The Malocchio
keep your keyring close and your enemies far..

Many Southern Italians are serious about their superstitions.

The Malocchio Curse (as it is known in Italy), dates back centuries across Europe and can be placed upon anyone.  The Malocchio (or evil eye) is generally placed when someone is jealous or envious of another persons good luck.  The Malocchio reveals itself as sickness, pain, discomfort or misfortune.

Often the curse is involuntarily placed with an envious gaze or receiving a comment construed as envious or jealous.

Generally, to test for the affliction you put three drops of olive oil, one on top of the other in a bowl of water. If they separate then you have the Malocchio.
If you are afflicted, then you will need to find yourself an Italian strega (witch) to perform a prayer ritual (sometimes wise old nonnas or aunts can perform this as well).
To ensure that our Italian Cousins are well protected from the Malocchio, we have given you a ‘Corno’ keyring in your package.  The Corno was traditionally made from red coral and is a horn shaped protective charm.  For those of you who believe you are quite likely to be cursed then you might also like to learn the hand gesture ‘Mano Cornuto’ (shown).  The Mano Cornuto returns the malocchio curse to giver and is also available as a charm.

Since the Malocchio can be everywhere it is best to take a number of precautions.
·         Spread salt around your new house
·         Give a baby a goldCorno to wear as a necklace.
·         Wear a Corno at all times and keep one in your car.
·         Wear a Mano Cornuto or just use the hand gesture.  (In 1973 the president of Italy shocked the nation by being caught shaking hands with Cholera infected patients and doing the Mano Cornuto behind his back with the other hand)
·         Follow a compliment to your beautiful child with ‘God bless him/her’
·         Hang a bunch of dried red peppers over your stove. They look like red horns and keep your kitchen safe

March 2013 Italian Cousins..What was in the pack

March 2013 - The Mediterranean Diet

 

WINES

2012 Fiano

The first release of our newest variety. Now sold out, but of course we kept a bottle for each of our Italian Cousins. Fiano is a Southern Italian variety that is Fresh and vibrant with a nutty palate and touches of honey.

2011Opera Block Cabernet Merlot

We have recently changed the name of our reserve range from Family Reserve to Opera Block. We are excited by this young but smooth blend. Smooth tannins and bold fruit with a lingering & delicious palate.

2010 Messing About Malbec/Jacquez

This European style red is made from a blend of two of our oldest grape varieties. Both the Malbec and the Jaquez have been growing in our vineyard for over 40 years and this is the first time we have put the two together. Our ’Messing About’ range has enabled Dylan to create new favourites for our customers. Juicy is a great way to describe this blend.

Summertime

Always perfect with pizza and pasta, put this bottle of Summertime in the fridge or on ice. Serve with great friends.

FOOD

La Molisana Whole Wheat Fusilli

One of the greatest benefits of the Mediterranean cuisine is the fibre rich foods. Changing to whole wheat pasta is a change that we have been reluctant to make, but look forward to hearing some feedback!

Raw Materials Black Lentils

Low in calories and high in protein, lentils make a great soup, side dish for chicken and pork or a nutritious vegetarian main. In Italy if you want to ensure prosperity in the New Year, you must eat lentils on New Years Eve.

Raw Materials Chickpeas

These Australian grown chickpeas are perfect in soups, stews, salads, curries and much more. A simple Chickpea soup made with carrots, onion, celery, a spoonful of tomato paste and macaroni is a Puglisi family favourite. Make your own hommus or falafel for high protein, high fibre, low GI snacks.

Borlotti Beans

You will have no excuse to not make hearty Minestrone Soup this winter. In our opinion Borlotti Beans are the heart and soul of minestrone.

Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil

First cold pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a reuseable crock.

Barrel Room Homemade Passata

Home made by our BarrelRoom Café chefs just for our Italian Cousins. Use this passata as the base for your next pasta sauce. We hope you can taste the difference. There are plenty of seconds tomatoes available on the Granite Belt during summer. Have your bottles ready so that you can take advantage of your next visit to the region with a boot full of ripe tomatoes (and a few wines).

Rizzoli Anchovies in Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Rizzoli have been producing Anchovies for over 100 years. They are matured in wooden barrels, fleshy in texture and delicate in flavour. Perfect for our Bagna Cauda recipe.

