Recipes!

As winter is now officially here (a bit of snow yesterday here in Le Marche), the Real Italy blog is a bit quiet – in fact, it has been for a month or two, I’m ashamed to say. But apart from taking bookings and progressing with the usual updates of the house over the winter, there’s not too much to talk about. We’ve already done olive picking, and the pictures are still available on our Facebook page.

But then I had an idea. Almost everybody who comes to La Chiesa di Santo Stefano asks for the cook service for at least part of the time, and almost without fail I am asked for some recipes at the end of the holiday. I have been putting these online in a Recipes section of the website, but I thought that over the winter I could write about some of the food we love, and that our guests have loved too.

Obviously the emphasis will be more on winter food than summer dishes – but hopefully you will enjoy them. I thought I’d start with some good old soups – just what you need for a winter lunch. I regret to say that I don’t have photos of everything, but I am going to try to do a few more pictures as the months progress.

So … soup recipes! Nothing better at this time of the year, and I’ve chosen three of my favourites. Undoubtedly top of the list is Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup. This takes a little time to make, but really is worth the trouble. Peeling peppers is a bit of a faff, so I’ve suggested another method for those who just want to be as quick as possible – and although the recipe suggests peeling the tomatoes, if you decide NOT to peel the peppers, you don’t need to bother with the tomatoes either – the sieve will see to everything for you! This soup has a lovely deep flavour, and I haven’t suggested any accompaniments, because I don’t think it needs anything! But if you were doing anything, I’d add some garlic croutons. The easiest way to make them is to cut small cubes of bread (any bread you like, really), and then put about a tablespoon of olive oil in a bowl with a sprinkling of garlic salt – depends how strong you like it. Toss the bread in the oil until coated, and stick on a baking tray in the oven at 180° for 10 minutes or so – until they are toasted all over.

The second soup is based on French Onion Soup – but with an Italian twist. One other twist that I haven’t written into the recipe, but tried recently, is to swap the dry sherry for a medium dry Marsala. That’s really good too – but the use of Fontina cheese and ciabatta does give more of a taste of Italy (although you can use the more conventional French ingredients too – both are included in the recipe).

And the final one that I have added is a Leek and Potato Soup which is significantly enhanced by some delicious gorgonzola croutons. It’s important to try to get gorgonzola dolcelatte because this is quite soft and easy to blend in with the olive oil that you need to coat the croutons with. The soup is delicious on its own, with some snipped fresh chives on the top – but do try the croutons.

Having said that I’m just doing three, I am in the process of making some roast squash soup which is smelling quite good – so I might just add this to the website.

The links above go straight to the relevant PDFs, but you can access the RECIPES PAGE from here too – where you will find other tried and tested dishes. It’s a bit difficult to find on the site at the moment, so I’m going to be working on that in the next week or two to make it easier.

And the next blog is going to be on risotto, I think … or maybe some lovely winter main courses like Tuscan Beef Stew. I need to think about that. All comments gratefully received!

Of course, if you fancy trying any of these dishes without going to the trouble of making them yourselves, we would love to see you at La Chiesa di Santo Stefano. Just follow the link to the Real Italy website.

Enjoy!

Four romantic weddings in Italy

I have been very remiss at updating the blog this year, and so much has happened! The 2010 season was incredibly busy, with four beautiful romantic weddings. Each had a very different style, and we were able to create a completely unique event for each of our happy couples.

For Lucie and Nick, the largest of the weddings, the sun shone down on a perfect day. Lucie wanted her day to have a romantic garden party feel, and this was achieved through a wonderful choice of flowers, table settings - and of course the glorious surroundings of La Chiesa di Santo Stefano.

The couple chose to hold their ceremony in the stunning town hall in Treia which adds a very special atmosphere to the day, and offers some wonderful locations for photographs. Then it was back to Santo Stefano for an incredible feast - canapés and Prosecco, antipasti around the pool, and then a typical Italian formal meal of a pasta course, main course, and a wonderful tiered display of desserts with up to four individual portions per person! A cake of Italian cheeses was served during the dancing, which lasted until the early hours of the morning.


