Today, March 21, is the first day of Spring; we leave behind us the cold days of winter (not so cold this year, after all) and look forward for more and more beautiful days of primavera, spring time.

So how about planning a trip to Parma, in the heart of Emilia-Romagna and the Italian Food Valley? Academia Barilla could be your perfect host for your Italian gourmet vacations.

Amazing Medieval town rich of culture and with plenty of historic highlights that meet culinary culture (check out our blog article from last year for a virtual visit to the city), Parma is also, as our readership knows, home to Academia Barilla, its Culinary School, and of course BIGAB, Academia Barilla’s Gastronomic Library.

Both Academia Barilla’s Culinary School and Gastronomic Library will release their official calendar of events and gourmet and cultural initiatives soon (you get a peek preview on BIGAB’s activities from a previous post), but make sure that you will have plenty of choices that you can customize.

Academia Barilla’s culinary learning vacations include everything from gourmet tours of the Italian Food Valley to hands-on Italian cooking classes at the Culinary School, cultural guided tours, exploration of traditional farms and local artisan producers of Italian regional specialties and more, including on the cultural side of experiencing Italy. Opera? We got that too. Contemporary art? Of course. Cinema? Yep.

Getting curious? We suggest you stay tuned with this blog for more details coming up soon, but also that you start inquiring at Academia Barilla about the gastronomic and cultural initiatives for 2008. You can call directly Academia Barilla in Parma, Italy at +39 0521 264-060 or toll-free number (numero verde) 800 376-116; if you are in the United States you can reach Academia Barilla the toll-free number 866 772-2233.

In the meanwhile, explore our Parma photo set on Flickr.com! (click on the image to go to the photo set).

See you in Parma in primavera!

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!

Academia Barilla is proud to introduce three new Italian gourmet products dedicated to the tastes of regional Italian cuisine.

Introducing Sapori Italiani, authentic Italian Flavors, a line of Italian gourmet specialties made exclusively by hand on small regional estates in Italy, using only local, typical ingredients. Sapori Italiani allows finish any dish with real Italian flair and taste.

The first product is Academia Barilla’s Sapori Italiani Mix, an exclusive selection of Italian herbs from small Tuscan and Sicilian estates.

Hand packed with wild oregano, capers and cured olives, this all natural mix gives true Italian taste to any dish and is ideal on a variety of dishes and perfect for every day use. Try on pasta, pizza, salads, bruschetta and grilled meats.

A great add-on to the Academia Barilla family of Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oils (EVOO) is the brand-new Unfiltered Oil, a product of Sicily, in the heart of the sunny Mediterranean. Made from Sicilian olive varieties Cerasuola and Nocellara del Belice, Academia Barilla’s Unfiltered Oil offers a medium fruitiness and very fresh aromas, with strong undertones of green grass, pachino tomatoes and oregano.

The most natural EVOO available from Italy, this oil is produced with innovative methods that surpass traditional centrifuge processes, leaving the oil’s original flavors and properties intact, with no sediments or pulp. Versatile, for everyday use, Academia Barilla’s Unfiltered olive oil gives his best on marinades, dressings, cooking, dipping and bruschetta.

Last but not last new entry in the Academia Barilla line of Italian olive oils is the new 100% Organic Oil. Produced in Umbria, in the heart of Italy, 100% Organic Oill is one of the few organic olive oils available made from 100% Italian, organic olives. With a medium fruitiness, and mild hints of ripe olive, grass and sweet almonds Academia Barilla’s 100% Organic Oil is the perfect companion for versatile, everyday use organic marinades, dressings, cooking and dipping.

We’ll publish some recipes soon with the new Academia Barilla ingredients, so stay tuned! In the meanwhile, do not forget that the new gourmet Sapori Italiani are available at the Academia Barilla online store!

Today we want to introduce on Italian Food Lovers a very interesting twist in Italian food, featuring Academia Barilla 100% Italian extra virgin olive oil! We are talking about a product that introduces a real fusion between Italian and US Southwestern flavors and food cultures: Gourmet Italian Chili!