Recipe Cards(to add to your recipe card-holder)

Pasta e Fagioli. There are numerous names for this simple, inexpensive, homestyle meal including ‘Pasta fazool’ and ‘Pastafasulu’.

You might remember its reference in the Dean Martin song ‘That’s Amore’. Simple and hearty, the epitomy of satisfying vegetarian cuisine, full of legumes and served with a dash of olive oil.

Bagna Cauda. This is a rich and intense fondue style dip. Try as an entrée at your next dinner party.

Your Special Gifts

Italian Parsley. Access to fresh parsley is imperative in an Italian kitchen. We wish you success in growing these seeds and enjoying the flavours and fragrance year after year. Chop fresh parsley and blend with finely diced lemon to make a gremolata as the final addition to a rich osso bucco just prior to serving.

The Mediterranean Diet. Read with a glass of red wine! Learn to live like the people in the many countries surrounding the Mediterranean. Enjoy life, eat the best quality food you can afford and reap the benefits for you and your family.

Chianti - Vineyards on every hillside

It's true, the vineyards are stunning and at this time of year, they are just starting to change colour, lovely yellow hues are beginning to appear across the hillsides, its just magical.
Radda is a quiet little town, full of ancient buildings and quaint little shops.  The locals are very friendly and welcome tourists from all over the world to their very beautiful part of the world.  The town is so ancient that their are many Etruscan tombs and we walked through a small stone thoroughfare that has a sign indicating that it is circa XIV (that says 14!!) A mazing!!
So, this area is all about the wine and food, we have had 2 amazing meals at La Botta di Bacco and enjoyed a number of local Chianti there.
Our first day in the Chianti region was a sightseeing tour to the medieval town of Sienna..  This ancient city has a lot of history and you can feel the stories seeping through the walls of the buildings as you walk past. It was almost like they were whispering their secrets to us as we wandered the city.  Our gorgeous guide Barbara (I think the boys took about 1000 photos of her!!) had fantastic knowledge of the town and really came to life when she took us to the Cathedral of Sienna as it was  the last day of a rare display of the floor mosaics and she was keen to explain their history and meaning. 
The guides on our Italian Cousins tour have been nothing short of amazing.  To be a guide in Italy, you must have a tertiary qualification - usually in languages, history or theology and then they are required to study extensively about the region they are guiding in and sit regular examinations to keep their registration, so all of the guides have been passionate and knowledgable and ready to share what they know about their area.....terrific.

Next day, we ventured to the neighbouring town of Castalina where we met Rosaria, who took us for a tour and wine tasting at La Castellina Fattoria. This small winery (about the size of Ballandean Estate) is family owned and has been making wine for generations in the town. Rosaria was great, and took us through a range of thier wines including their Chianti Classico, Chianti Riserva and then explained to us about the Super Tuscan wines and we enjoyed thier Merlot.  The wine tasting was fabulous and everyone enjoyed the wine, food and the great information provided by Rosaria.

Our afternoon was spent at leisure enjoying the sounds and sights of the gorgeous town of Radda, all in preparation for our next day at the cooking school.

Cooking school day began slowly, as our chef let us know that the markets would begin late today, so we needed to meet him mid afternoon.  The group decided to have a picnic lunch overlooking the picturesque hillsides, so we all had to head to the supemarket to choose some local delicacies. 
Lunch was fantastic!  Salami  (many types), artichoke, olives, gorgonzola, pecorino, pane......it was all delicious and wonderful way to while away a few hours.  You might even spot a bottle of Ballandean Estate Viognier in the pictures and it was gorgeous too.

Finally, it was time to enjoy our cooking class with the entertaining Lorenzo and his very talented Zia (aunt) Lorena.  We began by taking a walk through the markets with Lorenzo to pick up some eggplant and zucchini and some cheese and salami from his uncle, then off to the kitchen.

