Ideas for a winter holiday season (2) : what to do in Bologna

5^th January. Michelle and I went to see Moonrise kingdom by Wes Anderson at a cinema house. Beautiful film: lyrical and melancholic, about the power of commitment and love. With Bill Murray, Bruce Willis and Edward Norton in unexpected grotesques roles. Indeed worth seeing.

Their faces speak for themselves, but the film is not just ironic,
there is a red tragedy thread about feelings and human relationships
in nowadays America.

Then we took two flutes of dessert passito wine in a delightful tavern called Rovescio (inside out) in via Pietralata 75, which I will describe soon since it is one of my favorite taverns!

Stylish, rustic at the same time, elegant wines, and an
exceptional chef Raffaele Fierro:
http://www.rovescio.it/

6^th January: Epiphany in a Joyce’s sense. I cannot describe my emotions about this days, cause I wish to keep them locked inside me, privately in gentle custody so to say, yet I have the chance to offer a short sketch of what happened!

The sense of Epiphany is to find something or someone, partially knowing what
you are going to face, partially abandoning your intelligence to something
irrational as marvel.

Michelle and I went to Cesenatico, a fair sea-town on the Adriatic sea. We desired to walk along the shore with the low-tide. We came across a wonderful and luminous nativity scene on the very canal, built up on a project by Leonardo da Vinci. 

The nativity scene took place on the boats! The water reflexion in darkness
was particularly fascinating.

At a local festivity market, I also bought a tunisian tajine (whose virtues I will soon retell!) and finally we had a nutritious snack, based on piadina crescione or cassone, a typical local dish, which might remind the attentive eater to an Irish potato bread combined to a Greek pita (piadina – pizza – pita indeed share the same semantic root). 

Sectioned crescione: yummy! Below the recipe, offered by the wise-ful
Giallo Zafferano!

7^th January. Michelle and I had a tête-à-tête breakfast in a modern café, called Travel caffé located in via Arcoveggio 74. Having breakfast with Michelle is like picking up again and again the first apple with no fear of a divine chastisement. There the bartender, Luigi, a friend, does one of the best coffees in Bologna. He once was a baker so his croissants as well are really special. Two days after I ate there again six pizzette…the corresponding amount of calories would have probably killed a polar bear and took a macchiato. 

"One pulls another" (una tira l'altra) says an idiomatic italian expression,
meaning that you cannot restrain from scarfing down them all.

I favourably remember that day, since Michelle came back for lunch after work and it is a joy when imagination and Reality merge together.

A true macchiato at Travel caffè, one of those moments during which
you regret the Spanish Armada didn't break through the English lines!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Travel-Caffè-Bologna/130842420303995

8^th January. I had a long and profound conversation with Lord Ricard, blogger of Vox Clamantis in deserto - RQ. Afterwords, Claudette and Fabiao joined me for lunch: two amazing friends brought ashore like bottle messages by a glorious Erasmus in Edinburgh, some years ago. We had a range of antipasti followed by linguine with home made pesto (which came directly from last summer garden-harvest), then a splendid chicken with vegetables in the Tunisian tajine, and finally an angel food cake. We were able to survive only because of the excellent Nero d’Avola from the sun-drenched provinces of Oriental Sicily and a Dolcetto d'Alba from the Langhe Region, in Piemonte, at the borders with sweet France.

This mysterious terracotta object provides a phenomenal alternative to pan-preparation.

During the evening, instead, I attended dinner again at the Rovescio tavern with twelve friends (equally distributed between female and male friends) and luckily enough we were not thirteen. No one actually wishes to be appointed as the Messiah:

The last supper by Valentin de Boulogne, 1625-1626,
Rome, National Art Gallery (Museo Corsini).

9^th January. I had a long phone conversation with Katie, otherwise called the hummingbird. Michelle came back again for lunch! During the afternoon, I went out with Christine for a green tea with wild roses at Il mondo di Eutèpia, a terrible name for a outstanding tea house in via Testoni 5/d. Eutèpia derives from Eu + tòpos (good place), so in itself is a pretty welcoming name, but the oddity of Ancient Greek makes this threshold a bit awkward to decipher. 

The evening instead was embellished by an experiment: three couples and the Beermisù, a version of Tiramisù made with beer... We shall come back on this! By now, enjoy my art-attack in tracing a beer mug on the wet cocoa powder:

Beer-me-su!

10^th January. I met father Laurence, a cherished teacher, and now a friend, who educated me to the sense of humbleness, not through teaching but through concrete example. We went to Matusel a distinct restaurant in the University area, precisely in via Bertoloni 2. Michelle joined us and took a vast plate of grilled vegetables. 

A welcoming combination between art and food,
wood and soft lights: the staff is very kind and zealous,
vegetarians are never left on their own:
http://www.matusel.it/

Then I went book hunting: despite I would have liked to keep calm and spend nothing, I ended up with five books. Then I took a tea again at Eutèpia with my best friend Martina and Frederick, the most knowledgeable man about atomic bombs and China I know. Finally, I went to Hannah a true friend, who’s always a wonderful conversationalist: despite we are very different, our dialogues do not suffer of any sort of rigidness, yet we feel free to express ourselves with dignity and openness.

Green tea with magnolia blossoms: ravishing.
http://www.mondodieutepia.com/ [unfortunately in Italian only]

Last nights are often sad. Personally I felt miserable. I would have liked to let Time flow slower: hearts need to knit that subtle knot which makes us lovers, paraphrasing John Donne’s Ecstasy. No net, hook or string could trap my wish and fulfil it: instead my desire of departure-procrastination fell somewhere in tall grass, forgotten and out of reach: the following morning came out quickly and the suitcase was still on its way to be done.

