If you have done any amount of traveling in the Mediterranean region you know how much olives are a part of daily life. Not only in olive oil which is used throughout the region, but in the fruit itself.  The trees are remarkably short unless they are extremely old, trees have been verified to be over 3000 years (not a typo) and still bearing fruit. In Tuscan and Italian cuisine, as well as many other Mediterranean cuisines, olive fruit is used abundantly.

The fruit itself will give you a nasty little surprise if you pluck one from a tree and eat it fresh.  If you have ever seen a baby suck on a slice of lemon and remember that face, then you know the kind of response I’m talking about.  The fruit itself is naturally quite bitter.  The olives you find in your store will have been fermented or brined or fermented and the brined.  The milder the olive, the more likely it has only been brined and not fermented.  If you taste a “California” olive alongside a Kalamata olive you will notice a distinctly milder flavor in the “California” olive.

Olives as an appetizer or snack are extremely common through all of the Mediterranean.  But they are used extensively in entrees as well.  They are a surprisingly good combination with raisins when you are creating your own dishes, especially with pork and chicken.  For snacks and appetizers olives that are not pitted are fine, and there are a much greater number of varieties of non pitted olives available, some of the deepest, darkest, tastiest olives still have their seeds.  When you are using them in an entree it is highly recommended to either slice around the pits or buy pitted olives.  You or a friend biting into a pit and needing immediate dental care is not the most entertaining way to spend an evening.

Open yourself up to the many different types of olives as well.  There are a huge number of varieties beyond the pimento stuffed version the bartender tosses into your martini.   You can find them fermented with peppers for those that like a little kick, stuffed with the typical pimentos, stuffed with a variety of cheeses from feta to blue and even stuffed with capers for those that like the full brine effect.  For most cooking the smaller darker varieties, kalamata, niciose and lugano work best in most dishes.  If you have a neighborhood Italian deli they will possibly let you have a taste before buying.  If you happen to visit wine country in California there are a fair number of producers there and some will offer wine and olive tastings, this is a growing trend as more and more artisanal olive producers are popping up in the region.  For a little further reading: http://tinyurl.com/cuk3ht. or http://tinyurl.com/2uc5p4

Well, not for the initiated, but for those unaccustomed to artichokes they can seem a little off putting at first. I actually still remember the first time I ate one because it was such a strange looking little veggie to me. But quite a few years later they are one of my favorites and whether they are fried, sauteed, in risotto or simply steamed and served with an aioli I am all over it. They are all over the supermarkets now, just in the last few weeks so trying a new recipe is more than time appropriate. These can get a little messy to eat if you are like me and like to use your fingers so if your have high maintenance guests save this recipe for a more laid back crowd.

INGREDIENTS

4 artichokes

1cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Pecorino cheese

1tbsp chopped parsley

1/4 tsp garlic powder

2 garlic cloves

Of course olive oil, salt and pepper—you know to grab those before reading here.

DIRECTIONS

Cut the stems off of the

artichokes, flush with the bottom. Cut points off of all leaves and cut off the top of the

artichokes. Combine bread crumbs, Pecorino cheese, parsley,

garlic powder, salt, pepper, and two tablespoons of olive oil in a medium bowl. Mix together well. Spread the leaves of each artichoke out and push stuffing in between them.

In a pot a bit larger than the

artichokes, add the sliced garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the

artichokes. Drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil over the top of the

artichokes. Turn flame to medium and cook until the olive oil sizzles, about 1-2 minutes. Add water roughly half way to the top of the artichokes. Cover and cook until the

artichokes are tender and a leaf is easily pulled off, about 45 minutes. If liquid is evaporating too quickly, check every 15 minutes, add a little more water. When you pull the artichokes out the water should be fairly well boiled down, if not boil it down a little more and drizzle over the artichokes after you have plated them.

A little extra grated Pecorino and maybe some aioli alongside are a nice touch as well.

And for a little fun, check out the history of the artichoke, http://tinyurl.com/cwd46k

Yes, I know cocktails technically aren’t food.  But how many times does something not being essential for survival stop you from consuming it?  If you are like me, it’s pretty much never.  Whatever tastes the best among the options is what ends up in my mouth.

Cocktails in Italy are slightly different than the typical American options.  There are quite a few similarities as well, a Grey Goose and tonic is the same everywhere.  So to make it more entertaining, let’s imagine it’s Saturday evening, about 7:00.  You meet your friends for aperitivo to have a few bits and a drink before heading to dinner.  What is everybody drinking? A glass of wine is always a good choice, but you will also see a great deal of aperitif style cocktails.  Campari and soda, bellinis, spritzers and Negronis being the most popular.  Beer is also a common choice, especially when the weather is warm.  A martini here is not the same thing as an American martini, unless you are in a bar that caters to Americans.  The cocktails pre-dinner, tend to be fairly low alcohol, except for the Negroni, that one packs a punch. One other note, a huge proportion of even the medium priced bars here squeeze their own juices so if you like fruit, jump on in.