The setting for our class was the ancient kitchen of our hotel, Palazzo Leopoldo and we began by preparing some lovely cheese souffle for our entree followed by the gorgeous recipe for cantucci in preparation for our dessert. The afternoon was definately a highlight of the tour and we laughed and created amazing food as well as learning some tricks of the trade from the lovely Lorena.  After making our Ravioli, heading to the modern kitchen to learn about the meat preparation and watching the Vin Santo custard being prepared, it was time to sit at the table and enjoy a Chianti before the first course.
What a meal it was, enjoyed even more, knowing that we had assisted in its creation, but the presentation and flavours were outstanding.  We would highly recommend Lorenzo and Lorena as they were a fantastic duo to spend an afternoon and evening with....a truly great experience.

So what about the food??

I thought it would be a good idea to spend some time talking about the food, after all, we have spent a considerable amount of time on the Itallian Cousins tour eating and drinking. The Family dinners organised by Tour Leader Julia, have been fabulous and we have attempted to showcase the regional favourites in each area, but as well as the set meals, we have all had ample opportunity to frequent local cafes and bars to have a truly local experience.

The meals that have been etched in our memory so far:

The wonderful meal at Hotel Victoria in Verona, including steak tartare and those magnificent eggplant ravioli.

Black spaghetti with squid in Venice was simply superb. We tried some by the fish markets which we thought was appropriate, but later we found just as good a plate nearby St Marks square, you must try it. At the markets we also tasted a magnificent Porcini and Scampi tagliatelle....yum!!

The home made pumpkn gnocchi as well as the Tagliatelle with Porcini served at Ciarnie I  in Asolo was also a family favourite with the group and now we are all going to try and make it at home.

In Turin at the Grand Sitae, the mushroom and eggplant ravioli was a hit with its smooth texture and flavour.

Seafood features in many of the favourite meals and in the Piazza Erbe in Verona there was a wonderful, simple seafood dish at al Lamberi (lots of candles) it was delicious.

 

A special mention must go the restaurant La Botte di Bacca in Radda where we enjoyed a magnificent 6 course meal for our Family Dinner that included the most sublime ravioli with Pear sauce. Our very generous host Gian Luca and his chef came out to ensure that we were enjoying the food and we cheekily asked for the recipe. Hopefully, we will include it in an Italian Cousins newsletter soon, but give us some time to perfect it.

You know even the simplest of foods, including the pizza and panine are delicious and it is because the ingredients are either home made of fresh from the producer just down the road. Australians could learn a thing or two from this great way of eating.....not too many supermakets here, I can assure you.

And then there is the gelato.....

Well this is a list of our favourites so far, by the end of the trip, I am sure we will have lots more to add.

Magnificent Venice...a true treasure

Our hotel in Asolo was a family owned and operated treasure. Throughout our stay, there were many references to Faulty Towers and from our arrival where the front desk (owner) loaded our luggage into the small lift, pushed the button, then ran up the stairs to meet it, to the end where our wonderful hostess Gabriella (Mum) with her glamorous red hair and 50's movie star persona, bid us goodbye with kisses and promises of new beds when we next visited, it was a friendly and very welcoming place to spend our time in Asolo.

Next stop Padova, on the way to Venice. Here, we toured through the old town with tour guide Alessandro who showed us the very famous St Anthony's Basilica. As with all of the towns and churches we visited, our local guides were very informative and really knew their subjects, you would miss so much of the history and interesting ancecdotes without them. On to the magnificent Scrovegni Chapel which is like another Sistine Chapel but not as well known....simply beautiful.

As Australian tourists, it is hard to fathom the age of the places we have visited, monuments and structures built in BC.. unbelievable!!

It has begun to rain and we are heading Venice.

As our excitement builds on approach to this famous city, so does the strength of the rain and an on arrival at the tronchetto (boat) that is to take us to our Hotel, the wind and rain is so strong that our umbrellas are inside out and we are drenched! Julia's description of Venice was that she had a belly ache today - boy what a welcome, but no matter, we are in VENICE!!!!

Hotel Gabrielli, is a fantastic spot, right on the water with wonderful views of the lagoon and down towards St Marks square, the rooms are comfortable and the showers hot, so the wet arrival was soon forgotten with a hot shower and drinks at the bar.

Tonight another Family Dinner featuring Breasoala (sooooo good), ravioli, vitello scallopine and tiramisu (for you Doug) and washed down with a good house wine from the Veneto region and some impromptu singing from the group, it was a great night.