The second wedding was the smallest of the year - for Sarah and Fergal. And another day of brilliant sunshine (just look at the colour of that sky!). Whilst simplicity was the order of the day, Sarah chose to have bright sunflowers as her main bouquet and table decoration, and the whole family dressed in glorious bright colours.

The ceremony took place in the villa's own private chapel, and afterwards guests were seated at a large oval table on the terrace at the rear of the property. As the bride and groom were both Irish, our chef had to master the art of making mashed potato - not a standard accompaniment in Italy!

For Carla and Michael, the style was elegant and sophisticated. The combination of the flowers in shades of ivory and dark green, and beautiful hand made stationery, set the tone for the day. And of course, the bride looked stunning! The wedding took place in the villa's chapel, and despite there being more guests than we would normally accommodate, Carla and Michael had asked for a gazebo to be erected at the front of the chapel so that all of their guests could experience the Santo Stefano atmosphere.

Dinner took place in the shade of a large gazebo, and the guests feasted on such delights as a risotto of zucchini flowers with thyme and Sauternes, ravioli of chicken with porcini mushrooms, salmon and turbot with a basil sauce, and guinea fowl with an olive herb crust. And those were just the main courses - all of which came after an amazing array of delicious canapés and antipasti.

And the final wedding was - once again - completely different. A 1920's theme was chosen by Becky and Sam for their special day - with all colours in shades of peach, white and green. Every little detail was taken care of, from beads and black feathers to adorn the candelabra on the tables, to every tree festooned with ivory coloured lanterns to light up the night. Even the music was perfect for the theme, with an excellent three piece jazz band that managed to get every single guest up and dancing.

Becky and Sam chose to have a private ceremony in the chapel, after which the bride and groom were whisked off to Treia to the mayor's office to complete the formalities whilst their guests enjoyed canapés and prosecco prior to a delicious wedding feast.

To find out more about a wedding at La Chiesa di Santo Stefano, visit the website and follow the links to Weddings and Parties - or click here to go directly to more images of recent weddings.

Learn Italian in Luxury … in Italy!

This month saw the first of this year’s Learn Italian in Luxury weeks, organised in conjunction with Real Italy at La Chiesa di Santo Stefano by Grand Tourist, a company which specialises in luxury travel.

These weeks are always a tremendous success, and this event was no exception. Guests have the opportunity to develop their language skills in the wonderful Le Marche countryside, whilst staying in a luxury Italian villa.

The level of ability and experience of speaking Italian varied from the novice to some who were wrestling with subjunctive clauses, but this really doesn’t matter. The atmosphere is one in which people are able to learn at their own pace, and when some of the more fluent speakers are talking to the ‘teacher’, it is excellent practice for the others to listen and then ask questions later.

Each day is divided into informal lessons – usually outside in the Italian sunshine - and trips to a range of different locations, from the stunning Basilica at Loreto to a lovely restaurant where the owner’s mother gives a demonstration on how to make pasta by hand (including rolling it out with the longest rolling pin you have ever seen!). All, of course, in Italian.

Food does tend to be a high focus for the guests, and each day they have a chance to sample some of the local restaurants (including eating some of the pasta that they have helped to make). All types of venues are selected to give a real taste of Italy – from very simple trattorias to elegant restaurants. In each case, the food is delicious – whether a simple plate of home made tagliatelli with tomato sauce, or a lovely risotto of truffle and courgette flowers. The other meal each day is taken at Santo Stefano, and lunch is a particular highlight with buffets of salads, savoury tarts, tiny Italian meatballs, freshly baked focaccia bread, local meats and cheeses - just a few of the choices.

And of course, there is always an opportunity to try out the local wines. A future blog post will focus on some of the wonderful wines in the Le Marche region of Italy, and most of these never see the light of day outside of this region. Italians like to keep the best for themselves!

The final day sees the ‘Treia Challenge’ – when each guest is sent in to the beautiful local hill town of Treia with a number of tasks to perform in Italian. From a complex task such as finding out about the famous ball game played locally (and only in Treia) to something simple such as buying 200 grams of cherry tomatoes from the greengrocer, the tasks are varied and test the conversation skills of the individual.

