Yesterday I ate rabbit, today it was wild boar. And I haven’t eaten meat in the last 2 years! But somehow, Italy tries really hard to teach me a lesson here…
The food is just incredibly good!!! Ted fell in love with Gorgonzola, a soft blue cheese, that is just to die for. And he will, if he continues to eat it in those quantities 😜
Today we went to Spoleto to the Dolci d’Italia, the Italian dessert festival! For me, this was like heaven. A whole town dedicated to show, advertise, expose, educate, and – drumroll – sample desserts from every region in Italy. The final event this Sunday evening was to break the world record of the longest cheesecake: 60 meters, 197 feet. And they did it. And we tried it. Again. And again. And again. I think I tried 3 or 4 pieces from different sections, just to make sure the quality is consistent. There were hundreds of people indulging and eating and everybody looked quite happy! Btw, this was not just a mediocre kind of cheesecake that tastes like heavy duty New York kinda cheesecake, that cheesecake was delicious! All 4 or 5 pieces I tried, were super good! Wait a minute, there were 5 or 6 maybe?!? But who counts anyway…
Once we were back “home“ in Borgo di Vagli, a little Tuscan village near Cortona, we prepared some chestnuts for tomorrow:
Roasted Chestnuts
1. With a sharp knife, cut a X in each chestnut. This is easiest if you have the flat side facing down, cutting the X in the rounded side
2. Soak the chestnuts in cold water for 10-12 hours, then put them on a baking sheet and roast them for 30-35 minutes.
3. Once done, wrap them in a kitchen towel, let them steam for 10min, then squeeze the towel really hard to break them open.
Enjoy!
Most of my Italian family are in Spoleto and Foligno. Most of them are quite old now except for their children and grandchildren. I don’t know all of them. My mother was one of 9 children of Dr. Raffaele Barbetta, a well known name in the area. I also have a cousin in Perugia and my youngest daughter Lori lived there for five years. We love the area. Thanks for sharing this and your other posts, especially since you are in Italy.