Day 2 in Venice and our local tour guide Rosanna, showed us the magnificent Doges Palace with the most amazing paintings that I never get tired of seeeing. A new section of Armery was also open this day and I wondered how many people had died at the hands of the hundreds of weapons in this display,, in fact one of the large knives had been used to behead one of the Doge...creepy but very interesting.

Next, St Marks church and we had to walk on planks as the water had begun to rise with a high tide and parts of the square were underwater. We had been suss when Rosanna showed up in brightly coloured gumboots!! Another gobsmacking church with incredible history and mosaics on the floor that over the years have buckled with the movement of island.

After the tour, we had some free time to wander the streets, do some obligatory shopping and be amazed by the hundreds of shops, the narrow alleyways filled with thousands of tourists and the sheer beauty of this fabulous city.

It is hard to describe how special this city is; the canals, the bridges the gondalas with their singing gondaliers, the craziness of the Grand canal all blends together and you quickly feel like Venice has accepted you and you are now part of her, craziness and all - I love it.

Day 3 in Venice and we all boarded the Vaporetto to Murano. What a fabulous way to travel, in fact, we had a 3 day pass and all used them to travel around the city. When we arrived in Murano, we went our separate ways to enjoy it's attractions. Glass blowing is of course what the island is famous for and we enjoyed a glass blowing demonstration and picked up a few treasures to take home, then back on the Vaporetto to St Marks square.

Waiting for us was our good friend Allesandro who took us to an Artisan chocolate maker Vizio Virtu where chocolatier Mariangela demonstrated the various stages of chocolate making and spoke about the history of chocolate in Italy. Her products dazzled us as she spoke and then we had the wonderful delight of induging in her passion with a tasting. The first was a delicous cup of the best hot chocoalate I have ever had, just like I imagined the chocolate in Willy Wonkas river to be, then three handmade chocolates including one she makes using Balsamic vinegar in the centre, so, so good. After thanking Mariangela for her demonstration, back to the Vaporetto for a tour of the grand canal, a great way to see th wonderful Palazzo and famous bridges of Venice, we also had to say goodbye to the wonderful Alessandro (I think we now have a place in his heart!!).

Day 4 and off to the Peggy Guggenheim collection to view a Palazzo filled with modern art from some of the worlds greatest artists , Picasso, Pollock and many more. In my whole life I have never seen a Picasso and in less than an hour I had viewed 3 originals!!

After the tour, some more free time to explore the restaurants and shops, museums and attractions. The free time we had in Venice during the four days gave us an opportunity to truly absorb the city and as I said before, really fell like we were a part of it, and then before you could say Espresso, it was time to get ready for the Opera. disembarked at the famous Rialto.

Dressed to impress, we boarded the Vaporetto outside our hotel and disembarked at the famous Rialto bridge and strolled the short distance to the Malibran Theatre where we had tickets booked for an Operetta. A quick drink in the bar (Sprizz if you please) and then to find our seats in the gallery. One and a half hours of sheer talent as the singers conveyed their story with magnifecent voices. The soprano was fabulous and the acclamation for her at the end expressed the audience appreciation for her ability. The stage looked like a postcard and the performance was wonderful, a very cultural and typical way to end our stay in Venice.

 

From Verona to Asolo...a trip filled with cousins.

It was difficult leaving Verona, gorgeous town, beautiful food and beautfiul people, we had a fantatic stay in this easy going city and enjoyed most of what it had to offer, but it was time to move on to the magnificent hilltop town of Asolo via Bassano del Grappa.

During our drive, we passed through some large agricultural areas, grapes, apples and plantations of kiwi fruit. Who would have thought that Italy is one of the largest producers of kiwi fruit in the world?

Arriving in Bassano, our guide Alessandro took us to the 'old'town where the highliight is the magnficent Alpine bridge. A beautiful wooden bridge with amazing views of the mountains and the city and also the gateway to our destination, the Poli Grappa makers.

Entering the old building, we were taken to an old cellar where we watched a video explaining the production of Grappa (the boys in the group reckon they will give it a go at home!!) and then we wandered the museum, filled with old equipment, bottles and stories, then on to the all important Grappa tasting.