The next course is in October, and places are filling up quickly. More information can be found on our website, and you can follow the link from there to the Grand Tourist site.

A trip to Assisi

Believe it or not, Assisi is only 100 kilometres from La Chiesa di Santo Stefano – maybe an hour and a half of driving, and so easy for a day trip. And the scenery along the way is stunning.

We made the trip this week, and it was well worth it. Not just for the famous sites, but for the whole town - which is beautifully preserved.

Starting with the obvious, though, the churches are quite superb. We found a car park above the town – and the first place we stumbled upon more by accident than by design (not having – as yet – bought a guide book) was the Cathedral di San Rufino. The cathedral itself was interesting but not that memorable in my opinion, but the crypt and the museum have been well designed with particularly effective lighting. As we were the only people in there (perhaps a bit early in the season) it was very atmospheric. We’re not big museum goers, to be honest, but the style in which it had been created and some of the paintings made it worthwhile.

Of course, the star of the show was the Basilica di San Francesco. Even in April, though, it was very busy indeed. Hoards of school parties and people talking quite loudly (despite gentle reminders of ‘Silenzio’ over the speakers) ensured that any real atmosphere was lost. Despite this, when we saw an entrance to St Francis’s tomb, we decided ‘Oh, whilst we’re here we may as well’. The door was well hidden at the back of the Basilica, and could easily have been missed. That would have been a real shame! Down on the lower level there were fewer people, less noise, and some incredible frescoes. And it was so much more than a tomb – it was in fact the ‘Lower Church’ (we still hadn’t read the guide book!).

A separate stairway from this lower level led down to the tomb itself – another journey worth making. A smattering of nuns and monks were there – perhaps on a pilgrimage – but at last there was a sense of respect and a genuine atmosphere.

And then back out into the sunshine to explore the rest of the town – in itself a real jewel of an Italian “città”. Steep and narrow cobbled streets lead from the Basilica up to the main piazza, but from here there are little lanes going in all directions. And along each lane, you can glance up small alleyways and get a glimpse of what life in the town must have been like before the invasion of tourists. Even the shops are more interesting that the average tourist shops of Umbria and Tuscany (although you don’t find many in Le Marche, it has to be said).

A relaxing lunch in the early April sunshine was, of course, a necessity. We took the trouble to find a little taverna off the beaten track – one that didn’t have a tourist menu – and the quality of the food was excellent.

Finally, fortified by a couple of glasses of the local wine and some delicious pasta, we made our way up to the Rocca Maggiore – an old fort with magnificent views of the surrounding countryside. I have to admit that we didn’t venture inside, but it was worth the hike up the hill just for the panorama – and in particular the view down onto Assisi itself.

For visitors to Le Marche, particularly those who are on the mountain side rather than close to the coast, I would say that this is a trip well worth taking, especially if you are visiting outside the main tourist periods of July and August. Just one tip – wear comfortable shoes! Cobbled streets and steep slopes don’t really work well with sandals or flip flops!

Making a headboard

During the winter months, we always find plenty of jobs to do at La Chiesa di Santo Stefano to just add little touches of comfort, and last year we were faced with a problem. More people were requesting twin rooms, but not everybody wanted twins. So we clearly had to create rooms which could either be twin or double.

The big problem was - what to do about a headboard?

We wanted something comfortable, and something that matched the lovely new cushions that we had bought from Lombok - so decided to make a headboard ourselves. And it was so easy!

Our only problem was that the headboard has to work whether the beds are set up as singles or a double, so the board had to be wide enough to allow some space between the twin beds. Given that the resulting piece of board was too big to fit even in the back of our Discovery, we had to have it sawn into two pieces, which did mean that we had to create a wooden frame on the back of the headboard to create support.

