediately.

CHEF TIPS

Add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in the cooking water so the pasta doesn’t stick together.

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!