Here were had the opportunity to taste 5 grappa, the clear new vintage (hmm) the 2 year old vintage (yummo) the honey infused (hmmm) the blueberry flavoured (nope) and the chocolate flavoured (not for me, but some of the girls enjoyed it). After making our purchases (there goes the duty free!) It was time to head to Asolo.

The drive was lovely, small towns and lots to see. As we approached the Asolani hills, the countyside became green and lush with spectacular buildings on the hilltops and the occasional, incredible castle. As we approached Asolo, even our guide Allessandro became excited with anticipation because as he explained, Asolo is one of, if not the best preserved Medieval town in all of Italy. Parts of the town date back to the 1100's and it is truly beautiful.

Very narrow streets and ancient porticos describe the main piazza and our quaint Hotel Duse was right in the middle. From here, we could watch the piazza and the people, locals and the odd tourist, going about their everday business....a great way to while away some time, but not for us, because it was Family dinner night and we were off to a local restaurant for some traditional food of Veneto.

The small family run restaaurant was delightful, great service and wonderfully typical meals featuring polenta, radicchio, rabbit, home made gnocchi and more. It was a great night with lots of wine and great conversation to compliment the food. Back to Asolo for a good nights rest.

Next day, the antiques fair was in town so we spent a lazy morning wandering the market stalls, drinking coffee and for the fit ones in the group, it was a great time to head to the Rocca, the highest point in Asolo to drink in the magnificent views. Being a hilltop town, there are many vantage points, but the Rocca is spectacular.

After lunch, we had organised a trip to Treviso (the other Venice) a lovely canal town with many attractions, but a town that suffers the poor cousin syndrome from Venice. On the way, Julila organised a "short" visit with our actual cousins in the family home town of Mussano...as you can imagine it was not short!!

Cousin Irene met our bus and we were heading off for a coffee but she just wanted to check if a "Festa" was going to get in our way, she came back with the local priest who insisted we join the party, so we did. What a welcome, a few more cousins were at the party and our group was welcomed wiith home made wine, coffees and sweets and our host - the grappa wielding priest, made us sit down and tell him about our adventure so far.

For Julia and I, it was a great opportunity to catch up and more cousins arrived to say hello as word spread that we were in town for a short while, it was loud and about 100 conversations were happening at once, but hey, that's what being Italian is all about. Our short stop in Mussano has definately been a highlight of our "Italian Cousins Tour" and as one of our group said "You wouldn't do this on a Trafalgar tour!!"

After a few more glasses of grappa from Padre, a prayer and a teary goodbye, we set off for Treviso.
Another spectacular city that melds modern with ancient and results in a vibrant city that should be included on any tour of theVeneto region. Wandering through the streets, the street vendors were selling hot chestnuts as it is the start of the winter season here and also the delicious but indulgent Fritelle. Pizza dough cooked in oil and then spread with Nutella oh so naughty but nice!!

Back to Asolo for a good nights rest as it was on to Venice tomorrow.

Verona - a very beautiful city.

Our next stop was the magical city of Verona and it welcomed us finally after our fabulous driver Ivano managed to find our hotel amongst the ancient streets and walls.
The very beautiful Hotel Victoria was our resting place and it is situated within the ancient Roman walls of the city, an easy walk to the city centre and the excitement of the markets in Piazza D'Erbe.
Our first afternoon was free to wander the streets and indulge in a little souvenir shopping then a family dinner in the hotel restaurant.

What a meal!!
The chefs pulled out all stops to impress our group with steak Tartare, eggplant ravioli, and more.  The meal included some local wines including the delicious Soave and we think Bardolino (hard to remember...it was a great night)
The family meals have definately become one of the highlights of the trip as we  enjoy local food specialities and what is in season as well as the wine favourites of the region  and all at the chefs recommendation.

Next day we explored Verona with our guide Martre who explained the glorious frescoes and artworks as we wandered the stunning marble streets.  The highlight of the day was the Arena, which is still used today to host Opera events and rock concerts, it is gorgeous but my legs are still paying for the climb to the top of the seated area....soo worth it!
During the afternoon, we wandered around the old city and headed to the most famous of all attractions, Juliets balcony where the obligatory photos of the balcony and Juliets statue were taken and then time for a well earned rest before dinner in the piazza and gelato for dessert.....of course.