Emigrants bring sorrow and hope in their suitcases,
dandys often travel escorted by manageable palate dreams.

11^th January. With Death in my heart, I had to say goodbye to Michelle, took again two flights and two BA meals and landed safely in Edinburgh: an Urban Eat wrap with mozzarella and pesto, and a snack made of sparkling water and crisps or sparkling crisps and salty water?

...to be continued...

Ideas for a winter holiday season (1): emergency landing

Perhaps I kept myself out of the blog for too long, but I have a series of good alibis. In fact, I received countless inputs from my last stay in Italy, so now it is knotty to recollect them all. It would have been wise to mention them only through a list, I thought: a sort of skeleton-memento then came out and it describes both the pleasing commitments and the fortnight’s food gratifications. Later, from this rough top-hat-list, it is going to be easier to bring out some magic!

BA is one of the best ways to fly: comfortable airports and reasonable prices
are the major two virtues of this flag company.

28^th December. Flying back to Bologna with British Airways. I ordered a Twinings Green tea (on request), apple juice and a cookie, followed, on the second flight, by an Urban Eat Hoisin duck wraps and a glass of still water. I discovered Heathrow Terminal 5. I found thinking when you are detached from the ground highly productive: height makes you high with no chemistry involved. You are sitting on an armchair in the skies: what a therapy. This day has been the most difficult of my life. In fact, I decided to cast some light on my deepest shadows, I was able to confess them to the person I love: usually we wish to highlight our merits to convey an image of success! On the contrary, confession is a sort of rudimental form of (psycho)analysis, but it works, since it forces you to acknowledge our flaws.

Decent: one would perhaps expect something more, they could actually switch to organic stuff, with a shorter chain of ingredients.

Entertaining: but the presence of palm oil in the ingredient list is a turn off.

29^th December. My father explained me how the new Fiat Panda Natural Power he bought was working because of the new methane engine employed. Fascinating and environmental friendly! 

Panda Natural Power: handy, innovative,
intelligently middle class, and park-able.

With the brand new car, still smelling of dealer warehouse, we went to Natura Sì (Nature yes) an organic supermarket that magnified my perception of quality food: conceptually it is very close to Real Food in Edinburgh.

Natura Sì in via della Repubblica, Bologna: unfortunately no shopping online is yet available.

Real Food on Broughton Street, Edinburgh. There is another shop in the Tollcross area, in Brougham St, 10 paces after the Meadows. And they deliver food at home.

30^th December. Aperitivo at Antica Bologna in via Marconi 71, Bologna: have a look to the patisserie http://www.areamarconi71.com/gallery/ Two dear friends joined Michelle and I from Modena, Harriett and Fabrizio, a wonderful and well assorted couple: I spent a day with them in London (and this is definitely another story) and I always regret our meetings are too quick! Campari Spritz was Michelle’s choice http://simonfoodfavourites.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/cocktail-aperol-spritz-6-jan-2012.html, along with my refreshing Mimosa or Buck’s fizz: prosecco + freshly squeezed orange juice:

The spritz ingredients:
4/10 prosecco;
3/10 sparkling water;
3/10 Campari (or Aperol) [less alcolic]

31^st December. New Year’s Eve: a splendid hogmanay party in an Apennine hut, a friend’s family house, where the dinner lasted for two days in a row. The party came out after an elaborated brainstorming it is my intention to describe soon, since too many dishes need a proper description:

The ritual burning of the old year (Vecchione/old man)
in Bologna, Piazza Maggiore

1^st January. Some people left the hut, some other stayed over for the night. The stars were so bright that you felt the crispy air of the night less cold. We had breakfast at noon and eat cotechino (cooked pork sausage) with lentils: I usually eat it once a year, but it is worth trying, although it is a bit anachronistic. Before leaving, we tasted some just milked cow nectar: an experience of farm-life.

A clay pot bubbling with lentils came out really nicely, unfortunately
it was more difficult to measure the saltiness.

2^nd January. A carefree promenade took place in the wintery park next to my house: the plants were naked, but several types of birds accepted less reluctantly than other days the grains given to them by petulant children.

Called Parco dei Giardini that is to say Gardens Park,
a bit redundant, but it is incredibly relaxing and
located next to Via dell'Arcoveggio, Bologna.

3^rd January. I encountered my neighbor's hens, of which I shall speak! Cooking at Michelle: while she was out, I managed to prepare different vegetables in the oven (peppers, courgettes and Jerusalem artichokes), served with brie cheese and some under-oil asparagus. Honey roasted cherry tomatoes completed the meal: how much brie I happened to eat!!!

I know it might be politically incorrect,
but the contamination of languages is brilliant!

4^th January. Lucy, an artist, a friend, a great chef and bright flamenco dancer, hosted a dinner, where we listened to a Bach’s cello concert, eating a chickpeas soup with egg pasta and honey fungi, bresaola wraps and two desserts (a chocolate pie and a pear crumble). I must admit, although the desserts were fine, I was not satisfied by the result of my attempts: in the pear crumble the biggest variation was given by the employment of some nuts in the pastry! Lucy, Simone, Michael, Fabriz, and, of course, Michelle provided not just entertainment, but the warmth of friendship and some incredible gifts: a Valverbe infusion scented by licorice and fennel, a Leone milk chocolate tablet with whole pistachio nuts, and some hand made biscuits.

Bach proved an incredible entertainment, the cello notes did not interrupt the conversation and ennobled our spirits.

Leone is the only milk chocolate brand I am able to eat.

to be continued...