mercoledì 25 gennaio 2012

a taste of pastry and falling in love with Bari.

We were introduced to pastry last week.. all simple, beautiful Italian Pastries. We started by making a spumone.. which i knew as a Sorbet with italian meringue, but boy was i wrong! it is a beautiful flavoured italian meringe which is frozen and served on a sponge base.

Next we made a luxurious Tiramisu and i learned quickly that it is not as simple as i believed. it is constant, gentle folding being as soft with the mixture as you would be with your loved one! And it pays off! it is an amazing, soft, fluffy cream that is to dy for!

we made the base for gelato, but ill get into gelato when we seriously get into gelato!

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE!!! Chilli chocolate mousse! wow! as you all know, I am not a sweet/pastry person, but the bite from the chilli made the chocolate mousse so much more than just a chocolate mousse!!!

then we went to Bari! 5 of us rented a car and had our Roadtrip!
We drove 4hrs and arrived at out hotel! it was so beautiful! a step up from our regular accomodation.. so it was a great break!
we went to an amazing restaurant and were treated as royalty! 4 out of 5 of us had steak! we were craving beef steak and it was amazing! fillet.... which i would rather not eat.... but it was smothered in pepper sauce and served with chips! WOWIE!!! just what i wanted!
that night we walked through the old town... it was beautiful! tiny streets in all directions with tiny italian Mama's making kg upon kg of semola pasta! orechette, fusili and cavatelli. we found a door with loads of stickers but we couldnt see inside, so we took a gamble an went in! and did our gamble pay off!!! we had a 5course italian meal! i did 3 courses and couldnt get any more in! what a pity!!!
the next day we did alot more walking.. down the pier where we saw fishermen drinking beer and selling Sea Urchin, Ricchi in italian. We struggled to figure out if they were selling beer and eating fish, selling fish and drinking beer or just having a party and playing cards.. so this inspired me to try Ricchi and i was determined not to leave bari without trying it!
that night i was on a mission to eat Ricchi,but couldnt find a store selling them, so once again we ventured into the old town and found a 100 year old restaurant! we walked in and without saying a single word food arrived! not the best ive had and we did feel a bit off the next day, but eating my first grilled octopus! what an experience!

our last morning in Bari i decided to drag Pam and Zdenke to go eat Ricchi! we went to a beautiful fish store where they had tons of fresh fish, lobster, oysters, Ricchi and even scorpion fish!
the little old man in the front of the store was so excited to be part of our first Ricchi experience! they piled the Urchins on a cake stand and brought over prosecco to celebrate this moment!

AND WHAT A MOMENT!!! i love Ricchi! oysters have no idea! this is something everyone should try! given more time that day i would have even tried the scorpion fish!
i was so sad to leave Bari! truly a beautiful place! and so full of life!

we drove from Bari to Alberobello... what a cute town! it looks like a town forgotten by time! white houses with grey tile rooves and they have white symbols on them. we still havnt figured out what is the story behind the town, but as soon as i do ill let you know.
from there we drove to Cisternino to spend the night. this was the polar opposite of Bari. In Bari we were in a town of little old ladies making pasta... Cisternino on the other hand is a town of butchers! each butcher has a shop and you can choose your meat, which he grills for you and you eat it in front of his shop on the square.

what a trip!!! made new friends, saw new towns and learnt a whole lots more!
Got a heavy week ahead and if you are on the sensitive side... i would advise that you do not read my next blog post!

                                                                 octopus
Ricchi
                                                      Angela making Orechiette
                                                          Little old lady street
                                                              Bari harbour

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