But if you don't have this problem, all you need is

• a piece of board the right size, (you can use MDF - about 12 mm thick, or you can use plywood - something that isn't going to lose its shape and bend, though). It's up to you how high you make the headboard
  
• a piece of foam about 5 cm thick the same size as the board
• some cotton batting, about 20 cm bigger than the board (see below)
• a piece of fabric which is at least 30 cm bigger all round
• a staple gun
• some contact glue to attach the foam
• two brackets to hang the headboard on the wall (you can buy these here)

With regard to the batting, I actually bought this in John Lewis - but in the dress making department. I don't know why - but that's where it was. You can use a thin wadding, but this tends to tear apparently - so whilst the cotton batting is expensive, it is really good.

Attach the foam to the board with the glue, lining up the edges carefully. Stretch the batting over the whole board, taking great care to make the corners as neat as possible. Attach the batting to the back of the board with a staple gun.

Now stretch the fabric over the whole thing. You need to get the fabric tight, but not so tight that it is distorted. It's best to put in a few staples in strategic positions first, to make sure that you have any pattern completely lined up. Then just run round with your staple gun.

Be prepared to spend a bit of time on the corners. It's tricky to get them straight - but worth the extra effort. We also sprayed the finished article with Scotch Guard, just in case there are some gelled heads resting on it!

Then attach the brackets to the back, measure them very carefully and line them up perfectly - then the other half of the brackets to the wall - and voilà - a perfect headboard!

Happy Easter from Italy

As you would imagine here in Italy, Easter is quite a big thing - and being Italian, there is no such thing as an ordinary Easter Egg! They are generally chocolate eggs, decorated with exquisite confections of flowers, all made with a sort of sticky icing.

The supermarket versions are not so elaborate, but even these are wrapped in beautiful coloured foil - and there is no such thing (or not that we've found) of the typically branded Smarties or Chocolate Buttons eggs (unfortunately!).

Things are a little different here - each of the more expensive eggs contains some sort of gift - and not just lots more chocolate (which can be a little disappointing).

The egg in the picture is the glorious (and very large) egg that my husband bought me for Easter. It will hopefully take me many evenings to get through all the chocolate, but I have to admit to being rather amazed at the gift contained inside. It was - and I promise that I'm not making this up - a small model of a motor scooter! Not only was this a strange thing to find in an Easter egg - but the scooter is bright pink, and when you press the seat, it lights up and makes 'scooter noises' (two kinds of sounds, apparently), and has 'friction power'.

The words on the back perhaps explain this rather bizarre choice of content for an egg which is clearly aimed at a woman. It says "Dream girl has inside herself to be confident, fulfilled, happy and healthy. Dream girl power is the power to speak your mind, to stand up for yourself and to know what's right for you. We want every girl to know: you are unique, you are valuable, with your girl power you can succeed. The future is yours."

I struggle to understand the significance of the words in relation to a pink motor scooter, and even less see their relevance to an Easter egg - but one thing you can say about Italy - it's full of surprises!

Spring has arrived!

I thought I should just write a very quick update to say that I spoke way too soon. Yes - we had a bad week. But the sun is now shining, and yesterday reached 18 degrees in the shade. And the sun - as always in central Italy - was very warm indeed. Definitely tee shirt weather for working in the garden.

The roses are bursting with new growth, the daffodils are pushing through (and yes - they do have daffodils in Italy). It's beginning to feel that summer is on its way at last.

What's happened to spring?

So here we are, in the middle of March, in central Italy ... and it's snowing! That is just bizarre.

Normally at this time of year we'd be having lunch outside, working in the garden, and getting everything ready for the first clients of the year. But this year, things are a little different. It has been exceptionally wet for the last couple of months, and when the snow fell heavily a couple of days ago it settled on some of the roadside trees, and actually pulled them out by the roots, because the soil is so waterlogged.

So the next few weeks - as soon as the sun decides to make an appearance, it's going to be all hands to the pumps to get the garden ready and looking as stunning as it usually does in the summer. It's hard to believe that in less that two months the roses will be in full bloom, and will provide a mass of colour, and that we will all be starting to complain that it's too hot! The sun loungers will be out, and the umbrellas up, and we'll all be ready to jump in that swimming pool!

But it is one of the joys of Italy. We love the fact that the summers are usually glorious, but we do still have winters - although it has to be said, this one has lasted rather longer than we'd hoped!