After everyone has enjoyed a cocktail and some of the aperitivo offerings. It’s time to head to dinner.  With dinner two options abound, red or white.  Here it’s wine with dinner, or beer if you are having pizza someplace casual.

After dinner even those that skip dessert, or pretend they are not going to take a bite of the dessert you ordered, will almost all have coffee and an after dinner drink.  After dinner drinks are led by Grappa and Limoncello, hands down the two top choices.  Many Grappas are actually quite strong, a little fact that the beautiful bottles seem to bely.  Limoncello in many restaurants is actually made on premises, many times from family recipes with generations of history.  Finishing the meal with a digestif, such as Fernet Branca, or something like a Grand Marnier is fairly common as well.  The popularity of single malt Scotch has not hit the feverish pitch in Italy that most large American cities have experienced, but it is becoming more popular, especially in winter.  What you will not see is [liquor name here] and coffee after dinner, here that is only for the morning after to “correct” the condition of your brain.

A link for recipes http://www.theitaliantaste.com/italian-cooking/cocktails/index_our_cocktail.shtml

The perception may be that fried chicken is a uniquely American dish given it’s ubiquitous presence at picnics and kitchen tables from sea to shining sea.   But the Tuscans  love a good  “pollo frito” just as much as Americans, including the Colonel. In fact, it is on the menu of a lot of traditional style restaurants in Tuscany.  The side dishes vary a little from the American preferences as well, but not by much.

One amazing difference here is the freshness of the chicken, so if you are able to find locally grown chicken that is nice and fresh you will enjoy the dish even more.  Truly fresh chicken has an actual pinkish tint to it, even when fully cooked.   This pinkish tint is not the same as a raw center, a raw center is delineated by a change in texture while the fresh meat will have the same rosy hue from edge to edge.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken pieces (I prefer skin on) roughly two per person

Flour

Butter (enough to coat the bottom of the pan very lightly)

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

Take your chicken pieces and rinse them in tepid water and pat them dry.  Dredge through the flour and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Coat the pan with a thin layer of butter.  Turn your flame up and fry both sides of the chicken for 1 to 2 minutes.  Lower your flame and add a drizzle of olive oil and cover the pan and continue to cook for roughly 25 minutes. Remove the chicken pieces then add the remainder of the pan drippings over the chicken, being sure to scrap the pan to get any little chicken pieces that are trying to escape.

I like this with a baked potato slathered in olive oil a crispy green salad with a hint of lemon and a clean white wine, unoaked Chardonnay or Poilly Fume.

One misperception those that have never traveled to Italy have is that Italian cuisine is Italian cuisine.  And nothing could be further from the truth.  The food in Tuscany is not the same as Emilia Romagna  is not the same as Sicily.  While you will find restaurants that cater to a tourist perception by serving dishes from every region on their menu you can be assured that like those restaurants in the US that try to do everything, the more expansive the menu the more mediocre the food.

Italy historically has only been Italy since 1861, and previously was composed of a collection of small kingdoms, principalities and duchys.  Combine this political regionalism with variability of climate along the peninsula, which ranges from snow covered alpine peaks to Sicilian beaches on the same latitude as northern Africa.  The Apennines stretch down the center of the peninsula offering varied elevations that mean snow actually falls even in the southernmost regions of the country.

The differences in cuisine extend to the types of wine, types of meat, cheese, produce and virtually every facet of cuisine.  While pork dishes are served in every region, you will notice extremely little fish when you are more than 20-30 km from the sea.  Follow along with regional preferences when you are in Italy and you will have not only a more authentic food experience, but the food will also be amazingly fresh.  Cheeses and wines from all over the country are available everywhere, and most areas also have a large amount of French cheese and wine as well.  If you follow the adage, “If it grows together, it goes together,” you are generally going to be happy with the results.  Trying to substitute or alter dishes to suit the American vision of Italian cuisine will only serve to earn the ire of restaurant staff and it definitely won’t taste as good.

A good guide that is easily accessible to read before traveling to Italy is http://italianfood.about.com/od/regionalcuisines1/Italian_Regional_Cuisines.htm

Soak up Tuscan bistecca, Neapolitan pizza,  Saltimbocca from Lazio, Milanese risotto and Venetian fish dishes.  Take an Italian/English food dictionary and eat in the restaurants that DONT have English menus, food that is twice as good for 2/3 the price.  Your tastebuds and tummy will say thank you and grazie mille.