Available in both sausage and vegetarian variations, the one-of-a-kind, first-to-market Gourmet Italian Chili is a unique Italian spin on the classic American-Southwestern chili, never before seen in the US marketplace.

Produced by South Carolina-based Annette Fioravanti who uses only the finest ingredients and true Italian flair, Annette’s Italian Chili has already shown signs of being the next big hit in specialty food stores nationwide. Annette’s Gourmet Italian Chili comes in three variations: Annette’s Spicy Sausage Italian Chili, Annette’s Mild Sausage Italian Chili, and Annette’s Vegetarian Italian Chili - enough choice for all chili lovers!

We reached out to Annette for a brief email interview, and she told us that she decided to adopt Academia Barilla 100% Italiano extra virgin olive oil for her Italian Chili since her family used Barilla olive oil for many years, and this tradition has been carried over to the second generation.

Of course, Annette chooses the 100% Italian olive oil in the 101 oz. can version, which is ideal for her production use as well as for restaurant cuisine, and available at the Academia Barilla online shop.

“During the Chicago NRA show we had the opportunity to sample several Academia Barilla olive oils. We were most fascinated with the Academia Barilla 100% Italiano, which we decided to incorporate into our recently developed three Italian chili recipes.

We were most impressed by the deliciously mild and velvet flavoring that enhances the perfect taste in the recipes, which is the reason why we selected it over several other well known brands… it emphasizes the aromas that make our products distinct.”

Want some serving suggestions for Annette’s Italian Chili? We asked directly to Annette, and these are her suggestions for enjoying this gourmet product at best.

“Our recipes are made with premium ingredients, and are all natural with no preservatives. We provide products that are prepared within a matter of a few minutes, just open heat and serve. Easy serving suggestions? Here we go:

Main meal
- After heating add some shredded cheese and a dab of sour cream, serve with your favorite hearty chips (we love it with the Garden of Eatin Blue Red Hot Chips);
- Serve over a nice dish of pasta, baked potato, or bed of rice.

Casserole
- Heat your favorite recipe then pour over a layer of hearty chips add shredded cheese then place under broiler until cheese melts
- Serve as a dip with hearty chips (big hit on Superbowl Sunday!)

If you want to get to know more Annette’s range of gourmet Italian Chili products just visit her website at www.annettes-gourmet-italian-chili.com. You can also get in touch directly with Annette Fioravanti for further serving suggestions, recipes, and product distribution info at +1 (386) 846-8428.

A nice video about Annette’s Italian traditions and cultural heritage can be also found at this link on GourmetFoodTube.com, while you can find more recipes and serving suggestions to enjoy Annette’s Italian Chili on Annette’s website.

Napa Valley in Los Angeles? You may think this is not possible, and certainly it would be impossible if it wasn’t for our friends at Learn About Wine, who have been promoting Wine Culture in the Los Angeles area for the last few years.

This is not the first time Academia Barilla partners Learn About Wine (LAW) for a food and wine tasting event in Southern California, as some of our blog readers can recall.

Academia Barilla’s Italian Culinary Specialist Francesco Zimone is always ready to join our friends at LAW to set up a tasting event with some of our delicious Italian food specialties.

Tomorrow, Friday March 7, between 7.30pm and 9.30pm PST, Francesco will be joining again Learn About Wine for a special event in Culver City, Los Angeles, where Napa Valley wines will meet gourmet food.

The list of Napa Valley wines available for tasting is impressive, and if you are a wine lover who lives in the area you should try not to miss this event. Check LAW’s website for the full list of Napa Valley wines available at the event, that you can enjoy while tasting samples of Academia Barilla’s Italian extra virgin olive oils and Balsamic Vinegars of Modena.

The address for the Learn About Wine event is HD Buttercup in Culver City, 3225 Helms Ave at Venice Blvd. A Google Map to the event is provided here below for your driving direction needs.

Entry fee is $60 per person / $100 per couple (online only), while TASTE Members pay only $48 (find more info about the very valuable LAW membership programs at LearnAboutWine.com).

Get your ticket in advance, as entry fee at the door will rise up to $75 per person. For more information and booking you can also call Learn About Wines at (+1) 310-451-7600.